Finishing Workshop: Getting Motivated

I think the hardest thing about tackling your unfinished projects is just getting motivated to do them. There’s a reason you didn’t finish them in the first place, and it can be hard to get excited about them again when you’ve spent a lot of time away from them.

That’s why I like to start with the easy projects that aren’t going to take a lot of time, because then you can build a little momentum for finishing and have a nice new stack of things to wear, use and gift, which should help motivate you to work on other projects as well.

Some simple deal-making with yourself can help, too. Tell yourself you’re not going to start a new project until you’ve finished x number of projects from your pile. The x will depend on how many unfinished things you have and how much work they need, but I’d say at least two or three. This is a way of bribing yourself, particularly if there’s a project you’re itching to start. Making yourself wait until you get those other projects finished likely will help you to get them done that much faster.

If you need to make a public commitment to finishing, please do so here. I’d love to hear how many projects you’re committing to finishing and any status updates you have.

As for me, I’ve ripped out one project I knew I was never going to finish, and that dress I was talking about yesterday is drying out after blocking on my dining room table. Day six and this month has already been a success!

If you have any tips for getting motivated to finish projects, I’d love to hear them. Goodness knows we all need help from time to time!

Next Pattern:

The felted slipper craze that began last year doesn’t seem like it’s fading away. The Sailor Slippers, often striped knit and felted slippers made with super bulky yarn, because the project of the moment late last year (check out more knit slipper options in this post all about sailor slippers) and they’re still consistently popular with knitters.

Which makes sense because they are fun and fast to knit, and seeing them go from this giant thing to something that actually fits a foot feels a little magical.

I have always loved felting (in fact my first book was about felting knitting) and it’s always fun for me to see people rediscover this technique.

If you’ve knit enough plain slippers to fit all the feet you know, maybe it’s time to stitch up some tabi style slippers instead.

Maymade Knits has designed these cute tabi ballerina slippers, made with bulky yarn and felted. They’re worked flat at first and then in rounds, and are available in 10 EU sizes (the Internet tells me add 31 to your American shoe size to get your EU size). The designer says the slippers are meant to have a close fit and you should choose a size a little smaller than your foot for the ideal fit.

The pattern includes a video tutorial along with the written pattern.

You can grab this pattern on Ravelry. The same designer has her own version of the striped felted slipper as well, called Sarah’s Striped Slippers. These are worked in super bulky yarn and have a contrasting foot and a striped body. These are knit flat and seamed and there are 7 size options available. Check that pattern out here if you’re looking for a more traditional slipper shape. They also look roomier so you can wear them with socks if you like.

[Photo: Maymade Knits]

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