As I’ve mentioned before, I have a few too many WIPs and not all of them were originally mine. Over the years I have inherited several half-knitted jumpers, lonely gloves and unidentifiable pieces from relations who are no longer around to finish them or tell me what to do next. Now the projects I started, I have a good idea about why I stopped and I also know what needs to be done to finish. In some cases, there is no point finishing as the intended owner will no longer squeeze in. Unravelling is the only sensible choice.
The legacy pieces are more difficult. To be honest, I cannot finish any of them. The patterns are missing and not all the extra wool is with them, so this should be a no-brainer. A half finished garment cannot be worn. They should be unravelled and used for another pattern. The wool is lovely and I’m sure I can find a project that is calling out for them, but I do know why I have procrastinated so long. These pieces were knitted by people I cared about. The style of their stitches are recognizable to me, so I can identify who did which item. Destroying them seems cruel. So what to do. Leave it as a museum piece or unravel it.
Well I think I have come up with a third solution. A solution I am happy and excited to do. I can preserve the stitches by felting the pieces and then re-craft them. They are all pieces that were meant to be lived with, not left to lurk in my cupboard. Not all these projects are suitable for felting and their best fate is to be unravelled and reknitted into something else.
So 2010 is going to see my unfinished collection diminish. Those that can be felted will be turned into something that can be used. The rest will be unravelled. Long car journeys are a great time to do this. I really am looking forward to the challenge of reworking these pieces.
