Well, probably. See, I didn’t actually finish my stuff on time last year, and I actually piled more on my plate THIS year. (Okay, I’ve improved with my knitting, but still. You’d think more realistic goals would be in the cards this year). In any case, I can’t actually give some magic guide for all of us rushing to make gifts for those we love out of many, many tiny little stitches, but I can say what I’m doing or attempting in order to get some kind of hope for finishing.
1) Make a list. Yeah, I know, it sucks. I’m one of those horribly disorganized people, and I’m betting some of you out there are as well. But get a list together so you know what you’re doing, and can line up all the yarn and works-in-progress and get a handle on what to do next.
2) (optional) Cry your tear ducts dry, if your pile of works in progress is that bad. I sympathize.
3) Next, put a deadline on all your projects. Some things can be left until after the relevant holiday if you won’t have a chance to see that person and gift it, some will need to be done earlier. This will also help you…
4) Prioritize your projects. Some gifts may well be more important than others. Honestly. This is also when you can use the information of approximate time and yarn needed to complete project, how much you like or hate it, the deadline for it, and other factors like what projects would you make if you only had time to make half of them.
If you’re having trouble cutting it down like that, think about it this way. Your time is like a form of currency. If all your gifts cost $500, and you only have $200, you’ll have to find a way to get your purchases within $200 instead of $500. Some things may be cut, or not as spiffy, or sourced from elsewhere, or require a bit of deal-hunting. But unless you get more money, it’ll have to be done.
5) Set a daily goal. I currently have calculated what I have to do to finish 5% of a project, and have that marked on all my projects on Ravelry. I try to do about 10% a day, used on one project or split between two, and often try to do more than that.
6) On another note, use Ravelry, it’s amazing. I have a widget on my blog on the side over there: —–>
that means I can mark what percent of a project I’ve done on my projects list on Ravelry, and see the progress on my blog in addition to on my account. Progress bars can be motivating, not to mention their inherent awesomeness.
7) Knitting-wise, this will depend on your style, but you’ll want to switch between projects. You can stick to one project at a time, but I slow down the longer I knit on one thing. If you switch it up after making good progress, you can get work done on several projects faster than with one at a time, and have different projects for different times and situations.
8) Knit everywhere you can. I knit in public often, which includes at lunch, at home while reading, on the bus, and pretty much everywhere. If you only knit at home, that’s fine too, but set aside some time to yourself for knitting, maybe before bed or while talking (depending on the project).
9) Gifts are gifts because you want to give them, not because they’re an obligation. Yeah, that’s from an advice column. But I agree.
10) Don’t stress. While almost impossible to avoid for many of us, gift-making and gift-giving shouldn’t be stressful (see above). It’s time for the holidays, getting out of school, seeing family, snow, endless Christmas carols in the malls (ugh), celebrating the end of this year, and jumping straight into the next with hopes for what the new year will bring.Whatever you do for this time of year, make it great, and make it with love.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have about 1500 yards of yarn to blitz through. Luck to all.
