A Latte Wips: Prioritizing?

Hi y’all!

Thank you for stopping in to read my blog!

Todays post will be giving you a list of my current wips, talking about them individually and giving some thoughts on them. After that I’m gonna write a little bit on how I have been contemplating my prioritizing techniques in this new year!

SO ya girl Cat has ALOT of wips currently. Being that this is my first blog post update on that, I just wanted to make that clear. Every project I’m gonna write about is a wip I am actively trying to work on, I do have lots of hybernating wips or UFO’s hiding throughout my apartment, that I am going to try to get through soon, but more on that later.

Personal WIPS:

Starting on the most recent cast on, a knitted headband! I have collected a small bag worth of fingering weight yarn, all different yarns, scraps and a few new skeins to make headbands out of. My husband asked me to knit him an adjustable headband awhile ago, and I’ve knit him quite a few at this point, and he loves them! He keeps asking for more, to have a variety of colors obviously, and I am happy to oblige. (But I have been slacking) I did manage to get one cast on two days ago, and I should be on track to finish it today! Which will be really good, as I want to split this yarn in half after the headband is done, to set aside for socks for myself!

Another wip for my husband I really need to give some attention to, is a pair of socks for him that has been languishing since the beginning of the month. I have one sock already done and blocked, and the second is half way through the foot, which is good, but it will take a couple days attention to finish that up. I knit all my socks toe up, on US 1 2.25 mm needles, and with mostly superwash merino wool. I am knitting his socks with 72 stitches and I do a panel of 4x2 rib down the front of his socks to provide a bit more stretch and comfort for his feet, as he is super active.

A project for me now, I have been working on knitting a sweater! A languishing wip as well, I started it last year and it sat up until the beginning of the month, untouched in the middle of the body, since picking it back up I have knit quite a bit! The pattern is the Cable Crush Hoodie from Knitatude. I adore this pattern and this is the second one I am knitting. This time around I did modify the pattern, I knit the body longer, and I am scrapping the hood, and adding a vneck opening to the top of the sweater. Currently I just finished the front, and I picked up to finish the back panel, which would only leave the sleeves and collar to do! So it is very close to being done I just have to find the time to power through the back panel, hopefully soon.

Business Related:

Now, I also do have a lot of projects and ideas started with the goal of having something to provide to you lovely people here on the site, and for market prep! One thing I love to make is bags, I have always loved making bags, purses, etc. There is just so much opportunity in the design of a bag, its like a blank canvas that could pull your whole outfit together. SO! That being said, I can look at my wip pile right now and see three bags in the works, two clutch style bags, and one tote style bag, all prototypes, all my own design. I have been trying to bounce between them and get more progress there, but I think I am unintentionally stalling y’all. The fact that they’re my own designs means the original project takes so much more time and brain power, so I have to be in the right mindset to get at those projects. Just me? Hope not.

I also have a nice project bag sitting with the materials in it for me to make earrings! I am planning to make a definite amount of stock of different earrings to list in the ready to ship tab in the shop. I just haven’t gotten around to a good point to put a few hours into getting those made up either. Although I bet once I do they will be flying off my hook and into the pile to be packed.

Scrappy Projects:

I do have scrappy projects, I think everyone does. My favorite and the one I really want to put some more time into (cuz these scraps taking up too much space) is my scrappy granny square blanket! Its all worsted weight acrylic scraps, just yarn I really was not sure what to do with, and I’ve been crocheting these nice granny squares and then joining them as I go with this cream color acrylic yarn. I have just over two rows of nine squares already in the blanket, and I most certainly have yarn for more. My husband calls this blanket the couples blanket, because he asked me to make it big enough to fit the two of us under for movie night (he’s so cute).

Thoughts on Prioritizing:

I know I am not the only one who has a large amount of wips. But I truly feel like the more wips you have, the more planning out what to do and when to do it comes into play and is increasingly more important. I do struggle with it though, and it is something I have been wanting to work on more with the start of the new year. So here is what I have been trying to do.

I have tried to stop putting all my projects away at the end of the day. I know leaving yarn all over the house is not ideal for all, but personally I just stole a small portion of the couch and I leave the projects I need to work on, there in front of me, making it so I constantly see them and they are easily within reach for me to put even just the smallest amount of work on them.

I also, have tried and repeated to use the timer method. I found this technique somewhere online, a youtube video I believe, unfortunately I don’t recall the specific video. But the general premise, is you gather all the projects that you need or want to work on, and have them around you. Then you set a timer for five, ten, fifteen (really however long you’d like) minutes, and work on one project for that time. Then when the timer goes off, you reset it, and pick up the next project in the queue and repeat that process. This has been super helpful especially when I don’t know what to work on specifically. This method is what got me through the christmas knitting last year.

Lastly, my tried and true method. I love lists. My favorite thing to do, which I do pretty much every day, is I sit down and make a list of realistic goals for the things I want to work on, by the end of that day. For example, if I want progress on a headband, a bag, and on my sweater. I would write out “Knit two inches on headband, Finish the bottom of bag, Knit one repeat on sweater.” What I like about this, is you should aim to write something easy-fairly feasible to accomplish in your time. It makes for a great feeling of accomplishment to cross those things out, and means you aren’t going to over exert yourself. If you get all the things you wanted to accomplish done, you can always do more on a preferred project. Sometimes on days where I know I have alot of time to work on projects, I’ll write a second list of things to do if I do manage to get through the first, simultaneously with the first, and set bigger goals. Its fun to see what I can do with my time!

And that’s all I got for today y’all! Please feel free to let me know what methods you use for prioritizing, I am always open to new suggestions! And I will be back in a week or so to give you an update on what I am working on! Please feel free to follow along on my other platforms too!

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Recommended Latte: Iced Mocha, with Hazelnut, toffeenut, and oatmilk!