On a sunny day

Summer warmth has reached England and so everybody soaks as much of the lovely weather as they can, including me who usually disagrees with high temperatures. I must admit that even I have welcomed such change from cold rainy days. Which is why I have done absolute zilch in terms of my projects and other activities and would find myself in the park jumping from sunny to shady spots and vice versa. That is in my free time of course.

This is why a lot of pictures I have taken over the past week would concern my immediate surroundings of that time. Yes, grass with whatever it hosts...

Practicing what I learned at the two photo-courses of previous two weeks, grass seems an immediate subject for me and rather challenging for others who might think that I am pointing my camera at them. Yes, indeed I was asked if I was taking pictures of a couple in a distance... Oops.

Wanting to dedicate this post to grass photography, more pictures are on my 'Photo' page; a few from outside the park, those that concern higher levels. Enjoy the rest of the weekend and have a great week. Let's hope the weather lasts. Kx

Evening Photo Walk - analysis

In case you wonder if I have lost it completely let me put it straight to you. A few months back, I got an Evening Photo Walk course as a present for my Birthday (not telling you the number though ;-). And on Wednesday I finally managed to spent a few hours with other photo enthusiasts walking from Westminster to Trafalgar Square and learning about our cameras and how to capture successful and interesting pictures at night. Now, I am not sure if I would call the image above a success but I would certainly call it an interesting one, wouldn't you?

First of all, we have this individual walking down Trafalgar Square. I do not know where his thoughts were taking him but certainly, he minded his own business.

That is till I looked behind and realised who or what was following him...




Looking at the right side of this image and keeping to the same imagery as above, I see quite a large group of people. What's more, they seem to walk in some sort of a formation.

This reminds me of 'The Mummy' movies and the reincarnated creatures. This is quite scary when you think that you are at Trafalgar Square, surrounded by history, in the middle of the night. Touch creepy.

Now the scene looks more as if an army of soldiers lead by their captain was on a mission. But what mission I wonder...

Well, do not forget that we are at Trafalgar Square, the place that hosts artworks at The National and The National Portrait Galleries.

What do you know, you might be looking at the next Picasso here. The mission is to get it. ;-)




Jokes aside, all this mess happened after I placed the camera on a tripod, nicely down at a low view point, set it at a slow shutter speed and when I was getting up I took the tripod with me by mistake. Hence, this mad image. But at least we have a story...

Do not forget to check my 'Photo' page to see more from my photo course. There have been some successes, honestly. Have a nice week and see you next time. K-)

Happy Birthday kpDeco

Yes, kpDeco is 1 year old. This calls for a celebration, wouldn't you say? And so, why not help yourself to some layered cake and...

...continue the celebration with creating some big bubbles and admire their perfection and colours? You can even try to touch them, or burst them, but most of all, have fun running around surrounded by this magic and...

...you might like to have a break after all the excitement, a break much needed before taking off on further adventures like...

...next stop - Westminster. A Horse ride or a ride on The Eye, you can hide in a shade of The Abbey and admire the architecture and...

...of course, do not forget to visit the Queen and wave towards the Palace. You never know, she might be watching but...

 ...most of all, enjoy the kiss and the flower - the same way I did on my one-day-walk photo course around Westminster last Saturday as a celebration for kpDeco's first Birthday. K-)

Metamorphosis: Jeans to Jacket

In my previous post, 'Every time I visit the V&A... - part 2', I mentioned the trouble charity shops have to face at this economic climate. Since people keep to their clothes more than before charity shops do not receive such generous donations as they were used to. And this made me think of a project where I would use my older pair of jeans that had slowly started to deteriorate; holes at my knees I just could not mend anymore. As you can see at the image above, the jeans still looked reasonably alright and so before they would fall apart, I decided to apply metamorphosis and give them a new life...

First of all, I unpicked them half way down the thighs creating a gap wide enough to fit my shoulders.

Having been a good start, this made me look as if I was on a lead since the waist gave an impression of a collar. And so I went on exploring further.

I realised that to create shoulders I had to tuck some of the denim under/inside. And this is what you can see closer at the image on the left. As if creating a double collar...

There is still a lot of work to be done with this section but at least I have a shape and an idea...

What is at this image is my return to crochet. The intention is to create a body and attach it to the upper part, the old jeans.

Here I seem to be back on track with my creating. Yet again, I reached for my book on crochet stitches and after downsizing to five possibilities, I chose this one. I wanted something that would embrace the body and make the female feature more visible. Having seen a picture of this stitch, my visualisation helped me decide.

And finally, here is my visualisation completed. As you can see, there is still a lot to cover; more on the crochet part, figuring out the upper part and then joining the two.

I also have to think of the practicality. There are two completely different materials here - denim and wool. How would I wash it when denim needs a proper wash when wool is more for a gentle wash or even handwash?


This is a dilemma that needs to be addressed together with another 'hundred' ones. Hmm, what started as a quick idea is slowly turning into a great puzzle waiting to be untangled. So I will see you next time with the progress on my 'Updates' page. Have a great week. Kx

Update: Saturday, 23 June 2012

Metamorphosis: Jeans to Jacket

Have you thought that I have forgotten about this page? No, no. Of course not. I have just been slightly distracted recently by other tasks and as a result have slowed down with my production, not having enough to update you with regarding 'Metamorphosis: Jeans to Jacket'. Having said that, the image above reveals a certain progress.

The body part has been addressed with one piece of crocheted material. Female features are shaped by extending the pattern as seen here.The crochet stitch creates vertical line, known for its slimming property, that shapes well around the body but I am sure there will need to be some adjustments made once I have progressed further...

You might have noticed that I have cut the trouser legs/sleeves. As a result, I have extra material that I used here to level the back. This leaves me with the most challenging part, the collar.

Since I have tucked some of the material inside, a double collar has been created. Now, the challenge is how to cover it, enhance it, develop it further. For this, I will definitely reach for one of my books...

And so, here we are. Hopefully, see you soon with the next update. Kx

Every time I vist the V&A... - part 2

... I walk away with a book. OK. Not every time and not just 'walk away'. Of course I buy it. However, the truth is that I spend a considerable time browsing through the shop. I get always lost in flipping through the craft books and fairly often simply cannot resist and buy the one that catches my eye. My latest purchase was on pattern when previously I bought a book on DIY - fashion.

V&A shop is not the only place where I like to get lost in. In fact, any bookshop with art&design or craft sections sees my little self indulging there. That is how I came across the book on crochet patterns, the one I have mentioned in a number of my posts, and looking at my 'Design' page you can judge for yourself how I have used it so far.

I feel that now is the time for re-opening the DIY Fashion book. In a number of projects, it demonstrates how to re-use existing garments and turn them into a one-off piece of clothing.

This brings me to a programme I listened to earlier this week. Given the current economic situation, more people keep to their clothes than before and this has an unwelcoming effect on charity shops. Even my flatmate who used to go through a bag a week slowed down with clearing up her wardrobe; to the despair of charity shops.

Any DIY book is full of inspiration and I hope to use this one as my 'muse'. To be honest, I need a break from my 'Leafy-fall' project.

Therefore, just for now, I will open a new idea. Only to have few projects running at the same time - oops. Kx