It was a pattern that I'd adapted myself from a couple of others, plus sort of made up as I went along. I'd already knitted a hat and some fingerless gloves so needed a matching scarf. The problem with it was the fact that there was a sort of lacy pattern running through it which meant it was a little too complicated to sit and do whilst watching TV, but was too simple to devote all your attention to.
In the end I just sucked it up and forced myself to finish it, once I got over the halfway mark it became much easier. The thing is as tall as I am and looks pretty impressive with its wavy pattern which I adapted from Island Waves a free pattern on Ravelry.
Since then I've been going on really well. But I think that's largely down to my choices of knitting patterns. I've moved away from knitting clothes and accessories and moved on to cuddly toys, which have featured rather a lot on this blog recently. It took me a while to get Father Christmas finished, but he's so cute that when I saw him coming together that it really motivated me to finish (and even though you still end up with a bunch of ends to weave in at the end, it's not nearly as frustrating as something like a stripey scarf where you need to make sure none of them show).
Those Roley Poley kids are great fun to work on because you can do them in a day if you're feeling particularly dedicated. As much as I like to knit hats, depending on the design, it can take a while to actually take shape, whereas the toys seem to come together more quickly.
Right now I do still have a couple of projects waiting to be finished. I've still not gotten around to sewing and stuffing my last two Roley Poleys and I'm slowly getting on with my Puss in Boots toy as well. So far, so good. I think the key is continuing to find things that interest me, rather than things which will just use up wool; that's why I'm holding off doing the Roley Poley parents, after doing seven little guys I couldn't really face doing something that was basically just a larger version of them.
After Puss in Boots I'm planning on doing a Humpty Dumpty person from one of Jean Greenhowe's pattern books and then one from her Clan MacScarecrow family. If I start talking about sewing something up later because I'm going to start knitting something more interesting, please nag me to get it finished.
Congrats of finishing the scarf. Father Christmas is very cute.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I'm really proud of Father Christmas, every time I go into our upstairs cupboard and see him standing there I feel a little bit sad that it's not December so I can't have him out downstairs yet.
Delete