Over due post! Last week (April 14th) I finished the Flower Basket Shawl. Usually, I do a sewn bind off because it leaves the edge nice and loose, which is what I wanted with this. However, binging off some multi-hundred stitches this way is less than efficient, so I did a regular I don't know what to call it bind off, and went up 2 needles sizes. All proud of my finished shawl, I spread it's ruffly self on the bed to take a pre-blocked picture and measurements, and then threw it in a sink full of water and Soak for 15 minutes before pulling it out, squishing it in a towel, and attempting to block it on the floor. I pulled out my blocking wires for the first time (yai!) however it was not a successful block. In the time it took me to try pinning, undoing, repinning, and readjusting, the whole thing dried, and I was still not getting the pretty little peaks that were supposed to be there. It took me maybe an hour and rug burns on both knees to decide that maybe I needed to undo the bind off, and redo it with a much looser one. I stayed up late picking the stitches apart (which probably took another hour) and then redid a nicer bind off. Really now, who among us has not ever stayed up late just trying to do one more row, get past this one part, or finish the whole thing because "I'm so close!!" Even before re-blocking, I could tell that this new bind off was going to be a lot more successful.
The lesson I learned this time was that blocking and getting the peaks works MUCH better if you bind off correctly. It also takes less than 1/4 the time to do. Don't make the same mistake twice. I'm pleased with this, although because "it's only a shawl" I didn't do a gauge swatch, so when I took it off the needles, I didn't know how big it would be. Jon said it looked like a cape. This instantly led my mind down the lines of purple-flower Bat Girl!! I didn't say it out loud, but the image is still there and amuses the crap out of me.
Onto the pictures!
Pre-blocking:
Closeup of blocked detail:
Showing the back being worn just before the shower:
And a side view to see the belly... oh, and the shawl!
4 comments:
Do you commute on BART or something? Where/how do you find so much time to knit?! It looks spectacular!
I wish BART came up through Marin! Alas, it is because I am fidgity. When I'm in a groove, I knit pretty fast, but when I fall out of it, nothing gets accomplished for months on end.
Thank you for the compliments! :o)
oh, you look so pretty! The shawl is a lovely colour on you, and it goes really well with the dress, too.
I see baby bump! Pregnancy suits you, methinks. :)
Oh, the shawl is lovely!
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