Stressed...

It's 2:30 in the morning. I'm incredibly stressed and can't sleep.

I feel like I'm a terrible artist.

I end up comparing my work with other photographers all the time and keep coming up short.

My town is too small, and circles keep overlapping and I'm not incredibly okay with it sometimes.

After I get frustrated with the above, I want to smack myself because I feel like I'm acting like a 12 year old middle school girl.

I'm finding myself angry and frustrated with people a lot, and I've been cutting off some ends recently. Then I feel like I'm being judgmental and negative and that I just need to get over it and be nice again. Then I have the middle school girl situation all over again.

It's so expensive to run a business legally (location permits, liability insurance, etc.) and I'm getting down hearted trying to figure out how to make those expenses get paid for.

Truthfully, in my circles right now, I feel like the sloppy seconds.

Episode 12 - Frog Pond Birthdays

In this episode, I have frogged and reknit several projects, celebrated my 30th birthday, and given advice on purchasing a new camera.

• Knitting Butterflies Ravelry Group
• Instagram: butterflyem4
• Ravelry Page: EmilyStraw

Clicking Away:

- I am reworking my 20% Cooler socks using the Jeck Pattern instead of the Collywobbles pattern. I had this pattern recommended to me by Lynn at the Loopy Ewe, along with Chiagoo needles. I have started knitting at the gym like Sarah from In a Sknit.

-I'm currently working very hard on my Anne's Sweater by Joanna Johnson in Green Gables Knits, using Brown Sheep Company's Lanaloft Sport. I tried adding back darts a la Amy Herzog's class Knit to Flatter, then decided it was too small. I frogged back to where the decreases begin and started over.

- I'm also working on my Mermaid Song shawl by Susanna IC in the Unofficial Harry Potter Knits, though I restarted it in Knit Picks Shadow and I have decided I love knitting lace.

Countdown to 30

- I celebrated my 30th birthday with friends at a Paint and Sip place in my hometown, it was a blast! Please share your advice and stories from transitioning into your 30's, I have lots of listeners with great experiences I would love to hear all about.

I Dream of Knitting

I have made two ponies by the Nerdy Knitter, if time and practicality were not an issue I would totally crochet ALL of her designs. She is an amazing designer!

Photographing Your Knits

-Tips for this week: What ever camera you have, learn how to use it well.

I love classes from:

Improve Photography website and podcast

Creative Live

Photo Biz X-Posed podcast

What I use:

Nikon D5200 24.1 MP CMOS Digital SLR with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-S DX VR NIKKOR Zoom Lens (Black) (refurbished, purchased at B&H.com)

Adobe Creative Cloud for editing (Photoshop and Lightroom)

Nikon 50mm f/1.8G AF-S NIKKOR FX Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

I used to use a Nikon D60

-I share my philosophy on investing in high ticket items, specifically about purchasing a new camera. The concepts can easily be applied to any high ticket item though, such as spinning wheels, sewing machines, and even knitting needles. Instead of spending an entire budget on the most expensive piece of equipment you can afford, go one step down and use the rest of the budget on classes to learn to use your equipment properly.

You can find used and refurbished camera equipment from:

KEH.com

B&Hphoto.com

Adorama.com

Craftsy Flash Sale

I wanted to let all my readers know that Craftsy is having one of the biggest sales of the year right now. Here is some info for you:

Save Up to 75% on Yarn & 65% on Fabric! Don't miss out on Craftsy's Gone in a Flash Sale! Get up to 65% off fabric and 75% off yarn now. Limited supply, shop before it disappears! Hurry, offer expires Friday, March 28th at 11:59pm MT 2014. **This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links If you see something you want from Craftsy, consider purchasing it through the links above. This helps support the podcast monetarily which pays for great things for YOU like giveaways! Have a blessed weekend!

Episode 11 - Knitting Frenzy

In this episode I have MANY projects going and have a hard time paying attention!

• Knitting Butterflies Ravelry Group
• Instagram: butterflyem4
• Ravelry Page: EmilyStraw

Thank you for the iTunes reviews!

Clicking Away

• 20% Cooler Socks - Rainbow Dash Yarn from Cuppy Cakes Yarnz in Collywobbles pattern by Fibertowne Designs
• Knitted Patchwork Blanket by Martine Ellis
• Sheep Wagon Shawl by Joanna Johnson is going well, though I had a few hiccups!  (PS - I did call Knitpicks customer service, they were AWESOME and I have new needles on the way! Hooray!)

• Mermaid Song Shawl by Susanna IC in the Unofficial Harry Potter Knits, knit in Cascade Alpaca Lace

• Vanilla Socks in Patons Kroy 4 Ply in Cascade colorway (not Oceana). I got the idea of gym knitting from Sarah from In A Sknit

Events

• I will be at the Estes Park Wool Market on June 7th (event runs from June 5-8)

Countdown to 30

 I am determined not to get depressed about my birthday and have already booked a night with my friends at a paint and sip place. 

Photo courtesy of Studio Vino Paint and Sip

Photographing Your Knits

Today we are going to play a game of pretend. Here are the tips I am going to use when photographing you in your beautiful sweater:

• I am going to create a visual frame with the nature background, like we talked about last week.
• I am going to place you at least six feet in front of the background we are using, for example, a gorgeous blooming lilac bush.
• I also recommend using a low F-stop/aperture (f 4.0-6.0) or the portrait mode on camera to help the camera focus on you and your sweater and blur the background
• I also will double check to make sure there aren't any hard shadows from tree branches coming across your face or garment

Episode 10 - My Sister Stitches

This episode I have my very first guest, my sister Jenilee! She is a cross stitcher with lots of interesting stories to share with you. Enjoy!

