Potentially going nowhere


There are lots of potential projects around me at the moment.  Not much started, because as always seems to be the case lately, I have something else I need to be doing.  But they are still sitting there, being pondered.

I am not quite sure if this is a good thing to be doing or not.  You see, I've been quite busy this year, which is great and I've been working on projects that I love, which is fab.  But just because my creative calendar is full so to speak, doesn't mean that the old brain stops churning and turning up more ideas.

So, I suppose in an effort to appease this restless brain, I've been contemplating the many 'what if' projects that I could be making.  I'm sure it's a problem for a lot of us, no matter what speed we can hook the yarn or slip the stitches, there are always a million more projects that we could be making and don't have time for.  We can't make everything at once after all.  I suppose this is why so many of us have a whole host of wip's we'd rather no-one found out about!




My problem is not so much about the starting and not finishing.  In my abject fear of never finishing anything, I have very rarely ever let myself not finish once I have begun.  Instead I make endless lists of ideas and pull out piles of yarn for projects that may never actually come to be.  Which, at the time, I feel is good for 'getting it out of my system' and then leaving me free I return to whatever it is I really should be doing.

But you know, I'm not so sure it's working.  Instead those lists sit in notebooks, on my phone and on To Do lists, waiting patiently and usually never ever crossed off.  The piles of yarn stop being a pleasing sight of gorgeous colours and start becoming clutter and mess.  After a while all of them seem to be accusing me of not working faster, not getting more done, never getting around to 'that' project.

And so I clear the piles away, I start new lists, I refresh and declutter the creative mind so I have a nice, clean slate... for a while.  I'm not quite sure why this cycle continues, or even if it's a good or bad thing?  Maybe it is just the way I am.

But, is it just me?  What do you do?

One day I keep thinking it will be different, I'll have more time, or I shall be less in a rush, I shall work through the list and be satisfied to just do one thing completely before moving to the next.  Calmly, without guilt, without adding a million other things to the list before I finish the first.

'Yes, one day', I think, that's how it will be.

But you know what, I'm beginning to think that day may never arrive.




S x



#CherryHeart

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Comments

  1. I think maybe some of us are just like this. I've just as many writing projects as crochet, and now I'm adding weaving and sewing to the mix. I'm far too easily distracted.

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  2. I can identify! I think our brains and hearts just work this way when we are creative souls - the Door of Creativity always needs to be left wide open, even when we are very busy. I NEVER write things down or make lists for my ideas and often wonder if I should...I am very organic and very chaotic with my projects....interesting conversation, I'm going to ponder on this :)

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  3. Same here. Have lots on my "to do" lists. Then I have a clear away and start all over again.😍

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  4. I'm raising my hand on this one - I do the same thing. This year I have really been trying to do some of those projects I planned for "when I get finish with...." And I'm trying to not buy anymore yarn until I've dwindled down some of my stash. But it goes so slow.... I wish I could crochet faster but my arthritis stops me - as always I have way more project ideas than is humanly possible.... but I still love and collect patterns..... I could go on and on so I'll stop - and breathe - and know that someday when I retire perhaps.....

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    1. You are me. Exactly. Even the arthritis. We shall persevere.

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    2. Oh wait, I am already retired and still the same. Just more time to collect ideas that I'll never finish in my life...

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  5. Thanks for validating my feelings. as much as I love love love my crafts, I sometimes feel heavily burdened by my UFOs instead of the sense of accomplishment and tranquilty that comes with completing a project.

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  6. I feel your pain! I have far too many things I'd like to make, and not nearly enough time to do them. Is this why we always want to knit or crochet faster?

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  7. Hmmmm... I am and I am not. I write lists. I collect projects in bags and boxes. But I always, ALWAYS, start on new projects before I have ever finished another one... I'm a starter by nature and just terrible at finishing up. This year is a year of cleansing... I've sorted, organized and donated and thrown out so much yarn and even UFOs... And now I'm finishing off one WiP after another to get a fresh start... Not sure how I'm doing with that as I just started a new project... And I'm not sure if I ever will get to all those ideas doodled down on pieces of paper and in note books... If I only had a whole team of little helpers who could put all my ideas into reality... A little bit like Santa has his gnomes... Wouldn't that just be fabulous?
    Xxx
    PS Back on the blog girl! :) I like it. Keep going. Love having you back in this space. xxx

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    1. Oh I so need that team of helpers too! I swear it feels like other people must have them sometimes as well because they manage to do so much. Still, I mustn't compare!

