Yeah! And oh boy....I could be in trouble....

I'm a mixed bag of emotions over here. On one hand I'm doing little happy dance over this news, but I'm also a little concerned for how close this is going to be to me: West Seattle is getting a fabric store. And not just any giant chain fabric store, this is going to be a little cute, locally owned one with the promise of great quality and unique fabric and sewing supplies.

Between this, the two knitting stores in my hood and the fact that we're getting a Trader Joe's soon, I may never leave West Seattle. Except to go to work which is pretty much funding my craft addiction. Oh, that and to go to my knitting group.

Sigh....how I love my 'hood!

Busted!

Every once in a while, I've discovered something enjoys digging in my flower pots. No problems in my garden, just my pots.

I've often wondered which woodland critter does this. We live near a wooded area but over the past year, I've only seen a squirrel less than a handful of times, spotted three large raccoons in my front yard once (in broad daylight mind you) and on one occasion a fox was trotting down our alley like it was his every day strolling route.

But this morning, I finally saw him. Caught him with his hand in the cookie jar so to say.

I watch him hop from not one, but two pots before making his way boldly up onto my porch to inspect my precious pumpkins and then into my herb pot.

Exhibit A

After snapping a few photos for evidence, I knocked loudly on the window and tried to shoo him away. But he only looked up at me, his plump little body sitting squarely in the middle of my basil, and game me a look that I swear said:

"Excuse me lady, but you're disrupting my breakfast."

And with that he was off.

Exhibit B

I have a feeling he'll be back tomorrow though.

 Any ideas how to keep these pesky perps out of my pots?

A Good Shot

The other day I took a photography class at the Fiber Gallery. Franklin Habit was in town signing books and he offered a photography class one night. If you don't know who Franklin Habit is, he's a great person to learn some photography tricks of the trade. Not only is a great cartoonist and photographer in his own right, but he's also a knitter. And he's pretty darn nice and funny. So it makes taking a class from him rather entertaining.

The first part of the class was about photography basics: lighting, the colors of light, different angles, depth of field and shutter speed.

The second part was all about experiment. He wanted us to try different settings on our camera now that we had learned about light, shutter speed, etc. He had brought along the makings for a light box, different backdrops etc. We were encouraged to walk around the shop and take pictures trying to capture the texture, color, etc.



Here's Ariel setting up her lovely socks in the light box.




Here's a few examples of different shots I took throughout the Fiber Gallery.

This is my Snapdragon Tam that I've been working oh so slowly on.

And this is Franklin Habit. As Jessica said, when she picked him up, she realized he had assimilated into Seattle just fine. Sporting his combat boots, a new hat and his new utilikilt he had bought at what he referred to as "the mothership" (meaning the Utilikilt store) he was clearly enjoying our city. He probably had a latte as well.

Franklin will be teaching at Madrona in February. If you get the chance, sign up for his photography class. It will be one of the highlights of your weekend. Trust me on this one.

Garden Gems

These little guys were the last things I pulled out of the garden this season. I've never grown pumkins before so I didn't know what to expect. The starts I bought were these little pathetic looking things for only $1. I had my doubts from the beginning. While they're not Jack-O-Lantern size, I think they're perfect and a lovely way to start the fall season at our house.