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#WIPCrackAway – a KAL to help you finish those WIPs

Like me, you may be looking at all the Autumn/Winter collections and start thinking those 8 fatal words…

I WANT TO CAST ON ALL THE THINGS!

I call this the equivalent of one’s eye’s being bigger than their belly and that analogy is also discussed by A Playful Day in her recent episode “Never Knit When Hungry”. There is no getting away from it – it is knitting season and my hunger games have already commenced!

Before those 8 words form on your lips, spare a thought for those unfinished WIPs that you have dotted about the place. Come on, you have more that you’d like to admit to, don’t you? Project bags with with barely cast on garments, that sweater you got bored with once you split for the arms, that shawl that needs tinking back a few rows, but you were just waiting for a bit of time and patience to do it….we are all guilty of wanting to CAST ON ALL THE THINGS, only to have a few of them languish.

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As you know, I have been co-hosting a Lush KAL with  Shiny Bees, KnitSpinCake and Caithness Craft Collective and there was some twitter chat last week about starting another podcaster KAL soon. With my Lush still awaiting arms,  I just can’t think of casting on a 4-ply jumper. no matter how beautiful.

What is on my mind are my WIPs and someone else who was worried about their growing pile of UFOs is Nic, from the Yarns from the Plain podcast. I tweet-suggested we should probably have a WIP-along. Instead of casting on all the things (for now), we are going to knit our UFOs – and you can join us!

There have got to be items that you want to finish…think of the pattern you loved so much….think of that yarn that you bought especially for that project…think of how you really needed that item in your life and for whatever reason it got left behind…..

If you want to save some of your UFOs from languishing then join in with Nic and I and we will support each other through a WIPapalooza.

: :  The Details : :

  1. Start date is Monday, 15th September and the KAL will run til 15th November.
  2. You must have a WIP or WIPs, which you cast on before September 1st 2014.
  3. The chat thread will alternate between The Yarns From The Plain and the KnitBritish Ravelry groups. Join both groups, if you fancy -we like the company. The thread will open on Monday.
  4. Give us the WIPstory and tells us about the project, share it with the groups and tag it WIPCrackAway. Get chatty & support your WIPALers
  5. There will be prizes! In fact, Nic has so many WIPs that she says she will donate a new prize each time she finishes one before the cast off date!
  6. There will be a finished object gallery in both groups
  7. Anything else we’ll make up as we go along! 🙂

You can also tweet, instagram, pinterest, etc the heck out of them too and let everyone see how your are liberating you WIPs! Use the hashtag #WIPCrackAway

I am going to need serious WIP assessment before beginning this KAL – every now and then I lay out all the projects before me and decide what to keep and what to frog. I try to have no more than 3 WIPs, but currently there is my Lush cardigan, The Tree Rings Blanket, Vedbaek shawl, Montrose hat and Follow your Arrow. I fear two of those won’t make the cut!

This KAL could be the impetus you need too and just think of all the practical knitting and finishing of items that could be done before the winter sets in.

Are you with us?

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17 Comments

  1. I’ve been thinking about this since our twitter conversation about those lovely, wretched socks! I would like to join in, if only to deal, once and for all, with Those Socks. And I have a feeling that digging into the project basket to find Those Socks will mean uncovering other unfinished things I’ve completely forgotten as well…oh dear. Well, I’ll have a turn-out and assess the situation, but one way or another, I’m in! Thanks for the encouragement 🙂

  2. I’m in! I have a couple of WIPS from last Winter that I really want to get finished in time for the coming cooler weather, plus the Vedbaek I just started (I cannot put that thing down!). I have more WIPs knocking about the place, but they are not really big projects, in fact I could probably finish each one in under a week. However, they are not crying out to be done like the two big ones are; http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Stitched-Together/modern-quilt-wrap was started in October 2011 and is over halfway done and it is beautiful, the other is http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Stitched-Together/professoressa-cardigan which I started for my KAL and never finished in September last year. We’ll see how it goes!

    • louise says

      Yay! I think this is such a good antidote to the castonitis. I am just thinking of all the project bag space I’m gonna free up 😀 clearing the decks! So glad you’re in. Are you going to Yarndale, by the way? Be lovely to meet you!

  3. Brighid says

    I’m in! I’m on my way to a week long conference right now & have brought along one of my 5 (FIVE… ) WIPs so this is perfect! And might even help me with some of the others when I get home 🙂 Will see you over on Rav, but for now,, back to airport knitting 😀

  4. I’m in – but which of my many WIPs to choose? (I can hear ‘all of them’ being shouted in the background, but it know my limits.)

    • louise says

      WIP assessment!! Lay them all out & see which shout loudest! Mind you, there’s a couple months of the KAL, you could get through a few.

    • louise says

      No, caithness Louise made it specially for me & I love it. She even did my red heart with knitbritish written inside! Best gift ever!

  5. This is perfect! I have so many WIPs stuffed into baskets or doomed to stash boxes (and started yet another project only yesterday). This is just what I need 🙂

  6. I’ve not said anything on Ravelry but your WIPcrackaway KAL has inspired me to get a shimmy-on with my languishing Foula Wool project, and I hope to get it finished in time for Wool Week, esp as I ordered the yarn there last year!

    I’m keeping it secret tho, as I’ve drawn inspiration from 2 or 3 patterns on Ravelry, but which one it turns out most like will depend very much on how far my yarn goes!

  7. I actually mentally joined the WIPCrackAway but didn’t get to sign up properly! So I haven’t started any projects since Sept 15. And today I even finished one! Yay. I love this KAL idea. I have an embarrassing amount of WIPs.

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