Works In Progress – Fruit of These Hands

*UFO = unfinished objects in your stash

Do you cringe when someone asks you about your unfinished projects? It seems the world is divided into two classes of crocheters: those who work on one project at a time, and finish it before starting another, and those who have multiple projects going at once. The folks in the latter category sometimes are looked at as impetuous and unfocused. “Do you ever finish anything you start?” they are asked. It is even considered a defect of character, like the inability to stick with a project is some sign of discontent or lack of discipline.

A process can be defined as a continuous action, operation, or series of changes taking place in a definite manner.

On the contrary, I have observed that people who are engaged in a variety of projects tend to be more relaxed than their counterparts. To them, their craft is all about the process, not the finished item. Whether it is the feel and color of a new yarn or the excitement of learning a new stitch, each project is an adventure. To these crocheters, it is the action of crocheting that is satisfying. Interestingly, these same people may have three or four books they are reading or multiples of other interests.

The next time someone inquires about your UFOs and WIPs, how will you respond?

What business is it of yours?
Oh, a few (mumbled.)
I’m the proud owner of several exciting and ambitious projects in the works. How about you?

Wednesday WIPs is taking a backseat today for two reasons: I’ve way too many WIPs, but I have a lot of finished projects I want to show off. It doesn’t help much that I’ve been gone for so long. What with two trips in two months under my belt, who has time to write. Additionally, I’m still publishing two newsletters a month for The Yarn Store at Nob Hill, teaching classes, and now getting ready for craft fair season.

One project that took quite a bit of time and effort was getting a teaching plan and patterns ready for a project for The Yarn Store (TYS). The store wanted to reach out to the university crowd by offering kits at a reasonable price. The kits are for either crochet or knit and include how-to instructions for beginners, five patterns, yarn and tools in a pouch plus lessons with an instructor. Another woman did the knit portion, and I did the crochet portion. I wrote three original patterns, a photo-tutorial on a granny square scarf in chart form, and an adaptation of the Amazing Grace headband. Since starting this blog, I’ve been updating my color scheme in my patterns, so you’ll notice that they coordinate well with the blog. I also like the bi-fold style layout which looks like this: