FO's 11-08-14

I am so excited to announce that I finally blocked my Pi shawl.  I'd finished it back in April and it has been sitting in a heap on the corner of my desk ever since.  Naturally, I noticed after I'd put it the tub to soak that I'd never woven in the loose yarn ends.  Let me tell you what a joy it was to weave wet yarn ends into wet knitted lace fabric.  Yes indeedy, good times!

There she is on the blocking mats.  I sure am glad I decided to photograph it being blocked.  See that flat spot near the bottom left corner of the photo?  I had not noticed that while pinning it out but it stood out like a sore thumb in the picture.  I'm so thankful that I caught it in time to easily fix it.  I'm even more thankful to be counting this Pi shawl as a FO (finished object.)

Speaking of being thankful, I sure am thankful for my blocking mats.  I don't know how I ever survived without them.  They were one of those things that I wanted, but when it got down to it, I always wanted additional yarn more than I wanted blocking mats.  Once I finally broke down and bought a set, I quickly learned that I needed a second set in order to block most of the shawls I knit.  The second set arrived in not so great shape.  They had muddy boot prints on them and a bit of what looked like hardened glue.  I was able to clean them up easily but I contacted the company anyway just to let them know, not to request a refund or replacement.  They insisted on sending me a replacement set anyway and now I'm the proud owner of three sets of mats.  Which turns out is a really good thing.  Blocking that Pi shawl took all but two squares.

Now, if I could ask you for your help.... Please say a little prayer that the blocking mats hold together.  The shawl is so wide that it's hanging about a foot off each side of the table.  I keep getting a mental picture of what the poor thing will look like if the mats break apart & pull the shawl down on those two sides.