Thursday, August 16, 2007

Almost knitting

I know. This is a knitting blog. As my friend Margaret remarked, though (Hi, Margaret!), there hasn't been a lot of knitting content lately. One of the reasons is obvious. This is me on the phone with my mother, cuddling a kitten. The other kitten is scampering around somewhere else.


The other reason is that I'm finishing up the secret knitting. The Baltic Sea Stole is growing exceedingly slowly, and I'm bored with the second Jaywalker. I have two feet. Not one and a half. My dad's sweater needs knitting, and I still only have half a sleeve for Tangerine Twist.

So... why did I stop by the yarn store during my lunch break? Why is it that I feel the urge to cast on something new every time I have a surfeit of WIPs? How do other knitters deal with this? I feel awful because knitting should be fun, it shouldn't be a chore. And yet... I can't just live with hundreds of unfinished projects around the house, can I?

25 comments:

spinndiva said...

Yes, you can! I just came out of sort of a knitting slouch... I stitched something... that helped me.. now i am back to knitting and loving it again!

Zonda said...

Well it looks like you're having fun with new kitty's! Sometimes I feel so buried by WIP's too! I just try to go on LOL! As for an LYS, I don't have that problem in person so to speak, closest ones are 45 mins away..however...online is another story ;)

veritas said...

my lifelong dream is to look more like robert smith. now he is forty, most people say this is not such a good thing.

i also no longer dye my hair black, so it is a lot harder as well.

but one can dream.

the batty kitties make me happy in my heart.

(i watched a bat from the varanda a few days ago, he was sitting in the tree eating a flower :) )

weezalana said...

Looks like Merlin's acclimating pretty well to his new home. :)

I can't have more than three wips lying around, otherwise I start feeling anxious. And I have a long list of projects I want to knit waiting to be cast on (and the yarn to go with them). But it's hard to resist the lure of pretty new yarn!

Chauntel said...

I have been in this place many, many times. Here is what I do. First, I buy more yarn like you,I think it's in hopes of being inspired. Second, I gather all wip's from their hiding places & evaluate. The liberation of ripping something you can finally admit you will never finish or wear is fantastic! And, once parred down, the list of wip's can seem much more manageable and be motivation to keep going on things that may be closer to being finished than you think. I have had weeks where I will finish up to a dozen projects (big & small) that have been languishing.
It's a great thing!

Nell said...

I love it when they stetch out, upside down like that!

I don't know about the desire to cast on thing, I get it too. Although sometimes I find renewed enthusiasm for a project if I put it away and then force myself to pick it up a little while later..

Peri said...

I go through stages where I drown in wip's or get severe startitus - I noticed that this is most often when the rest of my life feels transitional - like right now. I then often, when it's calmed down and I'm back on an even keel, look critically/honestly at what I will finish and frog what I won't!

Kitties are totally adorable - when we first got Conkers I wasted major knitting time playing string with him.

fleegle said...

I only finish about half of what I start. If I am totally bored with it and can't stand facing them, I just frog them. life is too short to be bored!

Bezzie said...

Ohhhh....kitten belly....it doesn't get much better than that.
You'll get those WIPs finished soon enough and wonder what you were worried about.

TheKnittingBee said...

I find that I not only get start-itis when I have a heap of WPIs - I also get it when I have something big & special planned to knit. I find that whenever I get geared up to start something special, I suddenly become obsessed with starting something silly instead! (It's summer, I've just spun some delightful fibre to make a shawl... so why am I knitting mittens out of acrylic oddments???)

Jo said...

I don't deal with it very well. Sometimes when I get off early on Fridays I think to myself that I will visit one of the LYS... then I think to myself - you have enough CRAP (sorry, I mean yarn) to knit an entire city block... and you really need to finish that kid's sweater.

The Kelly Green Rogue said...

I hear you on knitting should be fun, sometimes when I don't have anything for the blog I feel all this pressure. But I also post about books and movies and my life, so I try to relax. Read any good books lately? oh and kitty picture are always make good posts :)

Unknown said...

I kind of had a momentary lapse of WIP insanity two weeks ago. I wanted to do so many things that I got NOTHING even halfway done. So I put it all aside and started my Jaywalkers telling myself that I would finish them before I went to anything else. Now I am almost done with my socks. I really enjoy my knitting so much more when I know I'm going to finish something :-)

Cute kitty belly!!

sgeddes said...

Oh, I think casting on for a new project is sometimes just what is needed for getting out of a knitting slump! I'm thinking of casting on a new project this weekend to try and pull me out of my slump.

Vyvyan said...

The thing with knitting is that you can always change your mind. Put those WIP's under your bed or bury them in a closet until they call out to you. If they don't, rip them out. Let's just hope none of those projects are in mohair. If so, either finish it or mourn its passing cuz it ain't gonna come apart.

Your kitty-baby looks adorable snuggled up like that. Sweetness...

Lauren said...

When a kitten stretchs out on their back in that cute way that says "pet me" you just have to pet them. Knitting isn't an option. :)

"I can't just live with hundreds of unfinished projects around the house, can I?"

You can't???

Sarah said...

Kitties! Awwww, you and kitten, so cute!

I don't resist the urge to CO. But, I'll CO something small and quick in the meantime. Or a sock. Or, a new shawl...or...wait, I'm as bad as you!

Teresa said...

Awwww..kitties. Didn't take them long to get comfy did it? I know..I have a lot of WIP and UFO around my house..but I still make it to the LYS to fondle their yarns.

Kathy Kathy Kathy said...

QUOTE: [And yet... I can't just live with hundreds of unfinished projects around the house, can I?] I think it's do-able, but you might run into trouble with sitting on balls of yarn and needles.

Michelle said...

who can mind a lack of knitting when there are cute kittens??? More kitten pics please!!!!

Jess said...

oh daaaahhhling. I understand. I do.

Anonymous said...

I recently posted about this very thing too. It's frustrating to feel stuck, yet want to start something new at the same time. Ugh! I'll tell you what...you crank out that Jaywalker and I'll do the same with the second Monkey that's stalled on my needles. It's at the heel turn (still). Ready? Set? GO!

sharon said...

Totally understand the castonitis. Have two socks on the go, a monster hat (plus all the WIPs) and now some fingerless mitts and the only reason a third pair of socks didn't start is the needles are not here. 2nd guessed buying them so now I HAVE to go back to the yarn store!

Jacque said...

Psst... secret knitting is being reviewed with editor on 24th.More news soon! Sweet kitties, BTW!

Maureen said...

Can't help you on the project front. I can only work on one project at a time start to finish. I'm weird like that! Funny how our circle keeps getting smaller! Happy b-day to you! That is too funny all our similarities!