The Kai Shawl

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My beautiful Kai Shawl by Kristina Smiley is done, which is good, but I kinda wish it wasn’t done because I enjoyed knitting it so much. Kristina Smiley is aptly named, because knitting her design made me smile a lot, and I am sure that wearing it will make me smile too!

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This is it before blocking. Even unblocked it’s pretty. I let it sit there for a couple days so I could admire it before I blocked it.

Of course, on the actual hottest day of the entire year, and at the hottest hour of said day, I decided it was time to block it. What an idiot.

For my birthday, I got a set of hard-ish foam interlocking blocking mat things and a cool set of blocking combs to use with it. Can I just say, blocking has become a joy and a task to be relished! Why didn’t I get this years ago? 
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There are many types of blocking mats on Amazon, of all different costs, as well as play mats for kids which do the same job. The difference is kids’ mats have fun colors, and knitters’ mats have inches and helpful lines for blocking curved things if you know how to put it together right. (I don’t. Yet.) But the thing that really floated my boat was this set of mats came in a handy zippered bag  and stores upright in a small space! Winner!

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I braved the incinerator-like heat, washed the shawl, and pinned it out. The process was quick and easy and I didn’t even have to swear! Amazing.

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It’s like magic to see how lace opens up like a butterfly’s wings to reveal its beauty.
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Well, it would be easier if I had the kids’ mats so you could see it instead of seeing the lines and stuff, but trust me, it’s beautiful. 

My Kai Shawl should be dry soon in this heat, but the humidity will slow it down a bit. And I can’t wear in this heat anyway. But it will start getting cooler at the end of this month and I will wear the heck out of it then!
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New Stuff!

I got some new stuff in the mail! I ordered a yarn bowl and stitch markers (because you can never have enough stitch markers), and they came today.

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The yarn bowl is great for many reasons. First, it is from a small company in Vermont, and I like to support small, local companies. Second, it is lightweight and durable. I've never gotten a yarn bowl because if it was ceramic, I'd break it, and if it was wood, I'd scratch it, so I just didn't get one. But this one is made from PLA plastic, a biodegradable material made from plants! It feels soooo good too. Thirdly, it is 3d printed, which is something I am fascinated by. I think there is a 3D printer in my future.

The stitch markers are great for a couple more reasons. Not only are they 3D printed from the same material from a small company, but the ones on the left are glow in the dark!!!! Yessss!!!!  And the ones on the right were free, but the reasons I love them are a) one is an alien, which is cool, and I visited the alien museum in Roswell, New Mexico years ago, and b) the other one is a black cat like Nicky, and I loved Nicky.

Some of the bowls are glow in the dark too, and who knows, I might just need one ....

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Steep Hill Farm in Vermont. Their service is fantastic. Go and see what they have!

https://steephillfarmvt.com/