Tuesday, January 24, 2012

The Taming of the Curl - A Crochet Tale with a Moral

Once upon a time there was a scarf. A lacy, feminine scarf. Made as a gift for a dear distant friend, in a soft drapey yarn of her favourite hue, with loving thoughts in every stitch.

It should have been beautiful. But instead, it was...

CURLY!

Alas, the unfortunate nature of crochet is to scrunch up and curl in upon itself, and this scarf was merely following its natural bent. 'Tis true, 'tis pity, and pity 'tis 'tis true. But all was not lost.

Enter the shining hero:

See, the conqu'ring water comes

Like a soft spring mist the droplets fell. Gentle fingers smoothed the scarf, and the curl began to recede. But the yarn was stubborn. A complete overthrow was necessary to tame its curly propensities - so the scarf was turned over and sprayed again.

Face down on the ironing board cover, chastened by moisture and time, our scarf yielded at last to its beauteous fate.


Here we see it, docile and lovely, ready to be wrapped and sent winging on its way to delight the heart (and warm the neck) of its wearer.


And the moral is: block your work! Often a good spritzing and shaping with the fingers is all it takes to turn your crochet from crumpled to sublime. Your projects are worth it.

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9 comments:

  1. A beautiful ending to "A Crochet Tale." :-)

    Yummy color, too.

    We are born with whirlwinds, forest fires, and comets inside us. We are born able to sing to birds and read the clouds and see our destiny in grains of sand. But then we get the magic educated right out of our souls.
    ~~Robert R. McCammon

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  2. I couldn't agree more Sue ... I block all my knitting projects, even things like baby knits.

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  3. A job well done and a good moral. Now tell me, how exactly does one go about blocking a Peanut?

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  4. Smashing colour too, SP

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  5. Very effective photos! Sometimes I think yarn should be packaged with wrappers that show both unblocked and blocked! Wish so many needleworkers weren't so intimidated by blocking.

    Lovely scarf, lucky friend, by the way!!!

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  6. Very pretty and very funny. Did you place anything on top of the scarf? Generally I place a towel and books overnight. Perhaps, this is not necessary?

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  7. It really is lovely. You do know that in our very beginnings and tender youth that we are in need of some gentle fingers and a bit of spray now and then!
    Seriously, it is lovely. I wish that I could crochet like that.

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  8. This is so much better than the usual: Block your work. Excellent!

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