Surprising knitter friendly places

Gust came off the needles, and I came to the keen awareness that I needed blocking wires asap.

This is a rectangular scarf, and should have straight edges, with no ripples from pins.

After chatting with a few on line pals about it, I realized that there might be a less costly solution to the $25-$30 + shipping blocking wires kits.
My friend Lisa pointed me in the direction of Heartstring Blog, and I read about Stainless Steel Welding Rods.
Such a clever gal. thank you.

So fortified by my current mission, I braced myself to enter the testosterone charged environment called "Lowes" (bless them).  I considered practicing my best pirate aargh sound to inflict on unconscious employees, but swiftly cast this errant thought aside. (they might well not appreciate my silly sense of humor)

On most occasions when going to Lowe's, I head straight for the garden section (which is blissfully outside) thus avoiding the high shelves lined with all sorts of boxes and contraptions designed to confound the non-mechanically inclined, humiliate the most astutely educated females among us, and mesmerize the male species of our planet.
I braced myself to enter this predominantly "male" domain, preparing to be totally ignored, avoided and generally treated like a second class citizen. I was pleasantly surprised.
I walked up to the customer service desk and asked - which isle has Steel welding rods? they directed me to isle 72... I hiked the seemingly endless steps across the entire building to isle 72, as I blithely ignored the ceiling high piles on boxes on my left,  and searched  on aisle 72 among heavy equipment (which all required hoods and torches and nothing even remotely like a 'rod') until finally a delightful gentleman of about 102 yrs old (grin) came along with a young crony of around 35 and they spoke with me. "What'cha need darlin?" the older gentleman asked sweetly (and not at all demeaning). I decided to courageously bare my knitterly need, and said... "well, I am knitting lace, and I need some long, thin strong tube-like things to hold it stretched while it dries... and someone suggested that I could buy stainless steel welding rods instead of spending $30+shipping to buy a blocking kit"
This kind older gentleman gave me an enormous grin (obviously comprehending what lace knitting and blocking was) - his wife must KNIT! he nodded wisely at me, and said.. "but of course! on isle 3, we have exactly what you need. Can you believe that anyone would pay so much for plain old steel rods? I hate it when they do that to women. Come with me, dearie, we'll get you fixed right up"
And indeed he did!
I bought 4 four foot stainless steel welding rods for a grand total of $11.72 ! woo hoo.

And while I might well need a thinner size in the future, I know exactly where I will go, and which kind gentleman I will look up to assist me once again. (hooey to it being a "male" domain! Lowe's is knitter friendly :-)

What never ceases to amaze me is how lace can go from this:

to this: 

Now I just need a nice local knitter to show me an easier way to thread all those teensy stitches onto the blocking wires.. (grin)  I actually had to get out my reading glasses to thread this onto the wires (hahahah)

Gust - knit in Dicentra Designs   hand dyed Lace weight Alpaca 

Lisa's subtle color changes in her semi-solid hand dyed yarn are amazing. I love knitting with it.

one final curiosity now that I have pulled it off the blocking rods, is how do you avoid stretching the edging stitches? I have ended up with some small loops where flat stitches should be.. thoughts anyone?

Comments

[Jennifer]

I just bought the wires for 25$ but I got 8 and a yardstick and a case. Yours are longer but they are going to jump out of wherever and stick you in the foot when you least expect it. I did go to Home Depot once looking but ours has no friendly knowledgeable gnomes. I dabbed my edge stitches a little and pushed them into place, redried. You could also do careful steam.

[Ruinwen]

Your scarf looks lovely! I'm glad the wires did the trick. I have the Knitpicks kit but I haven't used them yet. :)

[Kathleen C.]

I have to admit it... I *love* hardware stores! I could wander among the various bits and pieces and nibs and knobs and doohickey aisles happily for hours.
That could be partly because as a costume designer I am used to looking for items to use in ways the manufacturers never intended. And I think that tickles the imagination of the hardware workers.
Once, I needed a long braid for the Rapunzel for the Prince to clomb up. The Lowes guys had a great time helping me pick out just the right yellow rope that could have hair glued to it and be braided.
Then there was the time I needed something light weight but stiff to act as the edges in mouse ears and inside the tails. They went through trying out the various foam tubes and flexible plastic piping until we found just the right one.
I think they love it when someone uses their stuff in weird and wacky ways!

[Carole]

I have a regular blocking kit but I'm glad you found a solution.

[Amelia G.]

That's clever ... and what a lovely lace pattern!

If you'd like to join in, I've tagged you for a meme :-) see here:
http://askthebellwether.blogspot.com/2008/05/me-me-me-me-me-meme-of-course-about-me.html

[Chris]

You were very lucky indeed in Lowe's, and with such lovely results!

[loribird]

So what you're saying is... my knitting habit will make my husband fully employable into his elder-years? Cause the man is going to need a hobby, I can tell that already.

