Monday, August 10, 2020

Mystery Project Reveal

You know the project that I've been working on? The one that I didn't want to talk about, but I managed to write three blog posts about? (The posts: The New Toy, The Tangle, and Frogger.) 

Guess what I finished this week? 

Before I get into the pictures, I should explain the why. I bought a light box a year or so ago. It helps with my pictures. 

But I was having one small, tiny, minuscule problem with it (aside from avoiding using it due to how long it takes to set up). And you can kind of see it in the above photo. I didn't have a good background for my photos. 

It came with a long piece of plastic, but that doesn't cover the sides of the box. If I aim my camera straight in, it works fine. However, I usually like to change angles, and it's easier to do that from my end rather than repositioning what I'm photographing all the time. 

So, I'd been using a piece of fabric to cover the sides, but it was awkward to use. Recently, I bought white cardboard, but that didn't work much better. I thought about pulling out my sewing machine and making something up, but my sewing skills aren't all that great, and I have a tendency to put things like that off. 

Then it occurred to me: why don't I try to knit a backdrop? 

It took me way less time than I expected. 

As you can see, I didn't bother to set the whole light box up for this photo shoot. I think it's easier to see just with the light box frame, anyway. 

Yes, it's a bit smaller than the frame, but that was by design. It'll stretch a bit. I used stockinette stitch for the plainest background, and that's also why I used white. 

Alas, the seams are kind of visible. But still, this is better than what I was using before. 

I even included tabs to hold the thing onto the frame. . .

How well it will work will be determined the next time I need to have a photo shoot. It solved the problems I was having before, but we all know that new problems can crop up with the new solution. 

But I'm happy with it. 

And it was completely a stash project. Those buttons? Yup. According to the packaging, they were 15 cents. The yarn had been purchased for a sweater I was making myself that went horribly wrong, hence the game of yarn chicken

Obviously, I won the yarn chicken. . .

Yeah, I cut it kind of close. But it was a great project to use up that yarn that had been sitting in my stash for years. 

21 comments:

  1. Brilliant! That should be a perfect solution. I've seen people use those and shoot so you can see the sides. I'm always wondering what they are thinking - dude, you're doing it wrong lol.

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  2. I love that you knitted a background. It's really perfect for your projects.

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  3. Knitting a backdrop! Of course! I swear, this is like "When you have a hammer, every problem you see is a nail." Except with knitting needles and yarn. And look how well it turns out!

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  4. Looked great and very creative on your part!

    Betty

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  5. Brilliant, creative and it used up stash yarn. A win-win-win!

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    1. I didn't want to commit to a yarn purchase if it wasn't going to work.

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  6. Of course you would make your own - perfect!

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  7. What a fantastic idea! You quite literally created a solution. Have a wonderful week.

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  8. Hi Liz - well done ... a very effective change-up for your chicken-yarn ... and yes - it looks like it works really well - and the main thing is you're happy ... stay safe - Hilary

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  9. That's brilliant! I hope it works out well as I expect. :)

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    1. I promise to post pictures, whenever I happen to get to that.

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  10. Very clever! And it makes so much more sense to have a backdrop that fits with your "brand" than a piece of cardboard or fabric. Can't wait to see how it looks when it is in action.

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  11. Excellent solution and can't wait to see future pics

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    1. We'll see when/if there's something else for me to photograph.

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