Sunday, February 28, 2010

The one I forgot to name.

Just after I posted that last one I went outside and we could literally here Edmonton cheering for Team Canada. I couldn't actually see anyone, but our hostel is one avenue over from the main drag and people were going crazy.

One of the grad students from University of Alberta who has worked at squirrel camp in the past took us out for dinner. I met a lot of people who have worked at squirrel camp and have completed the U of A driving test and I'm feeling very intimidated tonight. This might be the last time you hear from me on the internet for awhile. Also, I'm supposed to tell the driving instructor that I'm from Ontario and I don't understand round-abouts. I'm going to have to parallel park an (automatic) truck. I probably could have prepared for this a little better than I did. Wish me luck.

Gold in downtown Edmonton!



My flight landed in Edmonton at 12:10 pm local time. I met Dylan and Lindsey at the designated spot beside the Tim Hortons in Arrivals. Our ride was supposed to pick us up at 12:30. Plenty of time to head downtown to catch the puck drop at 1:30. Unfortunately, no one showed up. When we realized that no one was coming we hopped on a shuttle and headed to the hostel. Upon arriving the Aussie girl behind the desk notified us that, "we were up 1-0" and followed that up with ".....o, you guys are Canadian, right?" Uh, yeah. We dropped off our tons of gear (I thought I had a lot of stuff, but I had actually packed the smallest amount). And ran over to O'Byrnes on Whyte Avenue. There was a perfect booth waiting for us and we had dinner at 3:00, drank some beers and watched that crazy game play out.

And it isn't even 6:00 yet. I still have to go out for dinner, meet the rest of the crew, and I'm exhausted. This must be jet lag. I've been playing that card since last December though, so I don't even know anymore.

P.S. Do you see the tiny Team Canada symbols at the centre of the new symbol?

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Deal of the 21st Century.

Today my father bought a packet of Tim Tams for $0.77 CAD. What is this big, crazy world coming to?

Walter Weldon on knitting.

"It does not distract the attention or check the powers of the imagination. It forms a ready resource when a vacuity occurs in conversation; it impairs neither body nor mind, and requires no straining of the eyesight. It may be interrupted without loss, and again resumed without trouble. The whole apparatus is so cheap, needs little room, and is so light that it can be kept and gracefully carried about in a basket, the beauty of which displays the expertness and taste of the fair worker."

Weldon was a chemist, journalist, and fashion publisher working in London, England during the mid to late 1800s. He produced hundreds of leaflets outlining Victorian knitting patterns and needlework techniques. They were bound together into several volumes under the title Weldon's Practical Knitter and sold for six pence a piece. Recently, one of the largest publishers of knitting patterns in America has turned these leaflets into a series of four ebooks. Interesting. Maybe even a little ironic. You can purchase them through Interweave for $8.99 USD each.

The publishing house has been sending e-mails with little bits of patterns from the ebooks and I have to admit that I am intrigued. I'll certainly be keeping my eye out for these the next time I decide to wander through an antique shop.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Olympic symbols.


http://www.ctvolympics.ca/about-vancouver/news/newsid=49268.html#goCommentsCtvo

Lomography.

Just another one of my favourite creative pursuits. Lomography is the trademark for all things related to photography created by Lomographische AG, an Austrian company. Basically, their cameras are very inexpensive because they are entirely made of plastic, including the lens. They leak light and are very difficult to focus. When you shoot with a lomo camera, even if you try really hard to set things up, you really don't know what you're going to get until you develop the pictures. From my experience the pictures turn out anywhere from grey and eerie to bright and playful.

This is my lomo, a Holga, that I bought at Urban Outfitters in downtown Toronto. It's scratched up and well-loved. Unfortunately, a battery leaked in it last year, but I think I have it all cleaned up. I must have put my last roll of film in it before we moved because I just opened it up to check it out and accidentally exposed the roll four shots in. It's okay though because brief amounts of light exposure can produce some really interesting effects. All of the photos I have taken with my lomo are in the two albums underneath the camera in this picture. The Holga takes 120 mm film which is a little expensive. I have always meant to buy an adapter so that I can use 35 mm film in it as well. Maybe I'll have one sent to Squirrel Camp. I'm definitely taking my lomo with me on this trip. I wish I had been able to take it to Australia and New Zealand because I could have taken incredible pictures of the red and green landscapes, but I did not have any room left in my luggage at all.


The first time I took the Holga out. Nat and I went up to Rockwood Conservation Area for a bit of a photo shoot at the old wool mill. It was a grey day to begin with and that worked really well for me. I love the way Nat's red toque stood out in every shot.


I had these first photos printed on 3x3 inch paper. Later I realized that I could have it done on 4x4 or 5x5. I got a little carried away with the sizing and I actually like the 3x3 the best because I can fit two pictures on each page in my little albums. Having 120 mm film developed is actually quite the ordeal. The camera needs to be opened in a darkroom, so I can't do it by myself unless I want that light leak effect. Some day I will acquire a little darkroom bag so I can change it myself. I always just go to Pond's in Guelph. I consider the employees there to be the most knowledgeable in Guelph and they still panic when I bring them my Holga. I try to tell them that I don't really worry about what actually happens to the pictures but they are all perfectionists and can't deal with having, what they perceive as, a negative impact on my results.


