WAYWO: The Seven-Per-Cent Solution

I have a confession. When I am about 93 percent done with a given project, I have the urge to just put the damned thing down and start something else.

I mean, really, what’s left? The design and planning are long finished; the execution is near complete; the next project is begging to be started. There’s nothing left but monkey-work. Finicky monkey-work, I grant you, but nothing challenging or inspiring or particularly educational. Besides, I can always finish that last little bit later, right?

So tonight I’m looking for your seven-per-cent solutions: How do you make that final push? How do you keep yourself from having UnFinished Objects (U.F.O.’s) all over the house? Whether it’s a quilt or organizing a room or spring cleaning, how do you get it done?

***

Think good thoughts tonight for emeraldmaiden as she finishes her cross-country journey. Em, I hope that your trip was scenic, safe and state trooper-less. Welcome home!

***

Calling all seamstresses! If you’re looking to start a sewing project and want to do some good, consider becoming part of Sew Much Comfort. From the site:

Serving Those Who Serve Us

Sew Much Comfort provides adaptive clothing free of charge to support the unique needs of our injured service members from all branches of the military and national guard.  The need for adaptive clothing continues to grow as American military members are injured serving their country.  Each week, many wounded military members arrive in the States from Germany for extensive medical treatment for bullet and shrapnel wounds, burns, head and limb injuries and amputations, while tens of thousands are still in the recovery process.  These medical conditions require large fixator, prosthetics and casts that are too bulky to fit under ordinary clothing or underwear.  Sew Much Comfort is the only organization providing adaptive clothing in large volumes to attempt to meet those special needs.

Mission Statement:
To provide custom-made adaptive clothing, free of charge, to our injured service members which aids in their recovery, provides a tangible reminder of our gratitude for their sacrifice and gives them an added measure of comfort and freedom as they recover from their injuries and return to everyday life.  Adaptive clothing accommodates their medical devices and situations, provides ease of use, increases personal independence and minimizes the visual impact of their medical condition.

There’s more information here. Check it out. Even if you don’t sew, you can still contribute fabric or items to be modified. This sounds like a great project.

What does WAYWO stand for? "What Are You Working On?"

WAYWO is a weekly series about crafts, arts and DIY. All are welcome to post in WAYWO, and anyone interested in guest hosting is invited to email emeraldmaiden at the address in her profile. WAYWO posts every Sunday at approximately 6:30 p.m. Eastern.

If you would like email notification when WAYWO is up, please join our WAYWO Yahoo! Group.

Thanks for visiting WAYWO!

So... What are you working on?

•  Hat-tip to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

  I have promised myself a re-read of the Sherlock Holmes stories... one of these days!

  by monkeybiz on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 03:36:43 PM PDT

  •  monkeybiz, do you know about em?

    when we might hear from her, etc ?  i missed waywo last week . . .

    by jlms qkw on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 07:21:03 PM PDT

    •  Hi, jlms!

      I'm hanging out in San Antonio at my brother's house. We were planning to leave tomorrow, but it looks like a windy, gusty day ahead, so we're not leaving til Tuesday. That's okay; we want to see their mustang give birth to her foal. She's weeks overdue, and looks very heavy and tired.

      We plan to be in Delaware by the end of the week.

      It isn't easy being green.

      by emeraldmaiden on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 08:13:13 PM PDT

      •  hooray! em found ME!

        safe driving, and best wishes for the new mommy and baby.  i know how she feels.  son was 11 freakin' days overdue!  my ob returned from her extra-long holiday weekend to find me STILL pregnant (day 10 overdue) and freaked!  

        by jlms qkw on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 09:17:27 PM PDT

  •  oh, a real answer for you too, mb

    i heard a gal talk - she decided she wasn't really a quilter.  she was a piecer and applique'er.  so she started sending her finished tops out for professional machine quilting.  problem solved.  

    by jlms qkw on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 09:18:33 PM PDT

•  I haven't found a UFO cure

  I think some are still hanging around from the 60s-LOL.  Its sort of why I quit sewing-I found the parts I enjoyed were selecting the fabric and the pattern.  Of couse that gets one to way less than 97% complete.

  by barbwires on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 03:41:25 PM PDT

  •  They just sit there, accusingly... n/t

    by monkeybiz on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 03:52:16 PM PDT

    •  One sewer I know

      set up a small bookcase in her bedroom, and stocked it with fabric, so she could see her favorite pieces  when she woke up in the morning.

