Works Out Of Progress – How Much is Too Much?

I have been having fun reading knitting blogs. It’s so inspiring to me to see all of the completed works that come off of everyone else’s needles. Socks, shawls, sweaters, blankets …. People seem to get more knitting done than I do. People seem to be able to knit and read at the same time. People seem to have more Works in Progress (WIPs) that are being worked on. Mine, seem to become disinteresting to me after a bit. Mine can only be called Works Out Of Progress (WOOPs).

In the interest of true confessions making myself accountable to all of you, I am sharing my WOOPs. Wouldn’t it be nice if I made some kind of a plan to finish up one of these WOOPs every two weeks and then photographed it for the blog so that you saw progress being made? Right.

This is a bag from Bags – A Knitter’s Dozen, done in some wonderful Schaefer yarn that I bought from one of the three LYS’s that get too much of my money. (But they love me.) You knit the base, then knit in the round, increasing stitches until the colors start to line up. Then you knit and knit and knit until it’s as tall as you like, then you finish it off. I got bored with this because the colors never really lined up like they were supposed to. Since this was the third bag I had worked on like this, I knew the yarn would do it – but it didn’t. So I stopped knitting. It would be a good mindless knitting project to pick up again, when I need it. It has gorgeous blues in it.
Here’s another one that stalled – same bag, same wonderful Schaefer yarn in a different colorway. Now this one really did have a good reason for being put on hold. I needed a mindless knitting project about that time, and I was at a point with this one where I had to pay attention to finishing off the drawstring top. So this stalled project really wasn’t my fault. At least it had the color stacking thing working.

I was going to have this sweater finished by April, so that I could wear it on a trip that Paul and I took to St. John. It’s a t-shirt style sweater and I had such high hopes that I bought enough yarn to make it in two different colors – this shocking aqua and lime green, and then a more sedate taupe color. I’ll include that in a near future blog about “yarns/patterns purchased with all good intentions but not made – how much is too much.”

Next, a baby blanket from Knits From the Heart. My friend has had her baby. I won’t tell you how old the baby is. (Less than a year – it’s not that bad.) I had the hardest time finding the right weight yarn to do this in. I, um …. didn’t get very far, did I? But I will finish it, because it has cute raised hearts knit into the pattern. All I have to do is make 3 rows of 3 hearts each. I can do that. Surely some other friend will have a baby girl one day.

A scarf in a color that I love. Truly, I am so over making scarves that I’m wondering if I’ll ever go back to this? But I do love the color, and I like the way the two yarns are knitting up together. It’s soft and it would look great with my winter coat. Ok. Maybe I’ll spend an evening and finish it up. (But do note that I have the width thing down for scarves, now. See “Top Ten Dumb Knitting Mistakes” #1,2,3…)

A sock. I really shouldn’t include this, because this is a planned Work Out Of Progress, in the truest sense of the word. But lest I deceive anyone, I thought it ought to be on this list as it is not done. My theory – in order to help prevent Second Sock Syndrome – is that you should knit one sock from a sock yarn, then knit one sock from another sock yarn, then maybe even a third sock from a third sock yarn. By the time you’re done with all three “singles”, you can go back to the first color and make the twin, move on to the second yarn and finish the twin, then complete the twin to the third, without being so bored with the color again. All of a sudden, you have three pairs of socks done. So this is Cherry Tree Hill Java (which reminds me of two wonderful things – coffee and fudge. Come to think of it, I probably did not get bored knitting this wonderful color. Coffee and fudge. How can one get bored with that?) I am due to return to it shortly.

Another sock. Same story. It’s out of Socks That Rock – some divine colorway that they don’t have anymore. I would LOVE to carry Socks that Rock at The Loopy Ewe. Would all of you people who have an “in” with that brilliant Tina at Blue Moon Fiber Arts please tell her what a wonderful little sock shop I have here, and how great it’d be for you to be able to buy STR along with all of your other favorites at The Loopy Ewe?? She promised me that I’d be the first to know if she decided to open accounts to online stores. Ohhh, I so hope she remembers that. But surely one of you has significant pull with her, right? One of you has to be the best friend of the sister-in-law of her second cousin’s husband who works out in her brand new beautiful warehouse. Can’t you get this nice guy to take five minutes of his coffee break to put in a good word to Tina? Even though his conversation would probably go something like this: “I’m supposed to put in a good word to you about something called The Goofy Sheep or something like that that my wife’s sister’s best friend is going on and on about for some unknown reason. So there. I put in a good word. Back to my break.” Surely it can be done. Surely it would help my cause. I have such faith in you dear blog readers. (And hey – if you click on that link and wander over there to Tina’s website, you just make sure you come right back when you’re done, got it?)

Another bag. (Is there a trend here? Socks, bags, socks, bags….) This is a wonderful yarn that I bought at a Quilting/Yarn shop in Breckenridge, CO. This is going to be a great bag, one day. It’s just kinda boring to work on. Knitting, knitting, knitting, knitting, knitting (well, you get the idea) around and around and around and around and around (well, you get the idea) – with no end in sight. The thing about this one is that it has to be knit huge because it’s going to be felted. And someone had the brilliant idea to make it even bigger than the Booga Bag pattern called for, because “wouldn’t that be just a great size??” It’s enough to drive one to drink. (Note the little tiny white cat feet in the top right-hand corner of the photo. Zoe was just sitting there waiting for me to turn my back so that she could bite that yarn in two.)

A little teeny tiny red sock. When I started The Loopy Ewe, my mom gave me a 20″ tall stuffed sheep that she used to have in her kindergarten classroom. Since our Loopy Ewe in the logo is wearing red socks, of course I figured that I needed to knit little red socks for the stuffed guy. (He sits at the entrance to The Loopy Room.) I made two socks. This is the third. They took all of 45 minutes each to do. There really is no reason that he stands there with socks on his back feet, and none on his front feet. No reason at all. Do you notice that I am using a combination of metal and bamboo needles? That’s because my other size-whatever-these-are needles were in use, on yet another WOOP.

Last but not least, a baby hat out of self-striping sock yarn. I am making booties to go with it as well. It’s from the book Not Just More Socks and I’m having fun working on it. (Do you use self-striping sock yarns for other things? How easy is it to make something that looks oh-so-impressive with stripes and dots of color, just because you’re using this special yarn? I’m telling you, if you gift people with knitting from these yarns, you will get lots of knitting gift credit. Lots.) I have been working on it this week, so I don’t think it can actually be considered a Work Out Of Progress. I think that qualifies as a Work IN Progress, don’t you? Also, because I anticipate finishing the hat and booties up this weekend, that has to make it an IN, not an OUT. A WIP not a WOOP.

So – there you have it. My WOOPs. Aaaahhh. Confession is good for the soul. I feel much better. I have pulled out the WOOPs, I have documented them with photos, I have confessed my knitterly shortcomings, and I feel better. I’m going to go start a new project.

Sheri dyingtodoaLogCabinBlanketmaybeI’llstartthatthisweekendwhatd’yathink?