Friday, December 15, 2006

Once is not enough

Since I started knitting and crocheting last year, I quickly understood that I am more a starter than a finisher, as the two uncompleted socks remind me every day (two different socks not a pair)... But lately I became even a destroyer, undoing what I had previously done. That's a thing that I find really amazing in knitting and crocheting, you can wear a scarf or a sweater for years and if one day you don't like it anymore, you just pull a thread and in a few minutes you'll have a huge skein of yarn ready to be knitted or crocheted anew with another project. Isn't that amazing?


Ain't that the basic principle of recycling? Knitting and Crocheting are in some way environment friendly and, we could say, ecologically savvy. I felt in this recycling mood lately and I have decided to undo three scarves and an old sweater that had served me for three years.
For the sleeveless sweater I'm thinking about adding a new round neck in a contrasting color (what about in polar combat?), and lengthen the lower part in the same contrasting color, or maybe I could reuse the purple yarn, but I guess it would be tricky to obtain exactly the same gauge as the original.

As for the scarves, for the first one, made in red cotton, the recycle was easy, it became two lovely Christmas hats for some baby girls. I don't really know what to do with the Artfiber's Mammoth superfine baby alpaca I took from two other scarves, though. The texture of this fiber is so uncommon and messy that the scarves I made took soon a kind of grungy feeling that made them look "old". The result after one year wasn't satisfying, despite the fact that the colors are still bright and the wool is so soft! So I thought that these two skeins should have a second chance, but I don't know how to use them, any suggestions?

4 comments:

LG said...

You are right, Justine!
Frogging is good for the planet! We are enviroment friendly! I had never thought about that, very nice!
Do you have a special tip when you undo an old knit? Like not making a ball right after, but doing before a skein at the back of a chair and leave it there some days to "restore"? I´m curious!

PippaW said...

I had no clue I just did a ball, but what you write is absolutely genial! Vik You are right! I'm an absolute beginner in the magic world of undoing I'll look for some tips online! :-))) Thanks for the hint!

Pam said...

I do this alot too, save $ buying more yarn, just re-use it! As for the Artfiber's Mammoth, have you a pair of fingerless gloves or slippers? Or maybe a little headband to cover your ears in the cold.

PippaW said...

Pam, it's a very good idea! Mammoth slippers should be very confy and soft. Thank you!! By the way the idea of recycling the old sweater came from you, I saw it on your blog some time ago!! You are and endless source of inspiration :-)c