      Which leads me to believe that sometimes what appeals to us is the artistry of the raw materials, rather than what we can make out of them. And there's nothing wrong with art for art's sake. ;)

      by Zoskie on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 04:21:18 PM PDT

      •  I couldn't agree more

        I haven't touched my sewing machine in ages. I did make a point of setting it up (in a corner of my laundry room, where I pass it several times a day.) Not to mention, I collect treadle sewing machines and at least four of them are on display throughout my home - all work very well and I used to use them. But my fabric is all packed up in bins. Many of the fabrics I've bought with no purpose in mind.. just because I love them (I adore 1930s repro prints and have always resisted cutting into them!) But anyway, just this past week I was thinking of a way to bring them out and make them part of my decor without being sewn so that I can admire them.. and maybe get the inspiration to sew again.

        I find this with yarn and fiber as well. I'm more of a knitter and spinner than sewer the past few years.. and I long for a yarn storage system/area of shelves with glass doors that I can see through to admire all my precious wools.

        by mytribe on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 05:28:09 PM PDT

        •  Yep

          I see stacks of wool in the hooking books -- neatly folded and wonderfully arranged in an old Hoosier cabinet, and I feel faint with envy. My dear wools are all in boxes!

          I really would like to learn how to spin. One day...

          by monkeybiz on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 05:32:28 PM PDT

        •  Yep

          I'm also seduced by the "hand" of high quality fibers. Not only the appearance but the varied textures of silk, fine wool, mohair,alpaca...

          by barbwires on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 06:11:48 PM PDT

        •  I do like going in to fabric, bead

          and yarn stores and "fondling" them.

          One bead store the owner would put on the coffee, I would sit there and just kind run my hands in her bowl of beads. It worked out well, because when I was there, "fondling" her beads, it seemed like that was her higher grossing days. When it was slow, she would call me to come have coffee with her at the store.

          by rowanleigh on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 06:32:08 PM PDT

•  Hard deadlines are the only ways that I can get

  things finished. Right now I am procrastinating. I should be finishing a powerpoint on the Bronze Age in Europe.

  by blue jersey mom on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 03:41:41 PM PDT

  •  Me too,

    I am doing 10 projects at one time so I need a deadline to get one finished.  I seem to be getting worse too.  Right now I use the "I am working too many hours excuse" but I really could sit and get it done.  Do you think Daily Kos has anything to do with procrastination?  :+)

    by tobendaro on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 03:47:16 PM PDT

  •  Crack that whip, BJM

    You know it will get even worse when gardening season is here, right?

    by monkeybiz on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 03:52:48 PM PDT

    •  Yes, much worse. Then I want

      to spend the whole weekend outside, rather than preparing for class. I have a 4-inch stack of paperwork on my desk waiting for me tomorrow morning as well--yuck!

      by blue jersey mom on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 03:58:27 PM PDT

•  Seven Percent...

  was a Nicholas Meyer title, but you sure have put your finger on it.

  It's like cooking, by the time I'm finished I'm not hungry anymore.

  by ek hornbeck on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 03:43:03 PM PDT

  •  So true

    I made butterscotch-toffee-oatmeal cookies the other day and didn't eat any when they came out of the oven.

    by monkeybiz on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 03:51:12 PM PDT

  •  P.S. Brain fart

    Yes, I knew it wasn't original to Conan Doyle, but I just ran across my two-volume Holmes stories and had it on the brain.

    Did you see operculum's great line? "I am not too old to learn something new but apparently I am too old to remember it correctly."

    by monkeybiz on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 06:08:32 PM PDT

  •  cooking is my

    main creative outlet, and I love to eat and cook. But of course, my thought is that the best meal/bakery good is the one someone else makes. and of course, someone else does the dishes too.

    by rowanleigh on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 06:34:37 PM PDT

•  Don't Look At Me

  My motto is

  Anything worth doing is worth doing half-assed.

  by JG in MD on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 03:43:56 PM PDT

  •  I wish I could go that route

    but I hate the wasted time of having to do something again!

    by monkeybiz on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 03:53:34 PM PDT

  •  my motto

    good enough is good enough 98% of the time. The other two percent of the time well, that's what money is for, to pay to get perfect.

    by rowanleigh on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 06:36:11 PM PDT

•  haha

  When I am that close to done, I do the opposite!  I lay down everything else and just drive to get it the heck off my plate!  So I'm the opposite of you!

