Isn’t this beautiful? Dream in Colors gorgeous colors, and a bit of silver sparkle spun into the Smooshy yarn base to make it pop. This is their new yarn base called Starry. (And I knew that my hubby’s photo would turn out much better than my attempts.) We plan to have this up at The Loopy Ewe early next week. I know these would be beautiful as socks, but I think we’ll also see a lot of shawls and scarves and hats and gloves and mitts knit up in this, too. (Why hide it in your shoes?) I will confess to having cast on a cowl. FPS*. I am having a serious problem with casting on. In Wednesday’s post I referred to my newly-discovered (newly-admitted?) KADD. I don’t have ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) but I definitely have KADD (Knitting Attention Deficit Disorder.) My number of WIP’s is ridiculous and it doesn’t seem to matter how many I have on my list – it just keeps growing. I do have a lot of single socks, but lately, the thing I keep casting on is scarves. One right after the other. I AM finishing some of them. I had to – they’re for Christmas gifts. But there are still too many mid-stream that get set aside for the next sparkly fun interesting exciting pattern or yarn that comes along and intrigues me momentarily. It really is fun to make scarves and mitts and hats out of “sock yarn”. And it’s a good way to keep motoring through my stash. (But I don’t think it counts as “using it up” when it sits there as a half-done WIP. sigh.) This weekend I’m spending some time organizing the stash. I hope I come out alive.
Today’s recipe is one that Elf Karen shared with us and then I made some changes to it. (I don’t change knitting patterns all too often, but I seem to change recipes when I make them.) It’s delicious and perfect for a cool winter evening.
Chicken and Mushroom Soup (or leftover turkey?)
6 cups water
2 quartered onions
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup chopped celery leaves
5 chicken breasts
Cook the chicken breasts in the above mixture until tender. Remove the chicken and chop into bite-sized pieces. Strain the rest of the mixture and reserve the liquid.
2 cups diced celery
2 cups diced onions
1 lb. sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup butter
5 cups fresh white bread, cubed
Saute the onions, celery and mushrooms in butter until soft. (Do not brown.) Remove from pan and then add in the bread crumbs. (You may need to add more butter.) Stir until well coated and toasty and remove from heat.
2 tsp. sage
2 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. poultry seasoning
6 Tbl. chicken stock base
5 cups evaporated milk
3 Tbl. flour
Add sage, pepper, poultry seasoning, chicken stock base, and evaporated milk to a large pot. Stir to heat through. Whisk in flour as needed, to thicken slightly. Add reserved liquid from above, as well as the onion/celery mix and the chicken pieces. Heat through. Just before serving, add bread crumbs and parsley (if desired) to each bowl.
Before I close, here’s the question for you to answer for the November Blog Contest. I’ll randomly select one person from the comments section, next Friday. So you have a week to leave your comment/entry. I know that there are many of you who, like me, have KADD. I see your orders. I peek at your Ravelry projects pages, I read your comments on Wednesday’ blog. I just know these things. For me, the thing that seems to entice me to start something new is either 1) a new yarn that I am itching to try or 2) a new pattern that intrigues me. If you have KADD, what is it that gets you picking up another set of needles and beginning something new? (And if you don’t have KADD, just go ahead and admit it. That will get you an entry into the contest, too. Any tips on how to avoid KADD? Don’t say “discipline”….)
Sheri 2or3projectsgoingatonceseemsreasonable
12ormoredoesnot.Ohwell.
*FPS = For Pete’s Sake
I loves me some pretty yarn, but that just entices me into buying. What forces me to cast on is pretty pictures — new pattern, old pattern someone did in a different way than I’ve seen it before, doesn’t really matter. Sometimes I see something that is PERFECT for stash yarn, so I cast on right away so I don’t forget about the matchup I made in my head!
I have to finish or rip out a project before starting a new one. It’s amazing how many things I have that are almost done (lacking buttons or need ends woven in) So I try to do that before I cast on something new.
