Age of Brass & Steam Kerchief from The Wool Cabin—Day 5

What everybody wants...

This is one project where the bind-off is definitely not the last step.  In its un-blocked state, this is too small to be of any use, even as a kerchief.  This one needs “aggressive blocking” to take its rightful shape.  The way the fiber behaves, I have a sense it’s going to take the blocking beautifully.  Those eyelet rows will open up as the stockinette lays out flat and the bind off edge gains definition.

Earlier this week I “auditioned” for a speakers’ critique group I wanted to join as I seek to ramp up my public speaking career.  It’s a fine organization, but the mutual critiquing of each other’s presentations means I’ll spend three hours of sitting and listening twice a month.  Sitting and listening. Not my strength—I’m far too fidgety for long lecture/meeting scenarios.  And yet, I felt I could benefit a great deal from joining this group. 

What did I do? As I listed my qualifications and skills, I also asked, politely and professionally, that I be allowed to bring my knitting.  I explained that if I am knitting, they will get the best of my attention. I told them what I tell every presenter: “I’m not knitting because you bore me or I think you’re wasting my time, I’m knitting to help me focus my concentration on you.”  

Isn’t that what every speaker wants?  Isn’t that the exact opposite of what normally happens?  You know what I mean—people tune out after 20 minutes and check their phones or tablets, thinking the speaker doesn’t see.  Come on, we see.  No presenter wants to look out and see what, way back, we used to call “the Blackberry prayer”: head down, hands in lap, but typing, not praying.

They said yes.  I joined the group.  Knitting will get done, speaking will gain strength.  Everybody wins!

Brassica Shawl from Mosaic Yarn Studio--Done!

Done!

Look at it!  This project is absolutely worth all the time and strife I put into it.  The wingspan is luxuriously long—perfect for someone “not small” like me.  

It was so long I had to borrow a screen door to block it--and even then I had to fold it back on itself.

So yes, it's long. Wonderfully long. I love that there’s more than enough length to lay the lacework section across my chest and loop either “wing” loosely around my neck and shoulders. Lots of time when I do that, the ends feel too short. Not this time!

I love the color--even though it looks different in every photo here. I'm eager to wear it on St. Patrick’s Day—only I don’t think I’ll be able to wait that long. This beauty will make its debut this week (maybe even tomorrow!!)

Thanks, Darlene and Mosaic Yarn Studio, for an adventure of a project!

Next up, DestiKNITions travels to Peoria, IL.

Celtic Princess Braided Scarf from Yarn & Thread Expressions - Done!

It’s done!

The color continues to be my favorite thing about this scarf.  Red cables just make such a statement!

I tried at first to block this the quick way, with an iron and a spray bottle of water, but I wasn’t pleased with the results.  It still folded at the borders and puckered at the ends. So off it went to the more patient bath-and-pin method.  No shortcuts.

While it was soaking, I invoked the knitting universe’s favor by calling the hotel one more time where I’d left the Lady Fern Scarf.  This time, on the advice of a friend, I asked to talk to the housekeeping manager.  Either the guy is just genuinely nice, or he knows someone who knits, because he was very understanding.  He vowed to check the room right then—it was unoccupied at the moment but occupied on my earlier visit—and call me back.  I waited, hoping my extra care with the Celtic Princess might earn me favor with the Lady Fern (sounds downright mythological, doesn’t it?).  Karma, universal balance, Providence—whatever you want to call it, I was dearly hoping it would act on my behalf.  I don’t think God minds that I pray for something so small as a favorite scarf back, because He knows it’s not small at all.  Not to the person who labored over it for so many hours.

Nada.  You and I both know neither the universe, nor God, is in the bargain business.  While I am convinced the housekeeping manager has scoured the place on my behalf, even offering to pull the drawers out of the bureau for me on the last-ditch chance it slipped behind, my scarf is very likely gone.  I left it behind of my own mistake, and it is now to grace some neck other than mine.

But life goes on.  I have well and truly blocked my Celtic Princess and it looks much better. Take a peek—pretty, isn't it?  Thank you Yarn & Thread Expressions, for such a challenging but worthwhile project!  It is the perfect “first aid” to my current wound.

Uliuli Wai Shawl from Needlecraft Cottage - Day 6

Almost ready...

The final steps of any shawl this lovely are always filled with anticipation.  Like any lacework, I’m only barely glimpsing what this piece will look like in her final form.  Right now the color is still spectacular, but the design, drape, and weight of this fiber have yet to be revealed.  This darling still needs to spread her wings.