• Knitting Butterflies Ravelry Group
• Instagram: butterflyem4
• Ravelry Page: EmilyStraw

Where to find Jenilee: justforfunjen.blogspot.com

(Photo courtesy of Just For Fun Jen)

Jenilee just finished her Beauty and the Beast cross stitch by MCG Textiles based on a painting by Thomas Kinkade.

She did a couple things differently on her piece, such as adding the sparkly thread to Belle's dress and changing the way the rose was stitched.

(Photo courtesy of Just For Fun Jen)

She mentions the product Thread Heaven to help with cross stitching with sparkly thread to keep it from getting tangled. She also mentions Mary Corbett's blog, a great resource for tutorials in embroidery.



She is also excited to do her other 3 cross stitches by the same painter, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Little Mermaid.





I'm working on my 20% Cooler Socks (Collywobbles pattern) in the Rainbow Dash colorway by Cuppy Cake Yarnz. I want to do the same pattern in my Blueberry Butterfly yarn by Oh Loops. I decided to do mine toe up and use the OMG heel.

Jenilee is working on the Once Upon A Time There Was a Princess cross stitch by Bucilla.

I'm working on the Sheep Wagon Shawl by Joanna Johnson in yarn from Aniroonz.

Jenilee is working on a Drawn Threadwork Sampler based on the book Beginner's Guide to Drawn Thread Embroidery (Beginner's Guide to Needlecraft).

Photo courtesy of Just For Fun Jen

We both want to make the Harry Potter sampler by Clouds Factory. I want to make the small one and my ambitious and more nerdy sister wants to make the big one (not been released yet.)

Photo courtesy of Clouds Factory

Jenilee mentions the Hogwarts Crest cross stitch she is also working on.

Photo courtesy of Just For Fun Jen

This week's photo tip is on photographing teeny tiny stitches (like cross stitch or lace) using the macro mode. I also mention the Prairie Girls podcast, LOVE THEM!

Episode 9 - Come See Sheep!

In this episode  get a little over excited about some things, ummmmm.....

• Knitting Butterflies Ravelry Group
• Instagram: butterflyem4
• Ravelry Page: EmilyStraw

Clicking Away:

• I finished my Hermione's Everyday Socks in Loopy Legends Cheryl's Michigan Sunrise. #nerdalong
• I began the Knitted Patchwork Recipe blanket with my leftover sock yarns
• Brown Sheep Company Wildfoote yarn in Circus from Girl on Fire

• CreativeLive classes are my obsession right now, inspired me to start a newborn wrap for my photography business in Patons Divine
• I ordered Cuppy Cake Yarnz in Rainbow Dash, inspired by Jen from the Commuter Knitter podcast. Check out the Bronies documentary on Netflix.

• I started swatching for Anne's Sweater in Brown Sheep Company Lanaloft Sport yarn in Sandstone Cove

Events:

• I am headed to the Estes Park Wool Market on June 5-8
• Check out the Free Online Know Your Wool Class class on Craftsy, and see a field trip to the Wool Market!

Countdown to 30:

• My big kids are on holiday without me. I'm very grateful to have the time away, but I will be very grateful to have them back. I realize now how much my life has changed over the past decade adding one kid at a time.

Photographing Your Knits:

• This episode I talk about containing and framing your knits, both for works in progress and finished objects. 

In this photo, I contained all the hats in to my famous bowl before photographing. Apparently I deleted the original photo of them all on the floor.

Still learning, but notice here the gutter is not going through my head, nor is the tree on the left. The eye can rest on the sweater (though I needed a different pose, oh well.)

Rebranding

I took several classes recently on Creative Live (seriously, if you haven't checked out this site yet, please do!) My latest favorite was Pricing and Sales with Julia Keeler. Julia is a newborn photographer in a small town near Portland, and I was blown away by every second of this class.She taught not only taught about pricing, she talked about the total customer experience that makes you worth a higher price tag. She brought emotions in to her sessions and sales, all while keeping it in a positive light. If I can be half the photographer she is someday, I will feel very blessed indeed.

I have written down several baby steps I would like to take in revamping my own business. The first is working on rebranding. One key point she talked about is that you need to make your brand reflect you, instead of trying to make it what your clients might "want." I learned how my clients want me, and the more I capture what I am passionate about and I love, the more my brand will be built.

I started with a logo search on Etsy and ended up finding several excellent choices in marketing sets. I narrowed it down to a few choices, and while I would have much preferred to have an exclusive marketing set, the budget only allowed for an inexpensive revamp. As long as no one else in my area uses the same logo, I think I will be just fine. In truth, I LOVE THIS.

I chose a color scheme that can be neutral for boys or girls as I have decided to mostly focus on babies, children, and families, as well as still teaching knitters how to photograph their knits on the podcast. I still plan on photographing seniors occasionally, but since my own photography got started by me capturing moments of my kiddos, I thought it would be great to really hone in on this particular passion in my brand.

I will be working on my website extensively in the near future to make it match the brand, so stay tuned for updates! Blessings!

What do you think of the new brand? Have you ever had that ah-ha moment for your business?