Blocking the Wedding Shawl

Lately I've been on a mission to finish the Wedding Shawl (Cladonia, in Classic Elite Silky Alpaca Lace in Wedding White).  It's knitted and wet-blocked.  Right now it's drying.

It occurred to me while I was going about my blocking this morning that there's a nice rhythm to it.
However, you have to have the right tools.  I used all 18 of my blocking squares, put together with the rough side up to hold knitted fabric where I put it.  Cladonia is a half-circle shawl, so I started by running two long blocking wires through the straight top of the shawl.  Look at the bottom of the photo -- see the wire through the purl bumps?  And how the wire is held in place by t-pins?

This allows me to pull the points of the shawl while the top is held firmly by the wires.  Rachel is tall, so the shawl needs to be as long as possible.  Alpaca and silk stretch nicely wet and obligingly stay that way once dry.

Cladonia's hem edge is picot points, each with a bead in the center.  All will be pinned.  I begin by pulling and pinning the center point of each section.

Then pull and pin the center points between those points.

Until the pinned points are in a nice easy crescent shape.

Every pin in the shawl -- and there are 77 beaded picots -- is angled this way:

Those talented picots can't climb the pin to escape.  They're stuck until I'm ready, which will be after the ceiling fan does its drying thing.

LZ blocking rules:

1.  the right tools for the job;

2. know what the fiber wants to do;

3.  balance -- ease in the lace points;

4. angle the pins;

5. you might as well enjoy it.