Blocking the (Pi)ney Path shawl

Over Christmas I finished the bloody great leafy lacy Pi shawl I first began a couple of years ago. Finished knitting it, that is. I'd never thought much about blocking it. I'd never made anything this big and lacy before, so it had never come to my attention that blocking pins/wires are unobtainable in Ireland and hugely expensive elsewhere. It had also never occurred to me quite what a pain in the ass the whole process could be. I don't know how much easier the proper equipment would have made it - not very, probably, given that the shawl is A) circular and B) bordered with approximately one billion little leaves. I made a trip to my parents' house, as mine doesn't have a big enough patch of carpet, and spent an evening knee deep in pins. It was not fun. It did work, just about, though I would give the border leaves a wee steam with an iron if I could be arsed.