The State of Things: February 2023

 Long time friends of the show know that February is for Finishing around these parts, and as I mentioned yesterday, we're expanding our horizons a bit this year and declaring a Year of the WIP.  

...could be worse

By the end of 2023 I intend to have every project on this list move on to it's final destination, be that finished, frogged, or set on fire.  I'm really kind of jazzed about it, and I think this is going to be really good for me.

Okay, on to the list.  I'll post these in order from eldest to cast-on-last-Monday, and add a few notes about status, where it may have stalled out, etc.  Note that links go to my Ravelry notebook. Please click with caution.

1. scrappy granny. April 2019.  Look, I know, alright.  I know.  I started this in 2019, got maybe a foot in, and bailed. And then I gave it a break because look, we are not holding 2020 against anyone or anything around here.  And 2021 wasn't much better, and then in 2022... Yeah, I'm out of excuses on this one.  Except I pulled it out of the bag the other day, thinking I was gonna re-home it, and realized it's kind of cute though?  I mean, look at her.

who is she?

So here's the plan.  I'm going to add another three or four rows and see if we can't rekindle what we once had.  It's not like we don't have sock yarn scraps around here.  The pattern is more or less Lucy of attic24's Granny Stripes, and I'm using a 3.25mm hook with fingering weight scraps.

2. Fast forward to 2021, and next up is Aria, also of attic24 fame. I started this blanket on January 9, 2021, and am every bit as in love today as when I first set hook to yarn.  I'm closing in on done with this one - two more rows to go (one of which is already in progress) and then the borders.  

I'm all heart-eye-emoji over here

3. oh for the love of pete, June 9, 2021.  By this time even I was tired of my own nonsense, but something about tiny little crochet squares seemed very appealing that summer.  I blame the pandemic, frankly.  Anyway, having taken stock of the situation, I am absolutely not making a full sized blanket out of these suckers.  They are too fiddly by half.  I think these will make a charming pillow, don't you?

4. simplicity is... August 5, 2021. This is going to be an oversized sweatshirt of a sweater, once I sort out the sleeves.  I was half using Ann Budd's Handy Book, and half making it up as I went along, and my first sleeve attempt was rather disastrous.  I frogged it, and put the sweater in time out.  My plan is to pull it out and try it on, and decide if I need to unpick the 3-needle bind off and shorten the armscye, or if I decide the armscye is okay, I'll need to figure out a proper number of stitches to pick up and the right rate of decreasing so I end up with a wearable sweater.  This is all very doable, I just ran out of enthusiasm for the damn thing.  

Also, this yarn is much prettier than this picture makes it seem. It's a lovely, heathery, sort of olivey green. It's King Cole Forest Aran in the Grizedale Forest colorway. And if this yarn is Aran weight, I'll eat my hat.  I'm knitting the body with a US 6, 4.0mm needle.

So that's it for previous contestants on February is for Finishing.  Everything else was started in 2022 or earlier this year.  So that's something, I suppose.  

5. I'm not really making this.  In the interests of full disclosure, and as evidence that I suffered some sort of out of body crafting experience last year, I'm sharing this bit of a colorwork mitt that I started.  I never took a picture of it (until today), and never entered it into Ravelry, so damned if I can tell you when I started it. I'm frogging it later today, and we'll call it February's first victory.

what the heck, past Bekah? what the heck

6. spice must flow, July 29, 2022.  Why yes, this is another blanket.  No, I'm not sorry, and nor is it the last on this list.   I absolutely frickin' love this thing.  This is everything I want from my crochet blanket experience. This color palette is thoroughly and extremely my jam.

The biggest problem that this one has encountered is that I have a habit of crafting for internet points, and couldn't fit this one in.  In an effort to craft my joy and not (just) for points, I'm pulling this bad boy back out.  I'm using a 4.0mm crochet hook and a variety of Stylecraft and James C. Brett DK weight yarns.

7. hotel of bees, September 4, 2022.  I have no idea what happened here. I am just giving myself partial credit for actually creating a project page.  Yarn is Scheepjes Stone Washed, and I'm using a 4.5mm hook.

8. what to my wondering eyes did appear? Sept 23, 2022. In an effort to use up some leftovers from a previous Christmas blanket (crocheted in 2020, it never featured on the blog), I decided to whack out some granny squares and make another Christmas couch blanket. We will not speak of the fact that due to needing additional yarn for the join, and changing my mind about the color, I will end this stashbusting project with as much or more yarn than I started with.  No, I will not be taking any questions at this time.

Yarn is Loops & Thread Impeccable, with a 5.0mm hook.  It's not my favorite to work with, but it sure does make a snuggly throw.

All that's left is the join and whatever I decide to do for the borders.

