Sunday 4 November 2012

Year of Projects update - 4th November

A thought occurred to me the other day, that if I didn't actually do something about it, my Cherry Wrap would remain in pieces, unfinished, in my WIP basket until the day I died.

There are five pieces in total, the sleeves are missing from this picture.

The main barrier to my being bothered to block and seam the damn thing has been my increasing uncertainty over whether or not it would be worth it in the end. Was I actually going to like the finished project? Would I wear it? I found myself searching the Ravelry database for patterns that use 1,700 yards of DK weight yarn, looking for alternatives for this lovely dark red merino.

Then a solution presented itself. When I sew costumes, I pin the pieces together before sewing to make sure it's right. Why not do the same for my knits?


I had to figure out how to assemble the cardigan, as the instructions included in the pattern are not very helpful at all.


As soon as I picked it up to move it, pins started sliding out of the yarn and by the time I got it on the dummy both sleeves had started to fall off. Trying to actually put it on was almost a complete disaster, but I managed to get away without stabbing myself with any of the pins.

After some consideration, there was really only one course of action left to take.


Yes, this project headed for the frog pond. It's been over a year since I started working on this, and it took me an age to actually complete the three body panels, and the sleeves were finished on the 1st April this year. Which means it's been sat in my WIP basket for six months, completely untouched!


I decided to re-wind the yarn direct from the crocheted pieces, to prevent excessive tangling. I put something interesting on the telly, and wore my arms out ripping back stitches, spinning the swift and keeping the yarn at the right tension.


Once the panel was completely unravelled, I tied up the hanks to keep them from falling apart and lifted them from the swift.


Before I re-use the yarn I will of course need to soak it to get those kinks out. But I can't be bothered to do that now, so I've just twisted the yarn up into big fat squishy skeins to go back on the shelves.

Each back panel used three balls of yarn, so this is a big 150g skein

5 skeins in total, one for each piece.

I don't think I will be adding this yarn to my YoP list this year, so it will be a project for next year to knit this up into something wearable. I'm thinking a cardigan still, but I will keep searching Ravelry until inspiration hits.

10 comments:

  1. A brave but sensible choice. I have a habit of keeping things I've bought in my wardrobe that I know I'll never wear. God knows how bad I'd be if I'd spent all that time actually hand crafting it!
    But if you can reuse the materials used to make it, that's a much better idea

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  2. Megan Basayne-Smith4 November 2012 at 17:12

    It's a frogging kind of week for me, too. At least there's one less WIP, right?

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  3. Oh the frog pond. It can be so liberating to send something there :)

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  4. Sarah Crafts from the Cwtch4 November 2012 at 21:38

    EEEEEEK! No, seriously, you did the right thing. And now you have a shelf of new possibilities :D

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  5. Oh dear...all that hard work...gone! But the bright side? You have a lot of beautiful yarn all ready for something you are really excited about. :)
    *smiles and happy knitting*

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  6. Laura @ Made in Oxford5 November 2012 at 14:29

    Oh dear - it's such a shame when you have to do things like that, isn't it? but sometimes there's nothing for it but to cut (rip?) your losses and make something you'll actually love.

    If you're looking for a crochet cardigan, I recommend Esmee (the designer's version, not the magazine one). I only followed the pattern loosely, but as it's bottom-up in one-piece, it was easy to check the fit as I went, so I made it to really fit me properly. It's always the piece that draws ooohs when I teach beginners classes!

    Hope you find something you love - that yarn is such a beautiful colour, you both deserve it!

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  7. I have the hardest time admitting something just isn't going to work and frogging. Yay you for being so brave!

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  8. It's a shame to frog all that work, but if you're never going to finish it then better to reuse that wonderfully squishy yarn into something you'll love.

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  9. It does seem like that was the best choice, if you were never going to wear it. And those skeins do look really yummy and squishy, perfect for inspiration to strike again

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  10. CharlotteDunning8 November 2012 at 23:32

    I personally loved it as a cardigan, but if you're not happy with it then the best thing was to frog it. I hope you find the perfect pattern for the yarn! :D

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