I originally established this blog as a place to host the show notes for my knitting podcast. However I found that I had SO many ideas between episodes that I wanted to share more regularly. So change of plans.
If you watched episode 1 you know that I am a fairly new knitter, but a very adventurous one. I enjoy knitting all kinds of things, and truly enjoy the process and learning new skills. When I learned to knit it was primarily via you tube tutorials and I still go back and search from time to time when I need to learn a new technique.
One thing I did not see a ton of, however, were knitting blogs. Sure there are the staples like Yarn Harlot and Mason Dixon knitting, but not a lot of beginner blogs. Most started, but then dropped the blog to the wayside so the last updates were forever ago. I wanted more.
So in that spirit, I am going to use this blog, in conjunction with my podcast, as a place to document my adventures as a newer knitter. Things I learn, things I screw up, and my plans to continue growing in my craft. I hope that it inspires new and more experienced knitters alike. The knitting community is exploding- so the more references the better, right?
On to the topic of this post... one near and dear to new and experienced knitters alike. Frogging.
When I first joined the world of Ravelry I kept seeing the term "frogging" attached to the act of ripping out stitches. I didn't know where the term came from and came out with my own expletive laden version (you can only imagine). Later on I learned the real reason rip it 'ribbit. Awesome, but not quite so sailor-ish.
Frogging is an inevitable part of knitting and something that as a newbie I find myself doing a lot. Sometimes the pattern doesn't match the yarn, the pattern was not sized properly, or you just plain ole screw up. However yarn takes on a whole new form once it has been in a project, and can be a but of a pain to work with afterwards. I kept reading about "soaking" and decided to figure that thing out.
I had to occasion to frog this week. A hat I had made (and featured on episode 1) turned out WAY too big, and the matching cowl was too tight. I intended both of these to be gifts, so I didn't want to leave it half assed. So I ripped out.
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| pretty hat... for a giant head |
Now the yarn I used was beautiful Madelinetosh DK and I knew I wanted to use it again in another project. But it was seriously kinky since it had been knit with and I wanted it back in its original form.
Unfortunately, I didn't take pics of the re-skein process for that yarn, but lucky you- I decided to also frog the sock head hat I had been working on forever since I needed the needles and knew I wasn't going to work on it again for awhile. So I did take pics of that process.
Mind you- these are iPhone pics so the quality isn't amazing. Future pics will be better since I recently got a camera upgrade :).
When I ripped the project out, I rewound the yarn back into ball form. I find it easier to take the ball off the ball winder at this point.
Breaking out my trusty swift I basically wound in reverse, turning the swift with my hand at the top.
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| Holly was curious |
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| Kind of wrap the first end around the post so it sticks while you wind |
Once you have all the yarn you want back on the swift, break out the ties. I use scrap yarn in a different size then what I am winding. I tie both ends to the yarn, and a tie in a few other places.
I didn't take pictures of the next part... but using SOAK wash I let the yarn sit in a bath (in my sink) for awhile, about 20 minutes. Then I wring it out, wrap it in a towel to really get the water out, then hang dry.
These skeins hung in my laundry closet for 2 days and were still damp. It was sunny today, so they got some sunshine on my patio. Here is a nice pretty picture of their suntanning time.
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| better picture... new camera :) |
After they are dry I did the special skein twist maneuver and got them back in their skein form. Granted the skeins are smaller than originally, but I did label them with what they were and plan to use them again in the future.
So there is my little post about the frogging process. Again- I kind of made this up as I went, but based it on snippets I had picked up from other conversations or readings. I truly hope it was helpful to you!
Come back tomorrow (or Saturday possibly) for episode 2 of the Sip N Knit podcast! I have FO's and WIPs and some new stash to show off!
Knit On...
Brittany
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