Monday 7 March 2011

Nice things from today, and checking my gauge.

Today has been sunny.
That meant I could hang my washing outside... and it actually dried. So lovely!
I have started a new knitting project... Always nice! This time a Zipped gilet for Elysée from Debbie Bliss' book "Essential Kids".


Not only this, but I also checked my gauge! For the first time ever before embarking on a project, I took inspiration from Fay's blog and thought I would just be good and knit a tension square. And. Lo and behold I am a loose knitter! So I adjusted down my needle size, and am now happily ensconced in the project.  Had I not checked, I'd have made a gilet considerably larger than necessary!



My little pile of crocheted Granny squares is steadily growing.  It makes for a nice thing to do when one only has a little time to spare... The basic Granny square pattern says "you might also want to block the granny square"... Does anyone out there know what this means?



Last night I made chocolate soufflé.  Again- thank you BBC Good Food for an amazing recipe!  I read the comments and reviews below the recipe before starting, and decided to reduce the cooking time as a few people said it was a little dry.  That was definitely a good move, and the resulting dessert was wonderful- nicely risen but that little bit gooey inside.  Perfect!

I hope your day has also been a lovely one.

C x 

3 comments:

  1. Hi Caroline, I've done blocking in knitting before and guess it would be the same for crochet. You place a towel over a flat surface (I used the ironing board) and put a tea towel over the towel. Then you pin your knitting (or crochet) to the tea towel so it's completely flat and spray it lightly with water and leave it to dry (my book suggests all day). I think it's supposed to make sure all the stitches are in line and gives the work a better shape. Hope that helps.
    Jo

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  2. Ah! Thanks so much, Jo. I'll give that a go with my crochet squares!
    C

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  3. You can block with a steam iron too, hovering over the work and not touching it. Or by soaking the work then pinning or laying it out...depends what you fancy and what you're blocking. Makes a big difference to anything made of natural fibres, makes it look much more finished and kind of teaches the fibres how to lie within the fabric. Anything with holes, like lace or gappy crochet particuarly benefits!

    I wondered if your tension was a bit loose when the cardi came out so big...I'm often gratful that babies and children grow!

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