Finish-or-Frog-It February

I try to take a step back a couple of times each year to look through all of my WIPs (works-in-progress) and decide what to do with them. I generally try to divide them into 3 categories. The first category are those projects that I’m going to bring to the top of the list and begin actively working on in an effort to finish them. The second category are those projects that I’m not ready to start working on right now, but still plan to finish, once I complete some of my current projects. The third category are those that I know that I’m not going to finish, either because I’ve lost interest or the project isn’t working out as I’d hoped, so it’s time to go ahead and frog them.

For those who aren’t familiar with the term, to “frog” something is to unravel the project. Basically, you take hold of the working end of the yarn and pull it to rip out the stitches you’ve made. So you rip it and rip it and rip it until you’ve completely unraveled it, freeing up the yarn for another use. “Rip it”… “ribbit”… hence, the term “frogging.” Yarn folks have lots of little jokes.

When I’m going through my WIPs, if there’s anything that was also on the list the last time I went through a “finish-or-frog-it” process that’s still unfinished, my rule is that it now has to go into the first group, those that I’m actively working on and trying to finish, or it goes into the 3rd group and gets frogged. This is to keep me from have projects lingering in the WIP pile forever, both because I just don’t have the space to store them, and because it’s too easy to put older projects aside for something new that’s caught my eye, whether it’s yarn, a pattern, or just an idea.

So as of February 1st, I currently have 11 WIPs that I need to go through and decide which category they’re going to fall into. I’ll probably do individual blog posts on at least some of these as I make decisions, but here’s a quick rundown of what I’ve got, in no particular order:

Westmont Shawl: This is a Tunisian crochet pattern by Toni Lipsey of TLYarnCrafts, and I’m using yarn that I bought at a LYS last spring when I was visiting my parents in NJ. Toni hosts a “Make It CAL” this time every year, and this is the project that I decided to use for her CAL, so I expect this one will be in the ‘actively work on it’ category.
Kelli Bias Scarf: This is another pattern from Toni at TLYarnCrafts. This one was from her Crochet Academy in 2024 and uses Lion Brand Mandala String yarn. I like the pattern, but I’m not crazy about the yarn, at least not so far. I’m not sure which way this one will go.
Tidepool Tee: This one is by Jess Coppom of Make and Do Crew, and uses Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton DK. I think this one got pushed aside because other things caught my eye. Living in the South, a cotton wearable has some appeal. Could go either way.
Franny Granny Cardi: This cardigan by Hannah Cross of HanJan Crochet really caught my eye. I loved the colors in one of her samples. It’s something that wouldn’t get much use here in FL, but definitely would be usable when we travel. And she’s so pretty. I’ve finished the body and the ribbing, so I’ve only go the sleeves left. I won’t be frogging this one, but I’m not sure where it will end up on the priority list to finish.
Cordelia Tee: This is a design by Holly Woodward, and I’m using Hobbii Happy Place Solid yarn in the shade 25 Aqua. This yarn is a 50/50 cotton and wool blend. I’m not sure which direction this one will go. I need to pull it out and see how far I’ve gotten and whether anything sparks when I’ve actually got it in front of me.
Lacy Spring Cardigan: This cardigan pattern from MJ’s Off The Hook Designs is so darn pretty! The yarn I’m using for it is Sewrella Yarn’s Classic DK in the shade Pearl, which I believe was from the 2024 Summer collection. It’s this amazing colorway that looks different depending on the lighting. Is it cream? Is it pale pink? It’s kind of both, like looking at the inside of a shell. So, yeah, the yarn is everything. And the pattern is so pretty. But somehow, I keep passing it over to work on other things. I need to think about this one.
Papillon #1: This is a knitting pattern by Marinja Knits using fingering weight yarns, and it’s absolutely stunning. It’s one of the patterns that I looked at and said “I really HAVE to learn to knit.” I’ve got two of these in process at the moment. This is the first one I started, and it’s using some gorgeous hand-dyed yarn by YarnBaby in the colorway Disco Chicken, with an Ecru contrast color. I absolutely love the color of the yarn in this (think Peacock colors) – YarnBaby has never done me wrong! But I realized partway into it that what I loved so much about the Papillons that I’d been so drawn to was the coloring that was created by using yarn with long color changes. So this got put aside for one with more color. I wouldn’t be surprised if I end up frogging this and using the yarn in a project where it will be shown off to its full potential.
Papillon #2: While we’re talking about Papillons, my second one is using Queensland Collection Perth in the colorway 110 Rainbow Reef with a rich black contrast color (Cascade Heritage in Real Black). It’s giving stained glass, and I’m so much happier with these colors that my first attempt. The only reason this got pushed off was a combination of the holidays, getting a business up and running, and, well, life. I just haven’t had a much time for crafting, and what time I had was devoted to other projects. But there’s no way this goes on the frog pile.
Wedgling Scarf: This pattern is by Wendy van Leeuwen. I bought 2 skeins of a special fundraising colorway called Pearl, Chucks & Zero F**ks from FinchMod back in the fall. My plan was to use them to make 2 mini-scarves for my spouse & I to wear to the polling place back in November. Life got in the way, as it does, and I wasn’t able to get to these. At this point, I think I will probably frog what little I’ve done and reclaim the yarn to use together in a single project.
Ranunculus: This is another knitting pattern, my first knit sweater. The pattern is by Midori Hirose, and part of the beauty of it is that it can be made with any weight yarn, and it uses big needles, so it works up relatively quickly. I’m using yarn that I reclaimed from a finished crochet top that I wasn’t happy with. It’s Sewrella Yarn Classic DK in the colorway Beach House, which is a variegated form their Summer 2024 collection. The pattern itself was fine, but I didn’t think that it showed the yarn off well and I wasn’t happy with how it sat on me, so I knew I would probably never wear it. So I frogged it and am using it for the Ranunculus. I know that my first sweater is going to be far from perfect, but I know I’ll cherish it anyway. Thanks to an amazing series of YouTube tutorials from Rebecca at Sun Dragon Tips & Tricks, I’m through a lot of the hardest parts, including the lacework at the yoke and splitting for the sleeves. There’s no way this baby is getting frogged.
Daphne Mega-Afghan: OK, Im really embarrassed about this one. This is based on the Daphne Afghan by Toni Lipsey of TLYarnCrafts. Basically, I was asked to make a Queen-sized blanket for someone, so I used the Daphne Afghan pattern as a basis, played around with gauge and stitch counts a bit, and made four Daphne Afghans and joined them together into one big blanket. But here’s where things took a turn: I didn’t block the individual Daphne Afghans before I joined them together and added a border. So the sides are a bit wonky. I don’t know about you, but there is absolutely no space in my house to block a queen-size blanket all at the same time, and even if there was, I don’t have anywhere near enough blocking supplies. So I was blocking the edges/corners in sections. And then life got in the way, and this is sitting on a chair in my bedroom (which is where I usually block to keep the cats away). I need to get this blocked/fixed and then mailed to the intended recipient. I was originally shooting to have this delivered by September/October. Oops.

So there’s my current WIP list. Mostly traditional crochet, one Tunisian crochet, and three knit projects. That’s not too bad, right? I hope I haven’t forgotten any, but if I unearth anything else while I’m reorganizing my stash, I’ll be sure to keep you posted.

How do you manage your WIPs to make sure they don’t get out of hand?

Talk soon, Eileen