Maplewing

Hey, remember my Maplewing?  Yeah, me neither.

I finished it more than two years ago, but life intervened in the way it does, and I didn't get around to blocking it until just the other day.

Want some pictures?  Oh I know you do.

Come here often?

You tease.

And the money shot:

And then off the pins:

 Yarn: Blue Ridge Yarn Silk Shimmer Lace (100% silk, 1000 yd/100g skein), 1.3 skeins, colorway "Dragon's Breath."  I really wish I could capture the colorway properly--it just glows in person.

Pattern: Maplewing, by Anne Hanson.  (Highly recommended.  Well-written and very easy.)

Needles: US 4/3.5mm

Notes: I could have done with a looser cast on (I used a regular knitted cast on), but it blocked out beautifully in the leaf pattern, so . . . eh, whatever.

Blocking Day!

I have my supplies:

I have my surface prepared (the dog will be relocated):

 And I have the item to be blocked, fresh from an overnight soak:

Not pictured: sensible blocking clothes and ponytail, good podcasts queued up on itunes.

Let's do this!

ETA: All done.

A little photographic evidence

The Yarn Harlot was going on about blocking last week, and I agree completely.

So completely that I thought I'd offer up a little evidence in support.  I finished knitting my Moyen Age last night and wove all the ends in today, but it hasn't yet been washed or blocked.

I took these two pictures earlier.  See how in the first one the stitches are nice and even?

 And how in the second there are little uneven places?

Same yarn (well, the second picture is a different skein, which is why it has a little more variegation), same needles, same piece of knitting--the difference?

I washed the lower half of the sweater to make sure my gauge was right before I knit the bust.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is the power of blocking.

Glee!

Allégresse is complete!


I blocked it on one of my new boards. The whole process was a breeze this way.



It dried quickly overnight, which was great--I was able to present it to the recipient in the morning.

Jane is camera-shy, but agreed to a few shots nonetheless:


Pattern: Allégresse.


Yarn: Malabrigo Lace (100% baby merino, 470 yd per 50g skein), colorway "Brisa." I think this is five repeats on size 3.75mm needles, and I used almost all the yarn.


A fast and enjoyable knit--gleeful indeed!

Oh my GAWD

So I've mentioned that the Irishman, despite having enormous boat feet, is a pretty swell guy. Several weeks ago, for our anniversary, he removed all doubt.

Apparently, months and months ago (probably while blocking something big on the living room floor), I mentioned that I'd really like a proper blocking board.

He remembered this.

Fast-forward to when I opened my present and found this:


We have a policy of being strictly honest about gifts (mostly because both of us are incredibly bad liars), so I said something like "oh, honey, it's perfect! But a little small for what I normally knit . . ."

Whereupon he got a MASSIVE grin on his face, said "too small, eh?" and hauled a enormous package out from behind the bookcase. That package held this:


Yes, that's a piano in the background. And yes, he got me not one but TWO blocking boards, small and large. He said he figured I could put them together if I needed to, or use them separately for smaller things.

He totally won our anniversary.

I'm excited about finally blocking something this weekend--Allégresse is almost complete. Weeeeeee!

Lots going on in my head

I finished the Swallowtail, blocked it Saturday, and wore it to church yesterday. It's reblocking today, however, for a couple reasons.

As you can see from this first blocking photo, I seriously underestimated the wingspan of the shawl. (And check out the contrast between the checkered sheets and the shawl color--I thought I would go blind.) Anyway, I couldn't stretch it horizontally nearly as much as it wanted to be stretched. And after a day of wear, I felt that the points weren't as pointy as they should be.

So today I washed it, soaked it, and pinned it out the other way 'round on the bed. See? Much better. (Crappy photos though, sorry.)


Points are pointier, stretch has been achieved, and I think this blocking is a keeper. So I'll have pictures of the finished product at some point this week.

In other knitting, at the urging of a Ravelry group (the Mawelucky Love crowd, hooligans that they are), I resurrected the unfinished Pi Sock. It's about a third of the way done, and I've noticed some interesting things about it, having come back after a year of neglect. I'll talk about them later, maybe.

The idea is that I get rid of all my WIPs (or at least the older ones). When I couldn't bear any more sock, I switched to the Endless Sweater. As you can see, I've been trying to work on things in progress in lieu of casting on something more interesting. As it is, I was on the verge of starting something new yesterday, but I managed to stop myself after the yarn was wound. (Some of the Chinese yarn--the purple stuff. I'm thinking a hat/scarf combo; there's probably something like 400 yards of a worsted weight here.)

To be honest, about the only thing keeping me knitting on the pi sock is that I have so MUCH I want to work on. This list is mostly for my own reference, but it'll give you an idea of what's swirling around. I'd like to:

~Finish the Endless Sweater.

~Knit that hat and scarf with the yarn I wound the other day.

~Knit a Carumboa scarf from Knitting New Scarves to use up some stuff in the stash.

~Knit a sample Orenburg shawl a la Gossamer Webs in preparation for . . .

~Design and knit an Orenburg shawl of my own.

