I admit. I have a problem.

I do, and I need somebody to save me from myself.  It lurks in the back of my mind, always sneaking up on me at my weakest moments.  So, deep breath, here goes......I have too many works in progress, and I can't stop myself from starting new ones.  There.  I said it out loud.  Actually, I typed it, but it still counts.  I have excuses out the wazoo for why I don't want to quit my bad habit:  "I could make that pattern, it doesn't look hard."  "I can enter it in the county fair."  "Idle hands are the devil's playground."  "I may have a lot of knitting going at once, but that means I will finish a lot at once, too!"  "What if the world comes to an end and there are no more yarn stores, and it gets really cold? I will have a head start because I have lots of warm, hand knitted things that are close to being finished!"  Ummm, I plan to be raptured out if the world comes to an end, but it is still a good excuse.  Here is how bad it is (and these are only the ones I am willing to share!)

The blue wool sweater is sitting in the time out zone in the craft room.  It is knit top down, all in one piece, which is my favorite style to knit.  Before I started, I read a couple of reviews of the pattern which said the sleeves were too tight, so add ten stitches under the arm in the body.  Now I have everything done except the sleeves.  I am halfway down the first sleeve, and it is hugemongo and needs to be ripped back because an elephant could walk through it.  I'm mad at it.   If I got busy, I could probably finish it by winter.  (That's what I said last summer, too.)

Then we come to the lavender silk summer sweater.  I got this yarn from a couple of people who were destashing on Ravelry.  The yarn is super soft, drapey and gorgeous.  The pattern is a sleeveless cowl neck sweater, perfect for summer.  And I have my fun alpaca polymer clay stitch markers from Yarn Demon Designs on each side - they make me smile every time I come to one of them.   It is a bottom up pattern, and now that I have divided the front from the back for the sleeves, I am having to knit and purl back and forth instead of knitting in the round.  Purl.  harumfff.  I hate to purl.  So I try and make myself do a few rows a day.  I really want to wear this by the end of summer.  It doesn't look like much in the picture, but trust me, it will be beautiful!

Then, I am ashamed to admit, but I actually had to search for this one.  That is really sad, because it is probably the most time consuming thing I have ever made.  It is an Elizabeth Zimmermann Adult Surpise Jacket.  It is suppose to be a knit-a-long with the FIX group on Ravelry.  Many have already finished theirs.  All of the yarn for it, well over 1000 yards, was handspun by me.  It is all garter stitch, so no purling.  Piece of cake - I can knit at lightning speed.  I planned to finish it to hang in my booth when I go to fiber shows.  I have one coming up in a month.  Don't think I will get done.  When I decided to post this on the blog, I couldn't find the project bag this sweater was stored in.  Well, after all, I did gut and clean up the wool room about a month ago, so I had "put it up" where I could find it again.  No excuses on this one.  I suppose I just lost interest.

But this:

is calling my name.  Begging to be played with.  The color...oh so rich purple!  And it is alpaca.  And I have had the pattern picked out for over two months.  And it is top down and knitted in one piece. And I am sure I could finish it by winter.  And it is too hot to play outside. 

Sooooo......maybe if I just swatch it:

And, isn't the world supposed to end in December?  I might need it!

~Lori