Overachiever?

Sometimes I don’t know what to do with myself.

Once upon a time I knit without deadlines. Unless I made something as a gift or wanted a garment for a specific occasion I knit what I wanted when I wanted, with no time constraints.
All that changed when I discovered knitalongs.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I love knitalongs. I love the camaraderie of knitting alongside my “virtual friends” and I love the motivation and focus that result from knitting to a deadline. Even if my collection of WIP’s and UFO’s suggest differently, I have become a much more disciplined knitter since I began participating in knitalongs. Just think how many more projects I would have on the needles if I hadn’t set some personal goals for myself or felt obligated to complete a project for the benefit of my blog or Ravelry friends.

But really, sometimes I get carried away.

January started out great. After just a couple of weeks I was well on my way to meeting my goals for the month: to knit two pairs of patterned socks and two blocks for the GAAA. I had produced my Oolong socks for January’s sockdown and was almost finished the second afghan square (incidentally, here it is, designed by Julie H. Levy).

I’d also begun work on another pair of patterned socks called Kethry and had made some progress on the Rocky Mountain socks I’d begun last summer. Things were going so well I picked up my Muir shawl and gave some serious time to it. Wow, at this rate there was a chance that I could even finish it before the end of January. I felt productive but not overwhelmed.

The trouble started when I finished my Rocky Mountain socks a few days ago. “You know,” I thought to myself, “There is still a week left to cast on another pair for January’s sockdown.” I’d originally planned to do Queen of Cups but since I didn’t get the required yarn for Christmas like I’d hoped, I wasn’t able to cast on January 1st. I’d since bought the yarn but I was determined not to cast on. As much as I enjoy the SKA challenges I’ve found that I’ve neglected other sock yarns and patterns I want to knit in favour of those that meet the sockdown requirements and so I’m trying to limit myself to only one SKA pair per month.

Yeah, right. Who am I kidding? Sigh...here is the first of my Queen of Cups socks.

The trouble continued when I realized I needed a good trip project for this coming weekend. Like last year, Anna-Marie, Doug, Cameron, and I are heading to Clinton to spend the weekend with my parents and I wanted more than just plain socks to work on. I’ve been itching to knit up some Jo Sharp Silkroad DK I bought last year and this seemed like a good opportunity. The only question: Tangled Yoke Cardigan or Fylingdales? After swatching, Fylingdales won out and I cast on. 3” of ribbing and 5” of stocking stitch should provide plenty of mindless knitting for travelling and visiting.

Poor Muir, set aside once again. And what about Kethry?

Well, there's always February...isn't there?

Uh oh, more trouble. I had made up my mind to knit two pairs of breast cancer awareness socks for February’s “socks for a cause” challenge. Even after learning that one pattern I’d chosen doesn’t qualify I decided I’d knit it anyway and embrace the spirit of the challenge. Okay, two pairs of socks plus the second Queen of Cups by the end of February—that’s manageable, right? Well, maybe if I hadn’t read of others’ plans to knit a pair for the entrelac challenge and decided to try one too. Yep, that’s three pairs. Well, three and a half. Plus two squares for the afghan. And I’d really like to finish up my Garter Stitch Jacket. And work on Muir. And I can’t ignore Kethry.

Surely I wouldn't get into any more trouble.

Ahem.

Tuesday night I listened to the latest Stash and Burn podcast and they talked about Vest-uary. Very interesting but I had no intention of knitting a vest in February. Really.

Then yesterday afternoon I was having lunch with a friend in a neighbouring town and stopped by to say hello to the manager of the sister store of where I used to work. You know, the yarn store? She had a beautiful vest made up as a shop model and when I saw that the yarn came in green I fell. Hard.

It must have been a sign that I was supposed to participate in Vest-uary, right? Well, that’s what I’m telling myself.

Okay, so maybe I've bitten off a littel more than I can chew but you can't blame a girl for trying. There's always March, right? Wait—don’t answer that.

On another note, on this day in 1937 a baby girl was born in a small town in Manitoba. She grew up to be a very wise, generous, courageous, and talented woman. Lucky for me, she just happens to be my mother. Happy Birthday, Mom!