Clues 4 and 5

Clue 4

Well, I finished up clue 3 in perfect timing last Thursday, and whipped off the four squares of clue 4 in three days, to finish all of my squares on Saturday! 
Clue 4 was nice to do; the first half was in my B contrast, Classic Navy, and done in the shaker rib stitch, but on the bias this time! The second half was in my A contrast, Aqua Frost (so pretty!), and done in the garter stitch, much like the whole of clue 1. 

Photoshop layouts

And, being the impatient person that I am, when I was done on Saturday, I spread the squares out on the dining room table, and tried a few layouts. I started with Bernat's suggested layout, which I didn't bother taking a picture of (I like symmetry!), and then went on to my favourite layout from the forums, which didn't thrill me in my colours at all, and then on to another forum one. I don't think I'll be using any of those I tried out on Saturday, as I've decided to try some layouts in Photoshop first. The top two are from the forums again, and the bottom two I made up on my own. My favourites are the top right and bottom left, but I'm definitely leaning towards the top right one (as is all of my family I've asked opinions of). 

First layout

I'm getting ahead of myself though. Before the Photoshop fun, I went ahead and attempted blocking some of my squares... yikes.

Second layout

First, I blocked the four squares from clue 4. They were close to my goal size of 8.75"x8.75", so there wasn't too much stretching happening, and I made sure to pin the one curved corner into a more 90° angle. I pinned them out wrong-side up on the ironing board, set the iron to 5 (the lowest steam setting), and steamed them. I think they turned out pretty well; they were the proper size, the curved corner was now more squared, and they laid flatter. Next I decided to do one of my first clue 1 squares (a Classic Navy/Brick Brown one). These being my first squares, they were also my smallest squares (although the clue 2 ones are about the same width-wise). Working on just one, I painstakingly pinned it out. It was slow, annoying work, as I'd just discovered that ironing boards are mostly a sheet of metal- not very conducive to sticking pins in it, and I also had no masking tape to 'draw out' my size on the board. I had to keep measuring the darn thing to make sure I stretched it enough. And the stretching! Stretch it one way, it shrinks up the other! Finally though, it was pinned out and ready for steaming. I steamed it more than the previous four, and let it dry, which only took about 3-5 minutes. I unpinned it, measured it, and discovered I had a flat, square the same size as it have been before blocking. ARGGH!
After that discouraging episode, I packed up and went back to my room, deciding on three factors I needed to change. First, I had to get some of those kids foam mat blocks for the proper sticking of knitted square to flat surface. Second, I had to put some masking tape on the blocks as an indicator of where to pin said squares. And third, I should turn the iron to the hottest setting as well as possibly spray the squares with some distilled water before steaming. 
So yesterday, I found a set of four 24"x24" foam blocks for blocking on sale for $10 at Canadian Tire. Then my dad drew four squares on each block in pencil, measuring 8.75"x8.75", which I then put the masking tape on. 

Foam Blocking Mats

Tomorrow, the blocking will commence! I can only cross all of my fingers and hope that it works! D:


Things I learned:

• how to knit the shaker rib stitch on the bias
• that ironing boards are mostly a metal sheet below a thin fabric layer- not good for sticking pins into it
• Canadian Tire sells the foam blocks I need for blocking
• right-angle rulers rule
• blocking takes a long time, mostly in the setup stage