Knitting - the MAGIC of blocking and a current work in progress

Well hello there!

I thought I'd give you a peek at my current knitting project and rave about a knitting epiphany I have just had.

I recently bought a heap of pdf patterns from one of my favorite online shops The Vintage Knitting Lady and quickly started on the clear "instant gratification" item.  A 1940's blouse that claimed it could be knit in three evenings (Hah!).

It actually is a fairly quick knit, especially if you only do 1.5 instead of 2.5 inches of K1, P1 rib.  I hate K1, P1 rib with a passion, especially on tiny needles.

The pattern doesn't requite much yarn as it is a very loose knit and so I used some unidentified yarn I picked up from the local charity shop.  It came with some vintage 3ply and is a little thicker so is possibly a 4 ply and is definitely 100% wool and such a pretty blue. 

The pattern does not have any tension information and needed to be resized so I took a gamble and used needles 0.5 mm larger than suggested. 

I was worried throughout knitting the back section as it still looked incredible small and when I stretched it it looked odd.  I persevered though in the hope that blocking could sort it out.

This was quite a gamble for me as I have, so far, found blocking to be completely pointless.  However this is the first time I have worked with 100% wool yarn and now I have seen the light, for animal fibres at least.

I soaked the finished piece in cold water for 20 minutes and then  gently squeezed out all of the water and rolled the piece in a towel.  I then pinned the piece out to the size I wanted and let it dry.

In the morning there it was, dry, with even stitching and in the size I was after.  An absolute miracle.

Here is the blocked piece next to the unblocked front piece so you can see the difference.

It's a miracle, a yarny miracle!

I'm still not sure how this will turn out, or if I even have enough yarn to finish it, we shall see.