Monday, February 22, 2010

Blocking

Great news! I finished my Torture for Fun lace scarf and received my medal today. And here's the medal:
The dog is Bob, the Ravelry mascot. Here's a close-up of the scarf:
I blocked it last night. What is blocking? Glad you asked. This time last year, I was googling the word myself. What it comes down to is this: wetting a piece of fabric (whether knitted, crocheted, woven, or stitched), squaring it up, and letting it dry that way. Some items, like sweaters, you just kinda hand shape and lay out. Others you pin into place. And then there's lace: stretch it like crazy and pin in place. In this case, I used blocking wires to keep the lines reasonably straight and pinned the wires themselves. I'm told you can make your own, using wire from the hardware store, or buy 'em from an online store, like I did.

They're a little unwieldy*, but I think they're totally worth it.

*Unwieldy is today's word of the day.

3 comments:

PNWBookGirl said...

Congratulations on your win! Still working my projects but hope to also get an award. :-)

Nancy G said...

I have a question for you. Did you blog your trip to Paris? My husband and I have plans to go in May and would love to read about your adventure.

Free Range Chick said...

The scarf is beautiful.

I saw new missions were up, but I think I am down for the count.