Going, Going...You Know the Rest

When I started the blog a couple months ago, I was sure that I'd be sharing more projects made with hand spun and commercial yarn, like this hat.  I truly am knitting like crazy.  But I'm frogging just as crazily.  It sucks to frog.

First, there was the Churchmouse Easy Folded Poncho.  Made out of my first intentional hand spun yarn, a blend of wool, alpaca, llama and sparkle.  But once knit, I found it to be scratchy and too asymmetrical for practical use.  So...bye bye!  But, I learned some things.  I learned something about wool randomly selected from the fiber store (high potential for scratch, know your sheep) and I learned something about ponchos (maybe not a style statement I want to make).

This was a poncho.  And then it wasn't.

Second frog, the SKIF Xena sweater.  I used hand spun merino plied with bamboo then made the tragic mistake of knitting that with a strand of Euroflax linen.  The pattern is interesting in that you knit the front and back all in one long piece with a hole in the middle for your head.  Once I bound that off, I could hardly lift the thing.  It was like wearing one of those lead blankets they put on you at the dentist for x-rays.  It was bulletproof.  I don't normally need bulletproof garments, so...bye, bye!   Again, I learned some things.  I learned that linen does not make everything fabulous.  I learned that hand spun yarn probably does not need any help being fabulous.



Finally, most tragic of all, the Cocoknits Liesl Tunic.  It was gorgeous, knit of Euroflax linen, drapey and soft after blocking.  It fit like a dream.  Well, it fit like a dream the morning I donned it.  I wore it most of the day, and by the time I got home, my tunic had stretched into a maxi dress.  Honestly, someone, give me a break.  Ready?  Here it goes...Bye Bye!

I'm crying a little bit, here.

I am learning that you have to be philosophical as a knitter.  You can't be too attached to the outcome and you have to be willing to let go.  And you truly have to enjoy the journey, enjoy the process of creating.  Because the creation, the end result, may not be what you expected or even intended.  If you haven't loved the journey that took you there, you may just feel like you wasted your time.  And if you feel too often like you wasted your time, you may not feel like the act of creating is worth your time.   And you may be nudged into giving up before you really let yourself create your best work.  And that really would be something to cry about.  So, as Tim Gunn says, "Carry on!"