Finish-itis

So first things first, I am going to ignore the fact that it's been over 6 months since I've posted over here. I have been working on projects, but with everything else going on in my life (the big one is my husband getting put in a wheelchair), my renewed passion for reading, and the whole post everyday for a year on my family blog... well obviously something had to give and keeping up my craft journal was it.

But something about fall gets me excited to clean out and organize. And with the enforced move into a "sewing cubical" the organizing has also entailed a much needed paring down of my various stashes, especially the downstairs yarn one. After I did the downstairs stash, I tackled the upstairs stash which typically means figuring out just how much yarn can be shoved into one of the squares without spilling over the top. It also means assessing which projects need to be moved from the WIP classification into a UFO and sent downstairs. Once I got the upstairs stash organized and functional again, I had two large bags of yarn and UFOs to head downstairs. New problem: I've got considerably less space for all my stuff now and the yarn storage I do have is already full. Hmmm, new solution: finish some UFOs and clear out space in the yarn storage. Also, make a new resolution to buy no new yarn until I've decreased the stash considerably. (If you're not a knitter you are thinking I am very practical, if you are a knitter you are probably laughing pretty hard by now...) 

So I have been focused for the last 4-5 days on getting through some of the larger UFO's that have been taking up a lot of real estate in my knitting cabinet. 

1st up- The Grey Sweater Vests of Doom

These are for my cousin's two little boys. They aren't a terrible difficult project. So why has it taken me almost a year (or more? I've seriously lost track...) to finish them. I've made stupid mistakes, and screwed up the first attempt so badly that I simply started over rather than try to untangle the mess I had made. (So technically I made 2 and 3/4 grey sweater vests.) I kept doubting my measurements, and finally they've spent the last 5 1/2 months haunting both my knitting cabinet and my subconscious. I repeatedly pulled them out and then couldn't work on them so would put them away again. When my cousin called me earlier this week to see if they were finished I took a deep breath, hauled them into the light and determined that come hell or high water I would finish them as fast I as I could. I was surprised to find that I was much further than I had remembered. They were both done, except for the ribbing around the neck and arm holes. 36 rounds of knitting? That's nothing! Why hadn't I just finished them? Oh yeah, I didn't have the right size of needles, that's what my big hold up was. That's just ridiculous, I know. I got the needed needles and had them done in a day! I sent them off with my husband to deliver on his way home from work today, along with the 2 and 1/2 leftover skeins of yarn, and a huge sigh of relief to have that particular monkey off my back! 

Also I just want to apologize again to Sarah for taking such a ridiculously long time on them. But they sure came out nice. :)

And once that was done I was eager to dive in and see what else was sitting around half or mostly finished.

2nd up- The Black Sweater of Doom

(Do you sense a theme among my UFOs)

Started well over a year ago, motivated mostly by guilt that I knit way more for my girls than I do for my son.

And boy does that boy know how to work his Mama. Mention while at the yarn store in a wistful voice that it's been a long time since you got a sweater and the girls have both gotten 3-4, and it's a sure bet that said Mama will let you pick out yarn for a sweater. 

I'm still kicking myself for not setting any limits when it came to color selection. The reason this sweater lingered in knitting purgatory so long? Black is a total witch with a capital B to work with. I about went blind knitting this thing. Having complained about that, and now that it's done, it sure does look sharp on my cute boy! He designed the stripe placement himself and I have to admit to being pretty proud of the both of us. 

All this sweater needed was a cuff, one sleeve and the neck ribbing. One day, one finished sweater, one happy kid, and a whole lot of space opened up in the knitting storage. Win, win, win!

On a roll I grabbed the next project that came to hand.

3rd- Sweet sweater for Evie out of the Vintage yarn I over-dyed with food coloring!

No doom here. This yarn just makes me happy every time I look at it. 

And all it needed was a round of attached I-cord in the keyhole at the neck. 20 minutes tops! 

I was thrilled thinking that I may even finish a third sweater today... until I had Evie try it on.

A titch too tight and definitely not long enough. I don't know if that is because I fiddled around with the pattern to accommodate using a heavier yarn or because I waited too long to finish it and Evie had a growth spurt in the mean time. Either way I had to rip it back to the arm holes. It's all good though. It just means I get to knit some more with my happy yarn...

And hopefully the finish-itis lingers at least through November! I've got lots more to do.