Friday, October 19, 2012

Today's post is brought to you by the letter P...

..where I share with you the truth about me and my propensity to procrastinate and stay preoccupied.

I've been absent due to being busy this week.  It's been mostly work that has kept me preoccupied, peppered with a debate, getting lost in a good book (thank you John Sandford), dodging political phone calls, decorating for Halloween, finishing Pam's mittens (which will ship today), and watching the Detroit Tigers sweep those Yankees out of Dodge!

Ah...it's good to have a winning team to watch, and ours has not disappointed!

Elka, the long neglected Icelandic Cardigan
I've also been knitting a bit.  I've wanted to cast on something new for the longest time now, but I figured with a cardigan that was 75% complete, I should finish that before another winter came and went.  Like last winter.  This sweater has languished long enough.  It took me awhile to figure out where I was and when I did, I realized why it went in the basket.  I'd knit the last row with the wrong yarn and instead of addressing that 18 months ago (procrastination), I tossed it in the time out pile.  I've looked at it every single day since then, but had forgotten why I stopped working on it:  too hot, too hard, too scratchy?  No.  It was a mistake I didn't want to fix when I first realized things were wrong, and once I got going again, it took only 15 minutes to make it right.  I also think I'm nervous about the border of this sweater.  It's crocheted, and truth be told, the closer I get to the end, the more I procrastinate in finishing what I started.  I cannot crochet to save my live.  I can fake it with a crochet hook, but I'm not willing to try a pretty border with my skills.

 I've also not been sleeping well at night.  Working day shift does that to me.  My mind races as I lay down and if I do fall asleep, I awaken reluctantly as the alarm rings at 6 AM.  Groggy, I get up and pour the coffee right away--if I've had the foresight to pre-program the pot the night before--and try to chase out the cobwebs.  Not this morning though.  It's my day off, and I awakened at 5:22 AM with an amazing idea:  I am going to pay one of the women at the local yarn store to do the finish work on this cardigan. I can't crochet, but she can and she loves to do finishing work for a little cash in exchange.

I, satisfied with my burst of brilliance, snuggled against Leo and went right back to sleep.

Another problem solved and 3 extra hours of sleep.









11 comments:

Jane said...

I'm so glad you're working on this again, I love it, and can't wait to see it finished. You've come up with the perfect solution

Stephanie V said...

This'll be a lovely warm hug on a cold day in Detroit. Great idea to have someone else finish it.

Funny what stops our progress and how small these big obstacles turn out to be. I think they grow while they're in the TO basket. Taking them out just puts them in perspective again.

NCmountainwoman said...

Great idea! Enjoy your weekend.

The Bug said...

I have that problem with work issues - they loom large in my head until I actually tackle them & then they (mostly) calm right down.

I can't wait to see the finished product - I'm intrigued by the crochet portion (seeing as how I'm crocheting ad infinitum these days).

I ALMOST put on my Own October T-shirt last night after the game was over. But it felt like tempting fate...

Celia said...

Great idea! Pay someone to finish it for you. Benefits both of you.

Kitty Moore said...

What a wonderful solution!

Finding Pam said...

I'll be looking for my mittens. I am so excited to get them and to wear them. I can't thank you enough. I'm glad you found a good solution to that beautiful sweater.

Brenda said...

Sounds like a good idea about turning over the project to get it finished. I feel like doing that with quilts. Hand quilting takes me forever. I am really surprised about you not crocheting. It is way easier than knitting. I just prefer the look of knitted over crochet.
I love that Detroit won! Hope we get in the playoffs also.

Irene said...

It's so nice to have brilliant ideas early in the morning and then to wake up later with a lighter heart. I think your solution is great and that sweater does look awfully nice. Too good to be hidden away in the unfinished projects basket. Being brave enough to finally face the problem always turns out to be a lot easier than we anticipated. It's never as big as we imagined it to be. xox

Gail said...

I love your "time out pile".

Brilliant idea on getting a project done by someone who loves to do it. Darn, now I can't ask you to crochet that big doily for me.

Empress Bee (of the high sea) said...

yes! excellent idea!

smiles, bee
xxoxoxoxoxo