A public service announcement re: audio recordings in videos

.
A friend who knows me in person was wondering why it sounds like I'm lisping in my latest video, when in fact, I don't lisp.  Her husband is an audio expert, and he explained it perfectly.  So, to expand the general knowledge in the universe, or at least in the blogosphere, here's the problem and the cure.

Ben says that I was standing too far away from the microphone, which is built into the camera.  He says that high frequency sounds, the "s" sound in my case, is being picked up better than the lower tones, so all you hear is the hissing "s" sound, and that the further you get from the mike, the worse the problem.  He says that this problem is exacerbated when recording outdoors.  Two strikes against me - too far from the mike and outdoor recording.

There you go.  Problem identified and problem solved.  I love it when this happens.  Thanks Ben!  Thanks Karen!

This is great news because I have plans on doing a couple more videos in the coming months.  My kids have a nice recording device, so maybe I can put them on the job as my audio engineers, heh.
.

There IS a Spinning Fairy!

.
And she passed by my house! I'm the luckiest spinner on earth!!!

Take a look at the goodies which she left for me....


A nice big wad of cotton punis...


My girls have had so much fun with the newspaper that it's wrapped in!

A nice big wad of.... *swoon*..... cashmere.....


Two completely beautiful spindles, and three completely beautiful spindle dishes -


- one is a Swarovski cyrstal in a beautiful deep golden color, with a matching salt cellar dish,


and the other spindle has these three lovely greeny bluey browney beads, with a matching dish.


Both of them spin like dervishes - really REALLY fast, but the crystal one just zips like you wouldn't believe.  I love them so much.  The wooden dish was turned by my friend, and actually, I think that I like it the best.

Here is a quick little video to fuel your creative juices -



(That's a little bit of merino on the spindles - I want to get used to them before I spin the cashmere and the cotton.)

Wait, there's more!

Cute, colorful bookmarks to keep my place in my favorite spining books, and a darling little pair of knitting needles IN MY MOST FAVORITE SIZE HOW DID SHE KNOW?


A way too cute cup coaster -


check out these guys, look at their little googley eyes!


Look at the darling little thatched roofs and the stone fences!


She picked up this coaster on a recent trip to Scotland.  I love it.   I want to go there and see these sheep and these houses and these walls.

She also sent a magazine article which talks about a bridge project in my home town.  I really appreciate this, too!

I'm such a very lucky woman to have such a good friend!  Thanks, Susan!!!

Update to Tammy Rizzo's Navajo Ply on the Fly technique.




Finally!

I've finally found the time to make this video.  Let me tell you, it takes so very long to make a 10 minute video!

I hope you enjoy, and I hope this video helps you to enjoy this technique.  It's my favorite way to spin.

A friend pointed out that if you are viewing this on blogger, then you don't have the sidebar. Thanks, Karen! I hadn't thought of that... So, here's the "sidebar" links which I promised in the video. Enjoy!

(Karen also said that she's going to ask her husband, who knows about audio stuff, why I sound like I'm lisping.)

Links of interest -

my first video, showing you how to start the spindle,

EyeDazzler Alpacas

Dazzler's Best - where you can buy some of that yummy alpaca blend

Fiber Beat Podcast and Videos

Navajo Ply on the Fly, Navajo ply on fly, tammy rizzo, navajo spinning, hand spinning, spinning, spindle spinning

Simple Knitting Bag Solutions


Sometimes, it's the simple things which can make life so much... well... simpler.

I love backpacks, but I don't like how everything ends up in a jumble in the bottom of the pack - especially if the backpack contains my knitting, and all of the little doodads which seem to accompany any knitting project. I solved this problem by making my pack a two-storey pack.




I put two cut-down jugs in the bottom of the pack.





The sweater-in-progress sits on top, the notebooks slide between the jugs and the pack side, and the doodads stay in the bottom without getting all tangled up in the sweater. I have outfitted my knocking-around back pack in a similar way, too, with life's little doodads in the bottom (laptop cord, pencils, hair clips and etc, and larger items can sit on top (books, notebooks and etc.) If your zipper goes all the way to the bottom of the pack, then you don't have to unpack the upper storey in order to access the lower storey. It works great.

If you don't have jugs, then maybe you could use a cut-down box.  You might like to devise a divider - it's the thing in the middle which keeps the knitting from falling down into the lower storey and getting all jumbled up with the doodads.

Another kind of bag that I like to use is the humble tote sack. What troubles me about tote sacks is that they don't stand up, and when the sack flops over, then all of my stuff tumbles out, too.


If you put a box into the bottom of the bag, then you eliminate the problem - voila! the bag stands on its own just fine, even when it's empty.


I can put my knitting or spinning project into the box, and any paper work or books can slide in between the box and the wall of the bag.

The bag with the purple handles has a shoe box in the bottom, and the other bag has a hair dryer box in it.


This particular tote sack is way too narrow for a shoebox.  My daughters just bought a new hairdryer and it fits perfectly, ha!  I just love it when my trash is useful.  This bag will be just right for a couple of spindles and a whole bunch of fiber...