Getting Started...... Again

Getting started again. For me this feels even worse than all the prep work that goes into initially starting a new project. At least then there is excitement. Something new is being formed. How quickly will I learn the pattern repeat. Is this the right yarn for this project? All of these questions add to the excitement.

Even when the pattern takes time to understand. When mistakes need to be taken out again and again. I try to be patient. I tell myself "This always happens with something new. Give it some time. Everything will click at some point and it will be smooth sailing from then."

Except sometimes it is not smooth sailing. Sometimes a half done project will sit neglected for a time. Maybe it was set aside because of time restrains, lack of yarn, those dreaded finishing touches, abandoned to work on something else, or I dropped it into the black hole that is my knitting bag.

I always have good intentions when stopping a project. I'll say something like "I just need to work on this gift for a birthday or Christmas. I'll pick this back up when I'm finished." Or maybe I'll think "I need more yarn for this and I'll get it the next time I'm in the craft store." More often than not the stopping is not intentional. I put a project down for a day which ends up turning into a week, a month, or even longer. But, no matter what the reason for setting something aside I always find it harder to start it back up again.

Just last Fall I finally admitted that I wasn't ever getting back to the huge yarn eating blanket that I ran out of yarn for over three years ago. I decided that since it hadn't see the light of day since before I was married it was time that I look at it again. Time to admit that I would never be getting the yarn to finish it. Time to take out the stitches and let the yarn have a new life. There is more than one way to end a project. This is why I shouldn't let a project sit abandoned for this long.

A few months ago I was working on a new scarf. It was a Brioche pattern that also used increases and decreases to make an intricate design. I've just started to learn Brioche (see my post on Brioche Knitting to find out how that process went). So, the the project was a little slow getting started. I had to watch and re-watch some videos to remember this technique again. I felt like I had to relearn Brioche before I even got started on the more advanced pattern. But, finally I was getting it. I had the pattern memorized and everything was working out nicely. I had gotten into my groove and it was coming along smoothly.

Well it was until I decided to put it in my knitting bag and take it with me somewhere. And that is where it sat. From that point on there always seemed to be one excuse or another as to why I wasn't pulling it back out of the bag. Excuses such as "I rearranged some furniture and haven't decided on my new knitting spot" or "I'll get back to it when I settle into my new position at work." And maybe for a time those were the real reasons. As the project sat in my bag day after day, there became more and more little reasons for me not to get back to it.

However, the largest reason was my lack of motivation. I didn't want to have to go through the process of starting it again. At this point I had left the project so long that I would have to relearn the stitch repeat. I would have to sit there and read the pattern for each row. This always makes each row take ten times longer or at least feel that way.



However, it had been more than a month since I touched the project. I decided that it was now or never. I needed to find some motivation to get started again. Now for some people this might not be the right game plan. But, for me I tend to be more motivated to finish one project when I have another that I want to work on.


I tend to try not to have more than one project going at a time. So, the excitement of getting a new project started will give me just enough push to finish the old project. And I'm glad that I it did. The project that I was dreading to pick up a second time turned into a lovely reversible scarf. I also proved to myself that I could do a more complicated Brioche pattern. If you are interested in making this scarf yourself you should check out this issue of Kitty®.


Anyone else have problems picking an abandoned project up again? If so what are some tricks you used to get started again? Leave your tips and tricks in the comments here or on my Facebook page Joywithyarn1.