Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Upcoming Happenings and Another Crazy Lamb in a Sweater Photo

Back from a few days away for Julia’s school vacation and now plugging away at all those postcard and book orders you sent my way. You guys are awesome. Thank you so very much. And The Farmer and Julia thank you too. You know, I must say, I can never quite figure out what will resonate with my blog readers. I probably should not admit to this but it is the truth. I thought the lambs in sweaters idea was a cute one but boy, was I surprised by all the excitement. I’m going to give you some of the details behind taking the photos later in the week but let’s just say it wasn’t the easiest project I have taken on with my new interest in photography.

I want to alert you all to some things that are happening very soon. On March 5th, I’m going to be speaking at a fabulous bookstore called R.J. Julia down in Madison, Connecticut. The talk is on a Friday night at 7 p.m. The title of my talk is called “The Joy of Color” and it’s going to be a very fun slide presentation and Q & A. Please tell your friends – anyone who knits, crochets, quilts or sews will enjoy what I have to offer. I promise the talk will be worth the drive if you have a long distance to drive. Also, if you are a knitting or quilting guild member or own a yarn store, let your friends and customers know about the talk. I would love to have a good turn-out. It’s a long drive down and a long drive home late at night and Julia will be in tow (another school day off). We would both like to meet whoever comes. There is a nominal fee of $5.00 and you can sign up on the RJ Julia website here or pay at the door. The cost of the talk can go towards the purchase of Color By Kristin. Please spread the word. There will be door prizes too. A really fun night out.

This coming Sunday, I’ll be giving a class at Knit or Dye in Brattleboro. I’m pretty sure there are still spaces left in the class. You can call Rachel at Knit or Dye to sign up. All of the information is linked on my sidebar.

On March 13th, I’ll be teaching 2 classes down in Ridgefield, CT at a fabulous Yarn & Gift Store called Nancy O. The information for that class is on my sidebar at left.

On March 20th, I'll be teaching 2 classes in Harvard, MA at the fabulous "Fiber Loft." Reba has been trying to get me to come down and teach for years. Last year, the class didn't fill and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for this year. You can check that out on my sidebar at the left.

Over at Craft Gossip, they are running a giveaway for Color by Kristin. The deadline to sign up is February 25th so hop on over.

Today, I leave you with another "lamb in wool sweaters" photos. Like I said earlier, taking these photos was one big adventure. I had to photograph lambs that were only a couple days old because they were the only ones who would fit in the sweaters (lambs grow very fast). One of the first days I attempted my project, I dressed a little white lamb in the pink sweater. There was snow on the ground and it was a bright and sunny day. (I actually prefer taking photos on gray days.) The little lamb in the pink sweater was extremely active and try as I could, it was really difficult to get a good photo in the snow and away from anything brown (and that would be just about everything in the barnyard). I was actually taking photos of two lambs at the same time and had just put the first lamb back in the barn after "undressing" it. Trying to get two lambs in a photo - that was a complete failure. The Farmer called to me and said "you've got to come here." I ran out of the greenhouse as he doesn't often sound excited about anything especially when slogging about feeding hay. He pointed and I couldn't believe my eyes. There lying down on top of our giant 200 plus pound Romney ram was the little white lamb in the pink sweater. I snapped very quickly and in a second the lamb had jumped down off the ram. I did get this photo. It really does show the scale and size of all the animals, doesn't it? The medium sized ewe is at the left, the giant ram taking up almost the entire photo, and the little two day old lamb, wow! Cute, huh?



If you are really astute and paying attention to details, you will see that this isn't the exact pink sweater that I showed you the other day (photo is up on the left on the sidebar). Originally I only made and attached 3 crocheted, embroidered flowers on the sweater. Immediately upon looking through the camera at the lamb I could tell that if I made a wreath of flowers at the neckline of the sweater, it would look much cuter. Back to the crochet needle, the yarn and the embroidery and a day later I was at it again, working on the photos. These photos took a crazy amount of time to get right and if I wasn't determined and slighty nuts, I would have given up.... (or maybe if I was smarter?)..... The Farmer just kept looking at me with amusement and bewilderment, I will admit. "What will she do next?," is probably what he was actually thinking and if you all hadn't been so supportive with buying the cards, he probably wouldn't be quite as patient as he will be now if I decide to dress any other sheep in outfits.

You can purchase the postcards of the lambs in sweaters here on
the shop page of my website. And don't forget that the "Dog in Sheep's Clothing" pattern is availble IN EIGHT SIZES for download on my website. For all of you with different shaped dogs (big necks, long backs, short legs.....) I have enclosed a page on how to customize the pattern to fit your particular dog. Enjoy your day......

14 comments:

Michele in Maine said...

Kristen, your cards are brilliant, and I can't wait for mine to arrive in the mail. It looks like you may have some more great shots! You could sell them as limited edition framed (and signed) photographs. Kudos to you for making it all work!

katiegirl said...

What a nice, patient ram. Good boy!

Susan Luni said...

It's reassuring to hear that you can't always predict what blog content will be popular. I'd be surprised at that, since you have so much experience in the many aspects of the fiber industry, but instead I agree. I can never predict what will be the popular entries on my blog. It's understandable that you'd have some difficulty guessing.
However, you really hit it with this one. The sweaters on lambs are inspired. When I read the first post on this topic, I thought you'd lost it. Now I see you're just oh so clever.

emeselle said...

So darling! They are brilliant and the photos made me smile. I don't always love a lot of color, but the Dog in Sheep's Clothing pattern makes me wish I had a dog.

marit said...

This is just the cutest photo ever! That little lamb is just adorable on top of that big ram! Every year I try to take photos of our lambs...and every year I fail-LOL! I have really enjoyed all these photos:-)

Cathy said...

I'm anxiously waiting for my lamb cards, too. I just had to have them, but wondered what I would do with them. Easter cards!! Works for me!

Another blogger that I read also commented on how she never knew what her readers would react to. She'd be blogging about a topic & someone would notice a piece of cake in the picture. Next thing, all the comments are about cake & not the blog topic at all. Go figure.

jackie said...

I love the post cards,I love the sweaters, I am thrilled with it all.Thank you so much for doing this.

Kate G. said...

Kristin, this was the silliest (and cutest) shoot ever. I don't know how you pulled it off on top of everything else you're doing, but I wanted you to know I've had six (count 'em!) emails from friends pointing me to this post.

You worked those lambs, baby! I predict the card sales will be off the charts!

Anonymous said...

Kristen, your lamb and/or dog sweaters would look swell on my cats! I think of my huge orange cat, Punkin, parading the neighborhood in a pink flowered coat. He has a sense of humor so it would probably be OK.
Except that he's a cat....
I wondered how you kept all those sweaters clean, ya know, away from poo?
Thank you so much for giving us so much joy and sharing your days.
Susie
TheAntiquePalette.com

Sara in WI said...

You know, all of your posts are fantastic to me! I may not comment after everyone, but I leave shaking my head in wonder at your patience and creativity and grateful at your willingness to take the time to share your life with us. Thank you!

Andrea said...

Just found your site & I LOVE it. Who wouldn't love lambs in sweaters. Can't wait to see what's next!

Unknown said...

Thanks for the heads up about the Fiber Loft -- I am going to sign up!

Anonymous said...

What I'd love is a postcard of the picture of the little lamb on the ram. Any thoughts about doing some of those?

Anonymous said...

Hi, Kristin.... were you at Webs on Sunday? I thought I saw you but was too shy to check and say hello. It's funny, isn't it.... I'm not too shy on the Internet, just in person!

My grandbabies are loving the quarter caps!

Barbara M.

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