Mama Bear
10-02-2006, 08:48 PM
As anyone who reads my blog will know, I tend to have several projects going at once. Thanks to Becka (http://whimsicalknitting.blogspot.com/), a knitter who’s work I admire and who’s blog I enjoy, I figured out WHY it’s imperative for my families sake, my health and my financial well being to have multiple UFO’s! The consequences to my family and myself are quiet dire if I were to become a single project knitter.
A little history. As many of you know, Becka knits one project at a time. She finishes each project and doesn’t have a hoard of UFO’s. I admire her for this. I did try and corrupt Becka and convince her that multiple projects at a time were the way to go, but she discovered that one at a time really is best… for her!
That’s when I realized why it works for her and doesn’t work for me. Becka is organized in her approach to knitting! When she starts a project she most likely has everything she needs on hand.
Me.. I walk into my yarn cellar and see what pattern calls out to be knit. Then I dig around in my yarn to find the yarn that is begging to go with that pattern.
http://www.beartoes.com/images/yarn-cellar-06-small.jpg
The problem is, the yarns that raise their fibers to be picked for a project don’t always check to see if they are up to the job. If they have enough yardage qualifications. Sometimes I like to live on the edge and see if I can help the yarn STRETCH itself to reach it’s goal. It’s the teacher/mentor personality in me. If the yarn comes close but isn’t quite up to a pattern by itself, I try and find mentor yarns that can help the original yarn complete it’s project.
I enjoy finding the undiscovered potential of yarns when mixed to work together in this way. The problem is that occasionally in my quest, I don’t check first to see if someone else has borrowed the needle size I’ll need later in the project. Or, I may have yarn just BEGGING to become a teddy bear, and start knitting knowing the yarn will need to learn patience while waiting for it’s internal fortitude. It takes time to go from yarn to teddy pieces to a fully formed and well filled bear! At least time for the postman to bring me the stuffing I need since I didn’t notice my stuffing stash was getting low!
Imagine if I were to knit only one project at a time. My needle breaks or I run low on yarn or stuffing. I order the needed item (I don’t have a LYS) and wait… I have nothing to knit as I wait. It’s almost unbearable. The post office is a 30 mile round trip. Anxious to knit, I drive in each day to check for the needle or yarn.
Time spent on the road means less time to cook for my family and clean my house. My neglected family begs me to just start a new project and finish this one when the supplies arrive. However, in my determination to have only one project on the needles at a time, I continue to make the long trip into town each day, gazing into the empty post office box.
The gas gauge sinks lower and my credit card bill climbs as prices soar at the pump. Soon… I am unable to pay my bills. I am in danger of living in a cardboard box alongside the road (surrounded in yarn and with some needles of course).
Knitting away on an afghan to keep me warm. I have finally come to the point of only working on a single needed project, but at what cost!
http://www.beartoes.com/images/baglady-blog.jpg
So… as you can see, I MUST knit multiple projects at a time. If not for myself, for my family!
Mama Bear
A little history. As many of you know, Becka knits one project at a time. She finishes each project and doesn’t have a hoard of UFO’s. I admire her for this. I did try and corrupt Becka and convince her that multiple projects at a time were the way to go, but she discovered that one at a time really is best… for her!
That’s when I realized why it works for her and doesn’t work for me. Becka is organized in her approach to knitting! When she starts a project she most likely has everything she needs on hand.
Me.. I walk into my yarn cellar and see what pattern calls out to be knit. Then I dig around in my yarn to find the yarn that is begging to go with that pattern.
http://www.beartoes.com/images/yarn-cellar-06-small.jpg
The problem is, the yarns that raise their fibers to be picked for a project don’t always check to see if they are up to the job. If they have enough yardage qualifications. Sometimes I like to live on the edge and see if I can help the yarn STRETCH itself to reach it’s goal. It’s the teacher/mentor personality in me. If the yarn comes close but isn’t quite up to a pattern by itself, I try and find mentor yarns that can help the original yarn complete it’s project.
I enjoy finding the undiscovered potential of yarns when mixed to work together in this way. The problem is that occasionally in my quest, I don’t check first to see if someone else has borrowed the needle size I’ll need later in the project. Or, I may have yarn just BEGGING to become a teddy bear, and start knitting knowing the yarn will need to learn patience while waiting for it’s internal fortitude. It takes time to go from yarn to teddy pieces to a fully formed and well filled bear! At least time for the postman to bring me the stuffing I need since I didn’t notice my stuffing stash was getting low!
Imagine if I were to knit only one project at a time. My needle breaks or I run low on yarn or stuffing. I order the needed item (I don’t have a LYS) and wait… I have nothing to knit as I wait. It’s almost unbearable. The post office is a 30 mile round trip. Anxious to knit, I drive in each day to check for the needle or yarn.
Time spent on the road means less time to cook for my family and clean my house. My neglected family begs me to just start a new project and finish this one when the supplies arrive. However, in my determination to have only one project on the needles at a time, I continue to make the long trip into town each day, gazing into the empty post office box.
The gas gauge sinks lower and my credit card bill climbs as prices soar at the pump. Soon… I am unable to pay my bills. I am in danger of living in a cardboard box alongside the road (surrounded in yarn and with some needles of course).
Knitting away on an afghan to keep me warm. I have finally come to the point of only working on a single needed project, but at what cost!
http://www.beartoes.com/images/baglady-blog.jpg
So… as you can see, I MUST knit multiple projects at a time. If not for myself, for my family!
Mama Bear