• WIPs = Works In Progress
• PHDs = Projects Half Done
• WEF = Won’t Ever Finish

Sometimes I have a short attention span and if I don’t like something or am not enjoying it, it always shows in the effort I put in. This goes back to my school reports ‘Jennifer does not enjoy maths and this is reflected in the effort she shows in class’, or  words to that effect, were regularly written in school reports. (Replace ‘maths’ with PE, any science type topic or music.) This has continued into my adult life and while I make every effort to push past it in my work life, this doesn’t always follow through into my crochet projects.

Around eighteen months ago I started a ‘Flowers in a Row’ blanket, which I really enjoyed doing at first. There’s different stitches and a variety of colours, and once finished it would be really pretty. However what comes with lots of colour changes? Lots of ends. Then there’s the four rows of DCs (SC in US terms) which seem to take forever to complete, and I find white yarn quite difficult to crochet with. I’m probably about a third of the way through, but I honestly can’t see myself finishing it any time soon. It’s absolutely nothing to do with the pattern as it is really easy to follow and I’ve seen lots of completed ones that are stunning, with various colours used from bright oranges and reds to pastel shades. My inability to finish it yet is entirely down to me.

I have a couple of others. One is a blanket for my sister which I started  12 months ago. Initially I was enthusiastic, I thought this would be quite relaxing as it was repetitive, just has a single colour and used a simple V Stitch. However, I got a bit carried away with the foundation chain and if it’s ever finished this blanket will be massive. I know the sensible thing would have been to FROG it (rip it, rip it) and do a shorter foundation chain but I couldn’t bear to undo all the hours of work I’d already done. So now it too is in a bag waiting for me to pick it up again.

My third WIP is a cushion cover which I started a couple of months ago and I’m looking forward to the final result. It’s my first attempt at intarsia crochet, and I’m a bit worried that my stitches are too tight, but aside from that it’s going well. It will probably only take another couple of hours to finish, so I just need to sit down and do it!

I know I sound a bit (okay, very) negative. I know I should be disciplined and complete projects before starting something else. I know that part of the reward of hobbies is the sense of accomplishment when you finish projects, saying to yourself ‘I made that’,  but I don’t want to be in the position where I’m spending my spare time doing something that I’m really not enjoying. I think the solution is that need to put a bit more thought into something before trying a project, make sure I’m really committed to finishing it as it’s such a waste of time (and money) to put half finished projects in a cupboard in an effort to avoid them. I also need to put that level of thought into buying yarn, but I’m not holding out too much hope for success!

Phew…Monday moan over!