I Do Not Like It
From the beginning, I haven’t really liked my current project, the Waterline Shawl. I’ve tried to…I really have, but I just do not like it.
It Should Be Amazing – But I Just Do Not Like It
One of the women who worked at my local yarn store was a perfectionist when it came to her knitting. She would rip out a project dozens of times if it wasn’t turning out EXACTLY as she wanted it to. When she finally did finish a project, it was usually extraordinary. She wasn’t overly prolific in her knitting designs, but when she finally finished and published a pattern, it was exceptional. She probably had the most popular sweater pattern that store ever published.
I’m definitely not a perfectionist. Although, as I need fewer and fewer knit pieces, I am a bit more particular about projects that aren’t turning out as well as I’d hoped.
Like I mentioned, it should be fantastic. The yarns are gorgeous, and I truly thought this pattern would work well with a high-contrast combination of colors. But honestly, from the moment I added the bright orange to this project, I didn’t think it was working. Knowing that I can’t really assess knitting based on one row of a new color, I continued on. I tried to convince myself that it would grow on me.
It started to become clearer and clearer that this project wasn’t going to be a success. Especially when I stopped weaving in my ends and cutting the yarns in-between stripes. I wanted to salvage as much yarn as I could if I had to frog this thing.
I’m going to give it another day or two. I’ll keep looking at it to decide, but at the moment, I can only think that this yarn will do much better in some other project.
Current Knitting
For all intents and purposes, I finished the Waterline Shawl.
No, I haven’t woven in a lot of the ends and I haven’t even cut the blue yarn in-between stripes in case I frog it all.
I think it looks good! I like the contrasting colors!
I can see your point, Joe. I haven’t been a fan of the contrast since you posted the first pictures of it and that large bottom portion of orange would have me at the frog pond too. I’ll admit I frog a lot – if I don’t like the way something is turning out I simply don’t keep it intact. It happens. We try something new, it doesn’t look promising, but we continue, hoping for a (magically) better result. Don’t feel bad, my friend. You had the fun of knitting it and you’ll have fun working with those yarns again although it will most likely be on two separate projects.
I love “magically hoping” ah yes. I am familiar….
Two wonderful new terms – Frog Pond and Magically Hoping. Thank you Leslie.
The shawl is wonderful until that big splash of orange. I’d go right past Time Out to the Frog Pond. Do they have beverage service?
Remembering that the blue yarn is in limited supply it is definitely time to fondle at the yarn shop for an orange alternative. My thought would be to outline a third color with the same touch of orange as in the body.
In genealogy we are fond of saying “your tree, your rules.” Same applies here.
Helen, I like the idea of using the orange to outline a color complimentary to the blue. In small doses the orange is interesting but, like some public figures, small amounts are much more palatable.
I like it now that you added the wider orange strip – before it didn’t make “visual” sense to me. However, you have to like it.
That’s funny about keeping knitting but not doing the ends. I like the little stripes if orange, but not so much the big chunk at the end. Overall though I would say, do Not frog it. Just sew in the ends and sell it. I made what I think is the ugliest yarn in the world once anf a friend saw it and said “That’ SO pretty! I love the colors!” lol. It was very similar to yours. Of course if it a sentimental souvenir yarn, that you want something to keep out of, then frog it.
I like the color combo but personally, i like it better with the single rows of orange than with the big blob of orange. If it were me, I’d frog only the big blob and go back to alternating the single row of orange with the turquoise.
If it were me, and it’s not, I’d replace the red wedge with blue or green. But you do you.
Isn’t it wonderful that Joe’s dissatisfaction with his recently completed project caused this flurry of comments? With all that’s going on in the country and the world, it is so refreshing to continue to connect with our knitting/crocheting community over our mutual love for our creations. That includeds the “what-have-I-done” aspect of making our art.
Leslie, you continue to be the best friend I never met!
Joe, since the blue fiber is the prized Portugal yarn, my unrequested suggestion is that you do indeed paddle through Frog Pond and purge your soul. Frankly, I didn’t care for the pattern when I checked it out on Ravelry.
Fred, in the next life we’ll be the twins we were meant to be. Promise!
I love it so much!