  Recently subjected to the finish-or-else treatment: a felted bag from a new book called 'Kitty Knits'.

  

  It has dowels in the top edge facings so it doesn't turn into a drooping saddlebag like a lot of felted stuff.

  by fotyc on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 03:47:04 PM PDT

  •  Oh, I like it!

    Details about this project, please!

    by monkeybiz on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 03:51:52 PM PDT

    •  the book

      is called "Kitty Knits", it just came out this spring and on Thursday we did an author interview on our blog http://www.mamaliz.org/...

      The bag is mostly made of Plymouth Galway held double - the grey is some handspun I didn't know what to do with.  I wanted a grey cat.  It didn't felt as nicely as the Galway but it looks like a grey cat so I'm happy.

      by fotyc on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 04:47:25 PM PDT

      •  Just bought a copy the other day --

        it looks very nice.

        The bag looks great!

        by mayim on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 06:30:30 PM PDT

  •  That's adorable!

    How funny - I belong to the yahoo knitlist, and just finished reading a posting by the Kitty Knits author about being on a "blog tour." Your purse is there, at the bottom of the page.
    kitty knits blog tour

    by el dorado gal on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 04:48:01 PM PDT

    •  seeing your post

      ... I guess it's REALLY your purse I saw, huh? LOL

      by el dorado gal on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 04:48:44 PM PDT

  •  very pretty

    by rowanleigh on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 06:36:58 PM PDT

•  I'll be in and out of comments

  as the house is a zoo and DH keeps giving me the evil eye because he wants to visit his site...

  by monkeybiz on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 03:54:26 PM PDT

•  Most of my students are done

  making their electric guitars, and I'm working on building new versions of two of my instruments, the electric saron (essentially an electric xylophone) and the mechanical monk (sounds like alien spaceships crossed with Tibetan monks chanting.
  

  my students

  by ubertar on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 04:05:36 PM PDT

  •  What nice work!

    Both by you and your students!

    by monkeybiz on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 04:16:08 PM PDT

    •  thanks! n/t

      by ubertar on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 04:17:56 PM PDT

  •  oh she tickles tigger's tummy!

    what a great project!  

    by jlms qkw on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 04:26:36 PM PDT

•  The opposite for me

  I get to the end of a project - weaving in loose ends on a knitting projects, washing and blocking it, and outlining, washing and blocking cross-stitch - I hate those jobs so I plod along to get them done and out of the way, muttering to myself the whole time.  Then after I'm done, I love the finished project.

  by myrealname on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 04:06:40 PM PDT

  •  My downfall with rugs

    is sewing a sleeve to the back so I can hang them up. Blah, sleeves... Then I find a bare wall or decide to give them away, and there I am, cursing myself for not having done the sleeve earlier.

    by monkeybiz on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 04:24:15 PM PDT

•  I'm working on

  cleaning my house for a party next Saturday. This should give an indication of how bad a procrastinator I am, that I have to start cleaning a whole week in advance.

  by pattyp on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 04:16:09 PM PDT

  •  OMG, I'd call it a sign of preparedness

    Good for you! Do you have a master plan, or is it clean-as-you-go?

    After many years, I've finally figured out that cleaning a room clockwise is what works best for me. (I found that tip on a site for ADHD kids.) That way, I HAVE to get one thing done before I can start on the next section.

    by monkeybiz on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 04:19:58 PM PDT

•  Oh

  I'm supposed to STOP having unfinished projects around? Who knew?

  I suppose the best way is to have an absolute deadline for finishing, like a gift for a special occasion or something like that. Otherwise, I do find that sometimes I get the urge to clean up all those unfinished projects, and will wipe them all out in a couple of days of frenzy.

  by Zoskie on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 04:18:04 PM PDT

  •  Bottle that urge and send me some n/t

    by monkeybiz on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 04:20:35 PM PDT

    •  But then

      how will I get my unfinished projects done? There's only so much urge to go around, you know!

      by Zoskie on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 04:22:34 PM PDT

•  i am terrible with UFO's.

  right now i am working in my creative area.  my husband unhelpfully dumps everything into the entrance when he doesn't know where else to put it away.  today i cleared footpaths to the two main areas.  we are getting a dumpster tomorrow.  

  i haven't turned on my sewing machine since before we left for oz, so in over 3 months.  :-(  

  one of my ufo's is a Dear Jane quilt (mine is in batiks).  on this list, i learned about Flylady.  This means i get to do something i love to do for at least 15 min  a day (apparently, when we are NOT remodeling our kitchen).  

  a gal from dear jane started this yahoo group:  Work in Progress Producers to help herself and others finish things.  

  by jlms qkw on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 04:40:07 PM PDT

  •  My DH snickered when he read "Dumpster"

    He's awful about cleaning up after himself. When I get really frustrated with the shedding, I throw it into a box.

