On the Wires

We have a phrase, in the fiber-obsessed world of knitting: On the Needles.  We use it for projects we are currently working on, since they are (generally) on our knitting needles while we work.  (The crochet version is, I believe, On the Hook.)

A related phrase I haven't seen but should exist is On the Wires for projects that are in the blocking phase of knitting.  Blocking is a recent discovery for me (because I am lazy, lazy, lazy), but it really can make a difference in how the final product appears.  It's an opportunity to massage the knitted object into a pleasing shape, open up interesting stitchwork, and smooth out the occasional oddity in tension or technique.

Even though I only recently discovered the Magic of Blocking, as a convert, nearly everything I knit goes from On the Needles (OTN) to On the (blocking) Wires (OTW).

Wisp Airy Nothing, for example:

This expanse of Fishnet Lace went from a wadded, drapey, hole-filled one-end-wider-than-the-other thing to an even, lacey stole/cowl/hood while Hubster and I were out for dinner.

My blocking process is not fancy, although it can be a bit tedious to thread the wires through edge-stitches, as I try to use stitches that are supposed to line up, rather than, say, running the wires through the first eyelets I come to.  I let the work soak in Eucalan-infested waters for 15 minutes or until I remember that I'm soaking it (Hubster: "Is this bucket on the counter yours?"  Me: "Oh, is that still there?!")

After I've run the wires, I stick T-pins between the wire and the knitting, every few rows.  Here, I've used the edges of the foam puzzle-piece mats to align the edges of the work.  The "top" end of the work (next to the window) I just pinned, since the cast-on edge was fairly even, but the bottom, bound-off edge would have taken a kazillion pins, so I just ran a blocking wire through every few stitches of the bind-off and pinned the wire even with the edge of the blocking board (aka foam square).

Did I mention that the bottom had somehow grown wider than the top?  Through the Magic of Blocking, the wrap is now even.

Now, to sew on the buttons and be done with this project!  (Step one: find buttons.)