Thursday, May 22, 2008

Back to Blocking

I got a little ahead of myself there in all the excitement of a finished lace project! So now I'll take a step back and document the blocking process!!

flowerbasket shawl FO may 08 001

After soaking the shawl I squeeeezed out the excess water, did the traditional towel-stomp and carefully threaded my metal rods through the top eyelets. I prefer the metal rods for any straight parts of the shawl - stops that annoying scalloping that is evident no matter how many pins you use!

flowerbasket shawl FO may 08 003

It's so handy having a spare mattress, my very own 'blocking board' to transform from the above photo, to below!

flowerbasket shawl FO may 08 004

Tada!!

Always such a 'ta da!' moment blocking, isn't it? It's like magic!! I love the opportunity to get right up close and take juicy macro shots of the stitches, all taut and lacey!

flowerbasket shawl FO may 08 006

And those 'batman peaks' at the tips are one of my favourite elements of a triangular shawl *grin* So fantastical and pointy!

flowerbasket shawl FO may 08 005

I realised I didn't include a picture in the FO post to give an idea of scale, so here's one for the road :) It's turned out just the right size. If I hadn't added an extra repeat I think I would have been disappointed with the size - too small. But this is juuuust right!

wisteria shawl model

And I still have some yarn left over! Perhaps a little kerchief or some such? hmmm....

3 comments:

nuttnbunny said...

Matches my blocking board :-)

Holy pretty points Batman!

Dame Wendy said...

So beautiful! :)

Ann said...

I think blocking is the grand finale for lace knitting. I also find it so magical as the pattern unfolds. Great job on the shawl.