On scraps

I recently made yet another attempt to wrangle my knitting area into submission, and came across a few swatches. Given the number of projects I've completed over the years (150, according to Ravelry), we should be drowning in swatches, but I suppose they scatter over time--some ripped out to scavenge the yarn, others fallen behind furniture or intentionally tossed in the trash, and some just gone--vanished like second socks in the dryer and lip balms that I'm certain climb out of my purse and run away.

These few have survived, and I find myself wondering what to do with them. I feel they should be put to some use, or perhaps displayed.

I can't believe I'm getting sentimental about swatches.

Even more so when I look at this photo, which I've edited with Snapseed. A little focal readjustment, a vintage scrub and even swatches can have an antique-y charm.

Photo editing apps probably aren't making professional photographers or graphic designers jump for joy, but I personally appreciate simple, inexpensive programs that allow the common man to get a little creative with photographs. The price of that simplicity is the loss of precise control over editing (which you would retain using Photoshop or GIMP), but for the purposes of blogging about squares of knit fabric, I think it's a fair trade.

Snapseed is my preferred app; of those I've tried, it gives you greatest number of editing and effects options and is the most user friendly. Not bad for $4.99.
Instagram is useful for quick "washes," but gives you far less control, and is marketing itself more as a photo networking site. On the plus side, it's free.
Photoshop Express is free and also provides a number of editing options, but wants you to buy "expansion packs" for various features, and in my experience just isn't as user friendly as Snapseed.
Color Effects is another free app that turns your photos black-and-white and allows you to recolor small sections--fancy! That's pretty much its only feature, though, so you've got to save your photos and take them to another app for any additional editing.

That's just a quick review of some photo editing apps knitters might find useful--do you have an app to recommend?

(Apps are available on the iPad, and possibly some other devices, I didn't check.)

(This post is not an advertisement for the iPad.)


(Though it is pretty cool.)