Hiya, and Happy New Year to all of you! :)
For the past few days I've been thinking about the mess mentioned in my previous post and how to bring some order in it and I think I have finally reached my most constructive phase- I have got a plan! :) Now, my main problem was wanting to do it all and not knowing how! The answer was- I can't do it all! Not at the moment , anyway, so, I'll simply have to make a selection. Then I'll make a priority top list. And so I did- first this, then that... It still didn't work! Why? Because of the second biggest obstacle in my head- it's not only these unfinished objects I have to decide when to continue working on; I've got some other plans for this winter too. (Winter having only 3 months in average would be my third obstacle :) ). It wasn't until then that I realised -under the pressure of finishing the projects that have been collecting dust in my baskets, I was constantly starting some small projects with no head or tail and have kept on and on leaving them on side just like those sad pieces from my previous post. The only way to make this organisation really make some sense and help me finish all these projects was to simply temporarily «forget» about some of the them. If finishing my Vogue capecho annoys me that much, I'll think about it after I finish other things. It's not really a «kidney friendly» piece to wear in January, after all. Once the spring comes- I'll have one very, very easy job to do- to finish the sleeve and my capecho will be ready to wear! The quantity of smart ideas coming from my own brain was stunning (as you have probably noticed.) :)
OK, now, in order to organise all of my projects, regardless of when I intend to finish them- I had to make some categories (bah, that 's how pathetic I am, not only did I make a huge mess here but I have be my own controller too! And a tough one!). First- I invented the «burning projects» category and had to decide which projects to label as BP. After choosing them, I made a priority list. Then I invented the «Stand by» category and labeled all the projects that I intend to continue or start working on soon but not before burning projects are all finished as "SB". Once I finish all the projects from my Top to-do list, I'll make another list for this «stand by» crowd. Finally, just like most of my plants, some of these projects had to be declared «dormant species»! If there is no way to finish them before April (and I certainly don't intend to knit sweaters then), they'll simply have to continue hibernating for now. For some of them it won't be the first winter they had to spend sleeping in my baskets. But now- they have been recognised and labeled. As D- projects!!! (It's always good to have a name!)
So, this is my plan:
«D» category
- Red NLO- dormant!!! The only thing I have to do is to frog it and straighten the yarn. No hurry, though!
- Striped «Indian summer» sweater- dormant!!! (no change)
- Entrelac scarf- frog!!! And start a new one! The one I'll actually like!
«SB» category
- Cabled white sweater- nothing for now. If a good idea strikes me (and I manage to survive) soon, I'll try it. If not- I'm afraid it might be declared a dormant species as well.
- Lacy beige cardigan- I'll think about it in February!
- Vogue capecho- spring!!!!!
Now, my Top list of «to-do» projects:
1. finish my Mermaid gloves
2. make another pair of gloves for my sister. She's home on a short break before the end of the autumn semester and she's going back this weekend which puts this project on the second place. I can squeeze in a pair of gloves here!
3. make two mug cozies for my friends
4. start making a denim-patchwork bag for my friend Ivana (it's got nothing to do with knitting but it is something I have postponed a few times this month. I'll cut it into 3 phases to reduce the pressure (how smart! :D )
5. finish my neck-warmer
6. start making a new entrelac scarf (no need to finish it right away, entrelac is fun to knit when you don't know what else to do. I've got plenty of scarfs as is)
7. finish the second round of patchwork bag
8. make myself a new pair of beige gloves
9. finish patchwork bag
10. make a beautiful :) cabled wrap
11. get some sleep :D
OK, that's it. To prevent myself form cheating- I made a promise (to myself again- I've been talking to ME a lot lately, apparently) that, if I decide to change something, I'd rearrange the priority list rather than make a new mess and lose controll again.
I think it has started working already- I did finish my mermaid gloves and I'm only 3 fingers away (as weird as it may sound) from finishing a pair of gloves for my sister.
:a very very proud smiley:
I know the kind of problems you're having with this. I'm like that too and that's why I've tried really hard to keep the number of my WIPs to a minimum. I love the proportion of the number of projects in your categories, so many of them are burning projects :))) Good luck with your plan! And a very Happy New Year!
ReplyDeletePS Deleted the previous one because it had a spelling mistake :) This is the corrected version.
Haha, you've noticed, haven't you- not much of a help to dismiss only 2-3 projects and keep more than ten! :)
ReplyDeleteI know I'll have to make some changes, of course, it's not as if I'm in army now :) but it's helpful to make some kind of organisation, that's for sure. Finally, most of this projects are small and, who knows, maybe I'll make it to finish 7-8 of those from the list by the end of January (with some changes I already made, OF COURSE :))) ).
Buut the fact is- I don't think I was rushing into new projects that esily when I was knitting only big things. I'd take 15-20 days and finish a sweater, with no extra "great ideas"! Maybe it's because I got used to these one skein projects- easily lose control.
Anyways, I managed to finish both pair of gloves and one mug cozie (that was a big projects!!! :) ) so, I guess I've learned my lesson! AND- my gloves are ready to meet Mr.Internet! :D