Birch is done! Yee-Ha! I finished it last night at 2AM, while watching the first of the Lord of the Rings series on DVD (for the umpteenth time). There wasn’t anything on TV that would keep me awake, and I just had gotten to that point where I had to finish it or else.
This is sort of a down-and-dirty blocking, which I may have to re-do at some point when my house is back to normal. The only relatively flat surface I have available at the moment is one of the extra beds, and the room is so jammed with junk from the rest of the house that it was hard to maneuver around to pin it straight. I have a set of blocking wires somewhere. “Somewhere” is the key word in that sentence. I found the instructions to the blocking wires today while looking for something else, but strangely enough, the wires and the instructions were not in the same box.
I also have a homemade blocking board made with plywood, styrofoam, and canvas, but it’s not big enough for this. It’s also behind stuff in the garage. Murphy’s law of home remodeling is that no matter what it is you need to find, it will always be in the box behind the most stuff in the garage. At least I had the sense to pack the wine in boxes in FRONT of everything else, so we can get to it readily.
When we were looking at carpet this week at the flooring store, I noticed that they carry these:
Has anybody tried these for blocking? The ones that they had in the store had a smooth surface, and come in a 2 foot by 2 foot size. They sure would take up less space for storage when not being used.
As soon as that sucker is dry, I’ll post a twirling-around picture, and details of the project.
Birch is fantastic! Look at you – new house – new shawl. It looks lovely! I blocked my FBS on the living room floor on a beach towel, LOL.
My sister has that flooring in the toy room. I never thought of it for blocking, but it would probably work well.
Have a great weekend!
I think I used exactly 4 pins to block my Birch, so don’t worry about the bed-blocking. It’ll be fine.
Can’t wait for the modeling picture. It looks so good!
Your Birch looks wonderful! And, considering I didn’t block mine at all, I wouldn’t worry too much (grin)
I’ve read about blocks like that being used for blocking. The ones I’ve seen recommended are the kids toys ones. I don’t know what the price comparison is though. One advantage is that they’re reconfigurable. And with a 40% off coupon from JoAnn or some place like that, you could probably get one pretty cheap.
I keep intending to buy some, and keep putting it off. Of course, I’m currently using styrofoam insulation pieces (48″x18″, I think), duct-taped together. Also somewhat reconfigurable, and about $8.00.
Yay for you!! That’s awesome! It looks great! I can’t wait to see it once it finishes blocking!
Blogdogblog Lisa told me about the modular pieces for blocking. I love them and use them for my lace. Ready to do some more lace? Birch looks good.
Those foamy interlocking pieces would be a great idea for blocking – I’m off to find some.
Li
Lovely Birch! So how is knitting now that your hand is a little further along in the healing process?
You know, those blocks would work great — pins would hold nicely in them. My kids used to have a set years ago but I gave them away in one of our moves. Maybe it’s time to get another set. Congrats on finishing up The Birch.
Great work!….and those block things as a blocking board is a brilliant idea. I might have to cogitate on that for a bit!
Birch looks great!
Don’t worry about the blocking wires. They’ll just magically appear once your house is all done up. Just like my yarn, now *lost* midst the cartons in my new apartment. LOL