It’s color-no, it’s texture! Wait, it’s that cool pattern I saw browsing Ravelry! And it’s never finishing the knitting that’s a problem. It’s finishing the finishing!
I have to admit that is usually new yarn. I see something and I want to try it. At least in sock yarn. I so look forward to wearing the socks that I never seem to have much trouble finishing the pair. It is just all the pairs I want to knit. I guess to stop wanting to start new projects don’t look at blogs, Ravelry, or the Loopy Ewe. (The Loopy Ewe has some strange effect on people.)
I have a bad case of KADD. I just see something and want to make it. It can be a pattern or yarn. It doesn’t matter.
The Starry is so pretty. I definitely have KADD and it’s due to all the beautiful yarns, patterns, books, Ravelry, blogs, etc. Maybe KADD isn’t my fault. Maybe I can blame everyone else (The Loopy Ewe 😛 )for this illness. 🙂 I have 4 or 5…make that 7 projects on the needles right now waiting to be finished. I am currently working on 2 that need to be done by Christmas. I feel the KADD kicking in because I can’t wait for the next sneak up….
Your blog posts have a hand in encouraging my KADD! I now can’t wait to try the starry base!
It is also a combination of yarns I drool over and patterns that I fall in love with. For instance, I made a pair of Maine Morning Mitts, was wowed over how quickly they worked up into a fabulous end result. I then decided I could certainly make a pair for five of my friends for the holidays. I’ve been longing to try malabrigo as well so the combo has resulted in five new projects on top of all of my other projects already in the works. *rolls eyes at herself*
My impatience in regard to trying out the new patterns and yarns leads to nothing but trouble!
My KADD is hereditary. My grandmother had it, my mother has it, and they passed it on to my sister and to me. Not just knitting, but in all matters crafty. I come by it honest! There are just so many intriguing things out there to do.
I have Q(uilting)ADD & KADD. I get to the point of 1) knowing what it will look like and I’m satisfied or 2) my perfectionista takes over and doesn’t tolerate my very imperfect attempts to move outside my skill zone.
I know what you mean. KADD all the way. For me it is new and exciting patterns most of the time, but sometimes it’s also tiny little frozen hands or feet and eyes like a puppy looking at me… (Yes. I am a mother too.)
It seems like I buy more yarn during those knitting periods (like right now)…maybe the two are related? 🙂
Both new yarns & new patterns seem to do me in. Ravelry has been especially wonderful (or bad) for my knitting ADD. So many new yarns & patterns to check out! So tempting!
A new yarn texture or colorway can make me start a new project. So can a really great pattern. I like variety in life. Who doesn’t?
I used to have KADD (thanks to a new pattern or new yarn or wanting a simple project or a challenging one or….). Now I don’t have time for KADD. If I actively work on more than one project I get overwhelmed. I like to really get into one thing at a time. I know, I sorta disgust myself.
And OMG that yarn is AMAZING!!!
I totally have KADD for every reason you mentioned and probably more, getting bored, finished a new handspun yarn and can’t wait to see how it knits up, new patterns, or just plain boredom. I don’t know what my problem is I can’t stick to just one project, or just one craft. I have always been that way 🙂
Beautiful new yarn I can’t wait to see how people choose to knit it up.
Happy Early Turkey Day 🙂
Ahh.. I have it, I’ll admit it. New yarn always makes me cast-on. Also, looong projects can bore me. 🙂 In the last year I found one thing that has helped – if I knit two socks at the same time, I’m more likely to finish the pair. Also, I think I’ve become a faster knitter. This has help abate some of the project ennui.
I love new patterns, new sock, scarves etc. I just love to start something new, but I try not to. Having too many UFOs around frustrates me.
KADD — Absolutely suffer from it. Not all bad though, I get to try lots of new things. I had been doing pretty well about keeping things under control until recently. I have been trying new stitches and skills. Unfortunately, when I get stuck or have to rip back something, then it seems like I have to cast on something new that I know I can successfully complete. Then, I have trouble getting back to the one I had the issues with in the first place. I love both new yarns and new patterns. Either one can pull my attention away from my current project!
