Finishing the sushi roll scarf yesterday seems to have created some much needed finishing mojo.

This Sunday, I stopped at my nearby crochet-friendly yarn shop (aka Yarn Tree Studio), where the owner, Lynn, greeted me by name, inquired about my son, and (in under two minutes) got me set up with this blocking kit from Knitter’s Block:

The orange color of the bag means that it won’t easily get lost in my crochet empire, and it also means that I will always have all the necessary tools for blocking in one place where I can find them:

If you are interested in purchasing one for yourself but don’t live near my crochet-friendly yarn store, you can order your knitter’s block directly from the creator of this product, Julie Weisenberger.

I bought the kit because I though that my soon-to-be completed ketjusilmukkahuivi needed a proper blocking, which would include not only a good soak in a lot of water and a touch of a mild detergent, but rust-proof pins to hold it in place while it dried, and clearly I was going to need something to stick those rust proof pins into.

Here is the ketjusilmukkahuivi as it appeared just minutes after I finished weaving in the final end:

I then laid out and assembled six of the nine puzzle pieces:

and secured the ketjusilmukkahuivi with the rust-proof pins.

Here it is after being thoroughly soaked in warm soapy water, rolled between towels, and pinned to the puzzle pieces:

Buoyed by the fact that I had finished weaving in the ends of the ketjusilmukkahuivi and was just hours away from having a dried and completed piece, I got out a large enamel pot, twelve packs of cherry Kool-Aid, and the two straps I crocheted for the basket of flowers project I have been working on.

In just under 45 minutes, the two straps were dyed:

Now all that it is left to do is to assemble the pieces, and then felt the basket of flowers-to-be.

I am a bit concerned about the degree to which the fibers in the straps relaxed. The straps had each measured 69″ before I dyed them, but grew to a length of 101″ after the Kool-Aid bath.

Be that as it may, I intend to spend tomorrow morning assembling the pieces, break for lunch, and then begin the process of felting.

The yarn is probably not an easy-to-felt merino wool, I am hoping to get it done tomorrow afternoon, but I am prepared to continue for as long as it takes.