I've Done It Again

Yes, I have agreed to another foolhardy challenge on Ravelry! Actually, the challenge itself isn't foolhardy, but I suspect that my belief that I can accomplish it is. As part of the Great Stash Knitdown of 2008, our first challenge is to knit or crochet a mile of yarn between January 5th and February 19th. (The dates may seem a little odd, but they coincide with the robotics challenge, and one of the moderators is really involved in robotics.) Just so you know, a mile of yarn is 1,760 yards. So we need to use up just over 38 yards a day. Perfectly doable!

We can work on our WIPs/UFOs during the challenge. This would be a very sensible approach. However, once I realized that a mile of yarn is basically a pair of socks and a sweater, I couldn't get that thought out of my head. I mean, I need to knit a pair of socks in January for the sock KAL anyway, so why not tackle a sweater as well. I have been doing pretty well getting some things finished, so I deserve to start a new project, right? The real problem is going to be the fact that I have never finished knitting a sweater. I have started 2, and I did finish a crocheted sweater (after working on it for 2 years). So there's no reason I can't start and finish a sweater in 7 1/2 weeks! See what I mean about foolhardy?

In my defense, one of the sweaters I started was an aran knit that I really wasn't ready for, and now I know that I don't have enough yarn to finish it. I'm still debating what to do with it. And the other sweater was miles of stockinette, which was really boring, so I put it down. The sweater I want to knit in January is the Nantucket Jacket from IK Winter 2006. I'm hoping it will be an interesting knit that isn't too challenging. So I think that it will become my focus project for January.

I am also going to try to be sensible next week when I am off from work and finish a couple of projects that are close to being done before I start the new projects. I started the last round on the log cabin afghan last night, and I intend to have it finished this weekend so that I can take it to my friend next week. I would also like to finish the Lucy bag, 1 or 2 scarves and some chemo hats before the end of the year. Then I will be in good shape for January.

Wish me luck!