Question of the Week: How are your UFOs coming along? (No advertising)

Dear users, dear authors,
how are your UFOs coming along?

I had a long bus ride today and used the time to keep knitting on a UFO (I prefer to call it a WIP, since I don’t actually have any UFOs ;-) ).
But the awakening spring kept distracting me quite often. I even saw a stork. ^^

I’ve got a bunch of UFOs piling up right now. I keep seeing something new and starting on it. My biggest UFO at the moment is a triangular shawl. I’m afraid that’s definitely going to take a while, since it’s turning out to be pretty big.

What exactly is a WIP???

As soon as I finish one UFO, new ones pop up :-( ..... it’s just a quirk of mine...

@Wollefaden
WIP means work in progress. ;-)
Basically, it means the same thing, because a work in progress is also an unfinished object, so an unfinished piece. 
I just think WIP somehow sounds nicer. ;-)

@WollnesDesings

Thanks for the explanation. WIP sounds good.

No matter what you call them, they’re still sitting around here.

Are the projects I’m planning but haven’t started yet also considered UFOs? Because if so, I have an awful lot of them...

Raaaaah! Wrong question, sooooo wrong question! Sometimes I wish the UFOs would just take off and escape to distant galaxies ;-)
*Scurries back to the sofa to start a new UFO*

@ Ruth. Nope. You must have started them, and then they’re lying in the corner, tying up your needles (at least knitting UFOs do that) and making you feel guilty ;-)

Sometimes those unstarted projects block me too, because I can’t decide which one to start with. I don’t like doing too many things at once. That’s when the UFOs start to take shape and become visible. And then the guilty conscience kicks in ;-)

@roticanai: Exactly, they’re what’s blocking the needles, so for the last two I pulled a thick strand of yarn through the stitches. That way, the knitting needles are free and the UFOs are back on the needles in no time.

Best wishes, Jana

UFOs? Never heard of them... I only have WIPs ;)

No, but at the moment it’s still manageable...

A shawl I’m working on diligently (it’s supposed to be a birthday present and has to be finished)
A doll I keep working
on little by little, and a dragon that’s been waiting to be sewn together for 2 years (Well, that is a UFO ;))

Whether they’re UFOs or WIPs: Unfortunately, I have both—some that are years old and some that are newer—and despite all my good intentions, I keep starting new projects because the designs are just too tempting!

Well, I’ve got some UFOs or WIPs lying around here too—I guess I’m not the only one. But it’s still under control for me.
The temptation here on Crazypatterns is so great that my to-do list just keeps getting longer.
So every now and then, something gets put on the back burner.

But… I’ve been crocheting my hexagon granny jacket, and I’m almost done. I just need to crochet a small pocket, then I can tackle the next project.

I also have a triangular shawl I started that I want to give to my mom.
A teddy bear is still waiting to be sewn together, and a crocheted bag for work still needs a lining.

I actually rarely have UFOs because I can never wait for a project to be finished! My triangular shawl is almost done, and next up is some Easter decor. There’s just one project left, though I’m not quite sure yet whether it’ll be a cardigan or just a wide shawl/scarf made from cozy winter wool (but if necessary, it can always be finished next autumn—maybe by then I’ll know exactly what it’s going to be).

Since I have a deal with my husband to use up ALL my yarn stash before buying any new yarn, I’ll probably have to turn quite a few more ideas into reality......

Nadeleule: How’s your hand?
I have the same deal with my husband. So I sneak the new yarn home whenever he’s not there. :-)
But since we’re moving at the end of the year, I really do want to cut back a bit now. I currently have 4 UFOs. So hardly any. But I’ll finish 1 today. 

I don’t have any UFOs… grin. But I do have a few PiAs buzzing around at the moment
.
Since I’m very busy with dancing and DRK right now, I keep working on different things in between. You can always squeeze in little pieces for door wreaths. In the evenings while watching TV, I tackle the bigger parts. I just crocheted a Boteh scarf for my dear aunt in one long evening in front of the TV.

But I’m afraid the PiAs are going to multiply, because I’ve already discovered so many beautiful patterns again...

What are PiAs, anyway?

PiAs are “projects in progress”.

And while we’re on the subject of funny acronyms and yarn stash—a few months ago I came across an acronym that had me laughing so hard I almost fell off my chair:

sable

= stash amound beyond life expectancy

Loosely translated: My yarn stash exceeds my life expectancy.

Oh, then a PiA is a special kind of UFO ;-)

“My yarn stash exceeds my life expectancy.”

That sounds familiar… lol. I just got two huge bags full of yarn as a gift.
I’m afraid there’ll be quite a few more PiAs to come…

Well, for me, it’s UFOs and WIPs—and definitely sable, too.

