Hi Knitters,
Blocking day has come again and this is actually the second day of blocking. The Rowan British Sheep Breeds is a heavy wool and it really soaked up that water yesterday. I put a fan on it yesterday, too, and it is still damp today. Maybe by tomorrow it will be dry.
I will be wearing it tomorrow if it is ready! I'll share one more photo of me in the finished and blocked and buttoned pullover.
By the way, when I dumped the water out of the basin where I was washing the sweater, the water was quite dirty with a small amount of brown sediment at the bottom of the basin. This is a truly rustic wool and I absolutely love it. I never mind picking twigs out of my yarn as I work. I have no idea why I am so drawn to natural wools and tweeds like this. Yum.
You can see the button choices here. TC helped me place them on the owls. She loves helping me make choices about things like this.
After much deliberation, I have to say that this is my favorite....
...the single owl and the tiny white button eyes and off-center to the left. It's just enough.
I've already stitched these two button eyes on with some matching gray thread. I found the buttons in an old button tin that my dear friend gave me after her mom passed away many years ago. I think her mom, Bernice, was around 90 years old. What a treasured gift. The two buttons I picked are not an exact match and they are slightly yellowed around the edges. I imagine they are really quite old which I love. Antique buttons kind of go with this sweater.
I love these buttons even more now that my friend is gone. She was a huge bird lover, too. It will be a sweet reminder of her and it made me feel good to stitch these particular buttons to the owl.
There is both back shaping and a little side shaping on Owls. You can see the back shaping clearly here. I have only done side shaping before so this was new to me. I kind of like it. Waist and back shaping are always optional if you want a looser fitting sweater.
I'll give more details and information (like size, gauge, tips, needles used, etc.) on my final post about Owls in a day or two. I've heard from a lot of knitters planning to start their own Owls sweater. It is a good choice.
Also, I have received lots of questions about my blocking boards since the Citron blocking day post. Mine are the original Knitter's Block by Cocoknits (click here for her website). I love them and I have the largest size set. It comes with the carrying bag and the set includes blocking pins, as well. Check it out if you are interested.
best, susie