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hikingmommy
Chatty Knitter
USA
238 Posts |
 Posted - 10/23/2007 : 11:36:56 AM
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I've been knitting for nearly 2 years now. I've done sweaters, fingerless gloves, cables, lace, and miscellaneous other projects. I'm finding that the more I venture out and try different projects, yarn substitutions, etc., the more I end up frogging, sometimes hours worth of work. Is this normal? I imagine it is, but I need some reassurance b/c it's so frustrating feeling like I just wasted hours of work when I have to rip it out b/c something isn't right. Is this the norm? Is this a phase and with more experience I'll have to frog less?
Thanks for your insight! |
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Jints
Chatty Knitter
176 Posts |
Posted - 10/23/2007 : 12:02:47 PM
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I know exactly how you feel. I frog some of nearly every project i start at least once, often more, before & after i really get going. So I think its totally normal, and I've been Knitting for a few decades. Part of my problem is I have a hard time deciding on which pattern or stitch to do, and often I'm not happy with the result, for various reasons, once I get knitting it. It can be quite frustrating. But it hasn't stopped me loving knitting.
Happy Knitting. |
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AuntyNin
Seriously Hooked
USA
771 Posts |
Posted - 10/23/2007 : 12:03:42 PM
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It's a fact of the knitterly life: frogging happens.
Yarns decide they don't want to become that pattern, or it just doesn't look right, or any number of other causes.
Does it happen less? Hard to tell - I've been knitting more than 50 years, and still end up frogging several items a year. It seems the more adventurous I get, the pickier I am about the results, thus more items get frogged.
Still, it's not really wasted time if you learn something from it. |
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busygirl
Permanent Resident
Australia
1672 Posts |
Posted - 10/23/2007 : 12:18:31 PM
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I have been knitting for many years and still do a fair amount of frogging.Last weekend I had quite a long frogging session - I had been knitting a sweater and decided that it wasn't to my liking,so I frogged it and have now started another sweater,which I think will better suit the yarn I'm using.
Leslie
My Blog
http://au.360.yahoo.com/abreyleslie
My Pics
http://www.flickr.com/photos/busygirl/ |
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Milinda
Permanent Resident
USA
3816 Posts |
Posted - 10/23/2007 : 12:34:29 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by AuntyNin
It's a fact of the knitterly life: frogging happens.
Yarns decide they don't want to become that pattern, or it just doesn't look right, or any number of other causes.
Does it happen less? Hard to tell - I've been knitting more than 50 years, and still end up frogging several items a year. It seems the more adventurous I get, the pickier I am about the results, thus more items get frogged.
Still, it's not really wasted time if you learn something from it.
:: I couldn't have put this better! My thoughts exactly.
M L
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purlthis
Permanent Resident
USA
2715 Posts |
Posted - 10/23/2007 : 12:35:09 PM
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Regularly...
Rachel
------------------------------------------------------
As I get older, I prefer to knit. Tracey Ullman
http://purledthis.blogspot.com/ UPDATED! WITH PICS! |
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suzannevh
Gabber Extraordinaire
565 Posts |
Posted - 10/23/2007 : 12:53:54 PM
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I've been knitting about as long as you and I still frog a lot. I seem to go through phases when I feel like all I do is tinker and frog, tinker and frog. Part of it is just my personality - my creative process can be very indecisive. Even if I'm using a pattern I need to deconstruct it in my mind.
If you are growing as a knitter, learning new skills and trying new things, you need to accept some frogging along the way.
Check out my project pics
Join the Yarn Diet-A-Long
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nitnik69
Warming Up
91 Posts |
Posted - 10/23/2007 : 1:02:33 PM
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Frogging is my middle name. |
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Durango
Chatty Knitter
181 Posts |
Posted - 10/23/2007 : 1:05:23 PM
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I'm a relatively new knitter (just started in January 2007), and I have frogged a portion of every project I have started so far. My tendency is to start something, get a couple of days into it, then decide that my design is not realistic, it won't fit, the gauge is wrong, the yarn is wrong, I made a big mistake early on, etc. That results in "total frogging". Every project has also included partial frogging, usually if I've had a half glass of wine while working. (I don't know why hard liquor doesn't mess me up so much.) I like Suzanne's idea that frogging is part of the creative process. If we don't frog, we aren't challenging ourselves.
Lynn
http://www.lynnsknitting.blogspot.com/ |
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purlewe
Permanent Resident
1866 Posts |
Posted - 10/23/2007 : 1:36:24 PM
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I frog more than I care to admit...
and probably even more than I remember...
My mother made me a homosexual.
