Tuesday, January 31, 2012

February Eve

It's almost February, and anyone who is paying attention knows that means that there's about to be a whole mess of finishing around here.

The month of February is devoted to the act and promise of Finishing.   It falls on the calendar during what ought to be the coldest (wtf January?  60 degrees?  Really?) time of year.  Days are short and nights long, but we are on the rising side of the Yule Solstice, and heading into spring.   It's time to clean out the old, and start making plans for Spring.

So that means getting some of those old projects off the needles.  (Hard to cast on three new shawls and some socks when all the needles are stuck into Auntie Mabel's old cardigan, eh?)

"Finishing" for the purposes of the February that I'll be having usually means actually, you know, knitting the project.  But it also means "frogging" (I like yarn, as the lady says, more than I like bad hats), and flinging (this dishcloth is made out of acrylic from 1978?  Gosh!).

Okay, I think I may have flung all of the projects that would have qualified under that rule last year.  And have not, thankfully, cast on any new ones.

I may have actually cheated some, and started a week early.

What?  I'm allowed to finish things.

Two weeks ago I finished a wee shawl and a hat.

Twig Lace Cap

Ginkgo Shawl (as of yet unblocked)
 But that was before I made my list.   Those of you who were around last year (and the years before that) will remember that I have ... a problem.  A starting things problem.  Without a matching "and then also finishing things" problem.

Last year I had 25 UFOs/WIPs on January 31st.

This year?   This year I got 8.   (Okay, yes, half of them were on my list last year too.  Hush.

12 UFOs on January 24
When this picture was taken I had 12.  I finished this:

Vegamot Cap
And I frogged these:

Doomed Forest Walkers
Unlikely Mitts
Terrible Headband

Which leaves me with 8.   Tune in tomorrow for a full listing.  And also a strategy!  (Of sorts!)