It's kind of a joke in the knitting industry; we all make fun of how many WIPs we have. One can often hear podcasters, famous and not so famous, sharing their 20, 30, 50, 100 UFOs (unfinished objects)!!!
We are obsessed with the new and shiny. We want that new pattern that's just been released - looking at you, Stephen West shawl! - and we tend to forget that we can only dedicate a set amount of time to our hobby, and that unfortunately, knitting requires A LOT of time.
So the projects we dreamed of wearing are still tucked away in a bin in our basement or garage, and every time we take in the inventory of our knitting collection, we realize how much we actually DIDN'T accomplish (insert crying emoji here).
So, how do we go from WIP hoarder to successful, accomplished knitter? It has to do with executive functions, and how we can apply EF tips and tricks to our knitting and make us accomplish the goals we set for ourselves as knitters.
Of course, if your wish is to collect as many UFOs as possible over the course of your life, feel free to keep doing so! You do you, and as long as it makes you happy, then I'm all for it!
A knitter once told me that it didn't matter if the yarn was in a WIP or still untouched in a ball, it's still yarn in your stash, and I thought that her observation was on point.
But if you're like most knitters I know and you *wish* you could finish at least some of your UFO/WIPS, then read on for my Executive Functioning Knitting tips.
Here's a list of strategies I regularly use to finish the lingering projects I really want (there are plenty that will forever remain a UFO, but shush...).
1- I use fancy stitch markers
Lately I published an article about why I use fancy stitch markers in my knitting projects. If you haven't read it yet, go back and give it a look. To sum it up, seeing these fancy schmansy stitch markers pop up make me happy, and they help me make it through another row. They are perfect for sleeve islands, or when you have to go round and round with no end in sight (looking at you, body of a fingering-weight sweater!)
2- Select ONE WIP you want to finish.
Only one. If you've got a billion WIPS you want done, select the 1 project you are closest to finishing. You know the one. The one that only needs a few rows before the bind off, or that annoying i-cord bind off you've been putting off since forever.
*This is the WIP I really want to finish. It's an upcoming pattern, and I only have a couple more stripes to work on before it's done!
3- Allocate a dedicated space for this project
You know the saying: out of sight, out of mind! So take the project you've set your mind on finishing, and place it right smack in the middle of your seating area, or at a dedicated place where you keep the knitting projects you are actually working on.
4- Work on it every day
This is a must. Once you've selected your project, you've got to commit to it. But committing doesn't mean exclusively knitting on it. Oh no, let's keep it real here. Us knitters, we are polyamorous knitters, and that's all right. But commit to working on the ONE WIP you want to finish every day.
To paraphrase something I heard from the Knitmore Girls podcast (one of my favorite audio knitting podcasts): It's crazy how fast knitting projects go when you actually work on them. So go ahead, work on them, at least a little every day.
5- Commit to a set number of minutes a day
Doni doni, koh no ni ba gna taa. This is a Bambara saying I learned when I spent a summer in Mali, Africa. It means: Little by little, the bird builds its nest.
"Progress is progress, no matter how slow", and the famous "Half of success is showing up" are two expressions I live by. Don't be afraid to pick up your project, if only for a couple minutes!
So commit to you project, show up for 1, 2, 5, 10 or even 15 minutes per day until your project is complete. You're likely to realize that you'll end up working on your project for a little more than a few minutes. And working on it, every day, brings you closer to your desired FO.
6- Be accountable to somebody
I've used this one in the past. I would ask a knitting friend to keep me accountable. I would tell them that I want this to be done by X date, and the simple fact that I *know* that my friend knows I want this done by X date helps me make the extra effort needed to actually get this done!
7- Break a long project into chunks
Got a large project you're working on that seems like it'll never end? Me too! And while they're amazing and the FO feels like such an accomplishment, they can sometimes feel like a drag.
Right now, I'm knitting a HUGE blanket for my daughter, which has wide color changes and is super heavy to work with. It doesn't seem possible to tell myself that I'll only knit one stripe, because that would actually take me several hours of work. So I break it into even smaller chunks.
Every day, I aim to knit 2 rows (1 out and back). Some days I'll knit more if I feel like it, but as long as I knit those 2 rows then I've accomplished my goal for the day. So instead of breaking this project into stripes, which would take me forever, I've calculated that I need about 100 out and back rows. and while this may seem daunting, in reality it is only working 1 out and back row every day. And 1 out and back row per day is an achievable goal.
This is my latest colorwork sweater. I had to break it into chunks to stay motivated. First, I had to do the collar ribbing, then the yoke, just make it through 1 set of colorwork, to the next increase round, then the next colorwork section, the next increase round, and so on, to the separation for the sleeves, zoom through the body, a few inches at a time (that's where progress keepers become an ESSENTIAL tool, because they show you exactly how much you've accomplished, even when your eyes don't see real progress), then the bottom colorwork, then the split hem, front side first, back side next. then one sleeve, keep going, decreasing every few rounds, then the sleeve colorwork, then the ribbing and bind off, then the other sleeve, then weaving ALL of the ends, before I finally could wear it for this snowshoe hike in the Sierras.
8- Meet with a teacher or friend
Are you struggling with a section of a project and that's the reason why you've set it aside? Make a date out of it: Plan to attend a knit night, of a mistake clinic at your LYS (local yarn store) or have a coffee with a more experienced knitter friend who can help you out.
Don't have a LYS, of a BKFF (best knitting friend forever)?
Do you need an accountability buddy? Contact me and write in the subject line: I need an accountability buddy! I'll be your BKFF or accountability buddy! The mission of this store is to create community, so don't be shy!
Lastly, don't forget that you can always look for YouTube tutorials if you're struggling with technical stuff. There is literally NOTHING that you cannot learn on Youtube. It might take you some time, and it's possible that the first video you watch won't be helpful, but keep going and you'll eventually get it.
Do you have other tips to get your WIPS done? Let me know.