WIP Update - January 2015
Posted by: Peanut in MyBlog on Jan 12, 2015
I took a little knitting break after Christmas. It felt a little funny not to work on anything but I'd spent almost the whole week up to Christmas doing almost nothing but knitting so the break was needed. Then I had an appointment and knew that if I didn't take something I'd be sitting around somewhere for over an hour and rushed to find something that would fit in my purse. In the process I saw just how many things I have listed as "works in progress" on Ravelry.
Thirteen.
Thirteen projects that are just hanging around waiting for a bit of attention.
And I've got at least two more projects that I want to get started on: a stocking for my newest niece and a sweater vest I gave Rob for last Christmas. And this is only the knit and crochet. I have no idea how many half finished or just barely started sewing projects I've got around. For the time being it may be best not to look.
The New Year always makes me want to tidy up a bit and I think getting some of the WIPS out of the way would feel pretty good. A few of them are purposefully long term projects. A few have kind of stalled and may end up going backwards. Three of them are for me. And one is so close to finished it is pathetic that it is still around.
Here is my list of projects and what I'm currently thinking of doing about them (reading left to right and top to bottom).
1. Little Green Socks for Maisie: I had no start date listed on Ravelry for this project but I'm pretty sure I cast on the first sock last February. I got one sock finished pretty quickly and then set aside making the second one so I could finish Maisie's Wee Patina socks. She's about to grow out of these so I'm giving them high priority. I'm pretty sure I know where my pattern notes are.
2. A Big Striped Toddler Blanket: I started this the December before Maisie was born. It's super easy. I cast on a whole bunch of stitches (twice as many as the pattern I was supposed to be using actually said but I didn't find that out until I was a few inches in) and knit back and forth in garter stitch until I run out of yarn. Then I add in a new skien of a different colour and knit to the end of that and so on until I finish the last colour. The colours are inspired by this photograph and I think it will be a really beautiful blanket whenever it gets finished. I'm three-quarters of the way through the second stripe and this project was set aside shortly after Ollie used it for a play fight and I had to carefully adjust the tension in a whole bunch of spots and weave in a few extra ends. I'm giving this medium priority because I really want to see it finished but Maisie is not desperately in need of another blanket (and I'm a little worried Ollie might eat it anyway).
3. Little Thrummed Mittens: This is another project I started for Maisie before we knew she would be Maisie. I was so worried about getting a tiny person home in the horribly cold weather that February and early March usually involve that I went a bit overboard on woolly things to cover said person. I'll have to take a picture of one of these mittens inside out. They look like muppets. All this project needs is to have a sufficiently long piece of ribbon sewn between the two mittens. These were set aside because after knitting them (which took a ridiculously short length of time) I didn't really think they would be very practical for trying to put on a baby. I'm still not totally sure how I'd get a wobbly little hand in there and worry that it would come out with pieces of wool twisted around each sweaty little finger. Also, any baby wearing these mittens will look ready for a boxing match. Even though I know I'll never use these mittens I'm going to finish them up just to get them out of the queue. They'll look cute hanging by the front door or something.
4. My Apricot Sweater: I started this sweater while I was pregnant. It was supposed to be really handy when I had a big belly because the pattern is only fastened at the yoke. I'm going to have to do some hunting to get together all the needles for this project. I kept borrowing them for doing other things. This project was initially set aside because I was tired and my hands were sore and swollen thanks to being pregnant but stayed set aside because I tend to push stuff for me to the back of the queue, especially if it is something that is too big to carry around in my purse. I think this is the project I most want to get back to though. It's just the sort of thing I'll want in the spring. I'm half way through the body and still need to do the sleeves and button bands. I still love those orange stripes.
5. My Emma Shrug: Yet another item that was supposed to be great for when I was pregnant though clearly I was suffering from some sort of delirium because there is no way a linen, barely there, shrug was going to be practical in January and February. The finished product will look like this and will be a lovely addition to my summer wardrobe. This has been worked on and set aside several times. I really like it but the lace pattern, though simple, requires a bit of concentration and I don't like to stop in the middle of a repeat. It's also slippery linen on slippery metal needles and not the most comfortable piece of knitting I've got hanging around. It's nice to work on when it's too warm to be working with wool and I think I'll save this for the summer months, even if that means I'll wait another year before I wear it.
