Pieceful Creations

Sneak Peak

Some of you commented on my recent "head long dash" into shawl designing.  Well so far it's going well. I wanted to show you a picture of what the shawl should look like when done. (Note: Half the the shawl that is, while this can be knitted bottom up, as the picture shows, it's really being knitted top down, so each side of the shawl will be a repeat image)

Here is a photo of the design on my computer screen.

You'll probably have to click on it to really view more of the details.

It might be to busy of a shawl, and I'm not really sure what the edging is going to look like when it's done (aka how will it block out) but it's my first try and it's been and will be a learning experience.

In weather news, after almost all the snow had melted from our lawn, it snowed again last night.

Pictures Return!

Dear You,

I haven't been blogging much lately. I've been sort of on a "strike"  You see, I've had a digital camera for about 10 years.  I finally fell out of love with it.

It is a Sony Digital Mavica. It weighs 22 ounces, and uses 3.5 disks (that's 1.44 megabytes)  to take pictures. I can get about 5 pictures each disk.  It's heavy, it takes forever to save pictures, and I have to carry around 30 disks if I ever go to places like the zoo, or parties etc.

But I really liked the pictures it has taken. All the lovely shawl pictures on this blog have been done with it.  It takes the best close up pictures, and I love it for that.

What was really starting to get to me was the weight. Lugging it around just wasn't any fun.
So I went on a picture strike. It's been slowly evolving, but the past few years have been pretty picture scarce.  Sorry Kids, you'll just have to remember Christmas and Birthdays.

So I got myself a new camera!!!

I got a Canon PowerShot SD600.  It weighs 5 ounces, and can take up to 1gig of pictures (that's 1024 megabytes) I went from 5 photos per shot, and a a 30 second saving time, to over 800 plus pictures with continuous shot. No more missed birthday candle wishes, or secret smiles. I'm in love.

Plus it can do some pretty nifty things. It has a snow feature, a kid and pet feature, fireworks, indoor, outdoor, nighttime, takes movies with sound etc etc...

It can do alot of stuff.  Like this. Right in the camera. (I am still learning the sensitivity of the camera so some of my shots are a bit out of focus.)

Do you see? It took out the 'neon green' and turned everything else monochrome. Can you just imagine the neat pictures I might be able to get with my Red heads and other fun stuff?  (When they stand still I'll even try it lol)

Speaking of Kids:

Think this picture had the flash on and it was up and over my head, so not to bad. My old camera couldn't have the flash ever used. It never worked. You couldn't see the pictures, so I got pretty good at editing when needed.   So those of you who been wanting pictures of my kids. There you go!

Neat huh. I like it. It's not a $1400 dollar camera but it works for me!

Now let's talk weather.
Utah and Idaho are known for crazy weather patterns. I'm sure we aren't the only ones, but it truly can be snowing one moment and a rainbow in the sky and hot enough to wear shorts the next.  At least these past few days have been back to normal.. We've had a relatively calm winter, but we went to sleep and woke up and had snow a few days ago.

These pictures are taken out of my front window, so the camera is up against glass. Thus the glare on the first picture and other minor things on the others.  (Me, go outside to take a picture.... are you joking?)

Feb 17th: (Cool, but not to cold. Not a bad day)

Feb 19th: (Wake up, get newspaper and go.. what the heck?! That's about 5 inches)

Feb 20th: (Today - Bright Sunny, but still cold)

As always, photos can be clicked on to see bigger (but not super huge) images.

So maybe I'll blog more, now that I can take pictures.  =) 

I've been knitting away on my Shawl Design. I'm on row 73. I'd take a picture but there really isn't much progress, maybe when I get around row 125 I'll stretch it out and see what it looks like for the camera.

Hugs
Tina

Designing

This Just In:

Ladydove, of Logan, was last seen with a empty look in her eyes, reams of 14 x 8.5 paper, graph paper, and pencil smudges on her face. It was said she was leafing through a knitting book.  If you find her, tell her to go home, and go to bed.

She was heard mumbling, "I can design a shawl. I know I can! I'll make it work."

Please be advised, she's probably not armed, and not dangerous, just lost in a myriad of "o's and slashes"  Take pity on her and send her lots of chocolate (and stitch markers)

How Not to Knit

This Blog post either to show:

How not to knit a  Baby Blanket.
Or
How to knit a swatch.

Which is it?





I'm about to give up:

Am I a knitter?:  I like to think I am.
Am I pregnant?: Yep.
Should I be knitting for my upcoming baby?: Yes????

