Unfinished business

Posted on | August 28, 2006 | 4 Comments

I tend to lay things aside.  I start a project with incredible gusto, dive right in head first, no holds barred.  And then…I get bored.  Something else needs to be done, or the project isn’t going as well as I thought it would or is much harder than anticipated, and I do the easy thing and lay it aside.  Almost immediately, I pick up a new! exciting! project that I just know will be a snap, be beautiful, be thoroughly engaging from start to finish and well.  You know what happens.  New Project becomes Old Project, which is laid aside and I start another New Project.  It’s a very bad habit I’ve gotten myself into, and why I have three socks without mates, two scarves-in-progress and two sweaters on the needles. 

It’s a habit that was present long before I started knitting.  Don’t ask me about the needlepoint hidden in the dark recesses of my closet.  I don’t want to talk about the kittycat crochet afghan I started for my son two years ago and never finished (and likely never will, as (1) it’s crochet and (2) acrylic yarn *shudder*).  These projects predate my “house projects,” but provide a brief history of my bad habit. 

My house projects.  When we bought our house last summer, my head was immediately filled with thoughts of painting, stripping woodwork, restoring the house to its original 1927 condition.  It’s not a grand house, just a small Craftsman style brick house that deserves a facelift.  There were two main projects that I started almost immediately, grew frustrated with, and left languishing for a very long time.  A couple of weeks ago, Sgt. Britty said that he was tired of working on the house all the time (unlike me, he sees a project through, beginning to end) and was declaring a moratorium on house projects other than general maintenance after Labor Day.  I guess that was the impetus I needed, because I spent all weekend stripping paint, applying stain, priming and painting.  I don’t have any FOs to show, and hardly any knitting was done, but that’s okay because I’m determined to get these two main projects knocked out this week.  Before Labor Day. 

I find that having unfinished business lying about is weighing on me.  I love the excitement of starting a new project, but I also need the sense of accomplishment in completion – having something tangible to show for my time and effort.  I want to take pride in my surroundings.  To poorly paraphrase something Eunny said recently that struck a cord with me – if you work on only one project at a time, even if you don’t have much time to devote to it, you will make discernable progress; much more so than if you spread your available time among many projects.  I don’t know if I can be a one-project knitter, but I find the thought of focusing my energies in this way very appealing and in keeping with my desire to streamline my life.  Peace in simplicity, yes?

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Comments

4 Responses to “Unfinished business”

  1. maryse
    August 28th, 2006 @ 4:09 pm

    ugh house projects. trying to get anything finished is tortuous. we currently have at least a dozen projects that are in various phases of being done. it drives me crazy. unfortunately i can’t do them myself, otherwise i would have.

    knitting/craft projects is another thing altogether. haha. i rationalize having multiple projects going becuase i can’t always take the big ass sweater to work, or want to work on something complicated while hanging out with the inlaws.

    and um…what’s wrong with crochet?

    ;)

  2. Janet
    August 28th, 2006 @ 4:20 pm

    I hate it when a post hits me over the head like this . . . it’s kinda hard to ignore. ;-)

    I totally understand what you’re saying and it’s something I’ve had at the back of my mind (in the dusty recesses where I keep the guilt and shame of UFO’s). I *DO* enjoy the rush I get when I manage to completely devote myself to something where there is that “discernable progress,” of which you and Eunny speak. It’s amazing and I should do it more often.

    Congratulations on all the “house work” you did this weekend.

  3. Grace
    August 29th, 2006 @ 9:01 am

    I hope you can take a few hours out of your day tomorrow to come knit with us. :)

    I know what you mean about the feeling of accomplishment you get when you finish something. Especially a major project. I like to have one major project going and then something quick and easy on the side. That way, when I need a break from whatever my major project is, I have something that’s pretty darn close to instant gratification as far as knitting is concerned.

  4. Becky
    August 30th, 2006 @ 1:52 am

    I think it depends on the knitter. Sometimes when I’m really into a project, I’ll become a one-project knitter and make excellent progress on it. If, however, I’m working on something that has begun to bore me I will NOT work on it, but if I maintain this “I must knit on only thing thing” deal I end up knitting nothing at all. In that case, I’d rather become a multi-project knitter and I make progress on everything.