Building Blocks

blocking  |’bläki ng |  n.  a finishing process in which knitted fabric is moistened (either by water or steam), then shaped to final measurements. Blocking ensures even stitches and helps to flatten out any curled edges.



I've come to the conclusion that the most successful completion of a knitted piece is entirely dependant on how you do the finishing steps.  The finishing steps have to include blocking.  Case in point:  I had decided to knit this sweater using my hand-dyed wool -- with some variations, but still the basic sweater.   

If you look closely you can see it was poorly finished -- ripples and pulling at the edges.  But I thought the basic pattern had some merit.  I used a variation on traditional ribbing and decided to knit the front ribbed bands right as part of the body -- vertical ribbing instead of horizontal.  I also "boxed" out the body a bit because I was aiming for a 'swing jacket' look.  I eliminated the second band of ribbing on the sleeves (I thought that made it look dated) and lengthened the sleeves a bit.  And last, I decided against 3 big buttons and did a double button band. 

But the most important thing I did was carefully block all of the pieces before sewing them together -- no rippled sleeves or edges for this project!  My blocking board is actually just a cardboard cutting board that I covered in clear Contact Paper.  Because it has a 1-inch grid all over I can block the pieces to the exact sizes needed.  So I can make sure that both sleeves are the same, both fronts are the same, etc.  To block my knitting I submerse the pieces in water, then gently roll them in a towel to remove the excess water.  Next I simply pin them to my blocking board (using lots and lots of pins to avoid stretching edges) and leave it for a few days to dry.  The result is flat, even knitted pieces that are easy to sew together.

At the end of the day, I'm very happy with my hand-dyed wool swing jacket.  I started with this:

And I ended up with this:

I'm happy and I have a nice spring/summer sweater.

spring   |spri ng |  v.  originate or arise from;  n.  the season after winter and before summer.

I realize that summer is a mere 5 days away, but given our cool wet weather, I think we'll be in "spring" for a while yet.  The thing about spring rain is that it makes eveything fresh and clean.  And after the brown of winter it's a welcome change.  Maybe that's why we "spring clean" and purge after the build-up of the winter.

Speaking of spring cleaning and purging, I am confronted with a dilemna.   I was looking in my yarn stash the other day and realized that my stash is rather large.  Realistically, I should not need to purchase yarn for at least two years ... like that will happen!  So, I thought perhaps it is time for a "purge" of my stash.  This is just a glimpse of my stash:

I will admit (with some embarrassment) that there is also a LARGE rubbermaid tub full of yarn from The Craft Shoppe and another box full of Phentex and the bag full of white worsted weight yarn and ... well ... you get the picture. 

My favorite local quilt shop holds a fabric and craft supply stash sale every year over the Canada Day weekend.  You bag up  fabric and yarn and drop it off for a one-day sale.  The proceeds from the stash sale all go to a local women's shelter.  Since this is a good cause I thought maybe I should purge and bag up some yarn to donate to the sale. 

That brought up a whole new issue:  how do I decide what to cull form my stash?  The thing about yarn is that even small or single balls are useful.  What do I do?  Maybe if any of you are needing some yarn for your stash you could let me know, then it would be your problem!  I'm open to suggestions.  For now, I'll just keep knitting.... 

 

What colour is your yarn?

dye |dī|  n.  a natural or synthetic substance used to add a color to or change the color of something.  v. ( dyed, dyeing ):  add a color to or change the color of (something) by soaking it in a solution impregnated with a dye 

Hand-dyed yarn is gorgeous.  It has so many layers and subtle nuances of colour.  And it's remarkably easy to do, so while my mother was here visiting, I decided we should dye some wool. 

It was a 3-day process but definitely fun to watch the wool transform into colourful balls.  And, as I mentioned in an earlier blog, the yarn winder is too much fun.  My mom loved using it and I think a yarn winder might find its way into her crafting cupboard!