Next, I took my Holga out on my way home from school one evening. I got some really beautiful pictures of the sunset and the old buildings I passed by each day.


One of my favourite pictures of Em and Daphne in the old orange kitchen on Emslie Street. In reality, the orange is much brighter, but the lomo can do all sorts of interesting things to colour.


The Holga also came to Hillside with me in 2008. This is one I took of Andrew and Em. They turned out a little pinkish, for some reason, but quite in focus.


Halfway through the festival I changed the film and put it in on the wrong setting. As a result, the pictures all overlapped. I wasn't too concerned, but when I picked up my pictures they came with a giant piece of uncut negatives. This way I could go back and make reprints and have them cut the way I wanted. Not necessary.

A bit of Em, Laura, Bronwen, and Lee, checking out the lineup.


I must have taken the lomo to the Mariposa Festival that year too because I found this, which I love. It's a half and half of a blurry Kristen (she's knitting) and a tiny, in focus Joel Plaskett. This small tent is Mariposa-style and I don't remember him being at Hillside. And I do remember that seed stitch hat Kristen was making in Orillia.


In the fall of 2008 I made a special trip to take my lomo to the Cheltenham Badlands. I had never actually been there before and I really wanted to see them, so I convinced a boy to take me there on a second date. I knew that this was also going to be a last date, so I didn't really care if he thought I was crazy for wanting to spend my Saturday afternoon taking pictures of clay hills with a weird little plastic camera. Don't worry, I did feel a little bit guilty for insisting we do something he may not have been interested in so I made him the best picnic I have probably ever put together. And, I think, we were both quite content.


As I was packing to leave Guelph, I decided that I needed to take some shots around town to remember my last summer as a grad student. This is a self portrait taken on Bristol Street near the Edinburgh Street intersection.


As these are all digital images of film pictures, some of the Holga character has been lost. They also look a little more washed out than they actually are. I wish I could show every picture here, but there are just way too many. I'm sure I'll have more on this topic once I'm home from the north.

Monday, February 22, 2010

West coast sweater love.

Is there anything better than modern Cowichan sweater styling?


I came across this little knitwear company from British Columbia, called Granted. Their products are inspired by the adopted European intarsia patterns of the Cowichan people of Vancouver Island. Really, about as Canadian as one could be.

They make me even more excited to be heading west for work. Next Sunday I fly to Edmonton to begin the two day long trek to Kluane National Park and Reserve, home of the Kluane Red Squirrel Project. I hear the Yukon is lovely this time of year and I will be taking it all in for the next three months. I'll be working as a field technician on the spring crew. And of course, I'll be taking my knitting because warm layers will be required.

I've got so much to do this week. I've decided what I want to take, but now I have to dig it all out of storage. I've spent the day organizing though, so I'll have everything done in time. At the top of the list is updating this space because once again I'm going to have a travel blog! I have been getting a little behind on things, but I've been keeping a list of posts I want to make. Of course, the more I let things stack up, the less likely I am to write anything at all. That's for tomorrow though, because the Olympic Ice Dancing is on and it would be nice to see the home team take control of the rink.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Spins & Needles Winterlude 2010 press release.


Cool, eh? I saw some pictures of the contributed cozies on their blog, but I couldn't see mine. Hopefully it made its way to Ottawa safetly and is keeping a tree warm. I'll try to find it when I visit next week.

Friday, February 5, 2010

My favourite month.

I like the month of January a lot every year. New starts, fresh snow, birthdays, and hockey games. This January I was housesitting for a friend out in the country.

These are the two animals that live in the house. Sparky the cocker spaniel (I think that's what he is, at least?) and CP the black cat. They really like me and I really like them even though I have to take two antihistamines every day that I hang out with CP. This was laundry day. They both ignore me when I pull the camera out. CP really enjoys knitwear (one of the main reasons he likes me). He has taken his place on my Tomten sweater. He was probably kneading it before he needed to ignore me.


This is what we look like every night. We pile up on the couch in front of the fireplace. I knit and the animals fight over who gets to sit closest to me. In general, CP doesn't like people or dogs, so we're doing pretty well in this shot.


CP generally wins at who-can-sit-closer. Then he forms into a perfectly round cat shape and maybe kneads my legwarmers a bit.


Sparky being the cutest one, running around the couch with his favourite squeaky pork chop toy.


Close-up.



On the last day at the farm, Sparky and I went for a walk when the sun was beginning to set. This is the river that runs across the property down near the front road.



The laneway from the house out to the road.


The wetland area that the river opens into on the other side of the road.


The stone house. My favourite type of house.


The chicken coop where I collect eggs every morning and feed the bunny. And I feed the chickens too. They eat a highly varied diet of potato peels and citrus fruit and any other fruit or vegetable that my parents and Jayme and Brian want to dispose of.


The red door of the barn.


The barn.


A milkweed down near where the trail begins at the side of the laneway.


The chickens in the sunset.


Sparky! He loves going to the chicken coop because he might have a chance to steal an egg.


The chicken coop in the sunset.


The ice in the sunset.


Practice makeup for my sister's wedding. I'm supposed to look like a green hydrangea petal who's also the maid of honour. I had this done earlier in the day in East City.


Sparky running back home in the sunset. See his floppy ears?