Blossom

It is no wonder that candles are so popular. These simple light sources create a romantic setting in seconds. However, candles are also used in aromatherapy, to create a pleasant scent, or just to add a decorative element to a room. Candles can even be used in religious ceremonies and weddings.One of the most popular types of candles is the pillar candle. These candles are cylinder shaped and are made with wax. They are usually scented. People use these versatile candles to create a relaxing ambience in the bath, a romantic ambience in the bedroom, and a pleasant atmosphere in the dining room. Pillar candles are also frequently personalized to commemorate important events, such as a child

Basic Telescope DesignsThe job of a telescope is to collect light, not to magnify an image (the eyepiece does that job). The larger the objective (the part that collects the light) whether it be a lens, in refractors, or a mirror, in reflectors, the more light the telescope will collect. The more light you can collect, the more detail you will be able to capture, and also important for astrophotography, the shorter your exposures will need to be to capture this detail.Refractor TelescopesThe type of telescope most people visualize when they hear the word telescope is the ‘Refractor’. This is what Galileo used for his break-thru discoveries. A refractor has an objective lens at the front which passes the light straight through to the back of the tube, focusing this light at an eyepiece or for astrophotography a camera.Advantages:- No central obstruction (see more in the reflecting scopes), giving higher contrast.- Due to the simple design they require little maintenance.- Excellent for planetary and lunar viewing and photography.- Excellent for wide field viewing and astrophotography especially in shorter focal lengths (more on this later).- Because the objective is permanently mounted and aligned there is no need for collimation (again more on this in another article).- Excellent color in apochromatic and ED (Extra Dispersion) designs.Disadvantages:- Costlier per inch of aperture (objective) than reflectors and catadioptric telescopes.- Can become bulky and difficult to manage, especially in larger lens designs.Newtonian TelescopesThis design was invented by Sir Isaac Newton (he of the apple on the head fame). Instead of a lens at the front of the tube this telescope design uses a concave, parabolic mirror to collect light reflecting it back towards the front of the tube to a flat diagonal mirror which reflects the light out the side of the telescope to the eyepiece or camera for astrophotography.Advantages:- Lowest cost per inch of all the telescope designs.- More light gathering power per dollar because of the lower cost design.- Absolutely perfect color rendition.- More compact design compared to a refractor of similar light gathering ability.- Excellent contrast for planetary and lunar astrophotography and viewing in longer focal lengths.- Can get excellent wide-field astrophotos and short exposures in shorter focal lengths.Disadvantages:- Slight loss of contrast due to the central obstruction (the flat secondary mirror) as compared to a refractor.- Requires more maintenance, such as collimation (discussed in another article) which is vital for great results in your astrophotography, although you will learn how to do this quickly with practice.Schmidt-Cassegrain TelescopesThis is a very popular design, with a high tech look. Also known as a CAT (Catadrioptics). They use a combination of lenses and mirrors to collect and focus the light onto the eyepiece or camera. The light enters the telescope through a thin ‘lens’ called a schmidt corrector plate, goes to the back of the scope to a spherical primary mirror which reflects the light back towards the front. Here the light strikes another mirror, the secondary mirror which is mounted on the corrector plate. This secondary mirror then reflects the light back towards the back where it is focused onto a hole in the primary mirror where the light is collected by an eyepiece or your astrophotography camera.Advantages:- Compact and portable.- Low maintenance although once again collimation is required for top performance.- Many, many astrophotography accessories available.- Cheaper per inch of aperture as compared with refractors.- Excellent all-round telescope, good to very good for both visual and astrophography.- Very good for planetary and lunar viewing and astrophotography.- Very good to excellent for DSO (Deep Space Object) astrophotography with a caveat (see the disadvantages).- Very good to excellent optics, both Meade and Celestron are putting out excellent optics on a consistant basis.Disadvantages:- Costlier per inch of aperture as compared with Newtonian telescopes.- Loss of contrast due to the central obstruction which is even larger than that in the Newtonian scopes.- Due to their longer focal lengths the field of view is smaller and longer exposures are required for astrophotography, although a lens known as a focal reducer is available which minimizes or removes this problem. The longer focal length is actually an advantage in planetary and lunar photography.Maksutov-CassegrainThe Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope design is basically the same as the Schmidt-Cassegrain design except it uses a meniscus lens at the front instead of a Schmidt corrector plate. The main advantage to the Mak telescope design is you will get sharper higher contrast planetary and lunar images when compared with the Schmidt design.

