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Echo Flower Fail

Here we see a picture of my Echo Flower Shawl as of two days ago:

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I’m about 50g into a 100g skein (roughly 225 yards knit up out of 450 total) and ready to start the border. Now see how it looks today:

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Yup. Frogged (Rip it! Rip it!). I was a few lines into the border when I realized I just didn’t like the pattern. The main body looked a teensy bit on the elderly side, and the border had all these nupps (pronounced “noops” as in “soups”) which are little clusters of stitches you gather together to look like a flat ball. And suddenly I realized I was knitting a little old lady shawl as opposed to a hip, young, boho-chic accessory type shawl. So I ripped it all out.

Sure, I could have kept going and given it away. I’m sure there are plenty of people who would think it was great. But in my mind that would be the equivalent of saying, “Hi, you are old and/or have horrible taste. Enjoy!”

Strangely, ripping out all that yardage didn’t bother me in the least. Because I really love that burnt orange skein of Malabrigo Sock, and it would be a bigger shame to waste it than to throw away a few hours’ (okay, maybe a week’s) worth of knitting time.

Has anyone else ever been that far into a project before having knitter’s remorse or have I just set a record for wasted effort?

Posted in Knits & Knots.

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4 Responses

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  1. Bells says

    OMG. I don’t believe you did that! I don’t see old lady at all in it. I see beautiful lace! You made it so far. Jodi you are insane. Sorry, I need a moment.

  2. jodi says

    Bells…your last two comments had me LOLing. The worst part is…I’m thinking of casting it on again later. I think I should see some sort of knitting therapist to help me get through these crises without mindless frogging — or maybe I should just drink more. I tend to make better decisions a few glasses in. 😉

  3. drk says

    oh no, not wasted effort, ive done that heaps. i do think its a beautiful pattern but if it doesnt float your boat, it is a waste of time. and if it had a mistake, good to rip, and you can always start again!

  4. jodi says

    I think I’d feel better if there WAS a mistake DrK, but nope it was simply the realization that I was just not that into Echo Flowers. I still think it’s best for us to live separate lives. At least for right now. 😉



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