Sunday, January 17, 2010

Finish or Frog

More for my own reference, and to take stock and see just how bad it is

1. The Reluctant Scarf -- not sure why this one stalled out, except that I always forget how long scarves can take. But I only have about 25g of yarn to go, so this one should go quickly. (Finished 1/2010)

2. The Big Blue Afghan -- I'm going to finish the repeat I'm on and then start the border. This one has been going on for nearly a decade and it's time to be done with it.

3. Plum socks -- these are my traveling project. They'll get done sooner or later.

4. Lotus Blossom Tank -- I stalled out on the bust darts, but it's a bottom up tank and I'm up to the bust, so I'm nearly there, right?

5. Hey Teach! cardigan -- all knit up, just needs to be seamed up.

6. Mystery Stole 3
7. Mystery Stole 4
8. Icarus Shawl -- I'm more than halfway done on all of these. I just need to keep pushing through. I like lace knitting, I'm not sure why I have so much trouble finishing it.

9. Clapotis -- again, I always forget how long scarves take. I'm maybe 1/3 of the way through this one?

10. Purple Tomato -- stalled out at the colorwork band. Right now it's a crop top. I need to get it down to a wearable shirt-length. (One inch left to go till the ribbing 2/11/10)

11. Girasole -- lace knitting + big blanket = I eventually gave up. But it's so pretty!

12. Baby Surprise Jacket
13. Twisted Flower Socks (Done 2/5/2010)
14. Market Bag (Done 2/5/2010)
15. Plaid Messenger Bag -- all these projects need are buttons sewn on and/or ends woven in. I really have no excuse except for my own laziness. (Done 2/5/2010)

16. Vintage Baby Blanket
17. Granny Square Afghan -- projects I've inherited from relatives. I'm not worried about the granny squares, they'll happen sooner or later. But the baby blanket needs to get going, one way or another. I do have some baby gifts to make for this spring, so I might see how this one works, but if I don't like it, I'll be frogging this one for sure.

18. Baby booties -- why would I knit one bootie (booty? that doesn't seem right) and stop there? I don't know either.

18 projects. I think that's it. That's kind of a high number. I need to think about which ones I really want to tackle and which ones I need to let go. For now, I'm going to concentrate on my scarf. It's so close I can feel it. The ball of yarn has to run out sooner or later, right?

On the other hand:
Things I've finished since September 19
1. Crazy zauber-socks
2. Socks for Mom 2
3. Baby jacket and hat for Vishal
4. 3 squares for Schuyler's Blanket project

Baby Steps

The longer I didn't write here, the harder it became to write here. I kept feeling like it wasn't enough just to put up a post. I needed, I thought, to fill you (if there are any yous left out there) in on everything you'd missed. I had this problem with paper diaries too. While I was home during Christmas break I found my junior high school diary (hilarious!). There would be a flurry of entries, then a long break, then a big catch up entry, then a few more daily entries, then a gap, etc. I think my problem was that I regarded the diary as some sort of historical record, rather than an outlet for pre-teen angst and overblown prose. Although I still managed to get plenty of angst in there.

And so, I'm going to do my best not to bore you with the details of my life since mid-September. In the words of Flylady, I'm just going to start where I am. Which is, at the moment, trying to blog while dissuading the cat from unrolling all my yarn.

I've overcommitted myself again this semester, and while I think I can pull it all off, I'm going to be crazy busy again. I really need to work on saying no. The problem is that everything sounded like such a good opportunity, I didn't feel like I ought to say no.
This semester, I'm:
Working
Serving as a TA
Helping organize and then going on a class trip to Spain for the class I'm TA-ing
Turning in my dissertation proposal
Writing a book chapter
Giving a paper at a conference

Typing all that out just made me feel slightly ill. Yikes. It's a lot to do. I'm trying to break it all out into manageable chunks. Maybe that will help. I've always liked the "baby steps" theory of self-help as espoused in one of my favorite movies (What About Bob?). It worked for Bob, maybe it will work for me.* Hopefully I will not have to move on to "death therapy.

In the meantime, I'm knitting to maintain my sanity. I carry a sock in progress in my bookbag and have been trying to get a few rounds in each day at lunch. It's surprisingly helpful. (In a related note, I'm trying hard not to eat lunch at my desk. The simple act of going up a few floors to the student lounge to eat really seems to make a difference in my afternoon attitude.) I've also decided to "finish or frog" all my current works in progress. It's a goal I've had before, without much success, but I feel a little more optimistic about it this time 'round. We shall see, I guess.

*You know, when that movie came out, I was young enough to be completely on Bob's side in that movie. Now that I'm older, while I still love Bob, I have great sympathy for Richard Dreyfuss's character. Poor guy.