6KCBWDAY3: Failed Experiment

Gaian Tarot

OK, we are about halfway through the 6th Annual Knitting & Crochet Week, and I am still here ! Let's see today's prompt:

DAY 3: Experimental Photography and Image Handling for Bloggers
 

Every Year Knitting & Crochet Blog Week tries to feature at least one day where photography takes a key role, because it has been proven many times that what captures reader’s attention for the first few seconds to hopefully hold them long enough to invest the time to read your words is your pictures, and so this topic crops up each year, but every year it yields such different results!

It is easy enough to fall into a routine of photographing your finished projects as is – clearly displayed, maybe from a few varying angles, and for a large part of the time these are what blog readers will expect to see, but every now and again it is good to throw in a picture that causes people to linger.

Refresh your skills at creating attention-grabbing pictures. Take your own creativity and run to your camera with your own ideas, or use these few easy ideas as a starting point:

Use a few background props – you will be amazed at what you can find around the house if you just pick a few items up without thinking too hard about it. These can be props that either add to the ‘story’ of the photograph or just chime well with the colours and style of the finished object.

Yeah. There's usually a photographic topic, and I usually suck at it. I suck at it so much that I don't think I've ever posted on this topic.

So.

Popping 6KCBWDAY3 into Google will bring up lots of very creative posts, unlike this one ...

FO Friday 171: Failure

Durer Tarot

Well, I'm here to confess and admit to a bit of an aberration - a startling lack of perfectionism. You'll remember I was doing another test knit for Emily Ross, a stockinette version of her popular Haruni shawl.

I can hear you wondering how I could make a mess of something that is stockinette. But wait !

It wasn't the stockinette that defeated me.

It wasn't the tulip/leaf-shaped lace border.

It wasn't the somewhat finicky pinning and blocking.
 
It wasn't even the 312 (yes, I counted) size 6/0 beads placed individually with a 0.6mm steel crochet hook.

It was the loopy edging:
 

I didn't find the chart for it simple, and the written  instructions did not mention the difference in the number of chains per section that make up the loops. Having looked at other people's finished shawls, I could see what the chart meant, but by then it was too late for me - I did not contemplate for longer than a millisecond the idea of unpinning the blocked shawl and undoing the edging with it's 116 beads (yes, I counted) and howevermany stitches, and then having to re-block it.

I think if I had made the original Haruni, or even looked at it, I would have had a far better understanding of this border - but then, that's the point of a test knit: to find the things that people trip over and fix them so that even a fool like me can make it.

On the plus side, the yarn - Regia Hand-dyed Effect in 'Amethyst' (purple shades) - was nice and soft, and the shawl still turned out really pretty. And I've learned that the agony sting of imperfection fades a little if you give it time.

Pop over to Tami's Amis for pretty pictures without any self-pity ....

 

Learn From My Fail No.1

Legacy of the Divine Tarot

So there I was, mojo-lessly and therefore aimlessly mooching around Ravelry, when - Lo ! I saw a reference to a shawl; clicking on the link reminded me that I had seen it before and liked it - so why it wasn't in my queue I don't know: 'Summer Flies Shawl'. That is flies as in 'time flies' not 'buzzbuzz flies', obviously. And - bonus ! - I have two, that is at least two, yarns that are just right for it in color, and I think in yardage.

Yes, Dear Reader, you may rejoice, as I did, that the mojo had come home to Mama after a mere week or so; clapping my hands and skipping in glee, I tra-la-la-ed as I set up my ballwinder.

Light of heart and mind, and warbling tunelessly, I selected the yarn, the lovely turquoise sock-yarn given to me by the even lovelier stephcuddles on her recent visit. Mini Diva inveigled me into letting her help (it was almost her bedtime) by winding the winder. So far, so good, right ?

                                                             Wrong.

I didn't swear. I didn't scream. I didn't shout. I didn't fulminate. I didn't gnash my teeth or wail at the shock of Mini Diva suddenly exhibiting signs of being related to Destructo Boy. I sent her to bed in a far more terrifying silence.

Four and three quarter hours later, I had this:

Actually, since it was after 1am by that time, it looked more like this:

So, learn from my fail: do not allow a 9 year old to cozen you into helping wind yarn when the TV is on, she is watching it as well as winding, she should be in bed, and you are not paying 100% attention to what she is doing.