Wednesday, March 18, 2009

On My Basket of Shame:

The blog of Honey and Ollie has been working on the Basket of Shame. This basket is full of unfinished knitting projects. There is now a contest at that site to bring others into this finishing of undone knitting projects of their own. This is just for knitting projects but it got me thinking.

I myself latch onto a project and work away at it. But if I’m interrupted by something. It sits waiting for the energy and spark to come back.

I bought the black thread but the cloak/cape sits without a hem. Toe up socks sit inches from the top. The bed throw I started six months or so ago still has another foot to go.

There are other projects around here that have the shame taint on them but my worst offense is the fact that I’ve dropped my commitment to the Kevin’s Mittens Charity I started in my sons name.

I couldn’t even use the excuse that I didn’t have enough yarn because I collected two plastic bins boxes for the project to keep me going for a long time to come.

I could sit here and list all the reasons I told myself that it would be okay if I postponed yet another pair of mittens. It got warmer and the need is not as great. I could easily catch up next week. I even told myself that if my test knitters didn’t care enough to get back to me it wasn’t to be.

But it is all me. My decision to do other things, play one more game on the computer, read one more page of the latest book I’m reading, sit with one more cup of tea and stare out the window.

It is not that I shouldn’t do any of those things. I should. But not to the point that I let my commitments fall to the wayside.

My commitment was to make two pair of mittens a week for the rest of the year. I am now sixteen pair behind. Eight weeks of slacking. Thirty two hands to keep warm from the cold. So for the next sixteen weeks I’ll be making three pair a week to catch up.

I’ll start with the few pair that need to be finished in my knitting basket of shame but I have to continue no matter how warm it gets outside my door. The cold weather will return next winter and I want to have mittens ready for those who need them when it does. And I’m not going to let spring flightiness keep me from my commitment another day.

Now if I can only find a way to Tango and knit at the same time.

2 comments:

Mouse said...

I don't actually knit very much in the summer, so I don't really have anything planned to make for myself. It might be a great time to throw a pair of mittens on my needles and chug away at them while watching Bones or House at night. I'll see what I can do to help.. have you sent me the mitten pattern? I'll be happy to try and test knit it for you - though it might take a while because I have a limit of knitting time before my 'paws' hurt.

Grace Garton said...

Now I'm glad Mouse mentioned this as I was wondering about the Mitten pattern too.
As for UFO's yes I have plenty. from socks to vintage knickers!