What causes me to cast on as part of my KADD? Anything new: patterns, techniques, yarns, holidays/gift ideas, saw something on someone’s blog, “need” for something “new.” I’ve got two sleeves and the bottom cuff of a sweater, but I cast on a pair of socks in Noro sock because I want to try the yarn, and I also just bought a 2-at-once sock book, so now I have those cast on as well.
I dont think 25 wips counts as KADD, does it?
Stress, new yarn, new pattern, ravelry, boredom all cause me to cast on for something new!
It’s a new color or new dyer – but always the yarn – that makes me start a new project.
The answer to KADD? Give up everything else in life and just knit until all the projects are finished – however long that takes!
it’s almost always yarn.
sometimes it can be a pattern, but yarn usually trumps pattern.
I have three projects on the needles, which is probably the most I’ve had at any one point in time, so I don’t think I can qualify as a severe case of KADD. But one thing that sometimes make my list of ongoing projects growing is the need for a small mindless project, one that’s easier to take to a knit night than the two sweater projects that I have going, which are either at a tricky point in the pattern or simply too big and cumbersome. In such a case, I start a pair of plain stockinette socks, but I’ve never had more than one pair of socks at a time on the needles (yet).
Usually it’s a new yarn (the more colorful the better) with an old tried and true pattern. I will not divulge how many things are on needles in my house at this point, but I did finish 2 projects in the last couple days!
Don’t get me started! I’m trying to get rid of some unfinished knitting right now. Would you believe I found 3 sweaters (one of them a beautiful aran) that I have finished except for the blocking and sewing! I just hate to do all that sewing and blocking at the end of a project, but it is rediculous to have the sweaters finished FPS and here it is winter and I could be wearing them. So I have my dining table turned blocking station full of pieces waiting for the stitching to begin! Then I’ve lost count of the unfinished spa cloths, an intarsia sweater that I’ll swear I’ve been working on (looking at it mainly these days) that I’ve had on the needles for, ummmmm, let’s say 7 years. Thankfully the socks are all knitted and in drawers ready to be worn! I’m afraid I will never get through my stash of sock yarn, and there are so many more skeins that I want! (Just take a look at my wishlist!) I need about 2 more sets of arms!
OMG! That Starry yarn is GORGEOUS!!!
For me, start-it-itis is mainly caused by something lovely arriving in the door and demanding ‘knit me now’. Also, like today, it can be a new pattern that screams ‘knit me now’. Thankfully, at least the items I knit are small (rather than sweaters).
New yarn sucks me in every time. Right now it’s a skein of Tempted Glam Grrl grinning at me, all sparkly!
What keeps me monogomous? Ridiculous goals I set for myself. Like this crazy NaKniSweMo! I’m only going to make the goal because I’ve done NOTHING all MONTH but knit on that sweater!
It’s the yarn! The color, the feel, the yarn is why I have so many WIP’s!!!! The worst part of it is all the needles in them..I have to buy more needles to start the new projects…and of course then I need a bag to put it in……oh dear.
Why do I have, at current count, thirteen projects on the needles (plus a large number of other craft projects in various stages of incompletion)?
Usually, it’s a time factor. I’ll get to a stage in a project where I need a good chunk of uninterrupted time to do the current part (or any part, in cases like Heere Be Dragone), and I don’t have that uninterrupted time, so I’ll go start something else. (See: at least four pairs of socks stalled out somewhere around the heel.)
Other times it’s because I lost the yarn staredown; the yarn’s been in my stash a while, and I finally feel so guilty about having it sitting there reminding me how much I spent on it that I go ahead and start the project. This eases the stash stress (but raises the UFO stress). Lately I’m trying not to buy yarn unless I’m sure I’m going to start the project soon; sometimes this works better than others.
