Delusional
The thing about being a knitter is that you are an eternal optimist. You are always completely convinced that you can finish a project by (or even before!) a completely unrealistic deadline. Sweater needed in three days and you've only got the back and one sleeve knitted? No problem, totally got this! Birthday party on Saturday and you haven't even cast on that pair of socks on Thursday? Oh, of course you'll have time to finish. Christmas in 19 days and you only just opened the box containing the yarn (all the yarn) for the eight separate gifts you intend to give (all but two of them on the actual day of Christmas) - and you have to finish two pairs of socks and an elephant for customers before you can start any of the Christmas knitting? Oh sure, I'll just invent a time-turner and probably figure out how to make every day between now and then have an extra 40 hours, and everything will definitely be finished and blocked and wrapped under the tree by Christmas Eve. Of course!
Riiiiiiiight.
The thing is I do this every year. Every year I leave things too late and I procrastinate and I underestimate the amount of available time and over-estimate my knitting speed, and end up wrapping up things with needles in, or worse, just the yarn and a picture of what it's meant to look like someday. It never changes, and I never suddenly triple my knitting speed in the three weeks before Christmas, and yet every year I'm totally sure that this year, this year that enormous pile of yarn will somehow all be knitted into scarves and socks and mittens and those darling ornaments that I've deluded myself into thinking I'll have time to make on top of everything else, and it will all be finished by the deadline.
Maybe the fact that I've realised I'm delusional is the first step towards doing better next year?
I'll think about it later. For now, I have to go finish a pair of socks and cast on an elephant.
Riiiiiiiight.
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| Laptop in the photo for scale. Teapot for emotional support. |
The thing is I do this every year. Every year I leave things too late and I procrastinate and I underestimate the amount of available time and over-estimate my knitting speed, and end up wrapping up things with needles in, or worse, just the yarn and a picture of what it's meant to look like someday. It never changes, and I never suddenly triple my knitting speed in the three weeks before Christmas, and yet every year I'm totally sure that this year, this year that enormous pile of yarn will somehow all be knitted into scarves and socks and mittens and those darling ornaments that I've deluded myself into thinking I'll have time to make on top of everything else, and it will all be finished by the deadline.
Maybe the fact that I've realised I'm delusional is the first step towards doing better next year?
I'll think about it later. For now, I have to go finish a pair of socks and cast on an elephant.
I love the picture ... and I only have enough knitting to get me through Tuesday or so. Feel free to send yarn and patterns!
ReplyDeleteWell that is a tempting offer! But I would feel like I was cheating - and I'm a "process" knitter - it doesn't matter so much to me what the finished product is (or when it is finished) as it matters whether I enjoy making it.
DeleteThis is possibly not a useful trait at Christmas-time, but there it is...
This made me smile. I have some socks to finish I've been promising to a friend, and a Christmas sweater I started last year that is oh so close to done- only half a sleeve more!
ReplyDeleteI'm always a bit over ambitious. I think it's part of being a knitter.
-Lauren