ninaclock designs blogs

I can see the end

ninaclock — Mon, 26 May 2008 14:11:32 -0700

The first installment of episode 4 is getting even closer to completion. I don't know the technical names for these things, but in my own little vodcasting vocabulary the status of the next show is this: Rough cuts are done. Semi-smooth cuts are done. Which means that all that remains are Transitions/Special Effects, and Final Smoothing of audio and visual. After all of that comes final watch-through (you know, making sure there are no spelling mistakes, etc), then video compression, then another round of watch-throughs (compression often adds glitches, so I often end up compressing the same file to the same size more than once to eliminate these problems.), then uploads, and posting the show. It seems like a lot now that I'm writing it all down, but I find that getting through the cutting feels like its the most time consuming part. So, I'm excited. And if you watch Knitterati I hope you're excited too, because the end is in sight!

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Two Books

ninaclock — Sun, 18 May 2008 15:35:20 -0700

"Book Fractal: Complete"

Have you noticed that the publication of new knitting books is starting to slow down? I have and I can't say it's made me sad at all. Some of the books published this time last year were almost embarrassing in their pattern content. You could look at some books and see that they were published by people who knew very little about the craft and were simply chasing after the tail end of what has been a profitable half-decade for the industry. So, I'm not sad to see book publication slow down a bit.

Two new knitting books have captured my attention recently and I can't stop thinking or talking about them. I don't own them...yet, but I doubt it will take long for them to find their way to my already full bookshelves.

The first is "Knit So Fine" by Lisa Myers Now, I know that not every knitter enjoys large projects on small needles and I'm not sure I do either, but I love the results. Knitting with dk weight or smaller yarn produced lovely, light fabric that cannot be simulated with thicker yarns. Now, it seems that the knitting industry views knitting with thin yarns as a kind of passing fad and when I opened "Knit So Fine" I did not expect to find such a beautiful, thoughtful, and innovative book. The patterns were attractive, approachable, and excitingly innovative. If you have a chance to flip through this book, make sure you do.

Another book that is worth seeking out is "More Big Girl Knits" by Jill Moreno and Amy Singer I was not overly-impressed by the content of the first Big Girl book, but commended the achievement of actually getting a book of fashion conscious patterns targeted towards heavy women published. In their second book, Moreno and Singer raised the bar for "big girl" hand knit styling. Even skinny women will want to make these patterns! They are exciting and attractive designs. I do have one large complaint with this book: the photos. I love the real-life models, the knits they model fit properly, and the backgrounds are lovely, but these pictures feel cramped and too closely cropped in the book. The photos needed more space. I kept squinting at pictures wishing they had provided another photo or at least not cropped the images so tightly. But regardless of that criticism, this book with worth a look no matter what your size.

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Fun and Fibery

ninaclock — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:00:19 -0700

Architecture in Helsinki - Like It Or Not from helsinkids on Vimeo.

Check out this video (found via Craftzine). Craftzine calls this stop motion animation, but I think it's actually closer to just regular old animation. In any case, it is some fun and fibery...and definitely has a little "Yellow Submarine" vibe going on too.

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Inching Along

ninaclock — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 19:51:11 -0700

"Mr Snail Did it!"

Production for the next episode of Knitterati feels like it's moving at a snail's pace. Last week I spent several delightful hours rough cutting interview footage and anticipated spending most of Sunday continuing the process. Instead, I spent that day struggling with technology and researching solutions. The size of the uncompressed movie files that make up each Knitterati episode are massive. They seem to grow in size with each successive production. When I sat down on Sunday, I found myself looking at a barely-started movie file that was already over 10GB and a mere 3.75GB of free hard drive space. As much as I wanted to dig into more editing, I knew my computer would crash unless I found a way to free up some space in which I could work. Many hours of frustrating research and a trip to MicroCenter later, I found myself the owner of a brand-new external hard drive with a whopping 500GB of free space. Hopefully, my new purchase will jump start my production again. Next slated for rough cutting is a project tutorial. Think of it: a knitting demo on a knitting vodcast!