Sometimes I see a project that I must make Right Now as a gift. (for example, my sister’s family’s Christmas present; I found the perfect pattern on Ravelry and am now plugging through it and ignoring the other 12 knitting projects etc. Fortunately it’s a quick knit, and I’m not running into the “oops! hit hard part; must set aside until the 9-year-old and 6-month-old are out of the house” snag.)
But mostly, my UFO pile is because I’m not riding the bus to work often enough :-).
Definitely the yarn, whether new or from the stash, entices me to cast on yet another project. Second is a new idea of something I need to make.
I uausally don’t have more than two or three active projects at one time, but I do have a half dozen to a dozen deactivated ones. I guess I should dig them all out to see how many I have and decide which I’ll actually finish.
A new yarn or pattern can always make me stray from a current project. It didn’t occur to me to actually finish one project before starting another. I just bought more needles. 😉
Sometimes it seems I don’t even need a reason to cast on yet another item! But lately it seems that it’s a new pattern that will get me. The holiday knitting is really giving me anxiety this year. What was I thinking?!!
I generally start a new project if I get frustrated or just lose interest in what I have OTN. For example, the sweater I’m making for my SO now is error ridden and I just can’t deal with it, so it’s in time out and I’ve cast on and finished 3 projects while that waits. I can’t say I’ve ever seen a pattern or a yarn that has made me drop everything and cast on for something new if I liked what I was working on.
I have KADD, but I try to control it, because I also like to get WIPs finished. There’s almost nothing that bugs me more than a sweater that has been in the works for several months. If it does, I set all other projects aside and finish it.
I’ve realised that the setup that works for me is to have 3-4 WIPS: one complicated “big” project, garment or shawl – one simple big project for when I cannot/don’t want to concentrate – 1 travel project.
What prompts my interest in general is the pattern: something I’d like to try, or to wear. I love yarn, I *ahem* collect it, but usually I buy it with a specific project in mind.
KADD – I love it! My most recent bout with it seems to be due to the change in weather (cold snap) combined with full moon!! That’s my excuse & I’m sticking to it!!
I normally don’t suffer from KADD. The only time it hits it me is when I suddenly I realize there is something that ohmygodImusthaveitrightnow. But if it’s something like that I normally do not have a problem quickly finishing it and not casting on something else until it’s done but all other projects maybe cast aside in the process.
Boy, I don’t know if I have any good advice…about the only thing that keeps me from casting on everything all at once is 1. limited needles with which to cast on, and 2. limited space to store the WIPs. Otherwise, it’d be reaaaally hard to resist, especially with the evils of Ravelry & everything.
My knitting groups keep me under the spell of KADD. And it isn’t so much that I see their project and immediately want to make the same one. More likely I see their FO’s and think “Oh my goodness, I could totally make a sweater too” or “You know, I could totally use another hat.” Essentially they inspire me.
For me, KADD usually starts with a pattern. I see something new, I love the shape or texture or the yarn it’s been knit in, and I feel I *have* to cast on (or order the pattern so I can cast on). Once I master the pattern, however, and I usually end up ripping it all out three or more times before the light turns on in my brain and I “get” what’s going on with the pattern, then KADD kicks in and my eye starts wandering to the next hot thing. The only thing I’ve found to keep my KADD in check (somewhat) is to have a deadline and have a project I’m knitting for someone else. Right now, I’m experiencing a unique project monogamy with the knitted item I’m doing for my Ravelry Loopy Groupie swap partner. It’s not only what I feel I *should* knit, it’s also something i *want* to knit, even though I have (mostly) mastered the pattern. Haven’t memorised it yet, but give me a few more pattern repeats and I think I’ll have it firmly in my brain.
