November 13, 2003

Why, it's a seaming party!
[Throws confetti all around.]

Take out a red marker and circle this day on your calendar, friends. Believe it or not, I have decided NOT to procrastinate over seaming my niece's tank, and went off and started it! It's record-breaking; I usually wait weeks to start finishing. Let's all have a kir royale to celebrate.

But that's not all. While I was in the finishing mood, I decided to just go ahead and complete the back piece of Elfin. I kid you not. I'm on roll, I tell you. And as if that weren't enough, I even blocked it. Ever blocked Rowan's Felted Tweed using steam? The smell is enough to curl your toes. Wear noseplugs. But what a fabric! Felted Tweed doesn't curl, and this is something I noticed when I blocked the swatch. So I did away with the ribbing at the hem in order to avoid having the jacket cling at the hip area, but I was still able to do a tubular cast-on without having to worry about the cast-on edge curling.


Totally tubular. Like, totally.

Oh, how I love the invisible edge that the tubular cast-on creates! I use it every time I knit up a non-bumpy yarn of fine gauge. And it looks so neat and clean on Felted Tweed, it's worth having the room smell like a barn while steam-blocking the fabric.

P.S. When steam-blocking, set the iron to low-heat, and cover the fabric with a damp cloth. I always use lightweight cloth diapers (brand-new, never used...come on!) that are slightly damp to cover pieces I block using steam. That way, the steam will still get through but the knitting will be protected. And even with the cloth, Felted Tweed will still smell like a barn. But, like I said, what a fabric!

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