Last week, I asked for your thoughts about how many WIPs–or works in progress–is the right number for you, and I got some really intriguing responses. I thought I’d share what I learned as well as what I have found for myself.

Many of those who responded are involved in multiple crafts, and they like to switch back and forth. Mary B., for example, mentioned that she does bead work as well as knitting and crochet. Mary said, “I currently have 3 knitting WIPs (one is crochet) & 3 WIPs for bead work, all pieces of jewelry.” She said she typically likes to work on beading one night and knitting or crochet the next. However, when she’s close to the end of a project, she likes to stick with it until it’s done.

Andrea said, “It’s not really a matter of how many WIPs I like to have going at any given time; they just happen. I play with a bunch of different crafts, which sometimes cross-pollinate.” I love that, don’t you? She said that she has a number of projects that are partly done, but in terms of the ones she is working on currently, “My active project bag contains two English paper-pieced quilt projects, a knitted ornaments project, a cabled sock project that I’m making for a friend, and a plain sock project for when I need something to do with my hands during meetings or movies.”

Petey differentiates between projects for on the go and projects for at home. She said, “I personally love having at least two WIPs. One is typically a pair of socks, since I can fit the materials for those easily into a small project bag to stick in my backpack to work on during my lecture classes (I am a college student.) The other is typically a larger garment, like a sweater or a vest, that isn’t quite as portable and typically I work on at home. I’ve had many more than two going at a time (I had I think six going on from August-December this past year working on holiday gifts! That was a lot to balance) but two or three is my ideal number.”

Mary F. said that she tends to have more projects in process than just a couple. In fact, she has 6 or 7 WIPs right now that she is actually working on plus another 7 or 8 that are on hold. She said the decisions about what she is working are “a combo of mood, colors, difficulty, or need for a gift.”

Like Mary F., Jillaine said mood has a lot to do with her decisions: “For myself, I typically always have at least one pair of socks on the needles (usually more), one sweater, and one something-else– a shawl or cowl. But sometimes, the mood just takes over, and I have to throw something else on the needles– like when I fall in love with one of your skeins.” Thank you, Jillaine!

Like some of the others who responded, Sandi is involved in many different arts and crafts. However, she tends to divide her time between them within a given day so as not to lose momentum. Here’s what she said:

I’ve developed sort of a schedule that works for me. It allows me to keep multiple balls up in the air, keep up-to-date on each different project and isn’t too bad on the productivity end, either.  In the morning, with my coffee and after journaling, I spin for 30-60 minutes. Then, I eat breakfast and most days (unless we have appointments) I paint. I break to make dinner. After dinner, I work on a different form of art—printmaking, collage, bookmaking or drawing for several hours ( we eat early.) Sometimes, I’ll finish spinning some roving if I’m close.  And, then, if we listen to the news, I knit until bed time most of the time. Sometimes, I have to do correspondence or write artist statements, or that sort of thing.  When I work on stuff for a while, I get to a point where I NEED to have SOMETHING finished and then I will work a little more on the one thing—or if I’m close to finishing something, I’ll concentrate on that one thing. 

I tried to have days that were entirely dedicated to one project. But, I found that there were so many days before I’d get back to something, I’d lose the momentum or concept I’d been working towards. I find doing something on more than one thing every days keeps me fresher—and I waste less time trying to regain whatever I lost.

So like some of the others, Sandi tends to stick with something when it’s close to the end, but otherwise she prefers to include different creative pursuits each day on either side of painting, which she does professionally. However, she really does not like to have too many unfinished projects at the same time.

Heather said the same–that too many unfinished projects tend to bring more stress than joy, and she prefers to mostly work on one project at a time. However, like most everybody who answered, she does sometimes like to have a simpler project on hand. She said, “Mindless is sometimes good for different situations (plane knitting or the like).  Otherwise, I tend to work on things that need more concentration.”

I too tend to have an easy knitting project going and one that is a little more challenging. I basically never leave home without my little knitting bag because I never know when I’ll have to wait to pick up one of my kids, and knitting makes waiting a pleasure instead of a chore. I also like to have something a little more challenging for home. Right now my easy project is mitered squares for a mitered square blanket from last year’s club colorways, and the more complex project is a vest I’m knitting for my husband.

I’m often in the middle of a weaving project and a spinning project and a knitwear design as well, and of course I dye yarn almost every day. Like many of the others, when I’m close to the finish line I tend to focus my attention on just one thing so I have the satisfaction of getting it done and getting to wear it or give it to whomever it was made for.

WIPs in Time-Out

The other question I asked was what causes you to put your WIPs in time-out. Andrea replied, “I’ll put a project in time-out if it’s just not cooperating, if I can’t make it do what I want it to do. Like, a while back, I started a cathedral windows quilt, and then had to set it aside because of circumstances. When I picked it up again later, it just wasn’t behaving the way I wanted it to do, so I put it in time out. I’ll probably take it apart and start over.”

Heather said that she tends to put one project in time-out when another one has a deadline or when one project is really difficult and causing her to dread working on it. As she put it, “For example, my friend just had a baby and I need to get the baby items completed.  So everything else has to go in time-out, whether I want them to or not.”  Another strong emotion is dread.  I dread the crochet WIP.  I have to seam and do magic loop and I am proficient at neither.  I look at it and I feel a sense of dread and walk by.”

I tend to put projects in time-out either when they are too hard or when they are too dull and repetitive. Right now I think I have four projects in time-out. I’ll probably get back to a couple of them, and I may frog the others to use the yarn for something else because what’s the point in knitting something that you don’t enjoy?

While there was lots of variety in terms of the answer to the question, “How many WIPs is enough,” almost everybody mentioned having a small simple project for crafting on the go or while watching a movie and another larger or more complex project to work on at home and with attention. No one said this explicitly, but I think it’s safe to infer that none of us wants to be without a project in the works. I think I can safely say that for many of us, our creative work is both a pleasure and a stress-reliever, so it isn’t just about the finished project. I have been an avid reader all my life, and I know that when I finish a book or a knitting project, I just can’t wait to get onto the next one. Is that true for you as well?

Many thanks to everyone who took the time to share your creative process with me. I hope this helps all of my readers to think about your own creative process and what brings you the most joy so you can do more of that and less of what stresses you out.

For next time, I have another question for you: What or who got you started in the fiber arts, and what makes you continue? Why do you knit or crochet or weave or spin? Please email me your thoughts when you get a chance.

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Last Chance to Order an Eight Days of Easter Kit

If you have been thinking about ordering an Eight Days of Easter Kit but haven’t done it yet, I wanted to let you know that Sunday will be the last day to order. After that, I’ll get started dyeing the yarn.

Normally I make the colorways a surprise, but this time I decided to show you what you can make with the kit. It’s the Angel Wings Ponchette in the original gradient set of colorways right here:

You can learn more and order yours right here.

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Fresh from the Dye Pots

I just shipped off the last of the March club colorways, but I have also managed to dye a few other colorways too. Here they are altogether:

You can find them all in the New this Month section of my shop.

I think that’s everything for this week. Is anybody making pie for Pi Day today? Any great plans for Saint Paddy’s Day on Monday?

Whatever your plans are this week, I hope they include some time to enjoy the fiber arts! See you next week!