I feel guilty.  I feel like I am suppose to be knitting for Baby M.  I'm a knitter. Knitters knit things. Knitters are especially suppose to knit baby things. Right? So why can't I?  I've looked all over the net for patterns.  None really speak to me. They either look really fugly to me (I wouldn't wear it why would I make my baby wear it) weird colors, way to bulky,  or just way to much time spent on something that will be spit up on or grown out of in a week.  I'm at a loss and lost in a deep mire pit of self-imposed mommy knitting guilt.

So I tried to knit a baby blanket. That's a good place to start, I was led to believe. I had sock yarn, I found a pattern, I knitted. (even changed the middle a bit with p2togtbl to get perfect center decreases)

And I got what you see above. Don't look to long, you'll go blind. (although I must admit the cute butterfly pins are darling...)

Icky. It's tiny, it's not square (no matter how hard I tug it into submission), I don't mind the colors though, and I do have enough yarn left over for a hat.  But what should I do with my baby blanket turned huge swatch? Frog it? Start over? Give it to my daughter for a doll blanket?  Can you frog and reuse something that's been blocked?

Face it. I'm a Mommy Knitter Disaster.  No matching cute hat,, or sweater or socks and blankets in my kids future.  There is no hope.

*~* Willing to buy your hand knitted baby items. *~*

It's A....

Baby!

Well, I was going to have a contest to guess the gender of the baby, and in a way I still can. The ultrasound left nothing really to be desired. They once again changed my due date, and now it's the 4th of July.  (I suppose that's much better than the July 12th they were threatening me with, but I sort of liked it at June 25th!) 

I wouldn't be so concerned if I didn't have issues with late pregnancies with 2 of my 3 children. 1 even has learning problems because of them letting me go 7 days late and problems. The other had problems right after birth that took care of itself thankfully after a few months. Needless to say, if I can go to the end and not be late, that is my wish!  (I'm always induced anyways) 

We know the exact dates of everything. Of when and how and where and why and still they don't believe us lol. Oh well it shall work out.

The ultrasound was a bit ... of a let down. The lady tended to talk more about her own children than show me mine.  She was able to see the legs, the heart, bit of the brain etc, but not the really good things like, oh... Arms, Kidneys, important part of the brain etc.  No arms? No kidneys? Do you want to worry me?  (they say they will do another ultrasound in 8 weeks.... 2 months I get to worry about these things...)

But she did say, she was 80% sure it was a certain gender.
Not sure I should believe her, since she had a hard time finding ARMS....
but as of right now 80% chance that it's a .... girl.

Eitherway, I'm knitting with Purples, and greens and a tiny bit of light oranges from now on.  I have a feeling Peanut is going to be full of surprises even if she turns out to be a girl! =)

* I wanted to show you Ultrasound pictures but there wasn't really any good ones to show.

Scheherazade I'm in Love.

Shown Blocking:

Pattern: Scheherazade a 2006 Mystery Shawl by Melanie

Yarn: Jaggerspun Zephyr in Pewter sold at my new favorite online store Sarah's Yarns

    50% Silk, 50% Merino Wool Lace weight.

        Less then 1260 yards.

Date: Jan 08, 2007 to Feb 01, 2007.

    Blocking Feb 03, 2007

For: My sister in law Susan, who requested a shawl to wear for a Valentine's Party.

Stitch count: 62,826 knits and purls......

Needles:  Size 3 (3.25) Knitpick Options.

Size: 20 x 90 inches

Skills: Provisional Cast on (I used a new one I learned called a Lifeline Provisional Cast on.) and Knitted on edging.  Blocking wires are in the mail, (thanks Cathie!) but didn't arrive soon enough so my first ever straight edge blocking with the use of many pins, a willing to help husband and masking tape on the floor.

The makings of a shawl:

(pictures can be clicked to see larger versions)



More Pictures:

Scheherezade is based on Sultana who is the storyteller in 1001 Arabian Nights.  It is said that the King was known to marry a new wife every day and dispose of the old wife, due to a bitter betrayal by his first wife.  Sultana told a story every night and through out the 1001 nights of story tellings the King fell in love with her.

The Shawl tells the story of their love.

The middle displays the court of the King.  Arabesque motifs flow outwards to the edge.



Next we see the weaving of a story down the middle and the eventually slow progress of a King falling in love with his Queen.



And Finally we find their love blooming and the end of the story (look close you can see hearts)



The shawl will be heading off to it's new home on Monday. 


In the mean time, I've given myself a break from yarn (okay I'm really just waiting til Tax money arrives and then I'll get me more Zephyr....) and found a Debbie Mumm Cross stitch kit in my misc box of crafts I must of bought years ago.

It's been relaxing to pick up something other than knitting, but cross stitch uses different muscles than knitting does! My hands are sore...