Ripping out a stalled project

There are moments when I look at my knitting and think, “This is a hobby. Why in hell’s name am I keeping this stalled project around?” For starters: Honeycomb. I started it, and then it stalled out because I kept forgetting where in the pattern I was. Several life changes happened while I was knitting this one. And if I look in my Ravelry stats, it was started way back in March 2009. I’m beginning to think I should liberate this yarn for another project, and maybe try this one again in the summer with a different yarn.

So what should I do? Send this to the frog pond so I can do something else with different cables that I might like…. or hold onto it in the forlorn hope that the love might come back for both yarn and project? I have it listed as hibernating right now. But I may be able to rip back and use the same yarn for “Stone Walls” from Cheryl Oberle’s book Folk Vests. (or maybe the Crofter’s slipover in shades of teal.) And perhaps it’s time to admit I want to move something forward and wear it, instead of claiming “I’m a process knitter”.  Thoughts?

We have been helped greatly by the grey interloper

“It is always easier to knit when your instructions are underneath an impenetrable, fuzzy, breathing wall. Cats know this. Knitters need to accept this.” Thus spake the Cat with great gravitas.

Quote the knitter, “Ack! Get out of my way! Stop playing with my stitch markers.”

[Purring from the cat. Then he hops off the bag with the knitting*, the instructions, and my knees, his work done.]

*Yes, that’s the Honeycomb vest and its instructions, waiting for me to be able to find out what I did wrong. I’ve knit the same 5 rows over and over again. If this piece doesn’t work, it won’t be for want of trying and then dawdling.

Stitch found and row speed ahead

Sometimes regular life distracts sufficiently from knitting, creeping into my hobby time. And in those times, dropped stitches happen. In this case, it was in the Honeycomb vest. So, I’ve ripped back 5 rows, found the dropped stitch, and have set up stitch markers to remind me when 8 repeats of the stitch have been done so I can count more easily. Luckily, Green Mountain Spinnery cotton comfort is very forgiving of ripping.

I’ll be glad when I can get to the decrease rows for the arms and neck, and hopefully move on to the front of the vest. Next vest pattern I decide to do will be in the round. Mark my words.

Fluctuations in pressure

Life is always filled with some sort of pressure. The drive to get work done, the physical crush of crowds at a festival…. And then there are lazy Sundays in the summer which should be more relaxed.

Today, because it’s been really cool for summer, I thought, “I will bake a cake. That will be relaxing…”  So, to the tune of the Gardener mowing the lawn, I slowly wash eggs and crack them one by one into the bowl. Until I get to number 5, when the water pressure dies, shoots air, then suddenly all of the city’s water pressure shoots the egg out of my hand, out of the sink, and onto the floor.

Splat.

Much bad language and cleaning.* And then I put a small bowl under the spigot to get water to wash another egg. The cake is in the oven. I am hiding away from the kitchen, stuck with a David Bowie/Queen song going through my head (wonderful for highway driving, but not so much for incorporating flour).

I’m going back to my knitting. At least I can frog errors without egg on the floor. Honestly, there are worse things than water pressure fluctuations. Earlier in the week there was no water at all.

On the left is the Honeycomb vest. I’m a few inches away from decreasing for the arms. Yes, it’s still the back.

*The cats were no help cleaning up the egg. The only one to show up probably wanted me to rub the runny egg on his head. Ewww.

A Garden Beauty

Yellow is an iris blooming in the sun. The flower’s name is worthy of a Disney character: Gypsy Princess.

I’m continuing knitting on the first Project Spectrum theme, green, while photographing the new colors and shades as they come along. As for the green project — the honeycomb vest — I’m tinking yet again. But I think I figured out something that could keep the increases from looking like a confused muddle. It will take around 14 rows re-knitting after I tink to find out if I’m right. This could take a bit of time, since my other projects are a wicked commute and gainful employment.

Just Call Me a Tinker

I just tinked back to the 2nd row of the pattern on the Honeycomb sweater. I couldn’t keep going forward without fixing my error. The only other vaguely interesting thing I did today was a morning spent cleaning up the yard and pulling out English ivy (darn invasive plant). So I’ve been filking along in my head with “Tink so good. C’mon baby let it tink so good. ‘Cause sometimes knits don’t go as they should so baby, rip so good.”

I know this is riveting stuff.

Song song Green

Well, a little bit blue, too, because I need to rip this back. At least I discovered it before I was beyond 24 inches of cabling.

The flash washed out the color of the yarn a bit. Stats: Green Mountain Spinnery cotton comfort. Color is almost a green equivalent of faded bluejeans — just lovely and muted. (It was a lovely present one year at Christmas, I think.)

Stats: Honeycomb sweater from Knitty. I think I have to rip back around 10 rows. Oddly enough, I’m beginning to wonder if I could turn this pattern into a little belero to wear with a sleeveless dress. Hm. Although a vest would be more useful.

I Did Read the Instructions

… but I did not start the decreases in the back of my honeycomb vest at row 2 of the honeycomb pattern. I did read the instructions. But, even after the row of multiple frogging [it was in row 8] I did not sense a strange wrongness in The Force.

I think I’ll give myself a little time out while I ponder what I should do next — rip it, or start the decreases at row 10. Thoughts? Maybe the designer Sarah Castor should weigh in. I’m more disappointed in my reading ahead skills than anything else. Guess I shouldn’t knit unchecked on a manic weekend filled with singing in a concert and shopping for dresses, eh?

Casting to the North

I finally decided which of my projects I was going to work on, now that PS4 North has begun. I have some Cotton Comfort yarn from Green Mountain Spinnery that’s been on my mind ever since I received it as a very welcome gift one year. It’s a green that isn’t quite green and isn’t quite the color of faded blue jeans. Very cool. The pattern I’ve chosen is Honeycomb from Knitty.com. (Knitty link here for people who aren’t on ravelry.) I think they’ll work well together.

Except, I didn’t get gauge, and because of the negative ease in the pattern, I’m knitting some insanely small size to make up for the too-large gauge (1/2 an inch off). And yes, if negative ease is a bad idea, I will probably knit a placket on the sides to make up for the difference…. Or do some other half-thought out fix. But at least I didn’t spend my weekend held hostage by Lawrence Welk duelling with the Celtic Women (my theory of what counts as “viewer favorites” in our once-monthly begathon). Instead, I cast on for North while I was visiting friends up north.

[If I have the Gardener create some sculpey bees for shoulder buttons for Honeycomb, that wouldn't be strange, would it? I mean, then I'd be "covered in bees" without any danger.]