    "Where's my...," he says.

    "Must be in your s*** box, honey. Have you looked there?"

    Love that quilt! Stunning!

    And what a good idea to have an online encouragement group.

    Hope that your kitchen remodel is going smoothly, though it must be a mess.

    by monkeybiz on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 05:21:09 PM PDT

    •  oh the trash piled about this house!

      dead cinder and brick in one corner of garage.  dead cabinets on back patio.  dead something in one side yard.  

      we selected paint yesterday.  came home and painted.  decided we hated two of the three colors.  i returned to paint place ALONE and selected a superior color, and we are using the one color we liked for the trim now.  we are making steady progress!  i am hosting easter dinner!  

      by jlms qkw on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 05:25:55 PM PDT

      •  Go, go, go!

        Isn't that a pain to hate the paint? I've always maintained that home improvement stores should sell baby food-sized jars of paint so that you don't have to lug gallons around when you decide that you hate a color.

        Trash is so frustrating -- I empathize with that one. I was so grateful when DH got a sticker for the local dump! We really have cut back on our trash production, but when we were rehabbing the house, the construction debris was immense.

        Good luck!

        by monkeybiz on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 05:30:21 PM PDT

        •  the good news:

          son likes the light blue and wants it in his room.  it was a bit too dark and not turquoise-ish enough for us.  we totally eliminated the sandstone orangey color.  we are scarred now.  

          i wanted yellow on the ceiling beams - to looks like rays of sun.  the old kitchen was quite dark.  so we having a new gallon of the yellow in the proper finish semi gloss, for trim.  

          by jlms qkw on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 05:42:33 PM PDT

      •  trash everywhere

        here where I sit in the office (or rather, the husband's "room",) there are no less than three computer towers needing new hard drives or something. At least 5 keyboards with a few mice on top. Bleh. I keep threatening him to fix or get rid of. But then he points to my fabric and yarn stash and makes me feel guilty. My stuff is neatly stored however according to media (fabric vs yarn/fiber) tucked neatly into rubbermaid bins and clearly marked.

        My sun room, obviously not being used this time of year, is a mess with boxes of outgrown toys that need to go to the salvation army, a few pieces of antique furniture the husband has been "meaning to" strip and refinish.. bleh.. the room is huge, but at this point you can barely walk through it.

        by mytribe on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 05:35:16 PM PDT

        •  One of these days

          we're going to have to have a WAYWO purge challenge. I'm cleaning out my attic right now and have a bag for the thrift shop, a bag for the consignment shop and a bag of fabric for bailing (a local thrift collects clothing in really bad shape and sends it on in large bales for pulping).

          I know the unfinished projects trap all too well. DH has a slightly different version -- he collects and discards hobbies.  I end up packing his gear after his interest has waned. He is talking about getting out the brewing equipment, though!

          by monkeybiz on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 05:52:12 PM PDT

•  Hello all

  First, a word of thanks. Several weeks ago I stopped in here and asked if anyone had any tips or suggestions for learning to knit. I had figured out how to cast on, but from there I was completely flummoxed.

  Well, I figured it out with your help, and today I finished the blanket I was working on for a friend's birthday. His birthday is a week from today and it has to be mailed, so I was working on a deadline!

  Making the blanket for my friend has turned out to be one of the best things I've ever done. I learned how to knit and to crochet (to put the pieces together), I set my mind to completing a project on a certain timeline, and I finished on schedule. It's not the best blanket in the world, but it was built with a healthy dose of love, so I suppose that's what matters.

  So monkeybiz, I suppose that's my advice to you: stick to projects that are a labor of love. You'll be motivated to get them done, and they'll pay great dividends when you do get them done.

  by PerfectStormer on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 04:49:36 PM PDT

  •  hooray for you!

    ;-)  what's next?

    by jlms qkw on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 05:15:17 PM PDT

  •  That's great!

    I hope you took pictures along the way. Isn't it wonderful to create something beautiful out of raw materials?

    by monkeybiz on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 05:16:32 PM PDT

  •  congrats!!!!

    now go join ravelry.com and be inspired to keep going!

    by mytribe on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 05:36:18 PM PDT

  •  Wonderful!

