Probably there are more people out there that have the same problem as I do: all these lovely WIPs hanging around… And I have to say there are a lot of WIPs in my basket (and the other basket, and in that tote and this paper bag, oh and there are some boxes as well)…

All in all at this moment there are 14 started but unfinished objects in my space at home (and by my space I mean the bedroom and living room). Sometimes I am starting to get anxious thinking about all that is just waiting for me and than I just think „nah, I can finish it later“.

When I put all my yarn and projects in these plastic bags (my fear of moths let me to it), I actually already checked all my WIPs and frogged 5 because I knew I would never finish them. These bags are brilliant because you can close them up tight, reuse them again and again and keep your stash organised when you don’t have shelving but a basket like I do. Sarah started me on them and I am really happy with it.

Pro tip: if you have many projects and like me tend to have this one favourite crochet hook that you use for several projects at the same time, use a bag (like a zip lock bag) and write your hooksize on it! I had so many projects where I forgot what size I had used (because I mostly don’t use patterns, I couldn’t look it up either!). This ended in me crocheting on and finding out that the size I now used actually wasn’t the right one… this happened more than once (or five times…)

So you might be thinking that I just have a very short attention span and probably never get anything done at all. I normally am not that bad with keeping my focus. And I actually finished many projects even big ones as a blanket. But I tend to get bored if I have to do the same thing over and over again. Once for example it took me about 6 years to finish a shawl just because I had decided to knit it in looooong rows and just with knit one purl one as a pattern… so not funny! Each row took me 45 minutes and I really wanted to do anything else.

I can say that I think it is all the inspiration that I see on a daily basis. Instagram and Pinterest as well as Sarah and Katharina working on things doesn’t help me to keep my focus. I get sidetracked a lot. Especially if there is a new idea in my head that I want to try out. As I am the one who doesn’t really plan and doesn’t do the math beforehand (as I explained in Design process: from idea to pattern (the chaotic version)) I just always want to dive in headfirst and try everything out. And when I say everything, I mean everything.

I give you two examples of WIPs I have had for a while and try to explain why I am not finished yet.

Example 1: the granny square blanket

I adore Lucy from Attic24 and when I saw her ripple blanket, I really loved the colours but wanted to use those in a granny square blanket. So I started… and made a ton of granny squares… and then some more… and some more…

I actually like making the grannys what I don’t like it sowing them together… so even though there are still more than just a few in my basket (yes, this project has its own basket!), it still is just about half a blanket.

To get you a time frame here: I started this blanket when I was pregnant with my daughter. She is seven now. Do I need to say more?

Example 2: the poncho

I started a poncho for my goddaughter – for her birthday, about two years ago. It is an easy pattern (you know one of those that just exist in my head and want to be tried out) and very repetitive.

I really like long rows. I don’t know what it is, if it takes more than 30 minutes to make one row, I tend to want to run screaming for the hills. So the beginning was great but about now it is tedious work for me.

The worst part here is: the longer it takes, the more I have to crochet because she is still growing… so I better get going on this one or it will take me even longer to finish! At the moment the it is living in my crochet cupboard next to some unstated crochet boxes…

Hiding my WIPs away (especially like me in different spots) is very very bad. My hubby is great, he just lets me get away with it, but as I don’t see them and no one is making me take accountability for all that stuff laying around, I tend to „forget“ them. By accident of course. I just say out of sight out of mind…

How do you handle your WIPs? I can tell you that Sarah and Katharina are both soooo much better at it than me… but I will keep trying to lower the number… maybe I will reach 10 at some point. So, what’s your number? Do you want to tell?

Take care, Christina