Article Source: www.iSnare.com

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What is this thing called cross stitch? Well…in a way, cross stitch is just like embroidery or needlepoint. But that one statement will often bring many handcrafters to the boiling point. Die hards from each type of craft think that their own craft is the best and they just don’t like being compared to the others.So…to simplify things lets say that cross stitch is mainly stitching with planned x’s like this xxx or angles like this ///// or this or lines like this —– with loops and controlled knots. Now you just put the stitches together and you yourself can create some of the most beautiful gifts you have ever given to anyone.Let’s Look at Some BasicsCross-Stitch has become such a popular type of handcraft that you often find the crafters no longer use a kit for their projects, they create their own. But, before you can go out on your own and start creating your own art, you will need to know more about the fabrics, thread, needles and frames. That’s why most Crafters start out with a kit.Also when you buy patterns or kits, sometimes you decide to use different fabrics and threads than what is mentioned in the projects. The following will help you to understand and adapt the patterns and materials for your own needs.Cross-Stitch FabricsWhat is called counted cross-stitch can be stitched on just about anything that will allow you to make consistently even sized stitches. I have even seen people use an iron on pattern and an iron on grid to insure the even stitches they wanted. (Like on T-shirts)Aida ClothAida cloth is the most common of all the cross-stitch fabrics. Look close at the fabric and you will see that the woven threads are grouped and separated by little tiny spaces. This makes a pattern of squares so that even a beginner will be able to see exactly where their cross-stitches need to be placed. Aida cloth comes in 6,8,11,14,16 and 18 count threads but 14 count is the most often used thread count for the beginner. Aida cloth comes in a variety of colors and threads counts and for the beginner they even have (in the white cloth only) a removable grid of pre-basted threads. Now how about that for being helpful?LinenOver all, because of the price, linen is considered to be an excellent fabric to work with by the more experienced cross-stitchers. The threads that they use to weave the linen cause a slightly irregular thickness to work on. And when you buy linen you need to remember that most designs are stitched over two threads so, 28-count linen will work out a 14 stitches per square inch. Linen is made in counts of 14 to 40 count so at 14 you would have 7 stitches per square inch and at 40 you would have 20 stitches per square inch.SweatersSweaters are an excellent background for cross-stitch. Just by basting a grid onto the sweater you will be able to have the even consistent stitches you want. But don’t try cross-stitching on knits without the grid because knit stitches are not square. They are wider than they are tall and your design will appear broader and shorten than the pattern you are working from.BurlapBurlap can be counted and stitched as easily as any other traditional cross-stitch fabric. And if you are working a country style pattern it will give you that little extra something we all look for in the work we do.Evenweave FabricThe recent popularity of cross-stitching has created a need for specialty fabrics. These fabrics are called evenweave fabrics because they are woven from threads of a consistent diameter. Most of the evenweave fabrics are counted by so many threads by the inch and are worked much like the linen fabrics.Needlepoint CanvasQuite often needlepoint canvas is used for cross-stitch, especially on clothing and things that are not suitable alone. In fact waste canvas is designed to unravel when dampened. And the count runs from 6 1/2 to 20 stitches per inch.Hardanger FabricNow hardanger fabric is used for the extra fine cross-stitch. This is the traditional fabric used for the famous Norwegian embroidery of the same name. This weave produces 22 small squares per inch.Threads for Cross-StitchingMost threads used for embroidery can be used for cross-stitching, just separate the threads into ones, twos, threes, fours, etc, etc. The more threads you use the richer the work will look, the less threads the more fragile it will look. The rayon or silk floss will give your work a shine or slick look but sometimes they are more difficult to use as they tend to tangle. Pearl cotton is also a high sheen.Flower Thread and Other Specialty ThreadsFlower thread is 100% cotton with a matte finish and is used as a single thread (same as two ply). Over dyed threads are introduced on the market almost everyday. Most of them give that one of a kind appearance because of their irregularly variegated colors. All of the threads I have mentioned so far are available in this form also. They are great for when you want to change colors without having the need to change threads.Yarn and RibbonWhen working with the large projects you can use yarn, ribbon and even strips of fabric to give your work your own personal touch. The larger the squares the larger ply thread you can use.NeedlesGenerally blunt pointed needles are better for working on most cross-stitch fabrics because they slip through the holes and threads without snagging and splitting the fibers. There is one exception to this rule, when working with waste canvas you will need to use the sharp embroidery type needles. And a lot of companies sell the blunt needles labeled “Cross-stitch” but they are identical the the tapestry needles which have a much larger selection to choose from.The First PatternYour first pattern should be something small and simple, so you would be better off starting out with a small kit. It’s kind of like using training wheels on your first bike… it will give you a little security. Besides it comes with needles, floss, fabric and anything else you need to complete your first project.Good luck and happy stitching.

Article Source: www.iSnare.com

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