Last week I completed a scarf I had been knitting for awhile, using up some of the stash I “discovered” (read “rediscovered”!) out in the garage: 3 balls of a handpainted Paton’s yarn I bought some time ago.
Once finished, I did something I have never done in my life – I blocked a knitted item! To do this, yet another item was excavated – the cutting board from my sewing days. T-pins were boughten from the nearby JoAnn’s. Then, into the washing machine on the washable woolens cycle, soaked and rinsed, spun out, and given a final soak in hair rinse before the final spin-out. Then, out to the patio, to the picnic table, and the process began. The old cutting board was spread out, the scarf was flattened and blocked out. It sat there from about 8 a.m. to the end of the day.
The scarf wanted to curl up on itself, so the first step was to move along its very long length (just over 6 feet), and begin patting it flat.
Next decision on how wide it was going to be. I decided on 8 inches wide, and pinned it out so that the curves created by the pattern were enhanced. I pinned each crest on the edge out to 3 inches apart. Making the scarf 8 inches wide opened up the eyelets – on the needles, the scarf was about 6 inches.
The scarf was too long for the cutting board, so I folded it over on itself. Dried, there was a bit of a crease, but easily enough steamed out.
On the backside of the scarf, you can see the pattern of the eyelets. These next pictures give a better idea about the color of the yarn, as well as the overall pattern.
The picture below is a pretty good approximation of the real color of the yarn – soft and misty.
Normally, I don’t really like variegated yarns with lace or textural patterns. Everything gets lost in the color, so why waste the energy on a fancy design as well? This, though, worked out. The colors are soft and subtle, and make me thing of vineyards in the fall and the fog rolls in. Soft colors, subtle shadings.
Next on the agenda: write up the pattern, take “professional” pictures (ha!) with my husband modeling, and create the pdf file. This, and my Clouds beret are nearly ready for publication and offering on Ravelry! Tomorrow, my in-laws are coming for brunch, and my MIL, Judy, will be bringing her Clouds for show and tell.
And in the meantime – ARF! I’m actually knitting Continental, using what I learned from Heather’s Norwegian Purl video. Sweet! The only thing I do differently is how I knit – I knit through the front of the stitch, but do that oh-so-easy Norwegian Purl. (What a pearl of a video!) Pictures at a later date!
Ink, Yarn & Beer 