    Good for you!

    I spent the afternoon with a friend, helping her get the stuff to finish an afghan that her mother (who died a year ago) started. my friend has never really done anything like this, and I pretty much knit instead of crochet, so it was the almost blind (at least I know a bot about yarn........) leading the blind.

    But the women at the LYS were wonderful - emeraldmaiden, when you get to DE, Stitches with Style is great!

    by mayim on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 05:41:12 PM PDT

    •  She's going to have to visit

      Oh Susanna in Lancaster. That place is evidently packed to the gills with great yarn!

      by monkeybiz on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 05:54:18 PM PDT

      •  I'm spoiled.....

        There are at least a dozen yarn shops within a 45 minute drive from me.....and almost twice that if one goes up to an hour......yup, spoiled....

        And the fabric/quilt shops -- same thing. One of many reasons I'm reluctant to leave this area.

        I really need to go on a yarn buying diet and work on finishing what I've started. The UFO pile is scary!

        by mayim on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 06:26:05 PM PDT

•  I'm finishing my MA

  Cultural Anthropology and Social Transformation

  definitely feeling that final 7% you speak of

  ...

  between a desire for perfectionism and the inevitability of incompleteness I oscillate from exultation to dispair as I find myself driven to distraction in search of a satisfaction which is elusive if not ephemeral

  in all likelihood there is no one answer to the 7% push (unless maybe it's 42), but rather many and situationally variable ones

  for I as of now structure and management of time, & community practice and involvement are my attempts to salvage a whiling and frittering away of days, weeks, months and years    

  by grollen on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 05:43:27 PM PDT

•  what I've done this week

  well.. I finally figured out how not to have to choose between a good book and my knitting basket .. Audio books!
  Wow have I been speed knitting this way!

  Anyway.. I finished these up this past week while listening to the first half of The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield..

  

  

  I loooove them. In fact I'm wearing them right now!

  by mytribe on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 05:46:45 PM PDT

  •  Ooooh, pretty!

    And they look cozy, too. How long did they take you?

    Don't neglect archive.org and Librivox as sources of great, free audio material. We're listening to "The Wind in the Willows" on our car trips, and it's been great.

    by monkeybiz on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 05:57:33 PM PDT

    •  yes on librivox..

      I downloaded Pride and Prejudice this morning. But my husband also got me an audible.com membership for Valentines Day.. so I've been using that so far. However, I've used up my 2 credits for the month already!

      Hmm.. they took me about a week from start to finish. But this is a pretty simple pattern with only a two row repeat. Pretty mindless knitting with such an easy repeat

      by mytribe on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 06:07:05 PM PDT

  •  those are so beautiful!

    by rowanleigh on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 06:40:27 PM PDT

    •  thank you!

      *

      by mytribe on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 06:45:16 PM PDT

  •  they look fabulous!

    pink and fuschia!  and you're wearing them, hooray for you!  how about a pic of them on you?  

    by jlms qkw on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 09:35:21 PM PDT

•  hi, it feels like my life is all one

  UFO. but that's what I pay good money to a therapist for, not so much so she can help me get to the UFO life I am having, but more so though other people don't have to listen to me bitch about my UFO life.

  One of the first things I did on the crafty UFOs was to let most of the ones that had been sitting around go. A life coach at a workshop said during her talk that UFOs of any variety need to be evaluated and if we aren't truly committed to finishing them we should consider throwing those UFOs out, or give them away or if they are a goal, drop them from the list. Her reasoning went something along the lines that they were energy drains that were sapping our creative life force. Yeah, sue me I am a rationalist new age person. And she mentioned that she didn't mean the absolute essentials in life that keep us out of jail(like paying taxes), she meant the things like caulking the bathtub, or finishing the Mirabella Wedding dress bride cross stitch that was being worked on since 1988.  So, I did that one day last year, I got out all my half finished projects, asked if I loved working on it, and if I loved the process, and if I was committed to finishing the project. If I wasn't, I put it in a donation box. I realized that I hated cross stitch, everything from the easy Lizzie Kate snippets, to the complicated Mirabella and Terese Wentzler. all of those went in the donation box. Plus, all my fabric that I had, but not the sewing machine, because I lost the sewing machine in the divorce, and for three years after, kept saying I was getting a new machine, but never did.  I also realized that I was never a big scrapbook person, and that project box went to a friend.