~Knit a full-sized version of the Papyrus shawl .

And that's just what I've PLANNED. Better go knit . . .

Sweater all done

My new cousin now has a new sweater. I blocked the finished pieces before seaming and knitting the collar, as is customary. It also ensures that, whatever the gauge, the fronts and sleeves will be the same size. They may not look like what they're supposed to, but they'll be even, dagnabit.


Pattern: "Baby's First Tattoo" by Delia Lam from Stitch 'n Bitch Nation, size 3 months, 3/3.25mm needles. Adorable pattern, but see here for why I don't recommend it.


Yarn: Dale of Norway Baby Ull, about 1.3 skeins 3507 (orange) and 0.5 skein 0090 (black). I love working with Baby Ull. It's affordable but knits up soft and puffy. Also, it's machine-washable and therefore practical for baby clothes.


A back shot because I'm always complaining about their absence in books:


And finally, a close-up of the swallow 'cos it's just so darn cute. Rather than embroider the design over the finished front as called for in the pattern, I knit it in.

I hope it fits!

Gail is done!

And how lovely she is, no?

First a blocking shot or two:


(Ugh, I apologize for the blurry. My blocking room has terrible light.)


The finished product:


Final dimensions were about 31 by 60 inches.


Pattern: Gail/Nightsongs by MaweLucky (Jane Araujo). I would classify it as intermediate--an easy pattern once you get the hang of it, but tricky to figure out at first.


Yarn: One skein Handmaiden Fine Yarn Mini Maiden (50/50 wool silk), a gift from Nyx (<3 .="" absolutely="" addicted="" an="" be="" before--it="" br="" colorway.="" d="" erhaps="" glacier="" handmaiden="" i="" in="" knit="" may="" never="" now="" s="" unknown="" with="" wonderful.=""><3 3="">
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And here with the beautiful lilacs in my backyard--they're fading now, alas.

Sed regina tamen, sed opaci maxima mundi*

I finished Juno!


Here are some blocking shots--I used my new wires for the first time. I'm not sure I used them quite properly, but they were definitely easier than a trillion pins.


One shot of the full monty:


And then the finished product:


Pattern: Juno Regina by Miriam Felton.


Yarn: Posh Yarn's Miranda ( 70/20/10 baby alpaca/silk/cashmere).


This pattern was very easy and relatively quick to knit. I'd recommend it for beginning lace knitting, except that it might be kind of big. The middle bit is the same two rows repeated for three and a half feet--not for the faint of heart or needle.


This yarn is really lovely--it's very warm, soft, and light. The whole stole barely weighs anything at all.


All in all, a very enjoyable knit. Now on to something a little smaller, I think . . .

*"But still a queen, great queen of the world of shadows" (Ovid, Metamorphoses 5.507.)

Heigh-ho, heigh-ho, a-blocking we will go

I blocked Travelling Roses over the weekend--


This time I invested in a yardstick and some heavy-duty T-pins. Unfortunately, I didn't get quite enough of the latter and had to fill in with regular dressmaker's pins. Lots of them. Here's the scarf, full-size (click to embiggen):


I desperately need some blocking wires--I estimate, conservatively, that there are about 250 pins in this thing. Blocked, it's about 60" long and 7" wide, which is a little smaller than Leanne's (66x8). I probably could have blocked it a little more severely along the width, but I didn't want to break any threads.


I was once again amazed at how magical lace is when blocked. What was all crumply before becomes elegant and orderly. I'm even more amazed at how it stays that way when you take the pins out. This picture gives you a better idea of the colors:


Next time: finished scraf (as K would say)!

(I again apologize for the photos--these were taken at high noon, but you'd never know, would you?)

The magic of blocking

The last time we left our heroine, she was approaching blocking a finished shawl that, she thought, was probably going to be a complete failure.

Au contraire! Behold the magic of blocking. I'd never blocked lace before, or something so large. Most of my previous blocking efforts were pretty tentative--I'd adjust a few things here or there, maybe use a few pins, but nothing like this. This required my futon, a clean sheet, and approximately 432984029 pins. (True to form, I didn't use the proper quilter's T-pins, just regular old dressmaker's pins. They worked fine when placed at the right angle.)

Since this was my first time blocking lace or a shawl, I relied heavily on Eunny Jang's tutorial. Of course, once again true to form, I substituted some elements. I once again relied on my handy mixing bowl for soaking the shawl, and for a longer straightedge I used a broom handle. (Really. Apparently I don't own a yardstick.) For shorter intervals I used my trusty 12" ruler. Since the shawl was worked with fingering-weight wool and the pattern is mostly stockinette, it didn't need to be blocked very severely. As you can see, though, I definitely needed to pin out the points.

And what a difference it made. The points pop. The end looks gawgeous. And now, as Anne Hanson would say, for the money shot.


I am now a committed laceophile. I was frequently frustrated throughout the knitting of this, but going through with the blocking and seeing the results . . . I think I'm hooked. Check back next time for pics of the finished shawl in all its glory.

(I apologize for the poor lighting. My spare room has but one tiny window.)