And if you give her some yarn, she'll make you one too. ~quentin crisp
http://purlewe.typepad.com/ |
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Felted-Bag
Seriously Hooked
640 Posts |
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COgirl
Permanent Resident
USA
2176 Posts |
Posted - 10/23/2007 : 2:11:39 PM
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I'm a perfectionist and so I will usually frog or tink something in a project. Like Durango, I find that wine will usually trigger mistakes but I also have the problem with hard liquor too. Best for me not to drink and knit. And I'll do the stupidest things too usually knit where there should be a purl.
I just pulled out about 14 rows of the sleeve of a complex cable pattern a few days ago because there in the middle of a cable was a purl stitch. Broke my heart but I rationalized that at least it was near the cuff so there weren't that many stitches as there could have been. I've read about correcting cables by snipping and grafting and I had my scissors out to do that, but couldn't bear the thought of it. So frog frog frog. |
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scraffan
Permanent Resident
1844 Posts |
Posted - 10/23/2007 : 2:17:15 PM
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Depends if it is a yarn and a pattern I like I may only end up tinking (undoing only a few stitches in a row)
If it is a yarn and or a pattern I do not like - example piling yarn, dull patern - I frog a lot.
I found also if I find a yarn that I really enjoy using I pay extra careful attention to yarn and pattern so I do not make as many mistakes
Now I find the most mistakes I make are when I try doing something fast or if I have been using straight needles for a lot of projects and then jump to double pointed needles. I can use them but it takes me awhile to get used to them again..
Karen |
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jwaid97
Chatty Knitter
135 Posts |
Posted - 10/23/2007 : 2:23:23 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by nitnik69
Frogging is my middle name.
lol 
I frog a lot at the beginning of projects. Sometimes the yarn just doesn't look right with the pattern. Usually I make scarves, shawls, and bags so gauge doesn't matter as much but after several rows the pattern may look different and I just don't like it as much as I once thought. I would rather frog something than leave it sitting forever and waste beautiful yarn that could clearly be something else.
Joanna
Check out my first attempt at a website. It's still a WIP but I'm learning.
www.rxknitter.com |
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ClimberKnits
Gabber Extraordinaire
USA
559 Posts |
Posted - 10/23/2007 : 2:28:57 PM
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| If I don't frog, the project may not end up like I wanted it to. Then I would not wear it. I see frogging as an investment in the piece so that it actually gets used. |
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Strin9Theory
Chatty Knitter
130 Posts |
Posted - 10/23/2007 : 2:59:16 PM
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I frog regularly and have knitted for probably 40 years! I want my projects to look hand-made, not home-made, so am a perfectionist. It's worth it in the end when you have such a wonderful piece you can truly be proud of!
Eve
Strin9Theory
http://strin9theory.blogspot.com/ |
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scraffan
Permanent Resident
1844 Posts |
Posted - 10/23/2007 : 5:29:16 PM
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I would rather frog something than leave it sitting forever and waste beautiful yarn that could clearly be something else.
Joanna
[/quote]
Joanna
That is exactly how I feel when I try something and I get that odd feeling that the item will not happen. Frogged a sock, a couple of would be sweaters and a tank top because of this. I had totally forgotten about the blotched sweater and tank top until I read this.
The sock will become a sock some day - just not during preparing holiday gifts, the sweater became a scarf and the yarn for the tank top is waiting for a better pattern that screams do this tank top...
Karen |
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Fraggle
Seriously Hooked
USA
747 Posts |
Posted - 10/23/2007 : 7:08:18 PM
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You rarely see a FO from me because I frog so much...
~ Fraggle
". . . Or if you send me your size I'll knit you a new one" -Hawkeye on M*A*S*H
My websites:
Fraggle's World and For Me?! Knit-a-long |
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Mocha
Permanent Resident
Singapore
2903 Posts |
Posted - 10/23/2007 : 8:07:27 PM
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| I seldom frog.. but then again, I have a lot of UFO. So either you frog or UFO. |
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kadiddly
Permanent Resident
USA
3076 Posts |
Posted - 10/24/2007 : 12:15:45 AM
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I usually frog more in the beginning of a project, although I have frogged a pair of socks after they'd been completed and worn several times!
I'd rather frog and do it right than finish it and not use it, like others have said.
Don't be afraid that it won't be perfect...the only thing you should really be afraid of is that it won't be! - Company
Backstage Stitches |
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marjotse
Permanent Resident
Sweden
1018 Posts |
Posted - 10/24/2007 : 02:21:35 AM
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Surprisingly little... and I have only 1 ufo right now and 4 wips. I frogged about 15 rows yesterday because I had a dropped stitch at the side which I could not repair otherwise.
Marjolein
my photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/98299499@N00/ |
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How often do you frog?
