Works In Progress

WIP - in knitting lingo this means Work in Progress. WIP always makes me think of some government program like FDIC or USDA. This is not necessarily a negative connotation for government programs or unfinished knitting. It does connote work though.

I currently have way too many WIPs. I am not sure how this happened.

I started this one after a wonderful program at the knitting guild by Judith Shangold. This is one of her many beautiful patterns sold under Designs By Judith. The garment is called Butterfly - a jacket wrap; an intriguing design that promises to be as versatile as a shawl.  I found colors I loved and had to start it immediately. I am on the second half of the garment - almost finished but sadly this one is not at the top of my priority list.

These Mermaid knee-length socks just need the feet to finish. I think I stopped as I am a bit worried about running out of yarn. I always have a pair of socks going. One of my rules to keep the WIPs at a minimum is to have only one pair of socks on the needles at a time. I really need to finish these as my goal is to knit almost all the socks in Janel Laidman’s book The Enchanted Sole: Legendary Socks for Adventurous Knitters. Thankfully, I don't have them all as WIPs. This one is not at the top of my list either though.

This is a project I just started and it takes the top spot on my list. It is a scarf I designed using a stitch pattern from Barbara Walker's A Treasury of Knitting Patterns. I edged it with a stitch pattern from Knit One, Make one in Classic Knitted Cotton by Furze Hewitt.  I made the scarf over a year ago for the silk dyers of Redfish as a shop model. Then I was asked to write up the pattern for a friend. Since I did not do that then, now I have to knit another scarf so I can make sure the pattern is accurate. I promised to have the pattern done by the end of July this year. Yikes! Time is flying.

In late winter last year I thought I would make a Spring/Summer top. Now still in the planning stage, maybe I will get it done by next spring. I wonder if I could finish it for the Weavers and Spinners Fashion Show in March. The yarn is handspun. Hmmm, the pressure is mounting to get things done.

I have more WIPs. Some are on the needles, some in the planning stages. Some are pre-WIPs. Those are the ones that are in the queue. I think it is a good thing to have more ideas than time and maybe some things will never get finished. A new, lovely pattern or beautiful yarn or a request from a loved one will always come along to tempt us off the path of finishing.

I don’t like UFOs, i.e. unfinished objects. I would rather call them WIPs. It helps me finish the WIPs if I make lists, rules and priorities.

·         List all WIPs. I am ruthless here and record them all.

·         Decide what needs to be finished first, then second and so on and list them in that order.

·         Make a rule not start anything new until some of the WIPs are done. I allow myself a little leeway here so I don't assign a particular number to how many WIPs I have.

·         If desperate, that is when I feel there are way too many WIPs like now, I pick the first project on my list and promise myself to only work on that project until it is done.

·         Consider scrapping a WIP if it is too frustrating, becoming ugly or unwanted. I don't throw it away. I usually can find a way to recycle or donate the yarn.

I hope this helps others with too many WIPs or UFOs.

Happy Knitting!