Monday, October 13, 2008

fall knitty!

One of my dearest friends, Laura, is a knitwear designer (loladesigns) . She is currently the design director of Schaefer Yarn Company and is always coming up with incredible new pieces. I love seeing whatever she has on her needles, knowing it's destined to be some incredible new sock pattern or a gorgeous sweater I didn't even know I needed to have. She's prolific and even though we see each other a couple of times a week, I rarely catch her knitting the same thing twice! There are many (knitting) perks related to being Laura's close friend: late night calls when I get stuck with a pattern, hearing the latest news in the fiber world, being nudged to join Ravelry (even if I'm a bit overwhelmed by it's vastness), and most recently playing a little role in one of her successes. Her patterns are popping up everywhere and currently she has one featured in the Fall Knitty! It's this cozy sweater vest, the Abrazo.


We are each others cheerleaders, so Laura is fully aware of my current love with photography. She put her faith in me, and gave me an opportunity to practice my camera skills, by hiring me to do the Knitty photo shoot! It was a beautiful setting...


and we had a wonderful woman (Ms. Baxter) modeling. Here are a couple of the photos that didn't make the cut, but I still love.



Maybe you are a knitter and not familiar with Knitty... please, go grab a cup of something good and spend some time perusing their free patterns and wonderful articles. Not familiar with Ravelry? You'll need to sign up to receive an invitation, but once you're in... an entire knitting and crochet universe reveals itself. You'll need to bring a huge pot of tea or coffee before you sit down to check it out.

My knitting needles have been gathering dust for months, but this nippy weather (and Laura inspiring me) has my fingers itching to cast on. By the end of the week, I should be well into a new knitting project. I'm going public with this goal, so you can all be my witnesses.

On another note, I want to thank all of the friends that have been writing in to tell me that they've been enjoying using my tutorials. I'm thrilled to hear from you! I love creating them, but they can be time consuming...hearing that you've given them a try and seeing photos really makes it all worth while! I recently started a flickr group for you to share your photos of things you've created via maya*made. Please consider adding you photos to the pool...the more the merrier! You can also find the link in the sidebar.

Have a great start to your week! Pin It

13 comments:

  1. Gorgeous photos!! The setting is so serene, and that deep turquoise color goes so beautifully with the Abrazo/Hug sweater.

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  2. Your photos are really Great, how lovely to have such a Knitty friend. Can't wait to see what you choose to knit next.

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  3. Your shots are lovely - what a gorgeous location.

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  4. Beautiful photos! Laura obviously made a good move, hiring you to do the photo shoot!
    I remember the first time I stumbled over Knitty - I was just stunned by all the content. And all free! Holy cats! Now I drop everything when I hear that a new issue is up.
    I've been enjoying your tutorials, though haven't tried any yet - I will in my "spare time" (whenever that might be...)

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  5. I can't wait to come back and check out these knitters sites.
    Thanks for sharing...and your photos of the model are great! Love the last one best. The one that made the cut must be awesome.

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  6. Knitty and Ravelry are both GREAT SITES! It is really inspiring to check out what people are doing on there!

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  7. I'm glad I popped in because I need to add "Maya day" to my creative to do list. That day I set aside to do things using your tutorials! And of course she asked you to do the photo session, she obviously recognizes talent when she sees it!

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  8. Beautiful photographs. The orange and turquoise are so happy together. I love knitty. It is one of the first places I look when i am looking for patterns and not winging it as I so often do. I am signed up on ravelry but I just have no time to get that part of my virtual life organized, the blog and flickr and soon an etsy shop keep me way to busy and I can't imagine giving any of them up .

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  9. What a great boat house. The pictures are great and the vest looks cozy, intimidating with the cabling and all but cozy.

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  10. Thanks so much everyone...this was such a fun experience with many "learning" moments. Special thanks to Smoothpebble...a "Maya day"...that sounds a bit wild to my ears...maybe just a day to try out some things your friend enjoys :)
    Margie: I'm on the same page as you are about Ravelry...it's vast and I'm pretty steeped in my comfort zone of "up to my ears in blogging, fickring, and Etsy dreaming". Being a member of Ravelry has enabled me to get a glimpse into the world of one of my best friends...and recognize that there are so many parallel creative universes out there. For avid knitters...with a wee bit more time, Ravelry is the most amazing resource imaginable.

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  11. Congratulations, Maya photographer!!! You deserve it. I hope you enjoy it.
    Loved the pictures.
    I never stop knitting. I can't. I swear. I tried every now and then, but just couldn't. Ha!

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  12. There's something about the new crispness in the air that makes me want to turn to my knitting needles, too. I just cast on two new projects, which makes 3 in progress right now. A feat for me, a former monogamous knitter who was getting really, really bored with only working one project at a time. So now, the sky's the limit. Or, more practically, my collection of project bags will be the limit. Must make some more.

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  13. Thank you for mentioning these. I can't wait to check them all out!

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