See what I mean?

I've been working on Aoibhe ni's Venus shawl, and it's finally finished: this is it.

It's a bit crumpled, and the lacy bits hardly show.

So: bring out the blocking boards:

And 24 hours later, hey presto:

As always, the photos are rubbish, but I hope you can see the effect of opening out the stitches. The shawl has also grown by about a third.

I've just put Aparna Rolfe's Leaflines shawl in to soak; might as well take advantage of the clear table! If you're interested in learning about blocking, sewing up etc, we've just produced a new schedule of workshops; have a look here: www.cityknits.co.uk

Bournville has been invaded today by students from Coventry University, sent out to study a model village. Some very nice people wanted to know all about living in Bournville: I loved the bit when they asked where the town centre was: reply, 'It's a village, and this is the centre!' Caroline and I refused to be filmed, but Jules was a stalwart and later, when Phil arrived, he was in his element, holding court outside the shop.

Dairy-free bread pudding today. Delicious as always. Discussion in the shop: is an egg a dairy item? I said no, it comes out of chickens; dairy comes out of a cow. No-one agreed with me.