a DIY blocking board...

I don't often bother with blocking. The last time I blocked something (and I can't remember what it was) I used a cork notice board with a towel over the top and large knitter's pins. However, just lately I've been seeing lots of rather nice looking wooden blocking boards and thought it was something 'we' could make. I say 'we' but all I did was source the materials, print out a grid, tape it to the board and whacked a few dents where I wanted the holes to be. M did the hard part drilling all the holes to a certain depth.

The block of wood is a nice chunky piece of beech from B&Q, it cost £6. They have slabs of oak too which cost a bit more. Most of the beech had big knots in which I didn't mind a bit, knowing that I only needed a square section of it.

The bamboo skewers are not ideal and I will be trying to find some made out of a different wood. Tiny slivers of bamboo catch on the yarn. I've yet to try sanding them down but failing that I'm sure I can find an alternative. (I have various wooden dpns in a box somewhere that would fit.) Tesco alone had three different brands of wooden skewers which took two members of staff and two iPhones to locate!

I've blocked the bobbly squares individually but the flatter designs will stack up. I'm half way through my second square from the second week of this CAL; Last Dance in the Rain. It's the first ever CAL I've tried. So far so good, nothing too challenging. I'm sure some of them will prove more difficult (I'm talking crochet cables here!)

I resisted the temptation to buy the relevant yarn pack for this project. I have plenty of DK yarn that was very close to being given away recently. I'm choosing colours similar to the recommended choices and when I come across a colour I haven't got I will choose something else. In fact I've got a friend's words of wisdom to thank for this approach, she very wisely observed that if everyone used the same colours they'd all end up with the same blanket and what's the point in that? I quite agree.