Pushing It

I've got a lot of projects OTN again. And I'm pretty darned sick of all of them. Not because they're bad projects or boring or not something I'd wear, but because they have been hanging around FOREVER.

All week long, I've been dwelling on that. It's not good to have pleasurable things take on the shape of a burden.

So I've been talking about not casting on any new projects until I clear all existing projects off my lists. Socks are the exception to that rule, of course, because I need mindless desk knitting and something portable for my purse. But, not including socks, look at what I have OTN:

1. Catherine Parr.

This was cast on November 2007, one year ago. The sleeves are done. The body, knit in the round, is done to the armholes (where the fabric divides), and another three inches of the back is done above the armholes. This one is probably 80% done, except for a little knitting and some math for the neckline.

2. The Crapghan.

Remember this butt ugly thing? It's 2.5 balls away from completion. It's crocheted, and crochet hurts my wrist, so I can only work on it in the tiniest increments. Takes a long time to crochet a bed-sized blanket in five minute increments.

3. Fulmar.

I'd rate this at about 30% done. And you have no idea how much I wish that number was larger. I love this project, but it requires thought, and I can't always think about my knitting.

4. My Husband a/k/a the Cardigan.

The back is knit. That's it. I got stalled by the sleeves, but after a Stitches class this summer, I have a new way of short-rowing the cuffs so that I ought to get a decent result. I hope. 30% done.

5. The Fair Isle Bag.

Love the colorwork yarn on that one -- Plymouth Outback Wool. Nice wool, great colors. I wanted a true black yarn to go with it, and ended up with some Berrocco single ply that irritates my skin. So like the crapghan, I can only work on this one in short time increments. Maybe 10% done.

6. The Pink Sweater.

Started out as a vest, but I have enough yarn to make sleeves. We'll see how long those sleeves end up. Should be at least bracelet length. I'm nearly done with the front, so we'll soon discover just how long the sleeves will be, as that's all that remains to knit. Around 60% done.

7. The Kyoto Sweater.

I cast it on. I knit a few inches. I realized I would need to rewrite the entire pattern. And there, I stopped. Sometimes I get tired of not being able to knit patterns as written. Not even 5% done.



So that's four sweaters, a cardigan, a bag and an afghan. Catherine Parr, the pink sweater, and the afghan are all in the home stretch. I could conceivably finish all three before the end of the year. I thought about trying to knit my dad another vest in January, but now it looks like it will be Fulmar all the way, with the Kyoto (after I rewrite the pattern) for braindead days.

And even then, there will still be the cardigan.

Sheesh.

Definitely time to ignore the call of new projects. I may not achieve perfect completion of all these items before casting on something new, but if I push it, I can clear out a lot of them and make substantial progress on the rest.