Rut-Ro

So I finished two projects in one evening, which goes to show that I could get soooo many more things done if I would stick to something! BUT...I found two projects that I overlooked when I did my inventory (March 15 "Beside the Chair" post.) Lurking UNDER the chair was yet another scarf, so this will be project #28. It's made of silk that I spun from a "hankie" in blues and--guess what--PURPLE!! It's another project that's about 1/3 of the way finished. Now we know what kind of attention span I have!

The other one that I found, now project #29, is a spool of pastel roving that I have spun into a singles, and need to Navajo-ply and finish as a skein. That would take about 10 minutes to get done, if I would just set the wheel up and do it. After that, I don't know. Does it remain Project #29 until I knit it, or can I tuck it away to be re-discovered and re-named later? No, the logical thing is to keep it #29, because I already know it's destined to be a hoodie for the one-year-old granddaughter. So it's not as close to being finished as I had hoped. That also puts it high on the priority list because I need to finish it sometime before she graduates from high school.

As I wrote before, this has been good for me. I can see what needs to be done, and can concentrate on one thing at a time. But what has happened because of my lack of self-control is that I feel like I'm now working on things just to get them done and out of the way, not because I enjoy it. I hate that. I want to be knitting or stitching for the joy of it, as well as the prospect of the finished item. I DO enjoy it, but there's still this little voice in the back of my mind saying, "Oh, yeah, this is great, but you've still got the needlepoint rug, and the black quilt, and the cross-stitch afghan, and the baby quilt, and the Dale sweater, and the two and a half pounds of merino to spin and knit into a gansey...." and on and on. I suppose that's my punishment for being greedy and continuing to buy and start projects when I knew I already have more than enough to last my lifetime! What's that called? Oh, yeah--SABLE--Stash Accumulation Beyond Life Expectancy. I never expected the very things that I love so much to become a burden.

But that's what this blog is for. It's to help keep me focused and to remind me that I love being creative, and I love making things for other people to enjoy. But the true satisfaction comes not just from the doing, it's also from the finishing. The projects and stash that I have waiting aren't going anywhere, so I'm going to make a real effort to put them out of my mind. If they aren't in this pile by the chair, I'm not thinking about them right now!! And if the viper (March 16th post)would stop emailing me about how Yarn Market has Panda Silk sock yarn in all kinds of gorgeous colors, it would be a lot easier! I think I'm going to have to block her emails. Alas, she lives here, so that's no deterrent. Time to go find some alpaca to feed her and keep her quiet.

Which reminds me--I stopped by to talk to MEYSO (March 15th post) and she has a bunch of Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk marked down to $5 a ball. I very nearly broke my resolve. But I thought of my readers, gritted my teeth, put it back in the basket and WALKED AWAY. Right into the lady showing everyone her stupendous "Lilies of the Valley" lace shawl made from a merino/silk blend that I could hop online and order right now....