Knitting In Public

There have been several KAL-type groups for the last year or two, to create “10 in ‘10″ or “11 in ‘11″ - usually defined by the group. Shawls are a common one (how does anyone complete 11 shawls in a year? Unless you count the scarf-type “shawl” I can’t imagine it).

I seem to respond well to challenges (reasonable challenges!) for my knitting, as well as specific project/goals (knitting olympics, charity projects, etc.). Otherwise, I tend to flit from project to project, finishing by luck or lack of other stimuli. Of course, the smaller the project, the more likely it will be finished in a timely manner - but that is also no guarantee. Stumbling blocks for gauge, loss of needles (Google), underestimating yarn yardage, needing to ‘rewrite’ the pattern for various reasons, pattern errata problems - all of these generally cause me to stick the project in a bag and leave it, usually indefinitely.

Thankfully, I now have Ravelry to show me what a slacker Iam  help me out. In the past, it was difficult and time consuming to pick up an abandoned project. Finding the pattern, remembering which needle I used, the adjustments I made to one side/sleeve to be able to match to the other all conspired to keep me from finishing a project started long ago. My Ravelry projects page tells me (usually) all of that information. I was recently browsing through my projects, strolling down memory lane, until I looked at some of the start dates of these “WIP’s”… three years… really???

So, while I do have a couple of WIP’s that are ‘current’ - and an intriguing charity project for the MKG, I’ve decided to add another challenge in the hopes that I can have some lovely FO’s to show for my efforts.

I am challenging myself to finish 12 projects by the end of 2012. No requirements for size, new or UFO, one-per-month, etc., just complete 12 by the end of the year. My focus will be primarily on finishing UFO’s that have been sitting long enough that I’m glad I wasn’t making them for my children   around for quite some time. I do have three projects done already (OK, they were new this year, but it still counts!):

Hagrid’s Mystery Motorcycle Socks, 72 stitch version

KnitPicks Essential, Kettle-Dyed, Colorway: Ivy (2 skeins) - the photo color is way off, this is more of a forest green

Brittany dpns, size 1 (2.25 mm)

and

Daisy Baby Booties, 6 month size

KnitPicks Gloss DK (Whirlpool, Cranberry)

Needles: 2.5 (3.0 mm)

and

Soft Wave Baby Mittens

KnitPicks Gloss DK - Whirlpool

needles: size 4 (3.5 mm)  for mitt and size 1.5 (2.5mm) for tie

I’ve pulled several projects from the pile and am currently searching for the patterns so I can finish them up. Perhaps I’ll even manage more than 12?

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 25th, 2012 at 3:43 pm and is filed under UFO's, mittens, Socks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.