Christmas was when?

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I wish I remembered to take a before picture of the neckwarmer I made for my friend Mal, before I blocked it.
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You see, rarely do I block a knit item. I’ve read about blocking and all its magicalness, but I’m usually satisfied enough with the end product that I don’t think that it needs to be blocked. Or maybe that’s just something I tell myself to get out of doing a little extra work.  The last thing I knit AND blocked was the sweater I made for my niece, which was forevers ago in knitting time.
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So blocking – not really and integral part of anything I knit. It never crosses my head to do so. That is, until Christmas when I decided to make a neckwarmer for Mal. I saw the red buttons at the store and thought they were perfect for Mal so I picked them up not knowing what I’d do with them. Then I saw this stitch at Lion Brand’s website and thought it would be great for a neckwarmer using the red buttons and some aqua colored yarn I had in my stash (her favorite color combo = aqua/red). I got to work, loving every minute of this stitch, but then I noticed something… it started to curl!!! Now, I’m not some newbie knitter and am well aware that stockinette curls, but I figured the purls thrown in would prevent curling. I was so wrong.
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Upset, I entertained my options: Frog and start something different? But there is no time to start over!!! Do I… do I just buy her something for Christmas (GASP!). Then I remembered – BLOCKING! I must at least try to block this before I give up. I worried that it wouldn’t work because the yarn is an acrylic/wool blend, but blocking worked like a charm in getting the curl out!
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So yes, I am now a believer blocking. It surely saved me with this Christmas gift.
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And like with any gift I make for a friend – I totally wanted to keep it!!!