Defeating your UFOs

We all have this one project. It’s a scarf or a cowl or mittens that you started, full of enthusiasm, only to find it’s just No Fun. Maybe you learned you don't love cables. Or baby blankets. Or socks. Or miles of garter stitch. 

If you want to finish the project because it’s a gift, or a promise, or you’re a tenacious person, here are a few ideas for powering through to the sweet, sweet cast off. 

Just One Row: That’s it. Every day. Commit to knitting one row a day. Chances are you’ll end up knitting more than that once you pick your work up, but you have our permission to stop after one row. This is also a good way to read “War and Peace,” if that’s another goal of yours.

Spoonful of Sugar: Work on your Tedious Project while you do something else you like - listen to your favorite podcast, or put on your favorite show, or make a cup of your favorite tea. Tie the thing you’re avoiding to something you like to do. (Hint; this works for tasks besides knitting.)

Misery Loves Company: Invite a friend to meet up for some knitting. Only rule? You both have to bring projects you don’t want to work on. 

Desert Island Knitting: Put it in your bag if you take a trip or if you know you'll be spending time in a waiting room that day. If it’s knit or nothing, you’ll probably knit. 

Outsource It: Confession time. I once cast on a striped garter stitch rug in two colors of doubled dishcloth cotton on size 13 needles. It was supposed to be a throw rug, and by the time I was halfway through, I realized it was going to be a slog. So in a Tom-Sawyer-paints-the-fence move, I taught my partner how to knit and he finished the rug as his first project. Maybe you have a knitting buddy who will slap some thumbs on mittens while you Kitchener a stack of unfinished sock toes for them. After all, what are friends for?

Tell us, what's taking up mental space in your knitting bag these days? What would you love to finish?

*Picture from The Gift from the Lonely Doll - famous for making a very long scarf for Mr. Bear