The Annual Airing of the WIP Basket: February is for Finishing 2020

It's that time of year again, folks.   Friends of the show will remember that February is for Finishing, and that every year we begin the month with the "annual airing of the WIP pile."

I've talked a bit here and there about why February is for Finishing as a tradition has evolved for me over the years (TL;DR - I just don't have as many WIPs as I used to), but I definitely think that the practice of giving everything currently in progress a good, strong eye-balling at least annually is a good idea.

So without further ado, here is my 2020 list of Works in Progress, in order from oldest to newest.  (Links go to the relevant Ravelry project page).

1.  Hogwarts Studies Notebook, cast on May 16, 2016.  This is Schrodinger's blanket.  It is and is not a WIP, depending on whether or not I am currently in the process of adding a square.   I started this blanket not long after I started playing in the Harry Potter Knit and Crochet House Cup, and every square has been turned in for points in the game. I have this running gag where I refer to each square as a page in my notebook, and that's where I keep all my homework.  This is one of those things where I think I'm clever and the rest of you just sort of tune out and nod at me and hope I'll stop talking.  It's okay, I get it.

I made a ton of progress on this in 2019.  I'm going to push hard to finish it this year.  I've added three more squares since this photo was taken, but this is close enough to where I am.  It's sitting pretty at 12x14 squares, and I'm targeting 12x18.  The end is in sight!

2. Weekender Blanket, started May 20, 2018.   This is a modular, JAYG hexagon blanket, crocheted with Stylecraft Special DK acrylic yarn.  I'm using the "Cottage Pack" from Lucy of Attic 24 (purchased through Wool Warehouse).  I've made significant progress on this one too, adding 4.5 rows since last year.

3. Scrappy Granny, started April 1, 2019.  Because one fingering weight blanket wasn't enough?  But you see, what had happened was... I had little bits leftover from adding squares to the Hogwarts Studies blanket, and I am only using a yarn one time in that one, and then Amy Florence from the Stranded podcast, and Caroline from the Dunderknit podcast were both crocheting one and then... It was peer pressure, okay?!  It was FOMO, pure and simple.  Also at work was a desire not to drown in small bits of fingering weight wool.

4. the art of creating comfort, started November 3, 2019.   Okay, I have no explanation for this.  No, I don't know why I have four different blankets in progress right now.  The heart wants what the heart wants, alright?   This one's also Stylecraft Special DK (this time in the "Woodland Pack" from Lucy at Attic24, via Wool Warehouse).   I'm doing 6, 8-round granny squares from each of 15 colors, and then I'm going to join the whole thing up with a gray border.  It's going to be big enough to put on my queen sized bed, and I'm stoked about it.   So far I have 17.5/90 squares done.

As an aside, you'll be pleased to note that there aren't any more blankets after this.  (I mean, I have more blankets planned, don't get it twisted, but let's finish a couple of these first, eh?)   As a second aside, the res of the projects I'll mention were cast on in 2020, so they're all brand, shiny-new.

5. Divination OWL: a secret county (Exploration Station), cast on January 2, 2020.  Would you believe I've never knit a Stephen West pattern before this one?  Where the heck have I been all this time?  I'm knitting this for my OWL in the House Cup.  This is my 12th OWL, and if I complete it on or before March 31, I will have earned the title of OWL Mistress.  Not gonna lie, I'm pretty stoked.  I'm knitting this out of Merino singles from Dream in Color and Suburban Stitcher.  This is a bit outside of my normal palette, but I love it fiercely.  Also, brioche is pretty fun. 

6. mighty in battle (Hitchhiker), cast on January 22, 2020.  So this is my sixth Hitchhiker shawl -- I knit my first one in 2013, and my most recent one in 2016.  But this is the first time I've done one with eyelets in, so there's that.  The yarn is Leading Men Fiber Arts in their Monologue base. The colorway is "And Then There's Maude."  Maude is my middle name, and those are my colors, so I was on that yarn like a duck on a june bug.  I'm farther along that this picture implies (around 22 teeth), but the picture I took today doesn't do the color any kind of justice.

7. catching or ensnaring by the foot, cast on January 25, 2020.   Did you know that the word "impeachment" is related etymologically to the word "impediment" and connotes catching someone or something "by the foot"?   Well now that's a thing you know.   Yarn is Whitebirch Fiber Arts "Study In Peach Mint."  Pattern is my standard CO 68, 1x1 rib, FLK heel.  This is the first sock of the pair.

8. bold branches bid farewell to rainbow leaves (Litmus Cowl), cast on January 26, 2020.  This will be a simple tubular cowl, knit in the round and grafted together to form a loop.  I think I'm going to run out of my contrast yarn, but that's a problem for future Bekah.  I'm using the "Autumn Rainbow" mini set from Canon Hand Dyes along with a neutral solid from Whitebirch Fiber Arts.

So that's it. 8 projects, 4 of which are blankets (?!) and 4 of which were cast on within the last month.  Unlike last February, I'm not planning to go rogue and cast on a bunch of stuff.  I plan to stay focused and to work solidly on my 4 new projects, while also getting some progress on one or more of those blankets. 

We'll see how we go!