My world is surrounded by unfinished objects. Today...I'm going to talk about four of them.
As a process knitter, I like to have projects that cover all sorts of scenarios...not necessarily about the finished product. It could be a technique, a passing of time, functionality of the project itself.
Shipwreck began as a major challenge for me - back in 2009 when it was first published. My friend Jainy and I agreed we'd work on it together. I had purchased this beautiful yarn from Knit Picks and was ready to go. A few months later, Jainy had finished it, and I hadn't. Why such a challenge - and why wasn't it finished? First, it's a circular lace shawl. Circular knitting was not new to me, but lace absolutely was. I was new to lifelines, and multiple yarn overs, and heavens-to-Betsy, if anything slipped off the needle - especially a YO, it was not easy at all for me to figure out. Second, there's BEADS involved. And there are multiple ways to add beads to a knitting project. The most tedious being to pre-string the beads. And
yet, I was convinced that pre-stringing was the way to go. I never actually got to that part.
Anticipation killed my motivation to get this done. Fast forward to August of 2022, and I decided again to give it a go. I found some gorgeous Shibui Lunar yarn, and I was making great progress. Until I got to the beaded section. I haven't abandoned the project, nor have I ignored the beads (although, I could absolutely skip the beads if I wanted to), but while the stitch work is an easy K1, YO at this point, I haven't worked on it in over a year.
Comfort Zone started as what I like to call a sideline project. That doesn't mean it is sidelined to all other projects. It just means, that I work on it on the sideslines...sideslines of soccer games, dance competitions, basketball games...It has enough interest to keep me engaged, but not so much that I must pay attention at all times to every single stitch. And...it's going to be a poncho, which I love. (Why do I love ponchos? Maybe that's for another post.) In particular I love this one because I think it is going to be incredibly warm. It is being knit from Malabrigo Washted, it's got sort of a loose roll-down turtleneck collar, and then it's just a poncho. With some detailed twisted stitching down the arms. If I try it on, it currently lands just below the bust line, so I definitely have a way to go, but now that I don't have any sidelines to sit for a while, it will either hibernate, or become my TV-watching project.
Maika was my first foray into test knitting. I should have known better. As a process knitter, I should have known that having a deadline (not a gift deadline) was the kiss of death. I have since seen many test knits of interest, but knowing myself, I have declined applying. What is a
test knit? Simple. Designers look for people to knit their new designs to ensure that the way the design is written makes sense, produces what it claims to, and is easy to read and understand. I can do a post on test knitting sometime in the future, after I successfully manage to test knit in the time limit. So don't hold your breath.
What I love about Maika which made me want to try the test knit, is it is a cardigan that just looks so comfy and warm. And when the fall rolls around, I'll be happy that I have it! As long as I finish it.
My newest UFO is the Fun in the Sun Socks. They are cute, and part of my self-challenge of finishing a pair of socks. It is part of a collection, and I just thought the little popsicles were so cute - so this is the pattern I chose. It's super cute, right? I got this much done in a week...(that's good for me because there are so many other things that I do with my time)...and now I'm ready to start working on the heel. What to do what to do? German Short Row Heel? Afterthought Heel? Heel Flap and Gusset?
These are my main UFO's at this point. But I have way more than that. Not to mention yarn set aside for specific projects I want to start. How many UFOs do you have? How much yarn do you have sitting around waiting to start a project?
Shipwreck began as a major challenge for me - back in 2009 when it was first published. My friend Jainy and I agreed we'd work on it together. I had purchased this beautiful yarn from Knit Picks and was ready to go. A few months later, Jainy had finished it, and I hadn't. Why such a challenge - and why wasn't it finished? First, it's a circular lace shawl. Circular knitting was not new to me, but lace absolutely was. I was new to lifelines, and multiple yarn overs, and heavens-to-Betsy, if anything slipped off the needle - especially a YO, it was not easy at all for me to figure out. Second, there's BEADS involved. And there are multiple ways to add beads to a knitting project. The most tedious being to pre-string the beads. And
yet, I was convinced that pre-stringing was the way to go. I never actually got to that part.
Anticipation killed my motivation to get this done. Fast forward to August of 2022, and I decided again to give it a go. I found some gorgeous Shibui Lunar yarn, and I was making great progress. Until I got to the beaded section. I haven't abandoned the project, nor have I ignored the beads (although, I could absolutely skip the beads if I wanted to), but while the stitch work is an easy K1, YO at this point, I haven't worked on it in over a year.
Comfort Zone started as what I like to call a sideline project. That doesn't mean it is sidelined to all other projects. It just means, that I work on it on the sideslines...sideslines of soccer games, dance competitions, basketball games...It has enough interest to keep me engaged, but not so much that I must pay attention at all times to every single stitch. And...it's going to be a poncho, which I love. (Why do I love ponchos? Maybe that's for another post.) In particular I love this one because I think it is going to be incredibly warm. It is being knit from Malabrigo Washted, it's got sort of a loose roll-down turtleneck collar, and then it's just a poncho. With some detailed twisted stitching down the arms. If I try it on, it currently lands just below the bust line, so I definitely have a way to go, but now that I don't have any sidelines to sit for a while, it will either hibernate, or become my TV-watching project.
Maika was my first foray into test knitting. I should have known better. As a process knitter, I should have known that having a deadline (not a gift deadline) was the kiss of death. I have since seen many test knits of interest, but knowing myself, I have declined applying. What is a test knit? Simple. Designers look for people to knit their new designs to ensure that the way the design is written makes sense, produces what it claims to, and is easy to read and understand. I can do a post on test knitting sometime in the future, after I successfully manage to test knit in the time limit. So don't hold your breath.
What I love about Maika which made me want to try the test knit, is it is a cardigan that just looks so comfy and warm. And when the fall rolls around, I'll be happy that I have it! As long as I finish it.
My newest UFO is the Fun in the Sun Socks. They are cute, and part of my self-challenge of finishing a pair of socks. It is part of a collection, and I just thought the little popsicles were so cute - so this is the pattern I chose. It's super cute, right? I got this much done in a week...(that's good for me because there are so many other things that I do with my time)...and now I'm ready to start working on the heel. What to do what to do? German Short Row Heel? Afterthought Heel? Heel Flap and Gusset?
These are my main UFO's at this point. But I have way more than that. Not to mention yarn set aside for specific projects I want to start. How many UFOs do you have? How much yarn do you have sitting around waiting to start a project?