Honestly?

See this bag....rather empty hey?  Well....I decided to be honest with myself and pull out all my unfinished projects....hhhhmmmm......dangerous ground.

So first one out is this ten-stitch twist....reason it's in the bag is that I've forgotten how to do it....simple problem easily solved I guess...

Second one....a pair of two at a time socks, put down and not picked up again.....

Last Dance on the Beach CAL.....I have done over half of this ....possibly even 2/3s

This is a re-entry....you may be able to just spot the issue....its a beautiful blanket, but the side has unravelled and I need to remember how to do the stitch so I can fix it again.....so simple, but again, enough to stop me getting on with it.  (Actually, I see that there a lot of areas along the side that look dangerously like they will unravel in time, so I'm actually wondering about sewing a border onto it and catching it all up with the machine, I think the yarn is quite smooth and therefore is slipping out where its been sewn in....ggggrrrrrr!)

This hat has never been near my head, as I could probably fit three heads in it...I was so gutted I just put it away...but brave I must be and unravel....maybe I should choose a different hat pattern altogether now....

Dream Stripes shawl...put down, never picked up again....

Another crocheted shawl which is just s-l-o-w, I like it, but I can see me putting it in the bag as it needs to be about ten times longer!

Another light weight wrap thing....I found the joining method on this so difficult to understand that although I got it right twice with some help, I can't remember how....(notice a theme here?)

A 'made-up as I went along' shawl which is really pretty, but it's a bit small and I need to add some more on to make it more wearable.

A started baby blanket, which stopped when I ran out of the multi-coloured yarn and couldn't find it again...so frustrating...

A Christmas table runner....no idea where the pattern is....

A shawl which I gave up on because the pattern was difficult to follow, although I wonder on looking at it now why exactly as there seems so little detail for so much effort....no idea where the pattern was from.....ooooopppppsss!

My first ever crochet project, stopped as I ran out of one of the reds....if I hadn't already sewn so much together I would add another colour in....rookie mistake...no idea what to do with this....its fairly wide so far, but pretty narrow.

Oooohhh....I had totally forgotten about this one, my temperature blanket with a square for each day showing the lows and highs of  temperature....I think I've done two months....

A last minute whim Christmas pattern which I just could not get my head around....

The cable beginning of wrist warmers....this really was the most fiddly part of the pattern, all they need is the sides putting on and sewing up.....

So that is all the projects neatly folded and sorted back into my big bag.

I've seen a few people referring to unfinished projects and I've always been slightly in fear over what was actually in my big bag....it isn't as bad as I thought somehow...in fact, I wouldn't even feel guilty if I started something new ;-)

But seriously, first port of call is the CAL blanket, as it is pretty close to finish, then I need to bite the bullet and unravel some of the things which I put down as I really didn't like them and then oooohhh, I can start planning some more unfinished projects :-)

Small steps - kleine Schritte

This week feels like a satisfying week...not only one finished project, but two.... (I won't mention that one also started this week, so wasn't strictly an 'unfinished project')...am I on a roll do you think? 

 This first one, is Shifting Afghan by Grace Akhrem which I found in an edition of Interweave Knits.  It's a really effective pattern although really simple.

The yarn is Sirdar Escape which I bought three (?) years ago....see although it looks like I have a huge stash, it's just waiting for the perfect project to come along and the pattern on these mitered squares, sets off the range of colours brilliantly.

The next finish was Crafts from the Cwtch's Fittleworth cowl this was a really quick simple knit...so not strictly part of my huge bundle of projects I need to get to, but hey.....small Steps!  I made the cowl with a Rico Creative Micro dk which was beautifully coloured and has a great drape, plus it's so soft against your skin....my only complaint was that as it has such a high sheen, the ball just kept unravelling itself which was pretty frustrating.  The finished cowl is beautiful though, worth the yarn-niggles

So this week, I may have a look in the dreaded project bags....I also have half a Last Dance on the Beach blanket to do....hhhmmmmm.....I've also emailed a running group with the idea of joining, I'm a bit nervous as I don't know anyone there and I'm pretty slow....well I could think of lots of reasons not to go, which is probably why I should! And I have some German to catch up on too....it's going to be a busy week!

September

I find myself reflecting....now this could be down to a number of things....

It's September and while school was a long time ago for me, I am still caught in the whirl with three school-aged boys.

I've changed my plans a little this year as for the past three years, I've been doing some language study with the Open University....but this year, I'm taking a small break to consolidate a little....and maybe to realise my options....(who am I kidding what spare time?)

I'm going to be forty very soon and although I'm not one to really worry about age, it has made me take stock a little.

I've made a bit of a list, with all sorts of random challenges, I won't get to them all, but then I'm a firm believer in 'Dreaming Big'...My time is nearly always a little on the lean side and even though I'm not studying to a plan this year, the time that I thought I might have will somehow disappear....  the more I think about what I want to do.... the more things I can add to my list.

I have two huge bags of crochet and knitting projects, half done....some I've forgotten how to do, so they seem like a massive undertaking...others I have most likely just forgotten about...

So what has my reflecting achieved....haha, well, I realise that I've been rather tough on myself in all sorts of areas in the past and that's a nice thing to acknowledge....it's allowed me a little perspective...hhmmmmm.....and it also makes me think about my priorities....all that from a bunch of old photos and a big birthday looming! :-)