Another finished project to report, the gypsy lace scarf I started just after Christmas.
I've wanted a scarf like this almost since I started knitting, so it's about time I made one for myself!
While I can't deny that I love the magic of blocking - taking a rumpled mess of stitches and transforming it to a fancy-pants wearable item - the process itself is not one of my favorites. Sure, blocking doilies, the blanket squares and small things like that are no big deal, but this scarf? Much larger than I wanted to tackle with my mats and a billionty pins!
Here it was, preblocking -
Pretty, flowy and colorful. The lace already surprisingly open, but it was still more rumpled than I wanted.
Since I don't have blocking wires (yet) I decided to tackle it with the help of some string. I threaded a some crochet cotton string through the bottom along both sides.
After a quick soak, it was time for the blocking mats. I put pins in each of the four corners, and into the points on the short sides. Then I pulled the strings as tightly as I could and anchored them around extra pins at the corners.
Extra pins were placed inside the string line to try and keep the edges as straight as possible.
Not exactly perfect, but enough to make me happy ... Well I did figit with the edges a little more (okay a lot more) after this photo, but you get the basic idea. The string blocking did work out in a pinch but I fully intend to DIY a set of blocking wires before I have to do this again.
If I could have anchored the strings better, then the edges would have been straighter. I'm not too worried though, because I am very happy with the end result. Here it is close-up -
Finished well before the cool fall days get here, so I am a happy knitter.
Current WIP getting some love are my (green) Blue Day Socks, and I'm happy to report they're coming along wonderfully (well the first sock anyway, no two at a time for this girl!) -
The pattern is playing nicely with my yarn (Cascade Heritage Paints), and I'm loving that the pattern has an easy to remember repeat, without being monotonous. This is a Very Good Thing, especially when dealing with issues staying focused and wanting a good portable project.
The fact I got perfect gauge with needles I already had free was just icing on the cake. You might look at my giant needle collection and laugh when I say that, but with my habit of collecting WIPs, having the needles I want free is not always a sure thing!
While I don't expect that I'll go three for three weeks and have these as finished objects by next time I post, I do expect that I'll have some good progress to show for them.
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