Frogging ... 'Rip It' .. 'Rip It'

To frog or not to frog, that is the question. I understand the term 'frogging' is because when you frog, you 'rip it', 'rip it' out. I have no idea if that's the truth or not but that's what they say over at Knity.com and they're they authority, I suppose - regardless of how cheesy it sounds. Anyway, I'm facing the big dilemma on whether to rip out or not. Sharon says no. I say it simply must be done.

I'm in the throes of making a stocking for Adelaide. It's turning out to be bigger than .. well .. any stocking known to man. I really didn't plan it that way but the name Adelaide simply requires a lot of room around the top. I am in the leg of the thing now and, I'll admit, it's huge.

Now that I'm into it, there are a number of things I'd change. Larger needles and less stitches for one. I drew up the pattern on an Excel spreadsheet without much thought to gauge. It sort of just became what it became and I jumped in knitting. My needle size is truly at the edge of acceptable for this particular thickness of yarn - so it seems to me. I'm knitting in Brown Sheep's Lamb's Pride Bulky, 85% Wool/15% Mohair on US Size 7 needles. A great yarn, I love it, but I really should have gone with larger needles and produced a less densely woven fabric.

Anyway, I'm into and now I see two things I just must fix. Santa's face is not working for me. At a distance, perhaps, but up close, something isn't right and the stitching is all off. Also, there is a cable that was supposed to run down the sides that isn't working. I've run into the tree and, thus, my cable is cutting into two colors. Each color change mid-cable pattern is simply not working.

So .. the frog dilemma. I'll let you know how that goes. In the mean time, here is the stocking 'pre-frog' with all the problem features.

This is tough to see but perhaps if you click it and enlarge it's evident: the red cable pattern down the side is running into the green of the tree.



Here is my Santa face .. just don't like it. I've looked at it for a year and my conclusion is the same. I think he simply has to go.



I created graphic features all around the stocking so that it looks good from any angle. It's high time we get this thing finished!