Talk to the Hand...My First Attempt at Blocking

I wish I could come up with something as profound as this quote to describe blocking and it's use in knitting, but someone else said it first and said it well. "Blocking is a method of stretching and shaping a finished knitted piece to reach the dimensions suggested in the pattern, to make two pieces that need to match the same size, or to make your stitches look nicer and more even." (http://knitting.about.com/od/learntoknit/a/blocking_knits.htm)

Of course, it sounds easy, doesn't it? I don't know why, but I've been extremely intimidated by the process. Mostly, I've just been afraid of stretching it out of shape, or, 'over blocking' somehow! Usually I take my finished piece to my mother and have her block it. Nothing like being able to call on dear mom to take care of my problems! But with this Bella Baseball Scarf, the pieces need to be blocked to make sure I get the correct shape for the next step...sewing them into trapazoid pieces and then sewing those pieces together. Eek! Why was I not intimidated enough by this scarf to just leave it be? Now that I've got all the pieces, I'm starting to freak out. I think it was all of those lovely cables, I just HAD to give more cabling a try!

 

So here I am, assisted, of course, by the awesome duo know as Phat Cat and the Princess. Phat Cat is laying on TOP of my drying blocked pieces, having knocked off the ironing/stretching board the already dried pieces. Nice. The Princess was most likely NOT  apart of this activity though she is looking innocent, having just been caught singlehandedly chewing her favorite plant (poor plant!). Crafts and apartment living are never dull with these two around!

I've got all of my pieces except for the two end pieces which just involve some simple stockinette knitting. And the sewing. Eek! The sewing! I will keep you posted on how it goes! Wish me luck with the blocking! Until next time...peace, love and yarn :0)