Brush Creek Cowlette from The Knitting Nest - Day 5

You can’t ever tell a piece of lacework by its unblocked state.

Unblocked, this cowlette is a ripply, bubbly trio of colors.  There are hints to its final texture and shape, but they are mere clues to the weight and drape of the finished piece.  Much as I like the color combinations, I doubt I’d select this if it were on a boutique table—now.  It lays wrong, it crinkles up in places, and you really can’t see the patterns.

All that will change after this baby has had its bath.

This presents a fine opportunity to showcase one of my best knitter/parent repurposing tricks.  It’s one many  knitting mama’s (and likely daddy’s) know: the alphabet block foam puzzle. 

Sure it was fun when they were tykes—ours got a particularly good workout in the tub—but now it becomes a wonderfully flexible blocking surface for small projects.

I’ve got a huge cork board that serves as my blocking table for shawls and larger pieces, but there was no need to haul it out for this project.  It took me all of 30 seconds to squish together the correct shape—adding a few more squares as I went along—and tuck it next to my front windows for the best drying air.

There are manufacturers who figured out this use and created products that serve the same purpose, but I love that my kids’ toys have found a new life as a toy of my own.  

I might not ever give the toy version as a baby shower gift saying “I’ll be happy to take this off your hands in a few years,” but I might say “Let me teach you how to knit and these will come in handy in a new way one day.”