Blocking

With the third version of my next pattern off the needles, I'm again amazed at the way blocking brings out the true beauty of lace. What started out as a wadded, lumpy finished object stretched into an elegant, open piece in less than an hour.

I soaked the above project in tepid water until it was saturated, then gently pressed out as much excess moisture as I could. Next I slid blocking wires along pertinent edges and pinned the project into place using rust-proof T pins on thick, foam mats. 

For the areas of lace within the body of the fabric that I wanted to keep straight, I manually adjusted the stitch position, then placed a pin on either side to hold it in place (another option might have been to insert blocking wires into the main lace fabric, although that needs to be done very carefully so that stitches on either side of the wires don't become distorted).

Some edges I chose to create points by pulling stitches out and carefully pinning through them.

I l.o.v.e. blocking wires for finishing lace. You can purchase wires like mine, as well as pins, mats, and other blocking tools, at many local yarn shops.  If your LYS doesn't carry them, try online sources for wires and pins, like these shown below from Knitpicks.

 

My 24" square blocking mats were purchased inexpensively at a large hardware store (sold as anti-fatigue mats for workshop floors), and they work beautifully. Their large size allows me to easily block large projects. If you cannot find mats at your LYS or hardware store, you might like these smaller Knitpicks mats. 

Special mats are not necessary for proper blocking (some people use a clean, carpeted floor or bare mattress), but they do make it easier. And I highly recommend blocking wires for the best finish possible on many projects, especially lace. 

Although not every knit or crochet project requires blocking, most lace projects will benefit from the opening up of stitches that results. If you are not familiar with blocking lace, there are many excellent tutorials and videos online, like this one from Knitpicks.

 A few minutes of blocking a knit or crochet project is time well spent, considering the amount of time, care and money you've already invested in your wonderful project.

Pattern Sneak Peek & Test Knitting

It's been as hot as blazes around here but that has not kept me from working on my next pattern projects! The swatches in this post are from one of three versions I've knit for development of my next pattern.

I enjoy the entire process of designing including concept sketch, pattern writing, knitting, photography and graphic design, and although I love doing all of these things, I also have a small team of helpers to assist me including test knitters and tech editors.

A draft for this pattern has been sent to the technical editor (who requests to remain anonymous, but you can listen to her podcast A Playful Day). She's the first line of defense in checking for errors in stitch patterns, charts, grammar, etc. and offering her suggestions for clarity and improvement.

After a successful tech edit, I have a wonderful group of test knitters who I work closely with to polish up a pattern. These men and women receive the pattern well before it's public release and offer valuable input and feedback as they knit their projects and afterwards. 

I'm always happy to consider new test knitters, so if you are interested in participating in the pre-release test for my next design just drop me an email or Ravelry PM with your email address and I will contact you. 

Some FAQ about test knitting:

Do I have to be an expert knitter to test knit? 

Not especially, of course you need to know the basics - simple cast on methods, knit, purl, decreases, increases, etc. but anything unusual or tricky will have information links to my blog or special tutorials in the pattern. And in many cases, being a less-experienced knitter can be a plus as a pattern instruction may not be intuitive for you and that helps me see where confusion or trouble spots might pop up for other knitters.

What sort of commitment do you require?

I need reliable testers who can finish, block and photograph their completed projects within a set time frame, which varies depending on the complexity of the project. Test opening emails include the time frame specified for that project. 

When the test knit is concluded, testers must answer a few questions on a short survey.

In addition, testers agree to not post any photos, description or pattern details of any kind, online or elsewhere, until you receive notification of the pattern's release. 

What sort of photos do you require?

Simple, clear photos from several angles in natural light. In order to be considered for a test knit opening, I need to see examples of your previous project photos, these can be from your Ravelry page or blog, or emailed to me. The better your photos, the better your chance of being accepted to participate, but I am happy to offer suggestions for making your projects shine in pictures!

Today brought a small, but welcome, respite from the unusual, record-breaking heat (103 degrees F in the shade yesterday) in my area, and this lovely lavender lemonade recipe from Rachel Ray that I found on Pinterest

looks so refreshing I believe I shall pop out to the backyard and clip a few lavender stems and try it.

Stay cool everyone!

Pattern Inspiration and Quince & Co. Lark Yarn Review

This autumn's harvest brought a bounty of delicious fruits and vegetables - enough inspiration to fuel the imagination of any epicure for months to come. But even before they delighted my taste buds, I found these pears were a treat for the eye.

I love their silhouette, proportions, and rich tones of green and gold tinged with a subtle hint of russet.The attributes of these gorgeous pears inspired some of the ideas I had when working out the stitch pattern and carried over even to choosing yarn for a pattern design. After much consideration chose Quince & Co.'s Lark yarn. basket photo Quinceandco.com

 

Lark is a beautiful, reasonably priced, American-spun, worsted weight yarn plied with enough air to give it a slightly woolly texture and just enough cushion to soften the look and feel of the stitches (while not losing definition in a sculptural stitch pattern like the one I designed for this project).

 

Available in lovely solid colors, Quince & Co. has recently added a few heathers to Lark's range as well. Shade cards can be ordered from the Quince & Co. website.

 

I knit up several variations of the new designs, tweaking them until they captured what I had in mind, and the first pattern to be ready for test-knitting is a scarf. The scarf's texture is formed mainly by simple lace and cable stitches that look difficult but are actually easy and fairly fast to knit.

Lark stood up well to repeated frogging and re-knitting, even considering the constant manipulation of stitches required when working cables and lace, and just felt wonderful to knit with. I look forward to trying the other yarns in the Quince & Co. lineup!

That's it for now, I'm still knitting away on the next item in the set. The scarf should be ready for publication sometime in December.