Hover Craft

I've begun describing my growing pile of WIPs as hover craft, because frankly, they've hovered way too long in that twilight zone known as almost-but-not-quite-done.

Several were started in spring, but now Thanksgiving is just a few days away, winter and Christmas are right around the corner, and the end of the year is in sight. Just the prospect of this rapid march of events means I'm torn between the desire to cast on all the things, finish all the things, or tackle some combination of both.

One way or another, it's clearly time to come up with a plan.



Colsie Mitts
I kid you not, these supremely simple tone-on-tone mitts have been on the needles since March. Initially, I planned to do a three-stage gradient using two shades (lake and teal), but then I got distracted. First I added turquoise but the effect wasn't quite right, so I shifted to jade green. This worked a bit better, but in the end, I frogged the experiments and returned to my original plan. With both mitts now off the needles, I could have the ends woven and mitts seamed in one evening if I just buckled down, so that's my top priority.

Colsie Cowl

This project stalled while I indulged in a long bout of dithering. The original plan was to echo the colors and design in the mirror gradient mitts, but I found the subtle tone-on-tone look equally appealing, so I've been back and forth more times than I can count. Finally, I decided to stick with the original plan, and now with that decision in place, I can quit fussing about colors and get on with the knitting.

Kintra Cowl
I'd hoped to have this ready to share today, but time was not on my side. The last section is nearly finished, so I just need to work a few buttonholes, bind off, weave ends and attach some buttons. With luck and a little attention, it might be ready to wear along with my Kintra mitts on Thanksgiving Day. (My goddaughters, who are learning to knit, love it when I wear hand knits.)

Herlacyn Afghan
This blanket has been patiently waiting for time and attention. It's soooo close to completion, all it needs is a border, a few ends woven and a good blocking. Now, I just need to capture a block of time to finish the finishing, if you know what I mean.

Gradient Shawl-Wrap
Working this swatch helped me realize I need to move up one needle size and recalculate gauge before I cast on. The yarn is light, soft and warm, so the end result should be ideal as an extra layer when deep winter arrives. That means I'm eager to get this project underway, but am valiantly waiting until I knit another swatch and turn a few of the WIPs above into true FOs.

Yet Another Gradient Shawl-Wrap
In spring, I cast on and worked a few rows of this gradient shawl, but knitting time has been so scarce since, it's barely progressed past the skimpy start shown. For now it's on hold, while I focus on other things.

Christmas
In recent years, I've knit a ton of Christmas trees and holiday items, but this year may be a different story. I have something fun, fast and easy on the needles, but it's not a gift, so if it's finished in time for the holidays, great! If not, it just means I've gotten a head start on next year's holiday knitting, right? 

There may be a few more projects skulking around in the background, but for now, these hover craft projects are my top priorities. In a perfect world, all of them would either be finished, solidly underway or frogged before the end of the year, so I can start 2018 with a clean slate and fresh focus.

For now, anyway, that's my plan, but whether it works or not remains to be seen.

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