The never-ending wow...
For the first years of my knitting career, I never blocked anything. Some of that might have been because as a novice, I mostly stuck to inexpensive, acrylic fibers. Not that workhorse yarns don’t have their place, but once you experience the beauty of a quality fiber, it’s hard to go back. There is something in an exquisite natural fiber—how it feels and how it behaves—that can’t be synthesized with chemistry.
When I open a brand new box of my books, the magic of that first moment never fades no matter how many years I’ve been writing. It’s always a wow moment. The same is true for me when I block a knitted piece. When I’m done knitting, it feels like the fiber is ready, eager to become whatever it’s supposed to be. It’s always a brand new creation when I pull it from the blocking wires. As if the piece steps into its intended identity. Heady words, I know, but the wonder of blocking is never lost on me. The fibers relax—literally—and settle themselves into the shape and drape we’ve both been working to achieve.
This is a beautiful kerchief. Just the right weight to take off the air-conditioning chill while enjoying a summer dinner. Easy enough to be pleasant knitting, beautiful enough to be a satisfying result of knitting efforts. Well done, Orange Flower Yarn and The Wool Cabin! If I haven’t yet convinced you, try this free pattern out for yourself.
Next up, I cast on the more complex Summer Shadow shawl from Hemstitched Heirlooms.
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