Recycle, re-use, re-envision, re-frog

Kate should swatch, but doesn't.  It means that she has more projects than she would like that are not exactly what she hoped they'd be.  Sometimes the sizing is off, and occasionally the yarn would be better suited in another stitch or at another gauge.By swatching, she could get a chance to work with a yarn, see how it blocks out and find a pattern perfectly suited to the yarn.  Instead, she spends more time than she might like frogging projects.This week she's been a little tangled up transforming one project into another.Her Jetstream Shawl was stunning and hung in the shop for a season.  We all loved the subtle shimmer Habu Tsumugi silk and she adored how it knit up in a simple stockinette.  However, the shawl's large size and fine fabric made it a bit unwieldy for her and so it went unworn.She realized that even doubled, the silk created a fabric that was more delicate than she wanted to wear.  But the deep navy color was calling out to her and she envisioned a classic, boxy sweater that make the most of this beautiful yarn.  Last summer, when Dawn completed her Davis, (a Pam Allen pattern that called for Kestrel, Quince & Co.'s aran weight linen yarn) Kate found her pattern.But how do you make a lace weight yarn become an aran weight gauge? Hold 5 strands together.  Since her shawl was created with a double strand of Habu, she opted to double that and add a strand of Habu Cotton Gima in a similar deep navy color.This requires more yardage, so Kate needed to find more yarn.  Since the original shawl was created over 2 years ago, she wasn't surprised when the additional yarn arrived and the color was not an exact match.She had already started her project and found that the front of her sweater (knit with four strands of the older yarn) was just a tiny bit darker than the back she was starting (which had a blend of two of the new and two of the old).After a brief break up with the project, she opted to frog the front; giving herself a chance to start fresh with the same blend used throughout the entire project.  Yep, another frogging project.  Happily, the silk yarn is very strong and has stood up to the abuse beautifully.This time however, the project is a bit more complicated, requiring that she separate out the various strands for re-use.  It's going a bit slower, but she has help from her husband, who (so far) is enjoying the challenge.The sweater will be finished before summer's end.  When photos are ready, we'll be sure to share them with you.  In the meantime, do you have any projects that you'd like to re-envision?