Monday, April 5, 2010

Easter Monday

Lots of chocolate was sampled, lots of scalloped potatoes consumed. Yet there was even time for some knitting related activities on my weekend.

Waterloo's sleeves have been blocked.
You might notice that I block them inside out. That is a lesson learned from my 'Home Ec' days. Wool can get shiny when it comes into contact with heat. Have you ever seen a pair of wool trousers that have been 'pressed'? Not likely - who does that anymore? Trust me though, heat applied to trousers results in some seriously, shiny seats. So - since I block with a steam iron, I always turn the knitting inside out.

It was the turning that made me notice all these ends that need to be woven in.
Mostly, I wove in the ends as I knit along. But, to weave in the start-end of a new colour, you must remember to pick it up about 10 stitches before you actually need it for knitting. Weave it in for those ten stitches, then begin to knit with it. If you do that, there are no ends to weave in at all. Of course, I often forgot - as you can see.

Despite that little job ahead of me, the sleeves look great. All the lumps and bumps have disappeared. The stitches are even. The motifs looks wonderful.


The wonders of blocking. Now I'm off to read what Elizabeth Zimmermann has to say about sleeve steeking for this style of sweater and I-Cord borders.

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