At the end of July, we visited my SIL &BIL in the Cotswolds. We had such a great time. Denise and Kevin were gracious hosts, and it was so good to chat, see their new home, and visit local gardens. While we were there, Denise presented me with a challenge - she had begun knitting a hooded jacket for her granddaughter Polly, but it had gone wrong. She'd unpicked and tried again. Same result - so please could I fathom it out? Denise is a competent knitter but an even better gardener. Over the weekend she gave me so much help with my garden planning - this seemed a fair exchange of skills. I brought the wool and pattern home.
Well we were both hoodwinked. It was surprisingly complex. I did my usual thing of going through and circling the specific instructions for the 4th size. Three inches in, I realised I'd gone wrong. I 'frogged' it -that's where you remove the needles and pull out stitches to the point of the error. Allegedly "Rip it! rip it!" sounds like a frog, hence the name.
I tried again. And again. The back was knitted in a T-shape - with increasing on both sides to get the sleeves. The fronts were inverted L-shapes and instructions for the sleeve increases, neck decreases and buttonholes were written out in a way I found totally confusing. So I went through the pattern and rewrote the whole thing, row by row - but only noting the specific instructions for the 4th size. At the 5th attempt, I ended up with a finished jacket.
That's a good exchange of skills. It's always silly when they say something is easy when it isn't. The cardie looks v attractive. x
ReplyDeleteThanks Kezzie
DeleteI've always wondered why it was called 'frogging'. I did manage to work out why going back one stitch at a time is called 'tinking'! The jacket looks lovely
ReplyDeleteThanks K. I didn't get T I N K <> K N I T at first, but once you see it, it makes sense
ReplyDeleteYour persistence paid off, it's very nice. I love the idea of the exchange of skills.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter recently learned to knit during covid and is getting very used to frogging as she is getting ambitious!
It is heartening to realise that during the last eighteen months, many people have learned new skills - let us hope they keep on knitting, gardening, roller skating or whatever!
DeleteI had to laugh at the apology for "inflicting the pattern", i might have to pinch that phrase 😅
ReplyDeleteIt's a great phrase, isn't it?
DeleteCongratulations on your success. I wonder how many other people have struggled with that "easy knit design" hoodie pattern? Your card is very pretty.
ReplyDeleteThank you
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