the blue blog archives: you know you've been doing too much finishing when...

...as far as you're concerned ready-to-wear means yarn ends are no longer visibly hanging out of the garment.

I spent the boys' naptime yesterday weaving in ends on native and am only about 1/5 of the way through them. Sheesh, this is going to take forever! I actually wore my old crazy socks for months before I got around to weaving in the ends. Then out of sheer boredom, I just took them off my feet one day, wove in the four little ends and slipped 'em back on. Pathetic, I know.

I am dying to start greensleeves! I saw a pattern in the new Rowan mag that is perfect, perfect, perfect and I try every day to figure out an excuse for breaking my moratorium on new projects during February finishing month. Alas, I have failed to come up with anything that even I would find convincing.

The back of giranimals II has been giving me such problems! I knit the back of giranimals I in what seemed like 15 minutes, but this one I had to rip out three times. Ugh! First, I messed up the armhole shaping and only noticed it when the sleeve ended up being too short. So I ripped back to the armhole decreases, fixed them and continued on until it came up short again. Measure, measure. That's when I realized that I had been measuring from the cast on edge and not the end of the ribbing. Rip back to armhole decreases, knit more, do decreases, c h e c k l e n g t h, and see that it is now way too long. Rip.... Finally, I finished the little bugger.

...you suspect yourself of subconsciously messing up a project just so it won't reach the finishing stage!

If the rest of giranimals II goes as quickly as the sleeve went, I'm in trouble!

posted by alison at 7:38 am | in giranimals , greensleeves , native

Comments

Congratulations on finishing the back of Giranimals II! If you're eager to start Greensleeves, why not negotiate with yourself? I do it all the time (must be my job leering at me from the past). For example, "Okay, Becky. If you're so eager to start your next project, just finish with the ribbing on the sweater you're doing right now, and then you can start with the project. Do only one piece on the project, and then resume work on the old sweater. You'll advance faster that way."

Tee hee!

Posted by: Becky at February 21, 2003 7:58 AM

Hmmm. Well, February *is* a short month! Can you hold out 7 more days?? Just looked through your 2002 finished projects....clearly you are a finisher!

Posted by: claudia at February 21, 2003 9:48 AM

I love the colour of Giranimals II! Good luck with holding out until the end of the month before you start Greensleeves, I probably couldn't do it myself!

Posted by: kerrie at February 21, 2003 10:24 AM

Which pattern in the new Rowan mag ?
You're much more disciplined than I am ,as a knitter.The next week will fly.
Just think how pleased both you and your mother will be if you make progress on Native - tidying ends = progress .

Posted by: Emma at February 21, 2003 10:33 AM

I say go ahead and start greensleeves, especially if you have the perfect pattern. You have had a productive month. Treat yourself to a new project.

Posted by: Melissa at February 21, 2003 12:57 PM

Have courage with Native. I like Becky's idea of making deals with yourself. Give a little, get a little.

I'm swatching for a new intarsia project on the horizon.

Posted by: michelle at February 21, 2003 3:35 PM

Have you swatched Greensleeves yet? That usually yields a bit of satisfaction (no guilt because you HAVE to swatch) and helps one to gear up for that final homerun stretch on the finishing. Desperate times require desperate measures. :)

Posted by: kerstin at February 21, 2003 3:42 PM

Finishing those ends --

Bargaining works. Try weaving in a certain number per day, 12 or 15 or something... and then let yourself work on something else. Worked for me! I stupidly made a striped Dale baby cardi the way the instructions said to do, back and forth, instead of in the round with a steek. The stripes were 3 color rows, 1 black row, all the way up -- no color ever started on the side where it had finished! Aggh! But I did finish, and so can you!

I love Native, by the way, and would like to make it, even though I am generally allergic to intarsia. I'm eagerly waiting to see yours finished! Are you using the Rowan yarn?

Posted by: Karen at February 21, 2003 4:44 PM

You all are so sweet, coming up with encouragement and excuses for me. Thanks! I like Karen's idea of setting small goals for darning in ends on native. But I think I have to stick to my no new projects rule. I've already got giranimals II to knit once I've woven in my 15 ends for the day. Maybe I can finish giranimals by the end of the month and then I will have really earned a new project (or two)! :)

Posted by: alison at February 21, 2003 6:00 PM

I used justification to allow myself to take a new project to Florida. After all I needed a simple set pattern that I didn't need to follow religiously! Who can pay that much attention to a pattern while sitting waiting for a NASCAR race to start? So I started a sock! Nice, small, easy and new! Nw I am closer to finishing the 1st sock on it than the 2 other SIPs I have going. Bad girl, very bad girl!

Posted by: Chris at February 21, 2003 6:26 PM