To Block or Not To Block!

Until last night I did not know that I can block Acrylic yarn. I have been using mostly acrylic yarn since it is the least expensive and easily available to me so I can do what I love to do, knitting :) hopefully someday I will be able to afford the fancy yarns. I have always been happy with the way my knitted projects look even if it was not block. If you have seen theEar flap hat I made for my daughter which came out a little too small so I was going to make her another one, however my son requested me to make one for him first which ended up too big I don't know why since i even did a gauge swatch so I knitted another one, And of course it turn out to be a little too small and I am not making another one, I heard and read about blocking but most of them were about other fancy yarns and that acrylic cant be block since it is not a natural fiber but I remember someone had mentioned that we can block acrylic so I did a Google search and lo and behold I found Bead Knitter Gallery, she talk about acrylic can be block, this is the link ( http://beadknitter.blogspot.com/2009/03/you-can-block-acrylic.html?showComment=1319658734282#c2787138813915084037). I followed her instructions and started steam blocking the hat , I was so happy with the result , it fits perfectly and it looks great. I have been steam blocking since this morning and I can say I'm a fan of blocking now.

Below is the example of a before and after for the Earflap Hat

     This is the hat before blocking,edges were uneven and you can see some puckering on the hat.

This is the hat after blocking edges are straight, no puckering and I actually like the texture too.

Happy Friday and have a good weekend!

DALAI LAMA

Posted by Dalai Lama on g+


'The more adept we become at cultivating an altruistic attitude, the happier we will feel and the more comfortable will be the atmosphere around us. But if our emotions fluctuate wildly and we easily give in to hatred and jealousy, even our friends will avoid us. So even for people with no spiritual beliefs, it is important to have a peaceful mind'. by Dalai Lama

Peace to all and happy monday!!

Fingerless Mitts

Photos of the most recent FO's, fingerless mitts I made for my daughters. The pattern is available in Ravelry, http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/alices-mitts.

FO Fridays

Its FO Fridays so here are some of my finished projects. It is also I LOVE YARN DAY Today!!!!

Earflap Hat I made for my daughter, As I suspected its a little bit small, so I will have to make her a new one .

 A simple easy lace scarf. I used 2 yarns together. A very light rose finger weight yarn and a ribbon yarn (from one of my recycled sweater stash).

This is a hat and scarf for one of my friends 9 yr old son. Basic Ribbed hat and One row handspun scarf. For the yarn. I used Joans sensations Rainbow Classic.

HAPPY FRIDAY !!!!!

WIP Wednesday

I started this earflap hat for my daughter on Monday, and I should finished it today. Im thinking it might be small for her since she wears her hat differently, she does not pull it all the way down, I guess Ill just wait and see until its all done.

Gem's Purple Shawl

I finally finished the shawl,I'm making for my friend Gem. I hope she will like it.

Here it is...