  I did feel freer, and surprisingly not like a complete loser for not having self-discipline to finish what I started. I found creative outlets for my crafty hobby-loomknitting and beading. Once the scrapbook/cross stitch/sewing monkeys were off my back, I found myself starting, and finishing my loomknitting and beading projects. I also made a deal with myself that I would not be a stash hoarder, that I would select projects that match my skills, and buy what I need for the selected project I also made a promise to myself that only two craft projects would be going at a time, and no new ones started until I finished the ones I started. For me, the reason UFOs happened was because the projects I picked were above my skill and patience level. I confess I have an ADHDish personality, so complicated cross stitch that takes months to see what those xs' are going to be are not for me. I also would get frustrated because of the advanced projects I picked, making me put away my UFOs and feeling angry and frustrated with myself for not finishing them. Now that I have set some ground rules for my crafting projects, I feel much more content, and actually the "rules" free up my creativity even more than not having rules. The other thing that I find with my rules of finishing projects before I start another one, or two, is the absolute satisfaction I feel when I look at my FOs. I find my self confidence and self-esteem go through the roof when I complete what I started.

  Okay, I went to a knitting circle in my hometown(hate it here btw) and one of the women had a small about three inch high stuffed monkey with seed beads sewn all over the body. She also had beautiful sterling silver charm bracelet with the most beautiful lampwork beads on it. I asked about the monkey, and she said that she got it at a knitting bus tour/weekend. The workshop leaders talked about UFOs being monkeys on their back, so each woman was given a little monkey with the appropriate number of beads(UFOs) the knitter had said she was "working on". The way it worked was that when the knitter finished her UFO, she cut off one bead from her monkey. She also would said the workshop leaders pictures of her finished object and the leaders would send her what they called a "troll bead" for her charm bracelet. I think that at next year's workshop the person with the most troll beads or with a clean monkey wins a prize or something. Anyway, I love having a tangible way to keep myself accountable, and again, it must be so satisfying to have cut the beads off the monkey.

  Well, quick news. I taught myself how to needleknit! Yes, armed with my mother's old bates steel needles, some bad Vanna White yarn, the "I taught myself knitting" and Youtube(I am not that technologically Amish) in the last four days I taught myself to needle knit. Now, the loom knitting I have done the last year really helped cement the concepts, and I still love my looms. I am also proud of myself because I am lefthanded, and had to teach myself how to knit the backwards.(No, the continental method was impossible for me to learn). I have made two dishcloths on the needles, One a coffee cup one, and one an apple one. I really like doing dishcloths! In any case, my ravelry id is rowanleigh.

  I think I am going to like needle knitting. i treated myself to some vegan "recycled not silk" yarn(cheaper than the recycled silk yarn and much more vibrant colors) and am not staring at it trying to see if I am brave enough to try a drop stitch scarf on my needles. Once I do a couple more dishcloths, and one dishcloth that works in yos, lace, etc. I think I will try the dpns. We will see.

  Okay, wow, long comment, sorry gang. I miss you all. The move home, and the job hunt and working towards working out my midlife crisis is taking a lot of energy. I am going to go read now the rest of your comments and ooo and ah over your pictures.

  by rowanleigh on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 06:29:16 PM PDT

•  Sorry I missed the party!

  Just got home from the airport; went to SF for a few days with DH, who had a conference up there.
  I hope to post news of my explorations and purchases (yes, there was yarn purchased!) on my  blog tomorrow, so take a look if you have time.

  by Marlyn on Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 11:44:52 PM PDT

•  in case any of you crafty people

  are still checking this diary - I, a non-crafty person, need the help of crafty people

  I'm doing the Hill Country Ride for AIDS at the end of April (so there is plenty of time) and we always decorate our helmets & maybe even our bikes. Last year, my decorations were so lame - I just stuck some Celtic-themed stickers on my helmet. Before that, I had always wrapped leis around my helmet & handle bars, because my fitness goal was to be able to do the Hawaii AIDS Ride. Well, that ride is no more & now my fitness goal is to be able to ride this cool tour of Ireland, where you ride around the whole coast of Ireland (all 1246 miles) in 10 days. Hence the Celtic stickers.

  So, while an Irish or Celtic theme would be neat, it is not necessary. I just need the help of people who are better at this than me. Thanks in advance.

  by anotherdemocrat on Mon Mar 03, 2008 at 08:36:24 AM PDT