WIP Wednesday - Frog Frog Frogging...

... a-frogging we go!

This is not your typical WIP blog post I guess, but un-knitting is also knitting, right? 

I've been meaning to do this for ages, but it's always kind of heart-breaking to frog something that you've spent time and effort making. 

Bye Bye Cowl! 

Cowl was one of my earliest large knitting project - not the first, but early nonetheless, and because of that alone there is a certain amount of nostalgia attached to it. Add to that that I actually really like the shape and look of this jumper, and you may ask why I wanted to frog it at all.

Unfortunately this jumper is almost unwearable and in fact I haven't worn it for years. It's not the fit per se - it fits fine - but the fact that it's entirely knitted in garter stitch. 

Have you ever tried wearing a garment made entirely in garter stitch?

Well, if you have you'll know that garter stitch fabric stretches almost into infinity. 

This might be great for certain kinds of project that you want to be stretchy and bouncy, but it's not so great for a jumper in an already quite soft wool yarn. As soon as you pull this jumper over your head it starts to follow gravity and extend in length. The body stretches down and the sleeves get longer and longer until you need to push them up to do anything.

Before you know it you are wearing a fluffy and shapeless bag. 

Not a great look. 

It's such a shame, because if it wasn't garter stitch the pattern would be great. The body of the jumper has subtle shaping, and the cowl is lovely. I gave the sleeves a subtle flare effect that also works well. 

Perhaps I should reknit the whole thing in stockinette? 

Alternatively I am considering Idlewood:

What do you think?

Shared with:
Yarn Along
A Year of Projects
Keep Calm Craft On
Stitch Along Wednesday

The closet of unfinished and abandoned WIPs...

Don't we all have one? Some bag, basket, cupboard, box or drawer where these unloved, forgotten and neglected projects linger? 

Well, mine are in canvas bags, in my office. 

I don't tend to look at them much. It's too depressing. And kind of stressful too, because I feel so guilty about them, just lying there and gathering dust (and possibly moths...).

I'm determined to get rid of some of them this year, though, so I thought I'd round them all up.

First up is Cozy. I actually really like this scarf, and I'm sure I'd wear it if it was ever finished. Unfortunately at the time I didn't buy nearly enough yarn. 

You can see here how far I, well, didn't get... I still have 3 or 4 balls of the cotton blend that I used for this lying around, but with the size of this scarf that's not going to get me very far. It might double the length of the scarf, but since I'd only done about a quarter of it that's still only half-way. :(

This was one of my earliest projects so I really struggled with the lace pattern and put a lot of effort into it at the time. I think knowing that this predates the kids, and getting married, and everything, plus the effort I put into it has so far prevented me from frogging it, but since there is really no way of finishing it the frogging is kind of inevitable.

Next up, my 'felted tote'. Years and years ago I bought some 100% wool yarn on ebay. It was old yarn and not particularly inspiring in its colour or in the way it felt, and eventually I decided that I was going to make a felted bag with it. I used three strands together and very big needles and started knitting a simple rectangle that I would then make into a simple rectangular bag with a flap to close it and a broad strap. The construction would be similar to Satchel, although not quite, because I'm not following any pattern and was just planning on felting the pieces and then cutting and sewing them together with mattress stitch. So once I used up all the yarn the idea was that it would go off into the washing machine, to re-emerge as a sturdy and thick piece of fabric that can be assembled into a sturdy and useful bag for all my papers, and other stuff. Good idea, no? 

Well, that was years ago. YEARS. I knitted quite a bit of it, but as you can see I still have some yarn left. Maybe I'll finish it this year? 

And last but not least, the Easy Raglan V-Neck. This is actually also on the list for Year of Projects, although I've never dared show the WIP itself. I actually really love this pattern and I think I'd get a lot of wear from a simple v-neck jumper like that. What I don't love so much is that GGH Savanna that I'm using for it. The problem is pretty much everything about it - the colour is sort of off-putting, and dirty-looking, and it seems to attract dust and fluff like a magnet, making it really scruffy-looking. I also don't like how the whole thing knits up in a kind of fuzzy way. Add to that that I must have started some other project with it at some point (I have forgotten or repressed what project that might have been), because all those balls are hand-wound and the yarn clearly looks used, so I very much doubt anyone would want it if I offered it around, even if anyone could make friends with the muddy colour... So yeah, you may gather - I'm not a huge fan of this yarn. This means that I cast on for this jumper a few years ago and then just stuck it in a canvas bag and forgot all about it. I'm determined to finish it this year, though, because I think this may actually make a wearable item - maybe not particularly stylish, but warm, and good enough to wear around the house, or for country walks in the winter. 

Second picture is merely so you can enjoy a close-up of how messy this yarn looks. :)