Friday, April 13, 2007

Pick Your Path, Then Follow It


Nothing brings joy to a knitter's heart quite like being asked to knit something for someone. Even showing someone something you like and saying "I think you'll like this" then having them nod in a vaguely non-committal way is about all the encouragement we need. (I am assuming this is true for other knitters - correct me if I am wrong.) And of course, there are to-be-gifted knitting projects that the recipient knows nothing about and those are always great, too.

My proclivity for this kind of knitting has generated a bit of a backlog. This is no one's fault but my own and so I am taking responsibility for my knitting to-do list. I am enacting a Resolution. I am resolving to complete my current list of projects before casting on for any more projects.

New Year's resolutions would be inappropriate in the middle of April so I'm making a Friday the 13th Resolution. This Resolution will be in effect from Friday the 13th to Friday the 13th. Conveniently enough, the next Friday the 13th falls in July of this year and three months is a very reasonable amount of time for tidying up the knitting landscape. (On an irrelevant but serendipitous note, that is the amount of time I am going to need to continue being gentle to my ankle.)

So without further adieu. . .


As Blog is my witness, I declare the following Friday the 13th Resolutions:


(In no particular order)

1. I shall not start any new knitting projects between today and the next Friday the 13th.



2. Between now and 07/13/2007 I will only knit on the projects as itemized below. (Some of the listed projects are literally started - as in already on the needles - and some are just on the docket.)



3. My little Christmas ornament sweaters are exempt for the following reasons:

a. They are an ongoing project that was started before the Resolution was enacted.

b. They are the aperitif and thinly sliced ginger of my knitting life these days.

c. It is my Resolution so I get to make up the rules.



4. Swatching doesn't count.


5. Charity knitting doesn't count. (Hey - there might be some sort of knitting emergency.)



6. This Resolution is purposefully silent on acquisitions.

The Approved List:



1. Mama's hedgehog herd. I need to make her a total of five. Hedgehog-1 is complete - knit, felted, stuffed, seamed. Hedgehog-2 has been knit but not felted or anything else. Hedgehog-3 is on the needles. Hedgehogs-4 and -5 are in the stash.



2. Socks for my ankle surgeon. (This is my current on-the-go project. This has a slightly different deadline in that I want to take them to my July 9 appointment.)


3. I need to sew the lining in Lori's Sophie bag. (Not technically knitting but the knitting project isn't done until the non-knitting part of the project is done, too.)

4. The Almost Amish Baby Blanket. (The challenge of this blanket is that the Pima Cotton Silk sheds. I can't take the shedding knitting with me to work on when I have to then go back to work or anywhere else. This is at-home knitting.) 5. Socks for my oldest niece. (I have made significant progress since this picture was taken. This sock is beyond the gussets and the second is just past the cuff, however, both of these socks are on holders at the moment because I have borrowed the needles to work on Item #2.)

6. A white llama for Carrie. (She got a brown one for Christmas and now wants a small white one with a black face, too.)


7. Felted magazine bag for my friend Donna. (The pattern for which I need to work out. Right now this pattern is only in my head. A dangerous place for a pattern.)



Should the stars and planets align causing a shift in the fiber of the universe which then results in me finishing 1-7 before 07/13/2007, then the following projects are permissible.


8. Mama's Tahki Cotton Classic Colorific Daddo blanket.


9. My Briar Rose Knitalong Abundance shawl from the Cozy pattern.

10. Socks for me from Susie's yarn or the Trekking. I will cross that bridge in the unlikely event that I come to it.
Well there you have it. The Resolution. So now I've said it "out loud" which should help keep me on task.




Today's Quote:

"However vague they are, dreams have a way of concealing themselves and leave us no peace until they are translated into reality, like seeds germinating underground, sure to sprout in their search for the sunlight." - Lin Yutang

6 comments:

MLFTC said...

What a lovely post and my-oh-my you used some BIG words. But you did leave out "initiative."

I have a recommendation for your list of never ending projects. That Sophie bag you made for your favorite sister-in-law (me) is so lovely! It's also a good "spring" bag. Maybe you could finish it first so she could have it for the spring wearing?

Just a suggestion/hint/I really want that bag/so finish it first, ok?

Love ya!

EnnaVic said...

Lovely post - and I agree - Christmas ornaments should definitely be excluded. I love the idea of the sweater egg cosies. I'll have to look out for that book. (Is it naughty to want a book just for one pattern?!?)

Happy Knitting :)

RC said...

5 hedgehogs??? where is she going to put them all? wow!

and You are still not done that sophie bag? what? you did that like forever ago!

maybe i should make some resolutions too... then I might stop feeling so overwhelmed? Ok, so I'll put make a list of resolutions on my list...LOL

Charity said...

I love the idea of Friday the 13th resolutions! Much better than new years. :0) You have a lot of plans for the next few months!

brandilion said...

Good Luck!

Kim said...

Great idea! However good the intention would be, I would need the 'in case of emergency, I can cast-on' clause. These days, I would probably use it often! Can't wait to see the updates as your progress through the Spring and Summer!