You Have My Permission...

My Unfinished Projects: 1. Pink and white Civil War Era knitted headdress(as seen on my sister's blue wig from a costume), 2. Green and black "Dark Mark" scarf (lost a knitting needle), 3. Peach, Colonial Era Jacket, 4. Purple, Civil War Era knitted suspenders, 5. Pink and white Colonial Era pockets. Notable projects not pictured: 1. Civil War Sontag (ran out of yarn), 2. Civil War Era Quilt, 3. Blue and white, handsewn Colonial Era Jacket. 

 To stop working on that project.

I constantly work on more projects than anyone could finish in a lifetime. Frequently, I have so many that I half finish them and forget about them until I am rummaging through my stuff looking for some material for yet another project. I used to think I had to finish every project I started, just as I used to think that I had to finish every book I started reading.

As I have gotten older, I realize that I don't have time to read books that aren't good and I don't have to finish every project I start. I frequently find that I will discover an abandoned project months later and no longer have a need for it anyway which makes it useless to finish. 

So for everyone who was sitting around like me, waiting for someone's permission to stop reading a bad book, or to stop sewing a garment that wouldn't fit you anyway, I give you my permission to stop and you don't have to feel the least bit bad about doing so. We are all very busy and all more productive than we think. Less projects and less guilt equal less clutter and more time to focus on what is important.

What to do with those abandoned projects?

Give them to someone else. I have Civil War Era dress patterns new in their packages that I know I will never get around to making. I also have half finished jackets and things that I know someone else could finish up quickly and use. Sometimes we stop projects when they get to a tedious point--it may be easier for fresh hands to finish up.
Recycle the Materials. You can always recycle the materials into something more useful to yourself at this point in time. Half done sewing projects can become raw materials for new ones. (Imagine my surprise when my boyfriend told me that he could use a bit of a half-done leather project for his uilleann pipes.)
Find someone willing to finish them for you. Sometimes my sister just wants to sew something and she doesn't have a project in the works or doesn't have money to finish the project she is working on and she'll help me sew. 
Put them on hold. Put the project on hold for a period of time until you might need it again. Working on knitting mittens in the summer might be less important at the time than sewing summer clothes. Just remember to give yourself time to finish the project before you need it.  

When I look at all of these unfinished projects I feel guilty. I am working on all of them slowly and most have to do with me needing more materials and refusing to buy them until I have a coupon. Surprisingly these are nowhere near all of my projects and they are always changing. I also have numerous unfinished writing projects, drawing projects, music projects. I am kind of surprised at myself that I take on so many projects. This seems crazy especially with all of my schoolwork but  I am one of those people that always have to be creating something or I go crazy. I guess I never really look at all of the things that get finished, in proportion, I guess the unfinished projects shouldn't make me feel guilty. 

I know I have a lot of really creative people who read my blog, is there any project you just want to scrap but feel guilty doing so?

Sontag it is! Were Sontags Crocheted during the Civil War?

It seems like the Sontag is the winner for the knit-along. I am trying to find a yarn that is affordable and available to most of the knitters. While most of us will be knitting the sontag, others have expressed interest in knitting other Civil War Era items. I am ecstatic and will link to all of the knitted items regardless of what they are.

The sontag pictured is post war--1866, but it is absolutely gorgeous! Many people are interested in crocheting sontags as they don't know how to knit. I have only seen one period reference to crocheted sontags.

The reference is late war--1864 and from Peterson's Magazine:

This pattern produces a sontag that is more like a shawl. It is something period and warm, so if you must crochet, I'm sure it could look very beautiful. If you aren't looking to make something period and just want a sontag to wear around the house indulge yourself with the 1866 sontag at the top.

I will keep you all posted when a suitable yarn for the knit-along is found. The needles will most likely be a common 7US. You will also need a few stitch markers. Stich markers can be bought cheaply or made at home, as a friend taught me, by cutting a drinking straw into 3 mm thick rings.