We all have them, the WIPs hiding in bags or boxes in the corners and crannies of our homes, the ones we put in time out because something was wrong with the numbers, the yarn or needles hurt our hands, the child grew up, the project got too fiddly. You know what I'm talking about, right? Right? Just me, then?
Anyway, I have many WIPs going at any given time. I've lost track, but I usually have over ten knitting projects lying around the house at any given time. I need one that's easy and fairly mindless, at least two or three sock projects (I tend to make those very plain so that they're easy and mindless, just on smaller needles), a couple of colorwork projects or more, a couple of lace projects, at least one sweater project that I'm going to finish any day now, and the hat projects from fall that I never finished. Oh, and the charity projects, like the current prayer shawl and a helmet liner or two for kids' friends and loved ones in the military. I have found that this system means I'm very slow to finish, but I'm more likely to knit every day like I should for my health. This way, I can choose the easy project for when I'm struggling with brain fog and the charted projects for the days I'm doing better and need a bit more of a challenge. It just takes me longer to finish anything, but being a process knitter, that doesn't bother me as much. The problem starts when I put a project in time out. The one that I set (or threw) aside because the numbers weren't working out or the yarn doesn't like me or the needles hurt my hands or it was for a particular reason and just wasn't working out for that. Every couple of months, I go through those and pull them back out, looking into why I put them in time out. Some, I'm able to fix and finish up. Those always make me feel better. Then there are the ones I have to give up on. This week, I ripped out all of the lace sampler stole I'd been working on for awhile (four years, seriously). I'd been trying to force it to work because the yarn and needles just feel so lovely in my hands, but I had to give up on it. The lace panels...I just didn't like them. It was a mystery knit-along, and several of the lace patterns just weren't pretty to me, not my style. Following lace charts is tricky for me these days, so even though I was more than halfway, I knew it would be a good while before I could honestly work on it and finish it. I pulled it out after much musing and trying to find ways to like it, and after a good look, I went with my gut and ripped it out. It was therapeutic, to be honest, allowing myself to be honest about how I felt about the pattern, letting go of any expectations for the final project, and admitting I really just don't like or wear stoles. I prefer bigger shawls. So, in digging through my patterns, it turns out I might have enough yardage for an easier lace shawl that will be big enough for me and has easily remembered repeats (well, maybe not so easily for me these days, but easier than the other one). I'm just working through the rest of my pattern stash to see if there is anything I'd rather make, and if not, then we're in business. It feels good.
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CarinaI go by Bina on Ravelry, have for years, and used to have a knit blog ages ago. With everything going on with Ravelry and elsewhere, I think it's time to bring back the knit blog. Archives
April 2022
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