In yesterday’s post about organizing my yarn, I alluded to unfinished projects.  In the knitting world (and the larger craft world) we call these UFO’s.  When you sign up (completely free) on Ravelry, a knitting/crochet community, you’re given a notebook that has a section for your current projects, your stash (yarn), your queue (projects you want to do), your library of patterns and other fun features.  You can enter the particulars about each project (pattern, yarn used, needles used, notes) including its status: finished, in progress, hibernating, frogging.  Ravelry has other wonderful features.  If you’re a knitter or crocheter and you haven’t heard of Ravelry, check it out!

You would think with all this wonderful technology to help me track my progress, I would finish more projects, huh?  Well, technology is not the problem, I am.  This is how it generally goes:  1.   I say ‘yes’ to too many projects mainly because they don’t seem like such a big deal at the time.  (Just say the word ‘curtains’ to my mom and watch her run for the hills.  I have a reputation in my family 🙂  )  2.  I write them down (to keep track) and try to find the time to complete them all and become super overwhelmed.  3.  Time passes and I’ve not worked on several for a while and 4.  Before you know I’ve completely forgotten about them.  A caveat to this sequence of events is I get into a project that goes beyond my present abilities, I become very frustrated and slowly shrink away from the challenge and blame it on the fact that I don’t have the time.

Now let me just say that I don’t do this with every project.  I have completed many things (I knit 30 hats for my church’s youth group mission trip to Alaska), just not as many as I haven’t finished.  See the problem?

So my solution?  Accountability!  Before I add any new craft projects, I will finish the following list:   Alisa’s sweater, Cathy’s capes and my Central Park Hoodie.  Wish me luck! 

“Pretty sure Ellie’s dreaming about that dog bed and sweater you’ve been promising.  Me?  I’d just like to see a couple of Christmas stockings hanging from the mantle this year maybe with some bones and cookies in them.  No guilt intended, but I’m not getting any younger.”  Love, Woody