Wednesday, January 6, 2016

2016: One Simple Word

Hello there! I hope that you are having a nice day.

Well, here we are into the New Year and I only now just decided to post about my word for the year. The last time I did this was in 2013. Yikes! Did three years already go by?

In any case, once again I decided to pick a word that I will live by this year. One that shouldn't present a challenge in and of itself, since I pretty much do this on a daily basis anyway. The word is:

LEARN
(to gain or acquire knowledge of, or skill in something
 by study, experience, or being taught)

The challenge was not to decide what I would REALLY like to learn to do, or do better, but to stick to it until I get it down. And we all know how that goes! So I got to thinking about what things I already love to do, and how I could make them better. 

I love cooking, flowers and gardening.
I love creating textile art.
So, how about taking vegetable skins, 
and flowers grown in my garden...


...and learn how to make natural dyes for the textiles
that I use in my art.
This is nothing new for others in the art world,
but it is certainly something new for me.
I bought these books last month,
and will give it a try!...


Then, I started thinking about my blog
and the photos that I take for it,
most often shot at close range,
and decided that I could make THOSE better too.
So I finally gave in to purchasing a macro lens for
my Canon ("real camera") with which I 
will attempt to learn how to take much 
better photos of the things I love for my blog...


The books are really good,
and hopefully will give me a start...


I didn't have much time to play with my lens
during the holidays,
but the day that it arrived
(bought used on eBay and in pristine condition)
I did fire off a few photos of the stuff
on my dining table.
Not great photos,
but fun to see the close-up detail
and the blurry background.
I concede that I have a long way to go!





All of the books shown above were purchased on abebooks.com,
or on Amazon. I usually compare the prices and condition of any given book
between the two sites.
Many times the books are new and a fraction of the cost of what
you would pay in bookstores which never provide very good discounts 
even on older books. 
And I have never been let down on the condition of any used book that I have bought.

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Of course,  Mr. Perch would likely tell you that my word of the year should have been

STOP
(as in stop buying books)

************************************

And yes, I do know that you can buy books to read on your iPad, but where is the fun in that?
Please do come back next year at this time and see how much I have accomplished with my word!!
What are your plans for the new year?


6 comments:

  1. What a great and interesting post Sue! I hope you "learn" a bunch this year! : ) I have been 'saying' I need to improve my camera skills (desperately) --you have encouraged me and gave me a little push! Have a wonderful day~ Karen O

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    1. Thanks, Karen! You're probably like me...not a lot of time for fiddling or learning. I played a little today, but quickly ran out of time, not to mention light, which is always a problem inside the house in the winter. XO Sue

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  2. Wonderful with your new lens Sue, congratulations, I only have my tiny digital camera, and the phone, so I envy you this real camera.
    And all the books oh, and you going to try using nature for dying your materials , I can`t wait to see your results, like you I have not tried much of that kind, only used fruits and tea...
    Sue have you seen they are closing Friends Connect for everyone not being a Google reader!!! I don`t know what you are, but just read it on someone else blog !!!
    Dorthe xx

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    1. Hi Dorthe! I mostly use my phone for photos also. I've had my good camera for about five years and still haven't gotten up the courage to use anything but auto focus. There is a lot to be said for small cameras and cell phones...so much easier to carry around and you always have a phone with you. My phone takes excellent photos so it is hard to break away from that! And we will see what happens with the fabric dyes! Hugs, Sue

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  3. Hi Sue
    Now I can't wait to see how your onion skin dyeing comes out. Many years ago when I used to hand spin and weave I did a lot of outdoor dyeing and absolutely loved it with amazing results. Good luck with this! and also with your wonderful new camera lens. I guess you will have to pass on a few tips for us even though I don't have one of those amazing lenses!
    More good luck!
    Hugs,
    Suzy

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Suzy! We'll see how it goes. There always seems to be some other priority waiting in the wings! Hugs back, Sue

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