The lace looks great. I don't know about the little loops, I imagine they may "vanish" with normal wear or be completely indiscernible to the normal observer.

[Leah]

I'm one of the suckers that bought a blocking kit before I found out about the wires. Oh well.

The stole is gorgeous. Can't wait to see it modeled. From this angle, it looks just like waves on the sea. Sooo pretty!

[vanessa]

i hate to tell you, but there is no easier way to thread the wires ;-)

another hardware store lover here.

[Dicentra]

Now I know where to go to get my blocking wires! I just got some Lowes coupons in the mail too! I also like shopping in hardware stores.

[Susan]

Could you steam the loops back into place? Interesting problem...does that mean the wires are too big in diameter? Or just that any tension on the edge stitches would cause that maybe.

[Cybèle]

Your description of hardware stores cracked me up - o the hours I have to endure in there, feigning interest or even worse, comprehension, when my partner decides that he *needs* something that weekend which can't wait till Monday... And his inability to comprehend that my idea of a blissfull weekend is not browsing aisle after aisle of nuts, bolts and screws... How come I'd never dream of taking him to a wool shop?!
(the shawl is lovely by the way. I've never knitted much lace before. At the moment I'm so busy with work that I'm in awe of anyone actually finding the time to knit, let alone finish things)

[Wool Winder]

I haven't had the need for blocking wires yet, but I'll keep this solution in mind. Thanks!

[Cheryl]

I use welding rods too (I just grab them from the welding room here at work) and I've found that the 1/16" dia ones make the stitches less stretched out. As for threading the stitches on, that's never any fun. I try to do them at the widest intervals I can without getting distortion, so at least there's a few less to get on there.

[jackie]

I am amazed at how such a small ball of yarn can turn into a beautiful shawl! And I have absolutely no experience with blocking lace, but would it work if you lashed or whip stitched the edges on to the blocking rods?

[heatherly]

awesome!
it looks so beautiful!

[Sarah]

How clever! I've been thinking about getting a set of blocking wires, now I know where to go. Also, your Gust looks beautiful -- that's a perfect shade of blue for a shawl with that kind of name!

[Lorette]

Dear, there is no easy way to get that wad of wet lace onto those wires. I bought welding rods for blocking, too, except I went to Airgas, which is a welding shop. Talk about testosterone. The guy behind the counter thought it was a hoot though, and said that his wife was a knitter. The little peaky things along the edges disappear, or you can use a steamer and push them into place. I have a small hand-held steamer (Rowenta) that works great.

[anne]

wow, can't wait to see it unpinned!
i agree, there is no easy way to thread the wires through fine, wet fabric; you do have to be patient. blocking wires are not necessarily faster than pins, but i do like the finish a little better. and you CAN set the wires in further from the edge to avoid those stretched loops (the heartstrings blog page you linked to has a photo of that)

[Mom]

What a gorgeous scarf and so much work! I, too, loved your description about Lowes and have spent many hours watching your Dad hunt for just the right bolt or screw. Clever girl to find the kindly gentleman. if you go back, give him a smile or hug from me. Once more I am amazed at my daughter. Love and more love, Mom

[Lucia]

Brilliant! I've been thinking about buying a set of wires, but now I know where to go instead. I too love hardware stores. When I bought my used Matchless its lazy kate had two broken rods, and I gave them to Dave Paul to make me some new ones, knowing that he'd play fair on the price (I <3 Dave!). Only problem was, I wouldn't see him until the next festival, so I went down to the hardware store to see if I could find a reasonable stopgap. One long 1/4-inch dowel rod, two wooden beads and about $2.50 later, I was set to go. (The Schacht rods are milled a bit where they go through the holes, but this turns out to be entirely unnecessary and to make them break far too easily.)

Your jasper is gorgeous! I should have known you would have the real thing.

[KarenK]

I avoid the loops (and the wire-threading problems) by using sturdy crochet cotton thread instead. Thread a needle with a long piece of crochet cotton thread, weave the thread through the edge stitches on both sides, while the lace is dry. Leave at least 12 inches or so of thread hanging out at each end. Then wet the yarn and the thread.

Now comes the fun part. You need a floor where you can drive in little nails, or some surface where you can drive in really sturdy pins, firmly. Drive in the nails, or set the pins, at an appropriate distance, then anchor the thread at each end on both sides, stretching the thread tight between the nails/pins. Then you can anchor T-pins at the edges to pull the thread out a bit to make the sides straight.

This method is easier because you can "sew" the thread through the edge stitches while the lace is dry. NO struggling to poke long stiff wires through wet stubborn lace. And you can sew the thread through the spaces in the edge stitches at closer intervals, which helps do away with the "loopiness" at the edge.

Beautiful lace - hope this hint helps.

[Laurie]

I wish I had known about the Lowe's wires before I bought the blocking kit.