Knit faster....!!!

I never quite got the right-brained/left-brained thing -- particularly as it pertains to knitting. There's as much logic, math and structure to a design or pattern as there is creativity in colour, design placement and artistic techniques. What I do get is that the speed at which my brain is working -- both left and right -- is definitely quicker than my hands' ability to carry out the knitting involved!

There are no lack of projects I would like to see finished this summer, and I'm finding it very difficult not to let my mind wander as I'm forming the stitches on my current project. My mind is wandering into dangerous territory -- all the delightful projects that would result from a combination of yarns in my stash and patterns I've seen knit (or available) on Ravelry.  It's all I can do to maintain my focus on what's my needles, and stave off a full-blown case of start-itis!

So here's my plan.... (and positioned for easy access right beside my chair): finish two sweaters, two scarves/shawls, and be ready for a new shawl pattern on August 11.

If I can accomplish that, then I'll work on another sweater simultaneously, and maybe branch out to finish two additional scarves...  There's no doubt that I'm anything but a monogamous knitter!

Now, back to the needles...

The finishing has started....

Sounds cryptic, right? Well, not if you'd seen the number of WIPs on my knitting needles (WIPs, for the uninitiated, mean "works in progress", and at the risk of sounding like a Dean Martin song, I had a few!).

This weekend, three were graduated from WIP status to FO (finished objects -- in case you were thinking something else!).

Solstice Yarns (Etsy) had two complementary skeins of Osiris and Changeling (silk, and silk/mohair) in a colourway called "Wild Irish Seas". Those skeins were transformed into Boo Knits' "Be With You" (and yes, it was released on May 4th -- for those with a quirky sense of humour!)... and this is the pre-blocking result (post-blocking pics to follow):

I had some leftovers of Dye For Yarn's Tussah Silk (Etsy) in "Freezing Mountain Air" from an earlier project ("Wintersweet" -- another Boo Knits project), and combined with another knitter's leftovers, those were transformed into another Boo Knits beaded shawl/scarf entitled "Fragile Heart"...   (I'll replace this photo with more of a "glamour shot" in a few days).

I just added another one instead of replacing it! This one shows the beaded picot bind-off!

And because I needed some plain knitting to offset the lace, I used up some Knit Picks leftovers from my friend Susan's stash, and knit this little person sweater...

So, that's three down..... and you really don't want to know how many more remain. But I have taken an honest look at those that are awaiting my attention and have relegated two of them to the "frogging" pile (translation: rip-it, rip-it). My goal is for every two items finished, I have "permission" to cast-on/start something new. That should mean the end game is a zero sum!!