Liberated!

From the tyranny of unsuccessful knitting projects.




(I was looking for an illustration for "freedom"...don't know if this quite hits the nail on the head, but hey, who doesn't love Opus?)

I've had a miserable couple of weeks (Without reliving them on my blog, let's just describe them as containing major issues with SN pup and her school/therapy and even school bus schedule that have threated to toss my usually thinly balanced emotional stability out the window.)

I've been really frazzled lately and it's shown up in my knitting. Missed stitches, wonky tension, all sorts of silly stuff that doesn't usually happen to me. Well, doesn't always happen to me.

So, with the permission of the knitting goddesses Maggie and Angela at SNB last night, I ripped out all my WIPS!! (sorry, no pictures, it was a spur of the moment thing and I didn't have my camera with me.)

The Marissa sweater in the green cotton blend was completed up to the shoulders...and I ripped it all out! (Hey, even if I fixed the twisted stitch, and blocked the diamond pattern to an acceptably smooth finish, I still wasn't happy with the drape of the fabric.) Normally, I would feel compelled to press on and complete the item, but it suddenly seemed more practical to not spend 15 more hours finishing something destined for the heap of unwearables in the back of my closet.

The second item to meet a similar fate was a little picot edged baby sweater in pink. (Yeah, I know, SIL just had a little boy, this was a surprise for another baby.) Anyway, I've had this pattern hanging around for at least 10 years and never had an excuse to try it.

Well, I tried it. The shaping isn't fabulous, but the worst part was the picot edge. In my recent fog, I followed the directions exactly, without thinking or comprehending their implications. The instructions called for a few rows of stockingette on slightly smaller needles than the body of the sweater, then a row of yarnovers, then a few rows of stockingette before the pattern began. To finish the sweater, you fold the edge over and slip stitch it in place. On a teeny, tiny sweater this is tricky to make look nice. Bulky and finicky. Had I read ahead, I would have either cast on provisionally and knit the hem into the sweater a few rows after the picot row or just knit a picot edge without the foldover. Grrr....

So, out it goes! It's a little pile of cotton candy coloured yarn again!

I'm back to finding knit-worthy projects again...

Oh, BTW, here is the collection of pj bags for Clare's party a week ago..