My Quickie Caplet pattern keeps taking on “new life”. It’s such a simple pattern that you can do pretty much anything with it and still come out with a handy shoulder warmer.
This one is for a co-worker of mine. I’m calling it Swanky Caplette since one of the yarns is Red Heart’s Swanky which adds a bit of sparkle when the light catches the little metallic beads in the yarn.
I started out using a pattern from Sequence Knitting a K2 P2+1 modified rib—and planned to make it a spiral, but on a decrease row I must have had a reversal, because I realized the following morning after a night knitting session in front of the TV, that it was spiraling the other way.
No worries! I just counted the rows and completed another set before turning around and going the original direction—and Voila! It looks like I meant to do it that way, no?
Welcome to my world of ad hoc knitting! I love creating a unique piece every time!
By the time you read this, I’ll be in Italy hopefully hitting some of the great knit shops in Milan. It’s my first time to Italy and I cannot wait!
“You can turn that back into string?” asks Watson—a non-knitter looking at one of my failed experiments and the potential recipient of the objects d’art in question. And while we knitters like to think of “the string” as yarn or wool (no matter what it is made of) it is basically that—balls of twine that can be made into clothing or household objects.
Frogging is simply taking made articles of knitwear back into the components of what they are made of to be remade into something else. I love the work of Grid Junky who literally buys old clothes (even jeans) from thrift stores and turns them into beautiful new things.
Lately I’ve had quite a few things that just didn’t turn out as I’d hoped. My First Crochet Project: The Seahawk Gadabout Bag. As you can see from the photo, it grew wider as it got taller. This is in part because I added a stitch each row (as directed by the pattern)–but didn’t quite understand that it wasn’t an add, but a “close the loop” stitch. I have it somewhat balled up. I didn’t want to go all the way back to the base, but I might have to because I can’t remember what size hook I used. How terrible would it be if I tossed the whole thing in the trash?
The ball in between the article and the skeins is the frogged portion of the project.
One was a capelet based on my Big Needle Caplet I was knitting for a friend. I was trying to create an interesting pattern, but the bigger the item got, the more wonky the pattern looked. Also because it was a partial rib pattern, instead of increasing smoothly, it was smaller on the more heavily ribbed parts and wider on the less ribbed. So out it was pulled. I’ll be checking out Sequence Knitting for a better fabric.
Then there was the Bias Scarf for Sushma. That was finished and turned out very well. Only it was finished *after* Christmas.
The one I started and finished first was the Cabled Shrug for Watson which sadly barely fits my tiny “girls” and will definitely not go around Watson’s robust bust. I modified significantly from the original—thinking to “update” the “look” and the result is that because I used garter instead of ribbing has a big bulge under the arm and across the back. So while the Watson Shrug was my first project started back in the Fall for my friends at work, it will end up being the last one I complete. It’s on my list to frog and quite likely will be a different shrug based on another pattern from Sequence Knitting.
This said, I think it is totally worth it to frog things and feel there is no shame in turning things “back into string” when they don’t work out.
Try, try again knitters!
I’d love to hear about your ups and downs of frogging!
Everyone agrees—islanders and visitors alike—that the best sunsets on Orcas Island are seen from West Beach. People drive, walk, bicycle, jog, kayak, even hitchhike just to take in the view.
On a clear day, with no clouds, the sunsets are rather banal, but when there is weather—and in particular a forest fire on the mainland—the sky lights up with some of the most amazing colors.
I thought I’d just post a few of the memorable ones from summer until now.
Sunset from the nearby beach
Last Night’s Sunset
Tonight’s Sunset
Kayaking in Lover’s Cove, Orcas Island
Tonight’s Sunset
Kayaking on the small bay my new house sits above last September
Well, they are done. And given how much work they took, I consider this the completion of TWO projects. With this being the third pair, it is surprising it was harder—especially since I used the same guide—Socktacular!by Knit Picks. This time I chose the Basket Rib Socks.
One element was the yarn–Spincycle Yarns Dyed in the Wool in Shades of earth. It had unexpected knots and anomalies (the size varied from light fingering to worsted). That variation resulted in one sock being slightly shorter than the other—despite being the exact number of rows. It also had MUCH more color variation than it appeared, so my idea of knitting a sock with individual skeins means that the sock almost look as if they don’t belong to one another—except by texture.
The mitigation would have been to alternate rows as I’ve done on other projects. And this was one project I was NOT going to tear out *another time* in spite of the $65 price tag for the yarn. See How Many Times Do I Have to Knit THIS Sock? for details.
On the upside, I did manage to perfect purling via continental style, whereas before I was really only good at knit stitches, with purls being a bit loose. So as always, there is a silver lining! I’ve added another skill to my tool belt. 🙂
Orcas Island Knitting 