Getting Marooned

I've had this in my stash for literally, years, and my original idea for it hasn't changed:  A Desert Island Sweater.  
 

It's my favorite color in the whole world.  In fact, I always say that Periwinkle is my Desert Island color (as in, what color would I take with me if I were marooned on a desert island?).  So it seems only logical to expand the exercise:  What sweater would I take with me if I could only have one?  Thank God, there will never be an actual situation that calls for such an unreasonable degree of restraint, but the idea of answering the question appeals to me.

First of all, it would need to be a cardigan; pullovers are just too limiting in terms of combinations with other clothing, and temperature regulation.  Also there MUST BE BUTTONS, or else, why would I be knitting in the first place?

It's already my favorite color, my favorite fiber (wool), and my favorite weight (sport).  I might love it a Teensy Tiny bit more if it were 3-ply instead of 2, but hey, you can't have everything.  Besides, the 2-ply structure suggests something to me:

Combined cables and lace!  What could be a better compliment to a beautiful color than a super-sexy surface texture?  2-Ply is well-loved for lace because of the way its structure holds open the holes.  I think of cables and lace together as opposites who attract; cables pull in and lace opens up.  Cold marmalade on hot toast.  Yeah, Baby.

Now, there are about a million beautiful cardigan patterns already in this world that combine all these attributes, so why would I want to reinvent the wheel?  Because I'm Squirrely that way.  Why take someone else's work and change it to suit me when I can create something that's (sort of) brand new?  And besides, I'm not allowed the self-indulgence of knitting other people's designs, because my boss is really mean.  But hey, at least she lets me have yarn.

Now it's your turn to tell us:  What's your Desert Island Sweater?
 

I'm So Happy You Asked

I made some cuffs for the Frog Prince:
 

And while I did that, I pondered Silkie Van Tassel's excellent question:  "If you were spinning yarn for colorwork, would you make 2-ply or 3-ply?"

It gives me the opportunity to mount my very favorite soapbox:  "Not All Stranded Colorwork Is Fair Isle".

My answer to Silkie is Yes.  The number of plies I'd make would depend on the project, and the effect I was hoping to achieve.  Here's an exerpt from Teach Yourself Visually Color Knitting to explain more:

2-ply yarns are twisted together in the reverse direction from which their individual strands are spun.  Opposing the twist energy of two strands causes a yarn to be balanced.  2-ply yarns are known for the minuscule shadows created by their opposed strands.  Fair Isle knitters have long prized 2-ply yarns for this unique characteristic.  The tiny shadows cast by two opposing plies are part of what gives traditional Fair Isle stranded colorwork its special look.  The thousands of ply shadows soften and blend its many intricate color changes.

Photo by VirtualYarns

Three individually spun strands twisted together in the reverse direction from their spin are called a 3-ply yarn.  Three strands together have a rounded cross-section, and the tiny shadows of their plies are much less visible than in 2-ply.  Three strands make for a cohesive yarn with great strength and resistance to abrasion.  3-ply yarn offers superior stitch definition - a huge advantage when you want to knit crisp, clear motifs.  Well-defined stitches also highlight and enhance the contrast between colors.
 

Photo by Grumperina

All of which is a long answer for a short question:  Are you knitting Fair Isle, Scandinavian, or something totally else?  All stranded colorwork is not the same, so neither should its yarns be.  Vive La Difference!

Dissecting a Frog

The Frog Prince, as you may remember, was sent to Time Out.  Like, two years ago.  The process of translating this design from a tailored boiled wool jacket into a sweater that regular people could just have fun knitting did not go as I had hoped.  Not even a little bit.  Rather than a sweater that looks like the original jacket, I ended up with Franken-Frog.  The sleeves didn't puff.  The hem didn't swing.  The underarms did this bizarre batwing/dolman thing (The cast of Dyanasty called; they want their sleeves back).  And in the meantime, they stopped making the tapestry ribbon I had trimmed the original in.

In spite of all these problems, I had forged on, hoping I would somehow come to love the Franken-Frog in the fullness of time.  This denial may have had something to do with the 5 skeins of size 2 stockinette I had invested.  I did all the finishing (sans the tapestry ribbon trim; the plan was to hunt down a replacement after I fell in love again).  I even edged the wee beastie in velvet, all the way around.  All I had left to do was recreate the deep, patterned cuffs, when something snapped, and I just couldn't go on.  I hung the Frog in a corner of the living room.  Which did nothing to make me love it, because people kept coming into my living room and asking why I didn't just finish that thing, already.  Time marched on.  Books got written.  Other designs that I love have been born.  I've continued to make promises and excuses to the dear knitters who still want to make Frog Princes of their own.  There formed a fine layer of dust on Franken-Frog's velvet trim.

And then one night a couple of months ago, I dreamed that I was frogging the Frog.  It wasn't sad, but cathartic.  Like finding the real sweater trapped inside the Franken-Frog.  And when I woke up, I determined that it was time to admit defeat.  It was time to Frog the Frog.

And so, today was the day:

It took all morning.  And it wasn't as cathartic as in my dream.  But it's done now, and I'm ready to wash and reskein the yarn.  And then I'll go back to the drawing board, in earnest.  For those of you who have not given up on me, I thank you.  For those who have no idea why anybody would want a sweater with frogs on it in the first place, I have to say that I kinda feel the same for now.  But I'm not giving up, and neither should you, my would-be Princesses.  Wish me luck: I'm gonna reincarnate the Frog Prince.