      Thanks, it's good to be back writing a 'normal' blog post again, even if I am very rusty :)
      S x

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  8. Have you ever heard the phrase ' a garden is never finished' I think knitting and crochet are like that. It is just important to have a few interesting things on the go that keep your creative mind ticking over. Lists which are overwhelming and have no priorities can feel oppressive. I have a notebook which is a fantasy wish list: essentially it lets me be all floaty and then I get on with the real stuff but make sure I enjoyed that thinking time with that little book and all of those ideas that I will never make! jo xxx

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    1. You know what, you are so right! I guess it’s about changing the mindset rather than changing what I do really. I do like to keep a record of some of the ideas because I do come back to them. But it’s about doing it in a way that doesn’t make me feel pressured. Humm, something to ponder - thank you!

      Sandra x

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  9. Ha haa! You know what? Add to the lists the huge number of patterns...printed patterns, torn out patterns, patterns found at the charity shop, all "to be made someday"...so yesterday I addressed the three piles in my computer cabinet, the folder upstairs, the container under the desk, the new pile growing in the bookshelf...and I went through ALL of it. I kept a tidy little pile in my container, created a "live" folder for those planned within this year still, and the rest...either to old age home homes or groups who will actually make these things! And in the process I actually found...a certain dainty shawl pattern, lacy bunting and a certain throw with painted roses...okay, that one is one the hooks already!

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    1. Ha ha, good to know! There's safety in numbers ;)

      S x

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  11. Oh dear ... this is me too ... as a few have said already it's just what creative people are like! I have so many UFO's hidden all over the house so no-one finds out, or asks why I'm attempting something new when I have so many unfinished. We moved back to the UK from Australia a few months ago ... and I brought the UFO's with me ... and still haven't finished them! There's just so much fun stuff to make! So now I just try to enjoy the process as that's often what gives me the most joy :) You're not alone x

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  12. I still start more projects than I finish - sometimes it's because summer came, or I lost interest but I have stopped feeling guilty about any of it. Now I rip out my work if it isn't perfect enough and don't even cringe. After giving the ease of unraveling some thought, I began to believe that I could work on the same scarf all year - lots of money saved on yarn by unravelling and then knitting up again, relaxing work in progress eternally. : ) No guilt- just enjoying the process. I retired three years ago and now I don't ever want to be on the clock again.

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    1. Good for you! This is where I need to get to. Just need to change my mind set a bit I think, so I don't feel guilty and just think of it as more of part of the process...

      S x

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  13. This is so recognisable!
    Don't forget the also growing pile of yarn stash. At least that's the case for me. I get an idea, a want for a project and that want won't stop nagging until I have all the supplies in the house. And then, then I discover that there are not enough hours in a day, that I also have a dayjob and social encagements or that I just don't feel like it, because it's too hot or cold or I'm tired, etc. Or I just rather surf ravelry, pinterest, blogs. And so the ever-growing 'one day' list grows some more.

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    1. I am am sooo guilty of that too! The amount of projects that I just *had* to buy yarn and couldn't rest until I got it... just to leave it untouched is slightly scary!

      S x

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  14. Yes! This description resonates with me too. My yarn collection clamors to be hooked into something. I have to keep it hidden away and all the while I feel guilty about not working fast enough.

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  15. I so recognise the 'potentially going nowhere' thing... I pull out the yarn for ideas that I have and write lists about them as well. And you know what? As soon as I pick up a hook or a pair of needles, it seems to encourage my brain to come up with new ideas... I guess we'll have to live with it (or find a way to get more hours in a day)! X, Judith

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  16. The way I deal with being surrounded by yarn is seeing it as two hobbies. The first is crochet/ knitting and the second is yarn collecting. Se even if it's not being used it's almost like a beautiful art display of yarn in the corner of my room :) then it doesn't feel like I'm behind on projects although I do wish I could create stitches that bit quicker!

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  17. It has taken me a while to reply to this post but it resonated with me the moment I read it. I think that people like you, who are truly creative, will always have more ideas than there are hours in the day in which to achieve them. Although I can completely understand the frustrations that brings with it I think the opposite - having more time than ideas - would be unbearable. The problem with yarn is that it is an all too concrete reminder of what we have not done. I am not good at this myself but I think somehow you have to find a way to let go of the guilt of what you are not doing yet, in order to enjoy what you are doing now.

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    1. You know, I think you are absolutely right. I'm coming to think the same, in that its not so much what I do, but the way that I think of it. And letting go of the guilt is the key thing in that I think. Instead perhaps I should be thinking of it as a part of a process. Humm, something to think on. Great comment, thank you!

      S x

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