frogger
in journal
so, i love the paris loop poncho. but it just wasn’t working for me. as you can see, the yarn itself is lovely lovely eye candy (and so soft to the touch! i feel like a baby’s bare butt is in my hands as i knit..) but, in the end, with only inches to go, i frogged the whole thing. that’s what i get for not only using a different yarn than the pattern called for, but also not doing a single gauge (much less the three gauges the pattern specified) and using entirely different needles (13, 11 and 9 all in 24”) and lengths. ah, the hubris of the “advanced beginner.”
after digging around online, i found enviable examples of the paris loop (here, here, here and here). now combine those pretty examples with paper hat’s wise point: “There’s often all sorts of dire consequences for making a mistake. In knitting, you get a DO-OVER. A DO-OVER—for free! Who doesn’t love that? You can rip it out, wet it down, start over. You can try the same thing again or try something different. ” so, with all this in mind, of course, i heaved a mighty sigh and tried to frog with relish (not that hard, actually. 
)
i have not given up on paris loop, i’m just determined to cast-on with no more than 90 stitches (the poof yarn is much thicker and fluffier than cicco, the original yarn) and might even do some decreasing towards the top. also, i will not knit the stripes so big,
maybe cut them in half. one of the things i like best about this pattern is that the poncho ends right around the waist (and even a bit above, depending on torsos, etc) but with this fluffy snowball yarn, i was in danger of ending up with a knee-length poncho.
(by the way, that second picture shows me wearing my mid-frogging poncho a la beauty contestant. yes, it was that big. see why i had to frog?!)
but (and this is an important redeeming but) as you can see, i did manage to be pretty knit-productive this past week, with the lovely endless holiday and weekend. before i left for italy, i bought this pretty yarn ( i have this thing for dark reds and purples) with the idea of knitting the stitch n bitch kittyville hat. and that’s what you see here, as modeled by my real-life kitty, the ever sweet and patient trouble.
i’m not that crazy about how the hat looks on me (hence no photo) but it was fun to knit. plus, i finally got to try out those addi turbo needles (verdict: fast perfect stitches, but the joining of metal to nylon bothered my hands, and i like the way bamboo feels better) and, most exciting of all, i made pompoms! yippee! very fun and oh so satisfying to cut open. while making them, i remembered being a little kid and watching my mom, who is a craftster extraordinaire (she used to make all her own clothing when she was a teenager, and always made our halloween costumes when i was little, as well as my first communion dress, my prom dress, and more, gracias mami!) work her magic as she made these pompoms. now, i too am a magical craftster.
p.s. check out this cecile telle page ~ though a tad too modern and geometric (ikea-ish), overall i really like the style of these felted stuff.
