See? I finished Section B of my Maplewing shawl last night. (And no, that shade of green is NOT accurate. One of these days I’ll try taking a picture of it in daylight and see if it’s any closer.)

I know, it just looks like a big blob, as lace shawls tend to do while being knit. On the plus side, since the needle is at the top, I can spread the bottom out to get an idea of what the lace really looks like … or, well, I can try. I’m not fooling myself, though. I know it’s only going to look like it should once it’s done and blocking. But at least progress is being made.

I’m very excited that, starting with section C, the rows get smaller with every one knit–that hasn’t been the case so far. The idea of being able to knit more than two rows a night is making me giddy.

So, since I AM going to be getting rid of bunches of magazines, knitting books, and cookbooks (not to mention all sorts of other books), one of the things I’ve been worrying about has been that most of them have at least ONE article/pattern/recipe that I’d like to hang on to. But, I don’t have a scanner at home, and judging by the one I have at work (and the Adobe scanning/pdf interface), scanning anything more than a page or two is a laborious process. but, still … it would be paperless, right?

So, I bought a new scanner today. Wanna see?

Yep. I’m tricky like that. That’s an 11″x14″ sheet of glare-resistant glass from the local framing shop. It cost me $10, and laid on top of a book or magazine, it keeps it flat and cuts down on glare. Then all I need to do is snap a picture–SO much faster than scanning it! And as long as the camera’s resolution is high enough, the text is definitely clear enough to read. If I had real, photographer’s lighting, I’d have it made.

But see what I get? Here’s the glossy cover of the latest Spin-Off magazine–the only glare is a little reflection from my window in the top left corner. It’s not perfect–since the magazine was lying flat in front of me, it’s got that perspective thing going on–the top is narrower than the bottom in the photo, but this was just a test of the system, and I’m encouraged.

I need to play with this idea a bit to figure out the best configuration. Use a tripod for the camera? Maybe with my handy-dandy remote to take the pictures? Prop the magazines/books on something so they’re straight in front of the camera lens, rather than lying flat? Can two pages be photographed together, or should I focus on just one at a time? What IS the best (available) lighting? Ideally, I’d have two, neutral lights on each side, but will have to make due with what I’ve got.

Encouraging, though, huh? And I can made a pdf from the photos in Adobe (though the test print of one on the black-and-white printer was less than ideal, since the background of the pages in the picture printed as gray). But, again, I’m fine-tuning, but you’ve got to admire the do-it-yourself-scanner, right?

I’m really tired tonight. I had to actually WORK today. (grin) The office internet was down almost all day, so I couldn’t amuse myself by checking in on my email or quick looks at Twitter or Ravelry. I hadn’t realized how much I actually use that as a way of taking a break or relaxing. I even took a shorter lunch because I had to leave a little early, and so  … well, tired! Of course that was even before my extra errands, like feeding the car, picking up my “scanner,” and getting my haircut.

Because, yes, my hair had a busy day, too. This was my first haircut since January and then colored it after supper. I think it’s in shock. My checkbook is, too. I don’t know about your salon, but the one I go to (after trying a multitude of hair-stylists before finding one I liked) prices their cuts according to the “level” of the stylist’s skill. Well, the woman I go to has been promoted since the last time I was there, so my cut cost $20 more than it did in January. (Sigh)

On the plus side, I found out that she and Chappy share the same birthday. And, interestingly, she and her three-years-younger sister have the same birthday, too! July 7th is a GOOD day for birthdays.

Okay, some links for you:

I thought this post at the QC Report was hilarious in a “God, what a bad date” kind of way. How can you not love a post that includes the line, “I’d love to go out with you again. You’re exactly the kind of woman my analyst has been hoping I’d meet.”

Much as the carving apart of books grieves me, you’ve got to be impressed when it’s done with as much artistry as these. Beautiful!

Did you know you can get a chance to win a Macbook Pro … just by Twittering about it?

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Scanning // 5 Comments »