9. spontaneity is fine if you plan it out enough in advance, August 2, 2022.  This is an impromptu Rock it Tee along that I'm knitting with a friend.  I mean, to be clear, she finished hers months ago.  More accurate to say that I started it with a friend.  The pattern is by Tanis Lavallee, and I'm using Miss Babs Yummy 2-Ply in Petrified Forest and Nutmeg.  I have a very little more increasing to do for the raglan and v-neck, and then it's time to join and knit in the round forever. 

10. by gosh and by golly, November 2022.  I am not sure exactly when I cast these on, but I know it was in November and before Thanksgiving. This is Woolens and Nosh Corriedale Sock, which is a heavy fingering to light sport.  I'm knitting it on US 2 2.75mm needles, because my standard 2.5mm needle was getting me Kevlar.  I'm on the homestretch with these, and thank goodness, because I am kind of tired of Christmas.  (Bad news for me, as you will note when you scroll ahead.)

11. try to keep it all the year, November 24, 2022.  These are my annual "cast on while the turkey's in the oven on Thanksgiving" socks. They got sidelined a bit by a pair of Advent socks, and the Woolens and Nosh socks up above.  Turns out having three pair of socks on the needles at the same time is not actually faster.  Yarn is Lollipop Yarn Quintessential in the Christmas Carol colorway.  US 1 2.5mm needles, with my standard 64 stitch cast on and Fish Lips Kiss heel.

12. the secret ministry of frost, December 21, 2022.  This was my Winter Solstice start, and I'm really enjoying it.  The center was fiddly AF, but I am really enjoying how it's turning out.  The pattern is Touch of Frost by Marion Mitchell (this is the same designer as the spice blanket up above.)  Yarn is various DK weight acrylics, and I'm using a 4.0mm hook.

it is too February for this

13. ya learn something new everyday, January 30, 2023.  I'm teaching myself Tunisian crochet, because why not?  This is a simple stitch washcloth, and I'll stop when it's square or I get bored, whichever happens first.

So there you have it. 13 projects, neither my worst showing nor my best.  But something about this year just hit different, and I'm ready to clear the decks for real this time.

My immediate strategy includes finishing the Woolens and Nosh sock, and then casting on a new pair that's maybe pink or something, because dear gods am I tired of Christmas.  I'll also frog that mitt, and finish up the washcloth.  

Beyond that, I'll add another great whack to the Aria and Frost blankets, and probably go ahead and join the other Christmas blanket since it's so close to done.

Once I see how much progress I can make in February, we'll come back with a new strategy for March and beyond.

Wish me luck!

Get a Grip: 2023 is for Finishing (Not Just February)

Last December, as 2022 closed out and the fresh promise of 2023 lay ahead, I sat down and had a good hard think about my crafting, my WIP situation, what’s been bringing me joy, and what’s been weighing me down.

Good crafting habits that I fought hard to establish over the years have fallen by the wayside, and I seem to have reverted to some older patterns that aren’t great for my overall happiness or crafty-well-being.  (There’s perhaps a larger story to be told here about other aspects of my life, health, habits, and happiness, but that’s an introspection for another day.)

I was starting things that I didn’t really work on and never put into Ravelry, so they were in this weird “is it really a project or not?” limbo.  I was letting WIPs linger long enough that they were beginning to slide into true UFO territory.  I stopped entering yarn into Ravelry as soon as I bought it.  (Don’t get it twisted…I did not stop buying yarn, I just quit adding it to my notebook.) 

My mojo has been intermittent, and I’m feeling weighed down instead of buoyed up by my crafting life.

In short, I need to get a grip.

So here’s what we’re going to do about it.  I’m declaring 2023 The Year of the WIP.  This is a personal challenge, but feel free to play along in whatever manner feels helpful or meaningful to you. 

Here are my rules of engagement:

1. I will finish, frog, or fling everything that was on needles or hooks as of Dec 31, 2022, by December 31, 2023. The only projects coming into 2024 with me will be less than 12 months old.
2. I’ll post a full accounting of what’s in bounds.  This will also serve as my annual “February is for Finishing” post, wherein we all acknowledge that that scrappy granny blanket still hasn’t been touched since 2019.  See above in re: getting a grip.
3. I can cast new things on as I please, this is not strictly speaking a “Project Zero” style challenge.  This is a “clear out what’s weighing me down to make space for the new” kind of situation.
4. I’ll keep both my projects and my stash updated in Ravelry.  I’ve nearly caught my yarn up already, and just need to add my advents and a few other bits and bobs from December.
5. I’m going to be very thoughtful and intentional about any new yarn purchases.  We have yarn at home.

I made a down payment on The Year of the WIP on New Year's Day when I finished up a washcloth I found stuffed in the blue bin in my living room.  This is the bin I shove things in when I am "cleaning" up my crafting before people come over.  

I have no idea when I started it, I know it was sometime last year, but I have no memory of this place.

And as a side note, in case you are curious about the PPN (personal, private number) of WIPs that drove me over the edge… it was 13.  Past me would think that’s hilarious.