6. My Whisper Cardi: It took me ages to start this project even though it was one I really wanted to do. In part this was because I couldn't decide what colour to make it but eventually realized I had this awesome purple in my stash. The other reason was that there are two versions of this pattern Whisper and Wispy and I really like both versions and every time I settled on one I'd see the other and like it better. This project was set aside because I needed to try it on to see if I was at the middle-of-the-back point and by the time I'd done that I couldn't find my pattern notes anymore. Eventually knitting and notes were reunited but by then I was knitting all sorts of things for Maisie and just completely forgot about this. It deserves a little attention.
7. Barn Raising Quilt: Despite its name this is not a quilt, it's a blanket of knitted squares and my finished product should look something like this. I'm using only Socks that Rock lightweight for my blanket. It comes in a huge array of colours and I participated in a few mini-skein swaps so I could try a whole bunch of colours without having to buy full skeins of all of them. I'm also using lots of leftovers from sock knitting. So far I've finished 15 squares and have scraps and minis to make ???? more. I planned this as a longterm, whenever-I-need-something-simple project and it has been filing it's role admirably. This is what I took with me to my appointment. I was able to do about 3 stitches before they called me.
8. Shoreward Socks: This was a Rockin' Sock Club kit and is a serious case of Second Sock Syndrome. I finished the first sock some time in 2012 and have never even seriously thought about casting on the second. I'm not super keen on either the colours or the pattern - which I remember involving a lot of twisted and travelling stitches - and I don't think they work very well together. The yarn is Socks that Rock mediumweight and these socks would never fit inside any of my shoes. I might frog the sock I've finished if I think of something better to make with the yarn or someone who would like it better.
9. The Orange Cowl: This project has been frogged and restarted at least twice before. It's really nice yarn but never seems to end up in the right project. There isn't a lot of it so whatever it becomes can't be very big. I'm not even totally sure why it was set aside last time. I'll have to find whatever project bag it is in and take a look at it. Maybe it will become a scarf for Maisie next year … or maybe I'll give it one more try to become a cowl.
10. My Scrappy Square: This is the best kind of longterm project. I couldn't finish it now even if I wanted to. It's made entirely of worsted and aran weight yarns leftover from other projects in one giant granny square. Whenever I finish a big project I put a bit of whatever is left into this big square. When I decide the square is big I'll work a round all in a single colour to frame it.
11. A Pink Baby Blanket: It would have been pretty neat to have had this finished for Maisie but I didn't know we were having a girl so I made her a pretty green blanket instead. This was my first real crochet project. My sister got me started on it as something that was both pretty and not too big. It was set aside when I ran out of yarn and didn't get picked up again when I got more. I don't think the new skein was even wound into a ball. The pattern is very pretty though and I think I'd like to finish it sometime. Since it is made up of squares that are later attached together I could make extra squares for a slightly bigger blanket or I could leave it as is and put it in the gift pile. I'm not sure right now if all the parts of this project - the yarn and the pattern - are in the same bag. A little investigating is probably in order.
12. My Gnarled Oakwoods Stole: I started this while on vacation in 2008 and have very fond memories of knitting it. The yarn is lovely and special, the stitch marks are my prettiest, and the needle is one of my few Addi Lace circulars. This project is regularly set aside because it requires long periods of quiet concentration that are not always to be found at home. I relish the times I get to work on it and actually remember to get it out to work on and look forward to the day when I can use this needle and these stitch markers in other projects. This project is kept all together - pattern, yarn and careful notes - and someday I'll get it finished and will wear it with pride. But not anytime soon.
13. A Doormat: I started this just a few months after we got our house and discovered how cold the floors were in the winter. My idea was to knit some big strips, felt them, and sew them together. I think I have three strips done but I'm not sure they are the right size. I might frog them back and start over with i-cord or something and make a coiled rug instead. I still think a rug from this wool would be just right in front of the side door where we let Abby out. The floor there is particularly cold and she will sometimes skid around on snowy paws when she comes in.
So there you have my list of works-in-progress for January 2015.
… Except that I decided on the weekend that it would be really nice if Maisie had a neck warmer that could be pulled up over the nose on cold days so now I've got that on the needles too.
… And I'd really like to start a new pair of socks.