How Many Works in Progress...

07-23-10_1050.jpg
Originally uploaded by magscrafts

...is too many? This question came up the other day in the forums on Ravelry, and so I answered just about yarn related WIPs. Even those I had like 9 things in progress. The original poster seemed upset because she had 2, and could not bring herself to start another.

With knitting, and really with nearly any type of project, you end up with different things that you can work on in different limited settings.

I am working on a seamless sweater for my plus sized self, so that large piece of knitting will not be leaving my house, thank you very much.

For knitting on the go, I have the cute little cotton shortie socks shown in the photo. I also have a pair of wool socks in progress, but I can only work on them in air conditioned areas. The cotton socks are perfect for knitting in parked cars while waiting for my kid at school.

Some projects, like lace for example, require focus that I cannot muster sitting in my "office" here at Panera.

Similar issues cause multiple projects in other crafty genres: the huge duvet cover for my niece is not quite a take along item, like a small piece of hand embroidery would be.

So my answer to how many is too many? I guess the sky is the limit!

When Reality Gives Expectations a Kick in the Butt

Green Dragonfly
Originally uploaded by magscrafts

This morning as I was driving, a giant dragonfly hovered over my windshield. In that moment, the dragonfly came to embody an idea I was having for a blog post about dreamy expectations, and how often reality comes to whack them down. In popular culture, we see many images of light, flittering dragonflies that are cute, and we hold onto that image. Then what more closely resembles a turd with wings runs into your windshield at 60 miles an hour and you are sucked back to reality.

This happens many times in day to day life. Many times when planning outings with my family, I envision this ideal family who all happily get along and enjoy the excursion. Then before we leave our home parking lot, the kids are arguing in the back seat, the heat index goes over 100 degrees and traffic is already plotting to hinder our path.

In business, sometimes we come up with a product or plan that we thing will really take off, ignoring the reality that these things often take a ton of work.

In crafting, we come up with a design, find the perfect materials, figure out our plan of action, then nothing goes as smoothly as we think, and the item we make is not quite the beauty we envisioned.

Since it is difficult for me to manage reality, I have come to the conclusion I need to manage my own expectations. This idea came to me while I was picking tiny balls of chewing gum out of entire load of wet laundry. It is not realistic of me to expect a 20 year old guy to be either thoughtful to his mother or focused on emptying his pockets, and it is not fair of me to have those expectations, and holding on to them will only lead to disappointment.

Multitasking Means Minitasking

Today starts months of spending large chunks of time driving son #2 to football camps, summer band, workouts, and other things I don't want to think about at the moment. That got me thinking, that if I am going to get stuff done, I need to get to some serious multitasking. The problem with that is that my available time for the foreseeable future will come in small bits. No more will I have the luxury of a whole day ahead of me, thinking "Hmmm what do I want to do now."

So, I already started my "minitasking" - as I type this, I am syncing my ipod for in-van entertainment, gathering crafty items to work on while I have the inevitable wait for the kid to come out to the car, and blog hopping to do my Entrecard drops. (the photo above also shows I need to dust my keyboard very soon as well!) But I have to leave the house again to pick him up in less than an hour, so I have to choose wisely, and be ready to abandon tasks after a short time, whether I finish or not. I have to remember I can come back to them later.I also have this whole box of finished items that need to get decent photographs taken and to be listed online in one of my stores. It is feeling overwhelming right now, but I think if I just tell myself I will go take photos until my card is full or my battery dies, then edit photos and upload to photobucket as time permits, I will be able to get through them all. Then I can convince myself to list X items a day online and I should get through the backlog in no time!

In the true spirit of minitasking, I am going to start knitting on a pair of shortie socks this afternoon while I wait outside of summer band.

New Sea Glass Pendants on eBay!

Finally, some new sea glass pendants from Narragansett Sea Glass! Affordable, genuine sea glass jewelry handmade with sterling silver.

Matching earrings are also available. Start your Christmas shopping early with these affordable gems or just treat yourself to something special!

Click here to see more!

Another Giveaway To Mention

Hi all! Just letting you know that I'm giving away a pair of earrings on my other blog.

Come on over and leave a comment to be entered!

Giveaway Winner

I posted on my other blog that I had a winner in my jewelry giveaway, but forgot to come back here and update!

The winner was Beth from The Stories of A to Z and she chose to have me make a pendant for her from a piece of pale aqua sea glass that I found on Scarborough Beach a few weeks ago. Here is a "work in progress" photo as well as the finished piece:

A Jewelry Giveaway!

I am celebrating my 100th post on my other blog, Scarborough Seashells and to celebrate I am giving one lucky reader a piece of jewelry made by me!

You can win a pair of bezel set earrings or a pendant made with your choice of sea glass, pottery shard or seashell. OR I'll custom make something if you have a special piece of your own you'd like me to use.

For more details and to enter the giveaway, click here!