blocking ideas

Blocking is difficult on ones back.  It's also a very time consuming task.  All of that bending over, measuring and pinning.  I doubt that any knitter finds joy in the process.

I've found that blocking on a bed is very helpful.  Not so far to bend.  For quite some time I've used the queen-sized bed in our spare room for this purpose.  I used to cover it with towels to absorb the moisture.
Then I thought ... why not pick up a very thick, cotton mattress pad cover?  That would provide plenty of protection from the moisture for the mattress.

Then the idea came to cover the pad with this plaid, cotton flannel bedding (from LLBean).  It provides the perfect grid for pinning wires and points.  With this rectangular scarf I slipped the wires down the sides, measured once and pinned on grid.  Super quick and straight.

The grid is great for all shapes.  With a circle, find your center, count an equal number of squares out to your four compass points, then the midpoints, then fill in the rest.

Pinning out the points on a triangular shawl was just as easy.  Thread the wires straight across, line up with the grid, pull the bottom point straight down on center and then, counting squares from the spine for the other points, line them up across.  I only need a yardstick for the first measurements.  The rest is as easy as following the squares.

Please leave a comment with any time-saving, back-saving ideas you've come up with!

some days

Jack's world has grown silent.  And now it is growing dimmer as well.  Some days he likes being as close as possible.  Like one day this week.  I was tracing the quilting stencil onto a block when suddenly Jack jumped up onto the coffee table and curled up next to my elbow.

I moved to the floor for sewing and once again ... there he was, as close as could be.

Finally, wearied with all the up and down of tracing / quilting, Jack opted for my glider.

I thought to myself: He looks oh so old ... but he can still jump up onto a coffee table.  Dear, sweet Puppy Dog Jack.

while waiting

God is teaching me a lot about waiting on Him.  Waiting is not a time where everything is put "on hold."  Quite to the contrary.   Waiting seems to be an especially active time, where new opportunities for response in Christ pop up at most unexpected times and in the most unexpected ways.  His story.

How do I know God's hand is in it all?  Because in each circumstance He has prepared me beforehand for the faith response or equipped me in it.  His fingerprints are all over each and every little piece that fits together.  Look for Him in your life.  He's at work.

I don't know if He has said "no" to our personal prayer.  But I do know He has said "not yet."  And during this "not yet" time I must respond in faith to each and every person and opportunity He places in my day.  I smile from the inside out when I reflect on how He works.  I'm filled with joy when there's a glimpse of Him in the unseen.  Thank you, Jesus.

Dear readers, we simply cannot take in how active and present God is in the world today.  He is working out His plans and His purposes to His glory.

Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.  For momentary,  light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.  (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

shoreline shawlette

It was a quick finish.  And I think the shawlette blocked beautifully.  So soft and feminine and light and summery.

Needles:  US#2 addi circulars

Yarn:  Sugar Bunny Boulevard ~ Katherine

Colorway:  Pink Ribbon

Yardage:  397 yds

Edging:  Shoreline

Yes, the merino is as soft as it looks!  And the color depths do deepen in the folds of the fabric.

back detail

Encouraging Truth:  There is a second birth.  (2 Corinthians 5:17, Romans 6:3-10, Colossians 3:3)

charting the trim

This post is a notation of progress:

• The pink yarn would have looked lovely with some sparkly embellishments.  But after knitting up a couple of small samples, the edging pattern I chose just didn't "work" with beads.  Beads.

• I'm using "Shoreline" lace from Lesley Stanfield's book, 150 Knitted Trims.   This trim is knit sideways and attaches to the main piece by (ssk)-ing the last stitch of each return row with the next "live" stitch on the bottom of the scarf.   I'm knitting this 14-row repeat over 280 live stitches.

• The patterns in this book are presented in written form.  So I decided to transfer this one to chart form. I added a "connector" section for a more interesting transition from the body to the trim.

• For the body of the piece, I used the elongated short-row method of gently shaping.  Adding that to the connector and lace trim, after blocking this may end up being more of a shawlette than a scarf.  Scarf.

swatch of lace trim and connector / experimenting with beads

Encouraging Truth:  Our hope is not wishful thinking.  Our hope is a sure thing.  (Hebrews 11:1)

felted woolen balls

I was browsing through etsy listings the other day and saw a shop stocked with wool dryer balls.  They are advertised as a money saver.  These wonder woolies not only take the place of dryer sheets for reducing static cling and softening clothes, but apparently they cut drying time as well.  Has anyone had experience using these?  If so, I'd love to hear about it.

A google search provided quite a few sites and youtube videos that described exactly how to make them, so I won't bore you with those (easily found) details.  I rummaged through my stash for feltable yarn.   Yada yada yada ... and felted woolen balls:

Wound of mohair left over from an afghan project;

and some curly bulky wool, worsted wool and loopy boucle mohair, (leftover from the same project)

I also picked up a large skein of Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool for some more traditional wool dryer balls.   An 8 ounce skein yielded four/2 oz balls.  The wool felted better than it looks.  Posts I've read have noted that the balls will continue to felt as they are used over time.

This summer I've been drying towels and bedding outdoors on the clothesline.  But when winter comes, I'll put the woolen balls to the savings test.   Right now they are in a basket on our coffee table.  My husband and I are having fun tossing them at to each other.

They make soft and fun coffee table toys for children (or anyone who is a child at heart.)

Encouraging Truth:  God remains faithful.  (2 Timothy 2:13)

six a.m. this morning

"But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God."

1 Samuel 30:1-6