But since I recently finished a few of these projects, I felt really unsettled. I was left with “only” four bags—I keep each project in its own large paper bag, within easy reach—and I felt like I just didn’t have enough choice in what to work on next.
Before I knew it, there were three more…

Right now, I’m stuck on the eyes for one project. Everything else is done; it’s just the eyes I can’t get right. And I think that’s the most important detail of all. They say everything about the little creature. I’ve already tried tons of variations—I’m certainly not short on ideas.
But since this is meant for a small child, beads are out of the question. I’ve used them in the past when making them for older kids—they don’t put every stuffed animal in their mouths anymore. So I’m hoping that by age 8, they’ve outgrown that habit.

And I know all about that “gifted yarn” thing, too. My mom alone has five huge boxes of it in her room, and she tells me every time to take them. My husband always turns pale when he hears this, because I already have a few boxes of it at home (attic, basement, bedroom, living room)
And I just can’t give up buying new yarn entirely either......

@Jana,

that’s why I have multiple sets of knitting and crochet needles in every size… that way it doesn’t matter if something gets caught on the needle :-)

I’m making really good progress right now—I only have one UFO or WIP lying around, which is the blanket for my daughter. But that’s truly a long-term project, since it’s an entrelac pattern in rainbow colors. But I’ve already finished a quarter of the 856 squares ;-)

My yarn stash might not last a lifetime, but I think my supplies will^^
I just got one of those little metal boxes for small parts from the hardware store. Well, what can I say—it’s closed because it’s overflowing, and you don’t realize just how much you have until you gather everything together from all the different boxes and tins ;-)

Luckily, my husband is already well-trained in this regard:

He ignores everything I drag home.... which is very nice. Plus, ever since I explained to him that it’s “Springwolle,” he regularly comes home with “Hüpf-Nascherei.”

“Hüpf-Nascherei” just hops into the car after work and absolutely insists on coming along :-)

Springwolle is great!
And our husbands are worth their weight in gold anyway. I’ve heard from a few other husbands that they’ve told their wives: if they start something like this, there’ll be arguments at home.

That would never cross my husband’s mind.
He grew up with a mom who was crazy about knitting and would bring home yarn from every shopping trip. Now that she can barely walk anymore, she’s discovered online yarn shopping—with a little help from me....

Jumping yarn! I'm cracking up!
I hereby officially disclaim any responsibility for actions directly or indirectly related to the purchase of yarn. I can't help it at all—the yarn is to blame!

I’m really frustrated right now. I wanted to knit a bag, and somehow I managed to mess it all up. It’s now sitting on top of my UFO pile. It’s about 30 cm high, and I’ve kind of lost track of what’s at the very bottom.

Pe-Ka:
My husband may not be as affected as yours, but he’s very patient too. I’m just not allowed to make anything for him because he wouldn’t wear any of it. But he always dutifully looks at my things. :-)
And he knows that it helps me relax and relieve stress. And he doesn’t want a stressed-out wife either. So better to crochet instead :-)

@Roticanai,

You didn’t know about spring yarn? ... shame on you ;-) 
Do you at least know about sneaky yarn? It sneaks unnoticed into the shopping bag and only comes out again once you’re home ;-)

And recently I discovered another kind: it’s called the “oh-well-gone-is-gone” yarn, and it’s very, very rare....
It only comes to you when you’re kneeling on the floor with an empty shopping basket, sighing over the clearance yarn because it’s no longer being made. Then the owner comes over and empties the few leftover balls (the ones you were going to leave there with a heavy heart, since you didn’t want to shock your husband completely) into the basket and says: “It’s fine—gone is gone.... 

The downside of this kind: your husband might not quite believe it when you come home with 30 balls and call out: Honey, look, I got 10 of them for free ;-)

@Arni
thanks for asking, yes, my hand is fully functional again :)
But I won’t overdo it so much anymore, and I’ll read a book now and then too.

One major challenge, of course, is the countless PiGs that end up joining the UFOs, WIPs, or PiAs!

Hi everyone,

my XXL winter cowl was finished just in time for the start of spring :-D

So next up is a light scarf for the in-between season, so I can at least get some use out of it and not end up finishing it right at the start of the next season...

I just toss them in the trash—I know I’ll never finish them anyway. 

I just finished another UFO—but there are still countless others waiting.
And I already have at least three new ideas in mind. But I’m determined to finish at least one more UFO (the one for Mother’s Day) before I start anything new.

I’m currently working on a WIP (still the shawl I mentioned above), but I have to really, really resist the urge to start something else in between... A new shipment of Bobbel yarn just arrived, and they’re all whispering, “Take me!” “Use me!” .... ;) 

Hi everyone,

I’d always assumed that I had to specify where I got the patterns from when I post photos of crochet projects I made following a pattern.

That’s why I always write “… based on a pattern by … (author): (link to the pattern)”

Otherwise, people might think I came up with the design for the crochet project myself. Based on my (mis)understanding, I thought that would be a violation of intellectual property rights.

Of course, I never publish the patterns themselves.

I’ve learned something new again :-)

Sorry, wrong thread ;-)

Well, I’m finally back home. The weekend in Berlin was nice, but I didn’t do any crafting at all. Now I’m going to finish a pot holder right away. ... Start on the second one or work on my mouse....
But first, this pot holder