" I have a problem with finishing things. I love to start a new project, a new hobby, a new blog, whatever it is, and then I get tired of it and walk off."

And then 2.5 years later, I rediscover the forgotten item while cleaning out the closet, or emptying the box, or going through my computer files. And all of a sudden I'm infatuated again. 

To be honest, I'd like to blame the extended silence of my blog on my crocheting. See that pair of slippers that I made so many many many months ago turned out to be a very special pair of slippers. They were wonderful and purple and looked like hippos and I love them dearly. More than being a fantastic pair of footwear, they were the beginning of a business, and after two years of sales, they are still my top seller. 

They have cute little tails and everything! 

But enough about my favorite slippers. Like any UFO (UnFinished Object), eventually the time comes to return to the mangled piece of work, assess the damage, dust off the cat hair (that's a new addition to my work these days), and try again. And maybe this time the stitches will come together the right way, the gauge will be spot on, and the yarn won't snag. Or maybe it will. I've come to learn that working through the issues and sometimes even incorporating them into the project makes the end result even more satisfying. 

But what do I know; I still have an unfinished sewing project in the back of my closet and have no intention of befriending it anytime soon.

UFOs

When is it time to give up and call it a day? How many times do you pull out stitches and start over again? When it enough, enough?

I've been mad at my newest project for about a week now, and since I can't brag about my brilliant and wonderful new creation, I haven't felt like blogging. Funny how that works. When something is going well, I can't wait to tell the whole world about it, but as soon as it gets messy, I'm quiet.

After finishing off my socks, I've now moved onto a new project: a sweater. Well, a bolero, to be exact. This is the most difficult thing I have ever attempted. It's made from granny squares which are attached to one another as the work progresses. I've done granny squares before, so it should be no problem.

A week later, I have two and a half squares almost finished...and I'm seriously thinking about calling it quits. Or at least declaring a formal period of separation. The stitches are very exact and if you are off by just the tiniest bit, everything goes awry. I like to crochet for fun and for stress relief. None of my stress is being relieved, and quite honestly, it's not fun. So now I'm stuck.

I haven't moved on to anything new just yet, because I'm not sure if I've given up all hope on the bolero or if I just need to wait until I'm in a better frame of mind. See, I've been out of sorts for a few days now, and I know it's affecting my judgement. When things don't go as planned in "real life," it is nice to have reliable crafts to fall back on. But when life and crafts both mess up...well, that's where I'm at right now.

At book club the other night, one lady made reference to her stash of "UFOs", i.e. Unfinished Objects, and I thought the term was appropriate. So maybe I'll be adding to my own UFO pile with the 2.5 granny squares that are laying in a forgotten heap, or maybe I'll push through. I really haven't decided yet.

There are other things in my life that are unfinished, but unlike a troublesome sweater, they can't be shut in a bin for all eternity. And even though they are no fun and cause stress, I have to deal with them. I suppose sooner is better than later in this case.

Flowers help.

Humility

So after the way my post got all off-kilter last night, thanks to the pictures, I decided today I would be smart and load the images first. We'll see if it works. Saturday I was in a craft store with a 50% off coupon, with my 15% teacher discount on top of that...never a safe combination. I've been wanting to try Tunisian crochet for as long as I've known about it, but wasn't sure what that was exactly. Turns out it's kind of a hybrid between crocheting and knitting. The hook you're supposed to use looks like a knitting needle with a crochet hook on the end. It's strange. Thanks to the coupon and discount, I brought home this book, which may or may not be a good thing. The following is my first attempt. Since it was 3 dimensional, more so than most of my projects, I figured I must have done something wrong. It looked a lot like my first crocheted scarf, which was scary looking.

I tore it out, and started over. I will say I like the speed in which a row is finished. While the stitches are not very large themselves, it goes quick. That's always a plus. However, it doesn't really matter how fast or slow the work grows if I have to keep tearing it out and restarting. The one thing I knitted (a cozy for my travel mug) was torn out and restarted too many times to count. Just ask my mom. She thought it was funny until she started a knitting project later on. There is quite a bit of pulling out and trying again, especially if you want your project to look halfway decent. At any rate, this is attempt two.

I think it's an improvement over the first try...there weren't quite so many stitches sticking out every direction, but it's still a far cry from the picture in the book.

Maybe I need to go watch that interactive DVD that was included. It might help.

Snags

One thing I love about craft projects is that they don't demand anything of you. Yes, you have to spend time and money and sometimes blood and tears, but it's all a choice. If you get totally frustrated with your project, you can walk off, tear out your stitches, or, my favorite solution, throw the whole thing across the room. It doesn't care. If you get really upset, (or your yarn ties itself up into the Super Knot), you can resort to violence and chop it up. When you're feeling more sane and patient, you don't have to explain yourself to the creation or apologize for chucking it against the wall multiple times. A craft project understands.

In other news, the sock project is not going so well. Yes, this is still sock one. I'm beginning to dread sock two. I've finished the toe, the foot, and the gusset (kudos to you if you know what that is!--I didn't until a few days ago. It's kind of like knowing what those things on the end of a shoelace are called. Cool to be able to casually bring up in conversation, but totally useless in everyday life). Now it's time to work the heel. Everything looks great...or it would if my heel stuck out of the side of my foot. No clue what went wrong, because I have followed the pattern exactly, but wrong it has gone. So I'm faced with the task of pulling my stitches out and starting over...but not just yet. At the moment, I'm not in the mood. I'd rather glare at it from a distance and give it the silent treatment awhile longer. No throwing has taken place yet, but like I said, I'm still on sock one.

I'm further along than this at the moment, but this gives you the general idea. That right up there was the easy part, before the esc and the heel. Maybe tonight I'll give it another go, but I really don't see that happening.

Sometime I wish people were like craft projects. Wouldn't it be great to be able to shove someone in the back corner of your closet, underneath the old notebooks and forget about them for awhile? (Oh wait, that's where I shoved my last sewing project...) When they're in the way, you could just pick them up and put them in neat little containers and put them on a shelf or in a drawer. Unfortunately, people are messier than craft projects...even if you are decoupaging or paper-maicheing. (I think I may have made those words up. And I'm also pretty sure they aren't spelled correctly. Sorry.) That may be why I love my yarn so much. If I walk off and leave the sock alone for awhile (an hour, a week, a year), it will be there waiting for me as if I never left it at all, our previous spat forgiven and forgotten.

For now, I think the sock will spend some time in crochet time-out while I work on my next project: Slippers. No heels involved, so this is already looking much more promising.

In the meantime, don't stand between me and the wall...you may get hit with a ball of yarn and a size J crochet hook.