Frogged for the First Time

I had to frog my first project last weekend. For those of you who are wondering what I mean by that, it means I ripped it out round by round, all the way to the beginning. the term "frogging" comes from the repetition of the phrase "rip it."

So what project did I have to frog? The yellow sweater I was making for Paul. I was about 80% done with it, and discovered that not only was it so big on him that it would probably fall over his shoulders, but I would also run out of yarn. So, I decided to start over with smaller needles.

I know why this happened, and what I should learn from it. I didn't make a guage swatch. If I had, I might have noticed that it was too large. But I won't learn from this. I usually knit so close to the guage, that it's not worth it to make a swatch. Having to frog a project probably won't change that. I'm stubborn like that.

So I started over, with smaller needles, and I'm about 40% done now. It's looking like the fit will be better, but it's hard to say whether I've got enough yarn. I have some ideas about what I will do if it runs out. I'm hoping I won't have to use them, but I can play it by ear.

Learning cable knitting

I decided I wanted to learn to cable knit. I love cable-knit things. I love celtic knots, and cable-knitting lends itself to celtic knotwork designs in knitting. So, I decided to try this small project I had run across: a cable-knit mug cozy.

As I expected, cable knitting takes some practice and some getting used to. It feels awkward at first, holding two knitting needles and a cable needle, and it's very easy to get confused as to which needle goes in front and which one you're supposed to be knitting from. And tinking cabled work is a serious pain in the neck.

But by the end of this small project, I pretty much had the hang of it, and it even got to be kind of fun. It inspired me to think of what else I can do with cables. I've sketched out a design to knit a celtic cross on a sweater. I think it will be very challenging, but worth it, if I can manage it. Before I attempt that, I think I'll do a plainer cable knit sweater, something small, like for my son.

Done with Prickly Pear socks, on to the next good thing

Another pair of socks, done. This is my fourth pair, and has by far the most complicated pattern I have ever attempted. They turned out about as nicely as I hoped, which is always a pleasant surprise.

My next project will be to learn how to knit cables. I will be making Knit Picks cabled mug cozy, a pattern available for free both on the Knit Picks site and on Ravelry. I anticipate that it will go pretty quickly. I may even make more than one. Once I feel comfortable with cable knitting, I plan to attempt it on some socks. I have not yet made up my mind as to which pattern I will choose out of several possibilities. None of the patterns I have is ideal to me, so whichever one I choose I will have to modify. I have never tried to convert a top-down sock pattern to toe-up, but I may have to for my next project. That will certainly be an adventure!