Pull Up a Lily Pad

Join me in the frog pond. You won't croak. I didn't.

Yesterday I frogged not one, not two, but THREE WIP's. It wasn't nearly as painful as I thought it would be. I've become accustomed to the idea that my knitting doesn't have to be perfect, but I do have to be happy with the end result. If I'm giving it away, then I really do have to frog it and fix it.

First, the Baby Suprise Jacket. I was at the halfway point, and things just weren't working out. Beth and I shared some emails and she sent some tips to me. After looking everything over, I decided the best thing to do was to start over. *Ripit. Ripit.* My BSJ now looks like this:

I have plans to put myself on a strict knitting schedule to complete the jacket in a week to 10 days. It WILL be done before the July 15 baby shower for K2's sister.

Next, I frogged my Victorian Lace Sock. I was only just beginning the lace, on size 1 needles, the smallest I've ever used. Somewhere my stitch count was off. Back to the beginning I went! These socks will be gorgeous when complete. I need to concentrate to get going on them. Concentrate = no kids. (They leave Friday for 5 days with their dad.) *ripit* Notice it was just a little croak?

Thirdly, my secret Scotland silk and cashmere project got frogged back to the setup rows. Not a big deal. I was able to re-do all of the knitting last night. It looks even better with the corrections in it! Sorry, kids, no photos yet. Soon. Buddy B reads the blog. And he's not allowed to see it yet!

All is not gloomy, though. On Sunday, partner-in-crime Sarah Lou and I are going to Lansing to ThreadBear Fiber Arts! We'll meet up with Knitter Bunny Kelli and some other Michigan knitters there. I met Kelli and Sarah Lou both on April 1 in Ann Arbor when we gathered to hear The Yarn Harlot, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee speak. Anyway, I'm sure some mischief and fiber madness will ensue.

Thuja sock #1 is almost done. Yay!

Jumping into the pond...

the frog pond.

Growing up I was taught that if something was worth doing, it was worth doing right. "If you don't have time do something right, when will you find time to do it again?" we kids would be reminded. This mainly was in reference to schoolwork and chores we had to do around the house, but it was a lesson that stuck.

I could rename this lesson "Don't knit a sock gussett and instep with a migraine."

At Mayhem's program the other night, I had my sock along, and while waiting for the second graders to perform, I knitted. I turned the heel and picked up my stitches on both sides of the heel flap and started knitting the gussett. Knit in public. Represent. Nearing the finish of the gussett and getting close to starting the foot. Fine and dandy, right?

Wrong!

I didn't pay attention to the garter rib pattern from the top of the sock that should have continued along the instep. Instead, I proceeded with regular k2 p2 ribbing. I didn't chronicle the sock debacle with photos.

Said error was discovered yesterday (Friday). I looked at the sock. I pondered the sock. Keep it as is? Call it a design element? Let's face it, I am not a fast sock knitter. The thought of frogging back to the beginning of the gussett wasn't appealing. "Rip it. Rip it," that nagging voice in my head kept saying. I set the sock aside and decided to put off a decision.

This morning, while knitting with Sarah, the decision was made to frog. If you check her blog, you'll see I'm not alone in the frog pond. Poor Sarah had to start over completely. (Funny, we're both knitting with Cider Moon right now...)

But hey, at least I have good company in the pond!

Brrrrrrrrr!

This morning it was -5 Farenheit. With the wind chill it was about -25 F. School was cancelled. It was just too doggone cold to have kids walking to school, and kids who ride buses could not wait outside for them. That's IF the buses would start. Guess what? School for tomorrow was already cancelled by 5:30 PM today. Same forecast as today. We reached a whopping high of 7 degrees F, but wind chills had us way below zero all day. Even the outdoor ice rink was closed here today. Go figure.

What did I do with my bonus day off? I met my girlfriends for coffee and knitting at the coffee shop owned by our LYS! My car (a crossover between a van and SUV) is only a year old. It had no trouble starting in this weather. The kids spent the day with their dad, who also had the day off. He works for a different district, but that district also closed. My knitting focus has been my Irish Hiking Scarf, and it is nearing completion. Yes, I've decided it is for me.

Calorimetry has been frogged. Somehow, on the second half, I got distracted. That's not hard to do around here. Two crazy kids live here. Two very large dogs pleading to be let in and out follow me around. There's an open door policy for friends; some take it more literally than others and show up at odd hours. Anyway, long story short, I messed up. Along with the goof-up along the way, it was just too big. (Note to B: I did NOT fry that many brain cells in the 80's!) I've noticed in my blog-surfing that others have had to reduce the original cast-on stitches for this project from 120 to 100 or even 80, so I know it's not just me. The up-side is that I have gotten a great deal of practice doing short rows. One more new knitting skill learned. Oh! I haven't given up on Calorimetry. I plan to start it again with fewer stitches.

I have noticed, however, that people look at me much differently when I say, "I have three knitting projects going on right now," as opposed to "I have four knitting projects going on right now."

Why is that?