I’ve found no surefire cure for Y-ADD — yarn attention deficit disorder. There’s just too much temptation at The Loopy Ewe, with all the pretty colors and the Sneak Ups and the indie dyers and different weights of yarn for different projects. Let’s just not talk about the size of my stash versus how slowly I knit and how relatively little time I have to devote to knitting these days. Sigh.
a pattern, definetely. and boredom with the current WIP
New yarn definitely entices me to start a new project…new patterns do too…and Ravelry probably shares some blame…also holiday knitting has me starting lots of new projects (while most are for christmas gifts, some are from boredom with knitting christmas gifts haha)
New yarn, new pattern, a friend’s entry on Ravelry…it doesn’t take much! 😉
Give in to KADD. It’s the fascination of solving a new set of problems that feeds KADD, that and good designers and good yarn and fiber artists, and who on earth wants to put a damper on any of those things. One big help is to knit for someone else. It’s much easier to finish the scarf, mittens or gloves if you know they’re going to nestle in colored tissue paper in a gift bag for someone you love. Every time you finish something, you’re freer to start something else. One thing that has helped me (sometimes) is to put my yarn and fiber AWAY so I only look at the project(s) that are in hand now, and I don’t find myself gazing longingly at the other skeins, wondering how they’ll work up.
KADD? You betcha! I have 7 projects on needles: 2 pair of socks, 2 afghans, 2 scarves, and a sweater. All for me! 🙂 And yesterday I was looking for something else to cast on, but I don’t have the needles for what I want to do. So, it’s off to the LYS. Just hope I can get past the yarn to the needles before running out of money!
I have no idea what sets me off on a new project. I don’t think I need a reason. It was the same with cross-stitch. 😛
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.
Oh, I’ve been dealing with a spate of KADD myself, lately. Three, no wait (sigh) four pairs of socks that I’m either in need of second socks for, or have the second sock OTN right now, two sweaters, some lace… And I’m about to cast on for a pair of mitts, and only by sheer doggedness have I prevented myself from casting on for a third sweater (and we shall not speak of the spinning backlog). Clearly I have no advice for you in preventing KADD. As for what inspires it, it seems to be a mix of patterns and yarns, although probably more pattern- than yarn-driven. That and the end of the semester, when everything else is out of control, and something about getting to do whatever I want with my knitting is very soothing 🙂
How do I “stop” my KADD? When I run out of empty needles! Then I am forced to either finish, or frog, something. But generally all of my needles have something on them at this point, and I just pick and choose debating on my mood at the time, which is constantly changable.
And if there’s pretty new yarns (that Starry is TEMPTING!!!!!!) then it’s pretty easy for me to go “woosh” and turn straight to the new pretty thing for a bit. I’m so bad… I’m trying to get a handle on myself here, but I haven’t managed yet. I’ll be reading all these comments for some advice though! *laughs*
Yes, new yarn and new project ideas are enticing! But, I am trying really hard to be good and finish up what I have started. Not sure how long this self imposed exile from random starting is going to last but I am giving it a go for now!!! 😉
I have terrible KADD. I try to cut deals with myself — finish this one sleeve and you can cast on for something new — but it doesn’t always work. As a therapist in the real world, I work with clients who have ADD, so I sometimes try the strategies I teach them for managing ADD. I try to put away all the yarn and patterns where I don’t see them immediately upon entering the house, and to leave the project I should be working on out by the chair where I usually sit. Sometimes out of pure laziness I work on what’s nearby, rather than exerting energy to go find something else. But temptation always lurks, spurred on by news yarns, new patterns, boredom with a pattern that takes a long time and has become repetitive, etc. I think I just have to learn to accept myself as I am — that I am incapable of knitting monogamy.
It’s simply the excitement of starting something new…and giving in to the temptation feels so wrong sometimes!!! It’s like being naughty and knowing you are the only one who will ever know unless you tell on yourself.
My KADD has multiple triggers – it can be a new pattern or stitch, a new yarn, a new technique, a request from a family member, a compliment from a friend, or just a wild hair….
There is no known cure; becoming a hermit might help, but only after the stash was exhausted. On the positive side, keeping one’s brain and hands active has lots of health benefits – so cast on and enjoy it!
I’m a total project monogamist. I just don’t have the concentration to work on many projects at once. And I’m totally motivated by finished projects. It takes too long to finish one thing when you’re working on multiple things!