A Trip to the Frog Pond

As a knitter, once in awhile, a project comes along that just isn't going to happen. There are a number of reasons that this can happen, but eventually you end up with a partially knitted project sitting in a corner, in a basket, or in your knitting bag that is mocking you. Every time you look at the piece of knitting, you think about how you should finish it, or fix it, but somewhere deep inside, you know that it is never going to happen. It gets to the point where it is a relief when you allow yourself to toss the project aside, or frog it and repurpose the yarn.

That is the point I was at with my lily cardigan. I cast on for the simple, top down cardigan last March. My intent was to have it finished by Silas's baptism to wear over my dress. Then, I discovered the pattern for Shawl the Jazz, which made a lovely wrap that I decided to wear inside. Other projects came and went, and I found excuses not to work on the cardigan, all the while feeling guilty for not finishing the cardigan.

I also decided I wasn't crazy about the color. I love pink, but it was just too pink for such a large article of clothing. And the yarn was knitting up into a stiff fabric with no drape. And I didn't enjoy working on it, and I didn't really care if I ever got it done because I wasn't looking forward to wearing it. But still, I felt bad for not working on it.

Today I decided, this was a sweater that had been in progress for almost a year, and just about done for about 4 or 5 months. I wasn't going to get around to finishing it, and even if I did, I wouldn't wear it. I came to the inevitable conclusion that I needed to let this sweater go. Today I ripped the sweater out, and rewound the yarn into balls. I fully intend on reusing the yarn. I think with a bigger needle, it would make a nice tank top or other summer shirt, which would be alright with the very pink color. But for right now, I need to set the yarn aside and come back to it at a different point.

Better luck next time, yarn.