A new year calls for a new look

New year, new look! Ha! So original right?! New year, new creativity! But honestly, I didn't do this on purpose. I was bored the other day and thought it was time for a change. I just happened to make that change around the New Year.

I've wanted a clean, semi-professional look to this blog for awhile. For the longest time I was convinced this wasn't possible with Blogger. I even went so far as to moving all my posts to Wordpress. I fiddled around with it for awhile, decided it was too much of a hassle and went to Google to find some alternatives to make Blogger do what I wanted. After some Googling I found New Blogger Themes and browsed through their many themes and finally found one that I liked. Then with a few minor adjustments I have a layout I'm really, really happy with. It is worth noting that to make even the most minor adjustments you'll need some knowledge in CSS and HTML.

Of course, what's a new year without a few resolutions, right? So, here ya go:

I started this blog with the intent to track both my knitting and sewing progress. And while I have been pretty good about posting my finished knitting projects, I've been less consistent with posting my finished sewing projects, which are adding up. And I'd love to show them off.

© Cheri Engel Chapman

The reason for that is, my sewn garments are a bit harder to photograph on my own than the hats and things I've been knitting. I can't hold the camera out away from myself to show off a dress or a pair of pants like I could with the cabled hat above. My main dilemma is that I don't have anywhere in the house to take quality photos. Yes, I've been doing my research and I know it's best to take photos outside, but when it's winter six months out of the year, that's not always an option. The thing that's really frustrating is that we have a lot of pretty walls in our house that would be fun to use as backdrops. But, the problem is, they're either in parts of the house where there is no natural light or they have large pieces of furniture in front of them. But when the weather warms up I already have a few spots picked out in the yard to test out.

You see? Some of those walls are really pretty and would work great to contrast some of the clothes I've made. After I took these test pictures, I've realized that my main hurdle is the big, heavy furniture in front of the walls. It's nor very practical for me to move a table or a couch every time I want to take an outfit picture. But, maybe there are spots, like in front of the purple wall, where I can just move some things around to permanent new homes. Then all I would have to do is figure out what time of day would be best to take photos so that the light isn't creating those harsh shadows. I don't know, these are just some things I need to think about more. But I hope to figure it out so I can share all my sewing achievements.

As always, I'll be documenting these things on Instagram and Twitter, so you should follow me there for any fun updates.

This Gal's 2013 Photos

Remember that time I started a 365 days of photos project and abandoned it after a little over a month? Me either, I guess we can't all be as awesomely dedicated as my mom, who is now onto her second 365 day photo project. But just because I gave up on taking and posting a photo each day doesn't mean I didn't take plenty of photos all year.

I learned a lot after sifting through all of my photos. The first one being that the photos I thought I'd hated after looking at them on the tiny little screen on the camera look so much better on the computer. Also it seems I really like taking photos of myself.

What are my plans for the blog this year? Well, there are two main things really. I plan on posting something once a week, something I've been trying to do but haven't been succeeding at. And the other thing is finding a place in this damn house to take photos of myself so I can finally post all of those posts I've written but haven't gotten up yet because I lack adequate photos.

Our Wisconsin Dells Trip

Our trip to Wisconsin Dells is my favorite type of trip. It was so laid back and a whatever happens happens sort of a thing. That's the way vacations should be, relaxing.

Don't get me wrong, we did our fair share of walking and were pretty much exhausted at the end of each day. Thank goodness we brought movies with so we could just sit back and relax. 

On the day of the trip I got it into my head that it'd be fun if we did a photo challenge in the Dells. So, I spent most of the drive there making a list of fun things to take pictures of. And here is what I came up with:

o Cheese
o Water Park
o Ups and Downs
o A piece of History
o A good brew
o Serenity
o A beautiful sight
o Comic Relief
o The Culture
o Body of Water
o Streets Ahead
o Good Eats
o Work of Art

o Paul Bunyan

Here's a downloadable PDF version to print off. And the pictures above are the products of our imaginations taken by my mom.

All in all the trip was pretty awesomely relaxing and I can't wait for it to come around again next year. Maybe I'll even write up a different photo challenge.

Day 32 - 36: Curves

I lost all inspiration for this project for a few days. So, I went over to 365project.org to get ideas and prompts. These are my answers to the prompt, 'Curves.'

Days 030 and 031

Days 028 and 029

Day 027: Avocado Tree

Last night, I decided it would be fun to grow an avocado tree so we could have our own fresh avocados. So, I went to the internet and found out how to go about doing just that. I quickly found out it could take anywhere from 2 to 25 years for the tree to bear fruit. That initially put me off, I was NOT happy about waiting that long for a couple of avocados. But then I remembered this quote I read, "Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway." Okay, so maybe growing an avocado tree wasn't necessarily one of my biggest dreams, but the quote still applies.

Day 025: Smoothie

Who knew eating healthy could be so tasty? Not this gal. Today, I tried a Raspberry Banana smoothie and it was so good. Now, I'm on the prowl for a protein coffee smoothie for those mornings I'm too lazy to make a real breakfast.

Day 025: Full Moon

Day 024: Bikini

I've come to really enjoy practicing depth of field with figure suits and bikinis. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I got used to using my sister's camera taking photos of these.

Day 023: Duckies

Day 022: Yarn Poopies

I learned how to make yarn pom-poms this week, and haven't been able to stop myself since. Yes, I've dubbed the little bits of left over yarn 'yarn poopies.' What? Poop jokes have become annoyingly funny to me lately.

Day 021: Best in the World

Either you already know, or you'll soon find out that I'm a huge wrestling fan. I've been dying to make a wrestling related knitted piece since I learned how to knit. So, I've set out to make a hat that sort of resembles CM Punk's ring attire. Details to come shortly.

Day 020: More Flowers

Day 019: Lifeline

Days 015-018: Playing Catch-up

After a few days of slacking off, I'm back with my project 365. Since we got to go out to Como Zoo's conservatory and got a few pretty shots... Plus cookies!

Day 014: Blue

Day 013: Boots to Heels

Today I decided I wanted to see what it was like to be a Figure/Bikini competitor in training. They have to wear 5-inch high heeled shoes for their competition. So naturally, I decided to put a pair on and walk around in them all day. I might even make it a week long challenge.

Day 012: Bridge Over Not-So-Troubled Water

Day 011: Completed First Draft

I finished a very, very rough first draft of a story/novel/whatever. Now onto fleshing the whole thing out. It should only take me the next year or two.