I'm not much of a Finisher


I've got all these great projects running around in my brain. I've got some great patterns in my ring binder. And I've even got some started . . . . . But I have a problem with finishing. For over 20 years my best friend & I worked on projects together. She could never get anything started without my bright ideas & I could never get anything finished without her. We made a great team. Only problem is - we enabled each other. Like two drunks with one bottle, I started it for her & she finished it for me! Now that I'm on my own, I have no problem coming up with my usual bright ideas, money making schemes & great projects but I never seem to finish anything bigger than a sock.

Like the Moss Stitch Blazer from Dawn French. I spent a couple of years buying up the yarn - I couldn't afford it all at once!! I planned the sweater, I bought the yarn, I dreamed about a RASPBERRY wool blazer. I knit the pattern in raspberry acrylic to make sure I'd like it!! I wore that acrylic sweater long beyond it's natural lifetime. I got compliments wherever I went. And people would stop me & ask where I got it. I loved the color & the pattern even though the acrylic stretched all out of shape over time. I couldn't wait to start it in wool. I finished the back, one front & half of the other & it's been in the bag for at least three years . . . . . .

And then there's the Heartbeat Sweater started a couple of summers ago. In Lavender. I have most of the front knit up - good thing the sleeves & fronts are knit together. This sweater did have a legitimate problem with the pattern. It was a knit-a-long on one of my Internet Groups because it was multi-sized & very attractive. We couldn't wait to get into this one. The pattern wasn't well written for larger sizes though. This created a big problem with the neck & shoulders but a couple of members came up with creative solutions. A lot of members gave up on the pattern but I figure it will work out if I knit the front & back as for a 44 or 46" width & get the additional width in the garter stitch panels at the sides which have no shaping. It IS an attractive sweater & worth fiddling with.

I started the Fly Away Free Jacket from Just One More Row. I bought some varriegated pink microfibre & had to start knitting right away. I have the back, one front & half of the other knit up . . . . . sound familiar?? I was disappointed in this one because I ran out of the yarn I bought for it. I did buy extra but the yarn is discontinued & I may have to take this one apart.

So, I'm working really hard on not starting anything until the Arvik sweater is done. I'm almost down to the armhole where I'll put the sleeve stitches on a holder & work on the body alone. I've put a seed stitch border down the front & will probably do it on the bottom as well as the cuffs. I'd contemplated making 3/4 sleeves & may yet do it - who knows?? I'll wait till the body is done & then worry about the length of the sleeves. I was going to put LadyBug buttons on it but I think they'll be too heavy for this light-weight wool. I probably won't button it up anyway, so why bother.

There are days when I wish I were a size 0 so that the projects would just go faster & be done sooner. I think that's the worst part about projects for larger bodies. They take so long to do! But you know, I suppose even a size 0 has finishing problems.