Pins? Check! Blocking mat? Check!

I made this tatted doiley ages ago but I've never taken the time to block it properly. So, since I'd washed it I thought I would take the opportunity to do so.
I should probably thought it through a little more carefully.
While blocking the middle was no problem, getting the outer areas flat was not easy. Especially since I found I'd made all sorts of errors attaching the wrong picot to the wrong loop.
So, in the end I settled for a minor blocking and then a stiff iron. While the outer picots are not as defined as I might have liked they were better than going through each and every one of them and pulling them straight.

And as you can see, the photo looks pretty special. I know now that I don't need to pull the knots as tight and to be very careful when joining elements that they are actually going where they're supposed to go.
But I'm not sure I have the courage or patience to even look at a tatting shuttle at the moment.

I think I'll keep knitting :)