Aw, F*** It

Frog it, that is.

Yesterday was spent dealing with various family crises. Generally we all get along pretty well but when you have five different personalities occupying one house they are bound to clash now and then, especially when you throw in a little drama. When I finally went to bed last night all I could think about was that I would have the house to myself today. A whole day of peace and solitude. Ah, bliss.

The morning started off well enough. One by one Cameron and the kids left for work. I drank my first cup of tea, checked email, and downloaded the latest episodes of my favourite podcasts before settling down to cast on for my July Sockdown project. This month the challenge is micro-gauge (10 stitches or more per inch) or a design by Charlene Schurch. The choice was easy. I’ve had some lovely Claudia Hand Painted Yarn set aside for Charlene Schurch’s “Stansfield 304” pattern (from More Sensational Knitted Socks) for ages. The colourway, called “Blue Fields”, is a soft blend of blues and yellows. Last week I’d brought it out and put it on the coffee table with the pattern book, where it had sat tempting me while I made myself finish the Spring Forward socks.

The only problem was that after knitting the first pattern repeat I realized that I didn’t like the way the yarn and the pattern worked together. Or rather, didn’t work.

R-i-i-i-p!

Disappointed, I dug through my sock yarn stash, looking for a replacement. There were a few skeins that were suitable but I’ve already reserved them for other projects and didn’t want to use them. Okay, Plan B. I went through my Charlene Schurch books, searching for an alternate pattern, but nothing caught my eye.

Admitting defeat--at least temporarily--I decided I’d blog about our little holiday. I’d even remembered to take a few photos, including one of my sister modeling her new scarf. I reached into my knitting bag to pull out the camera and came up empty. A quick phone call to Cameron confirmed my suspicions; he had taken the camera to take some photos at work. Alright, so much for Plan C.

Back to the socks. Once again I went through my sock yarn stash. The only yarn that really appealed to me was some Sweet Georgia in the "Coal Harbour" colourway; however, it was already in use, knit up into about ¾ of a Pomatomus sock. I briefly considered the odds of ever completing this project, which has spent well over a year in hibernation, and pulled out the needles.

R-i-i-i-p!

Ten minutes later, just like magic, the sock had disappeared and been replaced with a skein of yarn. It’s now soaking in a nice bath of Eucalan and water and when it dries, it will be just like new.

So, what to do ‘til then? Well, it just so happens that I noticed a mistake on my new shawl, way back on the first row of the pattern. I had myself convinced that I could live with it until I saw a photo of someone else’s blocked shawl and realized how noticeable it would be. That’s right, into the frog pond I go again, for the third time today. Maybe when I surface I’ll be in a better mood.

Ripit, ripit.

P.S. Happy 4th of July to our neighbours to the south!