Oh, cedar makes your life easier!

Okay, first let me apologize to all of you who now have a commercial jingle in your head. Be comforted by the fact that it was playing in my head first and still is!

The reason for that little ditty running through my brain? Some lovely new sock blockers that arrived on my doorstep this morning by very special messenger -- the guy who made them dropped them by! Yes, it pays to live in the same city as someone who is a supplier of things that feed your knitting addiction. :)

Most sock blockers are truly two-dimensional. They're great for taking pictures of finished socks, but can leave tell-tale creases in socks when they're actually used for blocking. Not so with these beauties! My set is 2 centimeters wide (about 3/4 of an inch) and the edges are very smooth and rounded. There are not going to be any creases in socks blocked on these babies! They are hefty, too. One blocker weighs in at 418 grams (14-5/8 ounces), making them a useful weapon for bludgeoning anyone who might deign to try and steal from your stash.

Couple those features with the wonderful smell from the aromatic cedar and it's ability to keep those peskybugsthateatwoolandshallnotbenamed from coming around and you've got a true winner.

Want your own set of these great blockers? Head over to Deb's Etsy shop, Fearless Fibers and look in the Patterns and Blockers section. Her husband, Bruce, makes each pair and if you live in Hillsboro, Oregon, you might be able to convince him to personally deliver you a set like he did for me! Thanks, Bruce, you rock!!

WOYNW = What's On Your Needles Wednesday

Lime and Violet have started scouring their message boards, Ravelry group, and blogs everywhere to see what is on your needles every Wednesday. So, here's what's on mine! (And they said they'd find blog entries like this one, so I guess this is a test!)

The blockers are modeling one finished Monkey sock in Dream In Color Smooshy (its mate has just been cast on this morning and isn't fit to be photographed yet) and one partially complete basic 2x2 ribbed sock in Mountain Colors Bearfoot. Both socks report it was a wonderful experience to be snuggled up close and personal with such lovely blockers.

I still have the Mystery Stole 3 on the needles, too, but haven't worked on it for a while. I had been waiting to see what the wing portion of the pattern looks like before deciding whether to make the asymetrical version of the shawl or do a symetrical one instead. Now I think my choice is made. I still don't know what the complete asymetrical version looks like, but Melanie revealed on her blog today that "the big red blur" she's been giving us glimpses of is a two-winged shawl in progress. The pattern for the two-winged version will be a bonus included with the purchase of the complete Mystery Stole 3 pattern. I'll be buying it. Then I'll be knitting the winged stole with some white laceweight I have in my stash. Heck if I really like it (which I strongly suspect I will), I will probably make another one, too, then give one away and keep one. Now I don't feel so bad about being so far behind!

Oh, and as for Ravelry, there are now only 974 people ahead of me in line! WOO HOO!!!