Reality Check

A while back I blithely decided that I wanted to finish the year with no knitting or crocheting WIPs. Well, it's nearly August, and I've got 13 of the buggers outstanding. Plus at least 3 more that I absolutely want to get done this year (2 pairs of socks for Mission:Possible and that Fair-Isle vest I bought the yarn for in March). 16 projects to be finished in 5 months. Well, let's think about this for a minute.

• The booties are a quick win. I cast on the second last night and will probably finish it this week. No Problem.
• The flag is half-done and is just garter stitch and a tiny amount of embroidery will finish it off. No Problem.
• The coatigan needs both sleeves and a collar, plus I need to do 10 minutes of work on the lapels, make button loops and sew the buttons on. Time-consuming, but doable.
• 4 pairs of socks - Monkeys are about a third done (finishing up the foot on sock one), the socks I'm making for Mum are at the heel flap of the first sock, and the other 2 pairs (Anne-trelac and Pomatomus) are not even cast on yet. But Anne-trelac is toe-up stockinette until I get to the foot, and I'm planning to do Pomatomus for the Ravelympics*. Challenging but possible.
• The mitts I'm making for Weaving Friend are barely started, but it's 2x2 rib on 4mm needles. No Problem.
• Red Swallowtail is about a quarter done. However, I love it totally and utterly and WILL NOT ABANDON IT! Doable.
• Chenille scarf is a mindless tv-watching project. It's fun, it's chunky yarn on big needles, and there's only 1 skein of the stuf. Doable.
• Seed stitch pillow that I'm making for Best Friend is a toughie. I really enjoy working on it (yes, I'm one of those sick people that enjoys seed stitch), but it's barely started. Will really have to crack on in order to finish this. Possible, but challenging.
• Slippers - doable. I made the last pair in about a week, so there's no earthly reason not to finish these. Other than the boredom factor. Doable.

Then there are the last four projects. There is the lacy grey scarf that I've been working on forever out of Kidsilk Haze. I keep thinking I must be nearly done by now, but I swear the ball of yarn is getting longer as I knit from it. It just doesn't shrink! I think I'm going to need to find a set of scales that measures in grams and figure out how much yarn is actually left to knit up.

There is the rippled bedspread that would go really quickly if it weren't HUGE. I'm working on it every so often in the evening while waiting for the spouse to come to bed, but right now it's just too hot to work on an acrylic blanket.

There is my half-hexagon shawl of loveliness that I am absolutely not going to get finished this year. It's just too big, and the rows are getting too long. I will finish it someday, but not right now.

And then there's the vest. Ideally, I'd like to have this done before I go to meet the Yarn Harlot the first weekend of September. Which would mean that in the next 5.5 weeks I need to knit 2.5 pairs of socks, 1 booties, 0.5 of a flag and an entire steeked Fair-Isle vest. Yeeesh. Wish me luck!

*Ravelympics - a fun(!) thing organized on Ravelry where you choose a knitting or crocheting project, cast on during the opening ceremony and finish it before the torch goes out at the end. And you're supposed to choose something challenging. I've never finished a pair of fingering weight socks in less than a month, much less a pair this tricky! I have strategically taken the last 3.5 working days of the Olympics off, just in case...