Crow's Rule Of Projects

Day 294: The success of any venture necessitates a little self-analysis in order to form a game plan. Recognizing your weaknesses is crucial, to wit, I have a short attention span. I get bored with projects quickly. Having recognized this failing when I was still in my early 20s, I formulated a "rule of projects," and by sticking to it religiously (whether I want to or not), anything I start gets finished eventually. What's Crow's Rule of Projects? It's simple: I can't have more than one craft of any type going at once. If I want to weave something different, the project currently on the loom has to be completed before I can start a new weaving, or I have to finish knitting the Perpetual Afghan before I can start a hat or pair of socks. Sometimes I need a little extra push, like finding a yarn I particularly want to use for a garment or having a brainstorm with respect to something I'd like to give as a gift. That's motivation to finish up the current work. I should also mention that it's okay to have more than one project going, but only one piece of knitting on the needles, one doily on the crochet hook, one quilt in the hoop at any one time. In fact, it's preferable because it keeps me from getting burned out.

These are a few of my current boredom-beaters. The silver Gotland wool arrived on Wednesday and I've already spun about two ounces out of twenty-four. I re-warped the loom yesterday to make a couple of knitting worsted bags (quick work), and then there's the ongoing quilt and a kumihimo braid. With each of these, I set minimum goals per sitting, i.e., I will spin three tufts of wool each time I work at the wheel, stitch one rectangle and two squares whenever I quilt. I generally exceed the minimums, but there are times when I move from loom to spinning wheel immediately after the requisite throws in the pattern have been made. Some things can be dropped in mid-work; kumihimo is easy to lay down, so I haven't established a minimum for braiding. It's "filler" for when I need a break between long-term crafts. Crow's Rule of Projects works!