Eating Frogs

Wise and esteemed time management experts tell us to begin each day by “eating the frog”. In other words, the phone call you’re dreading, the cluttered drawer which makes you want to chop onions instead, the long overdue apology? Do it first thing in the morning. Then you will be super charged and super motivated the rest of the day, since the thing which was gnawing your insides for weeks is finally done. Obviously, the snappy name of this strategy takes no cognizance of cuisines where frog legs are considered a delicacy, but I digress.

Blinded by the optimistic daze of a new year – I will knit 13 sweaters in 2013! I will sew one office wearable garment each month! I will tackle every NWG in my cupboard! I will exercise! – I did eat my frog a couple of days ago.

I picked up my finished-but-for-pocket-linings Nanook. The frog spawn which had crept into the cardigan was entirely my fault: I had created pockets by splitting the body into three sections – fronts and back – along the vertical ‘side seam’ lines, and knitting each separately before joining them in one long row. The fronts are garter and the back is stockinette; can you sense the tadpoles wriggling now? Of course the stockinette back dangled lower than the squished garter fronts. “Blocking will solve that”, I thought, refusing to see that the tadpoles were losing their tails and developing tiny limbs. Finally, I created a neat hem for the stockinette section. There! I had even provided a supply of mosquito larvae to my frog!

 Eating it wasn’t so bad, especially when done in a new year’s daze. I undid the hem and ripped out the stockinette till it was the length of the fronts, this time matching the lengths visually instead of by row count. Then I re-did the bottom and quickly worked the pocket linings.

And look!

I love this already. The colour is gorgeous, the pattern simple and striking. I’ll probably not do any buttons, so I can pin it to whatever degree of closure I want. This is the sort of fitted, yet roomy jacket I really need – despite living in humid Bangkok! – because my office can be freezing.

Of course there are pocketsessss!

Four stitches worked in rib along the opening, to prevent stockinette curl and give a neat finish to the garter edge. The purl stitches of the rib have receded, giving exactly the stable stockinette look I wanted.

 

Pattern: Nanook by Heidi Kirrmaier

Sweater Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca; worsted wt; 50% wool, 50% alpaca; 197m/100g; 5 skeins; “Blueberry Heather”. If using a similar fuzzy yarn, be aware that it’ll obscure the pretty radiating increases on the back. In a smooth yarn, they are a design feature in themselves.

Pocket Lining Yarn: Tiny amount of Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine.

Needles: 4mm for cardigan and pocket linings.

Mods: Details on choosing correct size here. There is NO BUST SHAPING (gasp! gasp! swoon!). I did add a lot of shaping to the back, and increased the fronts gradually instead of decreasing them as instructed. Hemmed the back and cuffs.

I like this!