Why is this such a milestone for me?
In general, I tend to have about three knitting/crocheting projects going at anyone time. Usually there is a pair of socks, a hat or scarf project and one bigger project (think sweater or complex lace) on my needles at any one time. My theory is that socks are great for when I am being a couch potato, hats and scarves are great for knitting group gatherings and bigger projects are good for long movies or car trips.
There really is a method to my madness.
BUT, I must confess that the larger projects sometimes get hidden away because they become boring to work and I lose interest in them.
My last UFO was from a kit I purchased in Canada about six years ago. Called the Sweater Bitz Kit it contained an ultra suede vest without sides and lots of various yarns so that I could knit up sleeves and side panels to make the vest into a jacket.
Seemed like a good idea at the time. All the different yarns were cut into three yard lengths and the knitter was assured that there was enough yarn in the kit to make even the largest size provided.
After reading the instructions, I divided the yarns into two equal piles so that each sleeve/side combination would have similar yarns in them. In a hotel room, with lousy lighting, I began this soon to be UFO.
What changed my enthusiasm from 'wow, I need to wear this next week' to 'let's just hide it away'?
THERE WASN'T ENOUGH YARN IN THE KIT TO FINISH THE KNITTING IN MY SIZE!!!
When I used up half the yarn in knitting one sleeve with side extensions I found that I needed about another 200 yards or so of yarn to finish it up. I put aside the first sleeve/side and started on the second...just to see if I was wrong. I wasn't. Second side needed just as much extra yarn.
Into a bag the whole thing went and once in a while I would pick up additional skeins to finish it up.
A couple of weeks ago I committed to finishing it up and this is how it looks today:
The color correction is a little off as the pre-made vest portion is black, not dark grey.
I still have a little hand sewing to finish it up. In the end I added a lining to the knitted portion to stabilize the stretch as the knitted part is quite heavy and would 'grow' over time.
The textures of the different yarns are wonderful but I don't know if I will ever finish up the hand sewing needed to finalize the sleeve and side side hems on the right side of the photo because I am not in love with this project any more.
To add insult to injury, the size I chose is a little small and I should have made the side panels a little larger for an attractive drape.
The company that packaged the kit no longer carries this item and the retailer I bought it from seems to have disappeared from the web soon after I bought this kit. That should have been a clue!
I am now UFO free and intend to set up another set of three projects to meet every eventuality. I already have one of the three dedicated to making hats for kids at the local Head Start facility for their Christmas Party later this year. Three hats done already! The other two will probably be a great sweater with a kangaroo pouch in the front, that I have been itching to start, and an interesting pair of cabled socks to round out the 'in process' pile.
No knitting/crocheting UFO's ...YEAH!
Zillions of sewing UFOs to go. :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment