It’s this time of the year, the one moment of clarity, my awakening to the light, the epiphany of introspection… were I notice that I have roughly a million wip’s spread out through our flat. There are these two (yes, two) boxes of shame in our living room. And maybe the content of these boxes also spilled onto the couch and some small thingies like unfinished socks for my husband and a sweater are hiding in a cupboard beneath the TV.

Sadly, that’s not all, no the misery has a sequel. Season two of my unfinished objects is to be found in our working space. Here are all the sewing projects which are ill fitting, half finished or to be mended. And -ahem- as I just now notice there is also a crochet project in plain sight. No idea how I could overlook it.

If you are already groaning in disgust, beware, there is also season 3: the Christmas presents (to be). But do not fear I will not punish you with another photo of my chaos, because the future presentees read my blog, so hush-hush….

For all of you who either commiserate while sitting on a pile of unfinished projects or laugh with gleeful joy sitting over your one knitting or sewing project you monogamously work on, here it comes, my list of important projects (because the other ones, the deprived and forgotten children projects, who dwell in my wardrobe, I will not mention at all)

The dress, the jacket, the sweater and the sweater and the sweater

No, I am not mindlessly repeating the word sweater. I have a plan. I want to wear every day of the year a different sweater. Joking 😀 Or, do I?
I have a lot of small fabric scraps – some are remnants from older projects, others I bought because they were „soooo cute and cheap“ although I had no idea what to do with such a small piece of fabric. Some weeks ago, I decided to make sweaters out of them, as I really love to wear them – so comfy, so uncomplicated. One is already finished (I think you already saw me wearing it, its this one with cats on it) and three more are waiting.

For the too small fabrics I found a clever strategy (I think its clever, please don’t pop my illusions): I either cut the back or sleeves out of stripes, so I manage to get a whole puff sleeve sweater out of I guess 1m x 1,40m. But remember I am short, with an even shorter torso. The biggest part of fabric I always need for the sleeves…. The other solution is to find matching fabric remnants and combine them. This I will try with the brownish fabrics, but not done yet, I will report how it works. (Oh, and I dream of a quilted jacket made from my tiny fabric rest… but so far only a dream).

The jacket

The jacket from @puellacreativa’s amazing book is on the top one place of my sewing pile but it must wait, as I sew it during the sewing course which right now is again not taking place – sigh. I would really love to wear the jacket.
The dress
Still THE DRESS, you remember the butterfly fabric which looked so nice and the Japanese pattern which looked even nicer? I go another batch of this extreme cheap fabric and thought „why not try again to sew one of these cottagecore dresses everybody else looks beautiful in?“ Don’t ask… this will be a whole post one day.

The knitting

My main projects is a long cardigan in a variegated yarn which resists photographing (on the photos the yarn looks beige, but it is full of multicolored speckles). It has a slightly egg-shaped fit which I hope will look cute worn over a dress or skinny jeans. I have chosen the pattern as I thought it resembled a rtw cardigan which I love to wear. But I am not too sure anymore if my knitted copy-design will fit as well as the bought one as the ribbing is much smaller than anticipated.

Problems with gauge and fit seem to be my recurrent topic, because my next knitting project, a slipover was meant to be a very wide and short design. And this time I even used the recommended yarn (while thinking a bit about this… it’s the first time ever I used the recommended yarn). I made a tension square with 6 mm needle (suggestion of the designer), I made one with 5,5 mm and with 5 mm… still my gauge was of. I should knit 16 stitches over 10 cm but with 5 mm needles I only managed to get 15 stitches into 10 cm. After this I gave up and settled on the 5 mm. I pondered to make the smallest size as it should result in a width 120 cm of front and back together and with my loose knitting, it should (yes should) have been even wider. But after casting on and knitting the ribbing of the back I only managed to get 50 cm (still 15 stitches on 10 mm…. a mystery). Fumbled some crochet stitches onto the needles and so brought the whole thing one size up, but still only 57 cm width. I am ok with this and have hope it will fit. My famous wish while making garments: I hope it will fit ???
Last project is this short jacket in pastel colors. I managed to sew in the sleeves (hurray) but gave up on sewing in all these yarn -ends. Need elves please.
There are much more unfinished projects, but for now I will not destroy my reputation as a reliable knitter completely ?

The crochet

I am in a shawl frenzy. Not that I am missing shawls, I have many of them, but honestly as you perhaps noticed during my time on hive, I knit and crochet in colors which look so nice, and colorful and bright and do not match with anything in my wardrobe… This time I planned (really!) my crochet. Last year I made my first coat in a dark brown and I have no shawl which I can wear with it (ok, I have one, its black, so boring) so I may have bought some yarn (don’t tell) in brown and beige and started this amazing and free triangle shawl pattern.
If this project sounded reasonable to you, the next will not. Neither did I plan anything, nor did I needed it (I feel really bad) but I did it nevertheless: another shawl, another free pattern, also triangle. Will write more about this another time.
(oh, I again forgot the lace shawl who is residing on my couch in the midst of sewing projects. Please lets simply not speak of it)

The oversized cardigan
The burgundy blanket like object you can see on the photos is a cardigan, or better it will be a cardigan… sometimes… You already know the lighter (mint colored) sister of this cardi (photos above), I made earlier this year. The pattern is the urbanite cardigan and because of a miscalculation on my side or the designers, I am still in doubt, the thing grew huuuuuge. But I am wearing it constantly. So, I decided I need another one. Annoyingly it needs a lot of time, because as said above, its huge 😀

Here I will stop and leave you with the good feeling that you’re definitely more organized and focused than me.

Thank you @crosheille for iniciating and @muscara, @shanibeer, @marblely for hosting the #needleworkmonday. If you want to see more beautiful projects with yarn, fabric and most of all needles, follow @needleworkmonday on hive blog. Or even better grab your needles and keyboard and join the #needleworkmonday community. You can read more comments on this post on my hive blog.