Karabella Lace fir cone shawl center, blocked

I just love blocking lace! And whatever others may say, I do enjoy knitting lace with this yarn. While it has shrunk back a bit, I think it is no more than I would expect. I used a 3.5 mm (3 US) needle.

Before blocking, the piece measured about 16x16 inches. Here it is in a field of Veronica...


























Pinned out, it measured about 29x29 inches. I left it to try overnight, unpinned it in the morning and it immediately shrunk 1 inch to 28x28. I left it undisturbed for another 8 hours. It shrunk back one more inch in that time, to 27x27.




















































When I returned from work, I could resist no longer and took it for another whirl in the garden.




































































I just measured again and it is now 26x26 inches. The bumps that you can see in the first picture show no signs of re-appearing. For now, I have a 60% increase in size from the unblocked state. Quite respectable, but I will check again in the morning. Now, I'll get back to the pink blanket.

PS. No one has guessed the answer to yesterday's question correctly yet! Keep trying.

Comments

Mary Lou said…
I was looking forward to the answer! A ghost? Love the fir cone center.
April 28, 2010 at 10:24 PM
Helen said…
Is it someting to do with the heat? Floorboards expanding and contracting?
April 29, 2010 at 6:07 PM
Helen said…
I meant the heating system, not actual heat.
April 30, 2010 at 7:29 AM
Raveller said…
Nope, none of the answers given so far are correct.
April 30, 2010 at 2:09 PM
Anonymous said…
Did you have a small earthquake?
April 30, 2010 at 11:30 PM
Anonymous said…
Was it caused by the wind?
May 1, 2010 at 8:57 PM
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