Okay, non-knitters, I will take pity on you and explain. Frogging is ripping knitting-in-progress out, either partly or completely. You pull the needles out (on purpose!) and pull the yarn out the stitches until you get to the goof. It's easier with some yarns than others. The term comes from the sound of saying "rip-it, rip-it". I have tinked before (tink = knit backwards, where you essentially un-knit), but this is my first real frog. Whew!
It all started with the sock class, which was Thursday night. The class seems promising so far, although the only "new" thing for me in the first class was getting used to how small the needles are. Toothpicks! But I can certainly see that I'll need help when we get to the heel part. One other woman was doing dpns, too, and the others were learning the magic loop method. Boy, whoever invented that must have hated double pointed needles! I can't imagine hating them enough to come up with something so wholly different. It's really creative, but a little scary-looking. I couldn't watch too much without losing track of my own knitting, though, so it's a good thing I don't need to know both.
Anyway, I worked on the sock more last night: Jackie told us that however much we got done before the next class would dictate how tall the sock is, and I don't want an ankle sock! I was knitting away last night, watching tv, when for some reason I thought I would count my stitches to check myself, and oops, I had 31 on the needle that should have had 30.
This baffles me, by the way. I could far more easily see losing one than gaining one. In any case, I looked at the sock and about an inch down, I could see a hole.
Which further baffles me, since I should think a hole would be where a stitch was lost, not found. So much for my understanding of knitting theory. It just goes to show that I can do a thing without understanding it. I accepted that I might have to start the sock from scratch (ouch), but decided to try the frog before giving up. And it worked! I did twist some of the stitches, alas, so they look a little different from the other rows. I like to think of this as a scar, remnant of successful surgery. I'll be able to tell that this was the first sock! I've made up the ripped amount and more, so it's pretty much ready for the heel. I am not interested in trying that without support, pattern in hand to the contrary notwithstanding, so it will wait for Thursday.
In other knitting news, chalk up another finished item: the second sleeve, so now I have a matched set for the office. Sometime, I shall cast on the second legwarmer, but there's a scarf I'm itching to try, so that may come next. Not forgetting the shawls, and of course socks. ADD knitting at its best.
My neighbors have one of those outdoor fireplaces they've been using lately. I don't object to a nice wood fire, but to my mind it belongs to cool/cold weather. To smell wood smoke while I am wearing shorts is somehow highly disconcerting.
I stopped for dinner on the way to the class, and overheard some interesting "conversation" between a woman and her daughter, who looked to be 3 or 4 years old (preschool was mentioned). Was this woman desperate for someone to talk to, or was her daughter really this advanced?
While waiting for their food, the woman suggested that her daughter not eat the ketchup by itself ("Let's not do that, please"), then said, "What would you like to talk about?" This struck me as a little odd for a small child, but okay. I don't have kids, other than the furry kind, so what do I know?
Anyway, the girl was watching me knitting (of course I was knitting), and after I held it up to show her (the sleeve), she asked her mother why I was knitting. Her mother said, "It's a nice creative outlet," and added something about when the girl does her coloring.
A creative outlet? Oh-kay.
P.S. I can't tell you how excited I was that Laurie (the Laurie) commented on my blog. Famous by association! Touched by the uber-blogger! I need a moment; talk amongst yourselves...
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