Block Of The Month Gets All Steamed Up

After having the month of January off, my 1st Saturday of the month Block Of The Month class met Saturday February 6.  It was great to see everybody.  Dawn, Sandra and Patience were on time and raring to go.  I was too because I was going to talk about one of my favorite things; steaming hand knitted treasures.  Many things have changed my knitting life but there are two at the top of the list; the swifter with ball winder and the professional grade steamer.  They have made my knitting life simpler, easier and more fun.  

Let me introduce you to Marilyn so named because she is a hot mama just like Marilyn Monroe.  I just felt if Lydia the mannequin had a name, so should my beloved steamer.  Marilyn must be close to 20 years old.  I learned the importance of a steamer from Crafty Lady in Macomb before it was Crafty Lady Trio.  I learned it from the fabulous Jan who used to own the shop.  I used to hate blocking knits.  I had this great blocking cloth that had inch squares printed all over it.  But I had to spread it out on the floor and get on my hands and knees with a steam iron to block.  Hard on the back! Not a fun process!

I have talked to you before about the importance of blocking and steaming, but I think it is so important I am going to talk about it again in the context of Block Of The Month.

Let me share with you what I prepared for Dawn, Sandra and Patience. 

Most knitters have heard about blocking and steaming but many don't do.  I was shocked when Knitting Daily did a pole on "Do you or don't you steam?"  I was shocked to learn the vast number of people who don't.  Why would you spend all of that money on yarn, all of that time on knitting and not do the one thing which takes knitting from homemade to handmade, from amateur to professional?!?!?!?!  I just don't get it.  Blocking will smooth out the imperfections in your knitting.  It will make your stitches look nicer because they are more even.  

One of the things steaming will do for Block Of The Month class is help each block approximate each other.  We steamed one of Sandra's blocks and when I was done she said, "Oh, my! It looks perfect."  And it did.  This is my steaming board.  It is huge and I put it on my ironing board so I don't have to get down on my hands and knees.  This is so much better for my back.  

There are basically 3 types of blocking: Wet Blocking, Steaming and Spraying.  With Wet Blocking, you wet your treasure.  Do not wring it out.  It is much better to wrap it in a towel and press some of the moisture out.  then you pin it on your board and let it dry.  With Steaming, you pin your treasure to your board, use your steam iron, put a cloth over and let the steam go through the cloth. NEVER TOUCH YOUR IRON TO THE CLOTH OR YOUR KNITTED TREASURES.  That is one sure way to ruin knits.  With spraying you just use a spray bottle.  Pin your knitted treasure on to a board, spray it then let it dry.  What we do in our class is kind of a combination of steaming and spraying.  There is no hot surface with Marilyn just steam.  You don't have to worry about a hot surface touching your treasures.  

It is great to be back to Ann's By Design.  It is great to be back with my class and my Friday Social Knitting. I do admit that responsibility and commitments are cutting in on my knitting time.  It was great to be with Ann again.  We had a planning session on Monday morning to put some structure to our knitting offerings.  We are preparing for a Yarn Tasting event and International Knit In Public Day.  I have only been home a week and things are heating up.  If you are in Michigan you really need to make a trip to Adrian and visit Ann's By Design.  If you come in on most Fridays, I will be there.  Jan's back!