My UFO Collection
Gentle Readers, in an uncharacteristic fit of Responsibility, I have decided that it's very nearly time to address the Elephant In The Living Room. This particular pachyderm is harshing my mellow by hogging up more space than it should. It's my UnFinishedObjects Collection, and I realized this week that it has begun to crowd my creativity. And by "crowd", I mean, make it hard to think, hard to use my imagination for new stuff, and in some cases, hard to sit down. There may be one or two big fat ideas in my life whose time has failed to arrive.
One of the truly outstanding results of my having become a "real" artist is the air of credibility my work now has in my own head. That is to say, when I ask myself, "Self, what should we make today?", I now offer myself alternatives that I think are likely to advance my art agenda, rather than waste time feeling badly about the andirons I'm not polishing, and the cobwebs collecting about the baseboards. But legitimizing one's passion in this way is only gratifying until one runs out of clean underwear. So by way of making a little breathing room, I think it's time to take steps.
My cunning plan is to call upon you, dear blog, for your wisdom and inspiration. I'll offer 3 UFO's for your consideration. The one receiving the most votes for attention will be photographed, commented upon, and then Disposed of in one of the following ways:
1. Finished and enjoyed and/or published; or
2. Returned to Nature, via gifting, frogging, or combustion.
Submitted for your consideration, the following UFO Disposition Candidates:
A. UFO A is a delightful cardigan from last fall. I submitted A's design proposal to two different knitting rags for publication. In a rare move, I was so excited about A that I actually bought yarn and dove in; convinced that it would have to get published by somebody and then I'd actually be ahead of the knitting schedule. Ill-conceived bit of logic, that. Neither publication went for it, the weather changed, and I saw something shiny, all before it was finished. Gray Peace Fleece worsted with cables and a collar. Still missing one sleeve and the collar. I even found & procured the perfect buttons.
B. UFO B consists of no less than three (3) unfinished pairs of argyle socks. Level two of the Master Knitter program requires the completion of one argyle sock. Having no love of intarsia, duplicate stitch, back-seaming, or any of the other required argyle sock elements, I naturally went after this project with all the restraint of a chainsaw. I figured I'd keep knitting them until I either mastered the process, learned to love them, or ran out of sock yarn. None of these things happened. I have learned how to graft a toe, though, since these went to time-out, so The Argyle Project might actually still stand a chance for completion. Also, some of these socks are in smally sizes, so it would be cool if they could be worn before being outgrown.
C. UFO C enjoys long walks on the beach and quiet evenings at home, which must be what drew me to it. C may actually be the most recent pattern I worked on which was written by someone other than myself. It's a reworked vintage pattern for a short-sleeved fair isle pullover, and it's really adorable. Except that it's made of COTTON YARN, for some damn dumb reason, and is therefore unsteekable. The top 1/3 of the garment requires knitting back-and-forth, maintaining the pattern. I can't remember exactly how close to the end I got before crying uncle, but I do remember the pain. I know the sleeves and the entire lower body are finished, so it probably should be revisited. If nothing else, it deserves the "It's not you, It's me," speech.
So there they are, dear friends. Three UFO's whose fate should really be decided, in order to gain a little intellectual surface area. Won't you weigh in on the candidate you feel is most likely to succeed?
While you decide, I'm going to finish the Frog Prince (no, I haven't forgotten, and it's closer to Done than you would think), and I'll show you the rest of that process next week!