Summer vay-cay has arrived for this here academic. Last summer that meant severe binge knitting and indolent cocktail-induced lolly-gagging around, but this summer I actually have a lot to accomplish, so there will be lots more worky-worky and much less knitty-drinky.
As you can see above, I am awash in WIPs (from top left, Falling Leaves Shawl in Malabrigo 'Velvet Grapes', Gloria Cowl in A Verb for Keeping Warm Alpaca/Silk 'Lux', Basic Sock in Hazel Knits 'Sailor's Delight', Jaywalkers in LL 'Grumperina'). Incidentally those are only the seasonal WIPs, I have left out all scarf and hat WIPs for the sake of clarity. The situation is severely out of control. And what is the only thing I want to do right now? That would be winding my newly acquired skein of Handmaiden Casbah Sock (Paris Two) and doing unspeakable things to it with a size 1.5 HiyaHiya circular needle. What is wrong with me?
I'm trying to get away from the feast-or-famine approach to work and leisure and fine a way to keep it all running at a constant speed as last year's back-to-school world of pain scenario is one that I'm trying to avoid. Any tips you all might have for striking a good balance between work and knitting? How does a normal person integrate job/family/home responsibilities with the desire to self-immolate with yarn? Can'tcha help a person with terrible work habits out?
26 comments:
Well, first, can I just say I'm jealous? I won't even use the less harsh, softer word 'envious.' Nope. I'm jealous!
Second, we "normal" people squeeze knitting into every possible free moment we get, such as lunchtime, waiting for water to boil, whilst laundry is drying, etc... The occasional sad, staring dog eyes, begging to go for a walk, may actually hinder progress. But other than that... Priorities, people!
Oh, and you *must* finish that Velvet Grapes shawl. It looks awesome.
I've never personally found a balance.
But in case you were looking for something else to do, I've tagged you for a meme. See my blog for details if you want to play.
Holy crap, wish I had an answer for you. But if you get one, would you share it with me? :)
If I had a summer vacay, it would be pretty hard for me to resist the siren call of the knitty-drinky. I wish I could join you for some of that!
Mmm... knitty-drinky. Sign me up for that! I opted out of teaching summer quarter this year, so I'm looking forward to freedom. I desperately need to set up a schedule to keep myself on track with my diss. research while simultaneously enjoying summer for once!
What is this "normal" that you speak of?
And what unspeakable thing are you planning for that gorgeous Handmaiden? Because you should do that first.
I'd be winding away...
Everything for me definitely ebbs and flows, and for me, that is balance. I usually just go with what the day brings, sometimes it's many hours of sitting and knitting, and sometimes I don't get a chance to knit a single stitch. I figure it evens out over the course of a lifetime.
Happy knitting-
ali
Balance?
haaaaaaaaaaahahahahaha! Good one!
(dontcha love casbah?)
Truly gorgeous WIPs. Especially love the socks.
Vay-cay? I want some of that action!
As for balance, I really couldn't say. I snatch up any time that is left over form work and life to do my crafting/knitting.
Oh wow! I love the Jaywalkers in the Grumperina colorway.
Balance? Normal? Huh?
Hi,
Do you really like the Hiya Hiya needles? I'd so jealous of your vacation!
Wish I could offer you some sage advise, but I'm afraid I need a twelve step program myself.
Alas, I have no advice, as I'm constantly trying to find a balance myself. Usually the wool wins out.
Wow, what a gorgeous color of sock yarn! And a big haha to your post's title! I'm pretty strict with myself and don't usually let myself knit or spin during the daytime, which is D for Dissertating (and "um, well, it's on the computer" for surfing the net reading fiber blogs). I'll sometime take a 15-minute knit-or-spin break around lunch, though. This means in the evenings I don't feel guilty (usually) about breaking out the fiber.
Balance? Moderation? You're asking the wrong person. I get a lot of knitting done on my long commute to the office where I spend most of my time proscrastinating and feeling guilty for not doing enough worky-work. You seem to have a workable number of WIPS. I'd knock out one of the socks first and then reward yourself by using the Handmaiden Casbah (which looks incredible)
Balance? HA!
I try... which means I squish in my knitting whenever possible around my crazy days and then try to schedule knitting time when I can.
Your Malabrigo looks lovely! You'll get them done, it's just your choice if you have some new projects to interrupt your WIP's. I've been trying to stagger, must finish one "new" cast on then one that has been waiting a while. Doesn't mean you can't share your time with several projects at a time :)
huh? who? what? were you saying something? sorry, you lost me at the yarn(especially the casbah) pics...
yuuuuummmmmy!
i'm sure it'll all work out in the end. just take your top 4 or 5 (or 6 or 7)and rotate every few hours/days til they're done. right?
;)
Balance. Integration. Self-Immolation. Only one of these is something I'm familiar with. Honestly, I have huge guilt over my stash. Even more so after my current fiber/spindle jag. The result is not so much knitting and guilt over not spinnning as much as I need for knitting. Arrrrrrggh.
But, can i say how jealous I am off your summer break???? I'm sure I said it 12 months ago!
When you figure out that balance, will you let me know? Your WIPs are beautiful!
Let me know when you get that one figured out. My love-hate relationship with my job stems from the fact that I must have said job in order to afford yarn (and food), but 40-ish hours a week seriously cuts into knitting time.
I've compromised by doing housework on a monthly, rather than daily or weekly, basis. The husband doesn't seem to mind. (Nor does he pick up the slack himself.)
Mmm, vacay with yarn.
I think my secret is that, even with knitting, I find it difficult to sit still and just relax. It seems like I'm up doing *something* (puttering, my dad calls it) every 15 minutes, whatever my intentions. I guess you could try something similar? Just every half-hour, get up and do something for home or work for a few minutes, then more knitty-drinky for a half hour?
But I gotta say, though I am productive as all hell, that I seem to really irritate the more relaxing-minded members of my family. :) So be warned--there is a dark side!!
Obviously you sleep all night long and havn't discovered the wee hours of the night to knit.
But knitting and drinking is so much fun. ;)
I am just nerd enough to love the title of your post! Balance schmalance, I say--enjoy the beginning of your summer and cast on willy-nilly.
I really wish I could be of help on this whole balance thing. But, seriously, what would any of US know about that?
I think we should all have more knitty-drinky in our lives.
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