To Frog Or Not To Frog...That is the Question!

Oh don't mind the bottles of booze in the background, they are merely remnants from the aftermath of an impromptu 'Cuzins Nite Out' at our place the Saturday evening before, and since the crowd dispersed close to 5 am the following morning, there was no rush to clean up.

Fast forward to Sunday around Noon,  I get the urge to start yet another crochet shawl called Small Talk, designed by Cheri McEwen.  I had just completed my first Small Talk earlier in the week and liked the pattern so much but wanted one in a much lighter weight yarn, in one of my favorite colors, ORANGE. (The above links are  links within Ravelry, an on-line community for knitters and crocheters, so if you're not a member, you may not be able to take a peek.  To become a member, just go to www.Ravelry.com so you can become hooked on Ravelry like me!)

I'm aware, I have no business beginning yet another project when I have so many WIPs, but I eagerly dig into the lonely stash bin (don't start laughing Lyse) and I find this tonal yarn by KnitPicks called Stroll, in the color Foilage.  Ohhhh, perfect, Yes?  Hold on just a moment.  The yarn is a perfect collage of colors found of a warm sunset or September's autumn leaves, so I begin to wind the yarn from hanks into skeins with my handy dandy new table top swift gifted to me by Petra, a swap buddy from Germany.  Shortly thereafter, with hook in hand I am ready to begin.

The first thing I notice immediately is how well the gentle pooling of colors compliment one another, it reminded me of a tree I once saw in Maine during the fall season some years ago that was so orangey-red, it appeared to be on fire.  This tree may very well be responsible for my love affair with the color orange.

Next, I notice that the wool had a very rustic feel, which was ok...so I tink to myself (pun intended, lol)...after all, I'm a rustic kind of chick, right?  But do I want such a feel in a shawl?   I work a few more rows and now the shawl appears quite woolly...oh dear, what's happening to my dream shawl?   Hence the thought process begins, and I have a serious talk with this tadpole...shawlie, shawlie, will I like you once you're done?  Or, will I gift you away just like all the others?  Should I Frog you now before you grow too big?   I decide to sleep on it over night, and in my dreams I envision my new shawl leaping into the frog pond, oh noooooo!  Come baaaaaack!

Realizing that the possibilities are endless, that this wool could very well 'thin out' and become quite light and airy with a drop of  fabric softener and some hard blocking, I remain hopeful...but who can tell?  Have you used this wool for shawls before?  What was the result?  Does it lose the woolly look/feel?

For the non-crafters totally lost in the lingo, here is a list of some fun-ky vocabulary words used within this post borrowed from Ravelry's Glossary of Jargons and Acronyms, common to knitters and crocheters.

Frog [frog; frawg; frogging] verb, adjective:  To rip back (for the sound “rip it, rip it”) by removing the needles from the project and pulling on the loose end of the yarn; also applies to crochet. Generally used when mistake is found below the row you are currently working, or when completely undoing an entire project or piece. (see Tink)
Frog Pond [frog pond] noun: a storage place for knitted and crocheted things waiting to be frogged

Tink [Tink] verb: To undo knitted stitches by reversing the knitting motion, effectively un-knitting the stitch. Used when fixing an error on the same row you are knitting. (“tink” is “knit” spelled backwards) (see also Frogging)

TOAD [Toad; Towed] noun: Trashed Object Abandoned in Disgust

WIP [WIP; Whip; {Acronym}] noun: Work In Progress

I'm really trying to be a good girl and knit from my stash instead of buying even more yarn, but its tempting. What say you my fellow crafters?  Should this tadpole's life be saved?