I had a sudden bout of startitis today (the urge to cast on new knitting projects) but I’ve managed to restrain myself! Why did I do that? Well, for the last… oh, good while, I’ve been resolved to finish the projects I currently have on the needles before I start anything new. I’ve got a lot of things that have been meandering along for a long time – I have started and completed other projects in the mean time, but I haven’t finished these others. So I’m making an effort to do that now.
The thing that’s helped me the most with doing that is that I decided to pick a “WIP of the Week” every Friday, and concentrate on that project for the next seven days. I’m not forbidding myself from knitting on my other WIPs if I feel like it, but I’ll be focussing on the one that I’ve picked and hopefully be doing the most work on that. I haven’t kept that up completely all the time, but it’s certainly helped before so I’m going to try it again.
When I first started it, it worked like a dream – I finished my first three picks very quickly that way. At the moment, I have two – the Menace jumper, which is a UFO (I count something as a UFO rather than a WIP if it’s been hibernating and not worked on for ages) and now only needs seaming, and the Clapotis scarf which is somewhat more portable. By the end of this week, I intend to have finished the straight portion of the scarf, and made a start on the jumper seaming. Although if I haven’t managed that, it doesn’t matter – I’m not aiming to finish the projects within each week, just to get as much work done on them as possible.
So, the current WIP(s) of the Week will be at the top of the “Currently” section of my sidebar. Below them are my Ravelry-powered progress bars for my In Progress and Hibernating projects. The hibernating ones are greyed out and italicised (and if you want to know how I got it to do that, drop me a line – it involved some code wrangling that I’d be happy to share with anyone interested). The links go to the Ravelry project pages, so I’m afraid if you’re not a member you won’t be able to get in unless I remember to set them as ‘open’. Or at least I think that’s how it works. Although if you’re not a member and are a knitting/crochet/spinning fan, I’d definitely recommend you go and sign up – it’s a fabulous site :-)
Anyway, I thought I’d do a round-up (with pictures) of my current lot of WIPs and UFOs. And project details for those I haven’t mentioned on here before.
UFOs
Chunky Zip Bigga Jacket
Pattern: Jacket from Sirdar Bigga pattern leaflet #8470 [Ravlink]
Yarn: Sirdar Bigga in 0689 – Lilac
Needles: 12mm and 15mm plastic straights
I started this in May 05 and finished the bulk of the knitting… er… also in 2005. I don’t remember when exactly. Since then it’s been lurking around waiting to be sewn up. I made this a WIP of the Week and I’ve now seamed the shoulders and picked up and knit the collar. Once the table is once again clear of random stuff, I’ll finished the sewing. No really, I will. I must not be scared of putting the zip in, either! Urk.
Menace! Jumper
Pattern: To Dye For from Stitch ‘N Bitch. [Ravlink]
Yarn: Wendy Raphael in Black/Red.
Needles: 9mm plastic straights
This is my first adult-sized jumper (actually, I think it’s my first (started) jumper full stop), started in June 04. I finished the knitting for it sometime in the autumn / winter of that year, and like the Bigga jacket, it’s been lurking around waiting to be sewn up ever since. I really should pull it out and get it done.
WIPs
Bracket Fungoth socks
Pattern: Bracket Fungus by Jane Lithgow [Ravlink]
Yarn: The Yarn Yard Bonny in Hot Pink “Purple Goth” and Wendy Sunbeam St Ives 4ply in Dark Grey
Needles: 2.75mm Boye metal DPNs.
This is a project I started as a treat to myself for doing… something which I’ve forgotten now. And then I put it aside to work on something else which had a deadline, I think, and haven’t picked it up again since. That was about two years ago. I’ll get to it.
Clapotis à la Toscana
Pattern: Clapotis by Kate Gilbert, from Knitty: Fall 04 [Ravlink]
Yarn: Posh Yarn Eva 4ply in Tuscany
Needles: 4.5mm Boye interchangeable circulars
I started this waaaay back in October ’07. Because I only have 600-odd yards of yarn rather than the recommended 800, I decided to only do four repeats of the increases to set the width, and that’s just fine for what I wanted. I struggled a bit with the first set of the “straight” section though, and ended up putting it down for, um, a few years! In the last month I’ve picked it up again and I’m now into the final ball of yarn with the end in sight. I expect to finish this by the end of this month. :-)
Fireworks socks
Pattern: Slight modification on Timberline Toes by Lucy Neatby [Ravlink]
Yarn: The Yarn Yard Bonny in Oct 07 Club: Fireworks (& contrast red)
Needles: 2.5mm Brittany birch DPNs.
This is another project I started back in Oct ’07. And for the most part, I’ve been working slowly on them every since. They’re my “waiting rooms” project, so they only ever get a few rows knitted at once. However, I am finally on the foot of the second sock now. Yay!
Ishbel
Pattern: Ishbel scarf by Ysolda Teague [Ravlink]
Yarn: Nimu Striding Edge in Blackberries
Needles: 4mm metal circulars.
It was all going so well – the yarn and pattern seemed made for each other. But I’ve run out of yarn!! There should have been plenty. I really don’t want to rip, but I might be able to get some more yarn, so I’m hibernating this until I do. I might well make another one of these anyway – it’s a great pattern.
Lady Heather
Pattern: February Lady Sweater by Pamela Wynne [Ravlink]
Yarn: King Cole Fashion Aran in Heather
Needles: 5mm Boye interchangeable circulars
This is the first top-down knit sweater (cardigan) that I’ve tried, and I really like the idea of it. I knit through the top section really quickly, but then put it aside for some time. I’m now knitting a bit every now and again, and trying to decide quite where to do the thing for the sleeves. I think I need to take it off the needles and try it on properly.
SKP09 Pair #1 – Salida
Pattern: Salida by Janneke Maat [Ravlink]
Yarn: The Yarn Yard Bonny in Nov 07 Club: Sky Blue
Needles: 2.5mm 80cm Addi Turbo circulars.
I’ve only made the first one of this pair – I didn’t finish the sock challenge that it was a part of, right from this first pair! I really love the pattern, and I like the way it looks in this yarn, but it has come up a little small. So I’m pondering on ripping it back and re-knitting. If I do, I might change the yarn I’ve used, because this solid sky blue is one of a set with a contrasting hand-painted one, and I’m still vacillating about whether to keep the two together. I wonder if the pattern would work with a darker blue?
Recently Frogged
Stay at Home, Wear with Jeans Cardi
Pattern: Go Everywhere, Go With Everything Cardigan from Stitch ‘N Bitch.
Yarn: James C Brett Autumn Bliss in Burgundy
Needles: 3.5mm bamboo straights
I frogged this because I wasn’t getting anywhere with it. The pattern and the yarn were both plain: while I like them both, together they bored me, and it didn’t help that I was trying to use needles that the yarn was just too sticky for. Lesson learned!