Yes, it took an hour and a half to bind this off.  Part of that was because knowing my lack of skill at good bind-offs, I opted for my go-to technique: Jenny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off rather than the standard bind-off written in the pattern.  When I project such as this will undergo serious blocking, I need the elasticity Jenny’s provides.  

The shawl is currently curling on the edges, and that makes me nervous, but experience has taught be a little bath can work wonders on things like this.

Here is the Uliuli Wai in her bath.  The color deepens in the water—very apt, don’t you think?

Then came the meticulous blocking process.  Wires are definitely the way to go here in order to get stretch and definition.  Now, however, we get a glimpse of how beautiful the final product will be.

Stay tuned—the fantastic finale is just days away!

Brush Creek Cowlette from The Knitting Nest - Day 5

You can’t ever tell a piece of lacework by its unblocked state.

Unblocked, this cowlette is a ripply, bubbly trio of colors.  There are hints to its final texture and shape, but they are mere clues to the weight and drape of the finished piece.  Much as I like the color combinations, I doubt I’d select this if it were on a boutique table—now.  It lays wrong, it crinkles up in places, and you really can’t see the patterns.

All that will change after this baby has had its bath.

This presents a fine opportunity to showcase one of my best knitter/parent repurposing tricks.  It’s one many  knitting mama’s (and likely daddy’s) know: the alphabet block foam puzzle. 

Sure it was fun when they were tykes—ours got a particularly good workout in the tub—but now it becomes a wonderfully flexible blocking surface for small projects.

I’ve got a huge cork board that serves as my blocking table for shawls and larger pieces, but there was no need to haul it out for this project.  It took me all of 30 seconds to squish together the correct shape—adding a few more squares as I went along—and tuck it next to my front windows for the best drying air.

There are manufacturers who figured out this use and created products that serve the same purpose, but I love that my kids’ toys have found a new life as a toy of my own.  

I might not ever give the toy version as a baby shower gift saying “I’ll be happy to take this off your hands in a few years,” but I might say “Let me teach you how to knit and these will come in handy in a new way one day.”

Mapes Shawl from Lovin' Knit - Day 5

Call me a blockhead…

The more complex you get in knitting, the more important blocking becomes.  I’ve reached the point in my knitting career where I am not satisfied with unblocked finished products--especially when we’re talking about shawls.  I’m aware of how blocking can dramatically improve the drape and lay of a shawl, and now that I have spiffy blocking wires, I don’t consider a piece finished unless it is blocked.

True to my convictions (and the designer’s instructions as well), this piece isn’t much before blocking.  It doesn’t lay flat, and the nice arc we’ve all been waiting for is nowhere to be seen.  There’s no panache, no wow factor.

Now look at it laid out on the blocking mat (in my case a very large bulletin board that used to hang in my kitchen).  See how nicely the curves catch your eye?  See how the holes open up and look lacey?  Even the plain stockinette takes on a new texture.

I’ll admit, I’m known for skipping gauge swatches (mostly because what I prefer to knit rarely makes them essential), but I’ll NEVER skip blocking.

Diana’s Aran Shawl from Three Black Sheep - Done!

It’s finished!  

Well, it’s finished being knit--in this case that’s not the whole way to “done.”  Woolen pieces, especially ones with Aran designs like this, don’t come to life until they are blocked.

That means water, a bit of Dawn blue, some pins, a few beach towels, a bulletin board, a dining room table, and about an hour.  If you’ve never blocked a piece before, here’s the basic sequence:

First, a bath.  NOT a washing.  This is a gentle soak to let the fibers settle nicely into their new configuration.  Twenty minutes in cool or room temperature water with a smidge of Dawn blue.  Rinse until the water is clear, making sure the water stays the same temperature.

Then, after oh-so-gently squeezing the water out of your newly bathed baby, lay it out on a bath towel and roll it up.  Stand on it to squish all the excess water into the towel.  Remember to take your socks off or you are likely to end up with wet socks!

For pieces with straight edges, I like to lay my work out a striped bath towel so I can utilize the stripes as guidelines.  Nudge and pin until you get the shape you want.  I use an oversized bulletin board that used to hang in my kitchen.  Everyone knows this is the real purpose of dining room tables, right?

I expect this piece to be dry and ready in a day or so, easily enough time to show it off at my Live Audiobook Knit-in at Crafty Hands in Bowling Green, KY.  If you’re in the area Friday April 19 at 6pm, come on by!  I may even let you try on my shawl.