What Motivates Me?

On my last post a faithful reader asked me a tantalizing question about my knitting. "Do you find that having "special" projects waiting helps with the motivation to finish up works in progress?"

This question gave me the big AHA moment. Yes, it is the carrot on the stick for me. And a version of delayed satisfaction. I find that I am a production knitter at this time of the year as I plow through my gift knitting list. Since I have some to mail, I design a schedule that fits with the mailing deadlines and I work on those pieces first. Then I work on the local giving items after. that.

I start my gift knitting in the Spring with a review of patterns, my proposed recipient list and the supplies needed to accomplish this. Then in July I review all, finalize the list and cast on my first piece. Of course, Life gets in the way after that and I find myself in October gasping at the calendar and putting myself in deadline mode.

During this time I have found some fun projects I want to knit for myself, aka been to the Taos Wool Festival and brought home the lace scarf and mohair locks from the previous post. Well, I knew when I bought them they would not get cast on right away because I had projects going at home. So they sit patiently waiting for me to finish my list. They are the grand prize at the end of my gift knit marathon. These projects will feed the process knitter in me. I will be learning a new pattern and using my creative design side when I set mohair locks into a fun scarf.


I have become disciplined to only have two projects going at one time. I have a house project that I knit on early AM with my coffee and morning news, and after work with an evening movie. Then I have a project that rides in the car with me for knitting at lunch and in the parking lot in the AM when I have arrived at work early. That is getting harder to do as it gets colder. I am now knitting with fingerless mitts on.

The idea of having those special projects to start at the end of the year is the way I celebrate the completion of another successful year of knitting.

Thank you, dear reader, for putting a finer point on what, until now, was a subconscious motivator in my knitting world.

I hope all of you have special treats planned for yourselves as we approach the end of the year!

Note: all pictures used in this post are from previous knitted gifts. You will still have to wait for the current ones until after Dec. 25th.