Interweave Knits Spring 2011 was my first issue. I started work the Monday after Thanksgiving and much of the creative work was already done. The projects were all done, the products featured in New and Notable and the Spotlights had all been selected, and the photo shoot was all wrapped up. What was left for a girl like me to do? Well as it turned out, there was plenty.

First, as you may recall from my last post, I was asked to knit samples for the yarn review. And then it turned out we needed someone to write the yarn review. Then there was the photo shoot for all the still images at the front of the magazine and many rounds of editing all the content in the magazine. Every day there was something new to learn; I wasn't sure how I was going to absorb it all. I had thought it would be months before I felt like a real contributor to the magazine and earned a place on the masthead, but by Christmas break I definitely felt like an integral part of the team.

One of my favorite parts of the job is the photo shoot. My first one, for the non-project items in the Spring 2011 issue, was held at Joe Coca's studio. We'd tell Joe what we were looking for, lay out the products for the shot, and Joe would compose the shot. I was busy trying to learn what I needed to do at a photo shoot so I'm sure many of the finer points went right by me. However, it seemed to me that with a magical blend of precision equipment, artistry and technical skill, Joe brought the images you see in the magazine into being. He made it look simple; a click of the button, and the photo was available for review on the computer. Even still, getting just the right shot takes time. An afternoon flew by before we knew it. As I continue to post to this blog, I'll bring you more observations from the photo shoots, and maybe eventually I'll remember to bring a camera to one and get you some behind the scenes shots, but for now I'll give you a couple more images from the session at Joe's.