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Proverbial Cutting Room Floor

ninaclock — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 17:42:32 -0700

"Scissors"

Episode 4 is going to include quite a bit of footage of two interviews I did: one with my mother and one with my grandmother. Since I knew my interviewees very well [grin], I thought all of the aspects of filming and editing would be easier. Wrong! Knowing your subjects intimately makes the whole process harder! Because I know them so well, I was looking more closely for a certain kinds of answers, stories told ways I had heard them before, and an ease in front of the camera. I didn't get what I expected at all. Sometimes I think that was good, I heard some stories I had never heard told before. Sometimes I wish there was a way I could just pop in and tell the *best* details that Mom or Grandma left out of their descriptions. But just like all the other interviews on Knitterati, these women will speak for themselves.

Now that I'm into the thick of rough cutting the footage I find myself faced with another minor frustration: what to cut. I love these women so much and I think everything they told me was so important. But what is going to be most relevant and interesting to someone outside of our family? Will they understand? The hardest cut to delete was the final thing my Mom said on camera "I'm proud of you." In my family you only say things like that when you mean them. I treasure that moment, but it doesn't fit here in Episode 4 and so it now lays on the proverbial cutting room floor.

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More Reasons for Moo

ninaclock — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 15:24:52 -0700

"moo pez: no salt added"

The leader of my weekly knitting group was the first person I knew who had her very own Moo Cards. She uses them as a calling card of sorts for the knitting group. Each one has a picture of knitting on the front and her name contact information for the group on the back. Genius! And so unique.

I keep on promising myself that I'll make up a pack of my own Moo cards and I will someday. I think I'd like to hand them out to knitters who graciously grant me interviews, but have no idea what a Knitterati or a video podcast are. Being able to hand them a cute little card with the website or something seems like it might be a really fun little piece of swag.

Seeing as I'm such a fan of Moo, I follow their blog. (Did you know they make stickers, postcards, and cards too?!) And I was delighted when the blog featured "Lovers 'n Leavers" of Moo Cards. Can you imagine walking through the grocery store and as you go to pick up a can of peas, you notice a cute little card is laid carefully on top of a display. You pick it up and find a sweet message on the back that makes you smile?

I like the idea of making something small and sweet, placing it carefully when I think someone will find it, and enjoying the thought that soon it may brighten stranger's day. It's just one more reason I have got to try the Moo!

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Not Podfading Yet

ninaclock — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 18:25:39 -0700

"podfade.jpg"

Knitterati has not yet fallen victim to Podfade...yet. I've just started work on the next episode of Knitterati. Hang in there! I think the longest part of the wait is finally over.

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Episode 4 Delayed

ninaclock — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 07:45:18 -0800

"Bangkok traffic jam"

The release of Episode 4 of Knitterati will be delayed. For the past couple of weeks I have been consumed by a family crisis that has left me no time to work on the next show. Knitterati is very important to me and I am very frustrated that these personal circumstances have resulted in disappointing you, the Knitterati audience. Please be patient, there is another episode coming. And please pray for me and my family.

~Nina

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Awesome

ninaclock — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 20:17:48 -0800

"Caps-Lock is FULL OF AWESOME!!1!"

I really do know this already, but I was struck again by it tonight. Knitterati viewers are simply awesome! They're writing reviews on itunes, joining the Ravelry forums, sending me emails, and just generally being the kindest most wonderful audience in the world. And I am extremely grateful.

When I try to describe Knitterati to someone, I often end up saying something like "It's kind of like bring your local knitting group to internet TV." And that has always been my goal. But the conversation feels all too one-sided to me. You watch and listen and hopefully get some knitting done and then that's it. Knitterati should be the beginning of the conversation, and in the future I will be working to find ways to build online companion community to Knitterati so that the conversation really doesn't end. If you've got ideas about how to do this, please drop me a line (ninaclock [at] ninaclock [dot] com). I'd love to hear your thoughts.

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Spotted

ninaclock — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 14:25:45 -0800

"blue spots"

Knitterati has been spotted again! This time we got a mention on crafts.lovetoknow.com in an article about knitting video podcasts.

It's exciting to see the Knitterati community growing. Thank you to everyone who has mentioned the show on their blog, in a forum, or mentioned it to a knitting friend. It is all a great encouragement.

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