How many are too many?

So, last night I finished a cabled sock and Ulli told me right away that he wanted to have them. Well, as I said, I finished one sock, so when I told him that it might take a while to finish the second one, he just laughed and said something like: I know. I’m still waiting for the other cabled pair, the green ones. Green ones? Hm?? Thinking about it really hard I had a vague recollection of socks knit in green tweed yarn I started during our holidays… in April? Or last year October? Anyhow, they had to be somewhere and I took the fatal decision to look for them in my huge WIP basket. And I guess you now know why the subject today is: How many is too many?

In the basket I found 11 (!) pairs of socks, whereas the word ‘pairs’ only refers to the fact that there should be pairs at some point. Some of them are almost finished, with just one toe to knit or a sewn bind off to do, some are just the cuff and a couple of rounds into the leg. All of them prototypes for patterns already in publishing or that I hope to publish one day, so no pictures of these. I actually don’t mind all that much they are there and the same applies to a pair of gloves (still only one glove with three fingers yet to knit) and two pairs of fingerless mitts (at least one of each pair finished). But there’s the ‘cushion’ for all these WIPs I found underneath… This

Apparently a doily-to-be – but I haven’t knit doilies in years and years, so I don’t even remember starting this. Hello 3 mm circular needles, I’ve missed you. Then this

A shawl-to-be with lots of beads. When I look at it today I guess the reason for ‘abandoning’ it was the look of the side and middle panels, but who knows? This should definitely go into the frogging pond, shouldn’t it? Next was

A cardi-to-be, in cotton yarn, rather long, loose fitting and with side lace panels. In black, so I’d probably even wear this. All that’s missing is the sleeves, which are supposed to be in the lace pattern as well, if I recall it right, and the button border. At least I remember I started this a couple of years ago and I have no idea why I never finished.

It’s a rather fancy novelty yarn, kind of a ribbon yarn, long discontinued and at that time fairly expensive. Hm, I seem to have a problem with sleeves… Not sure it’s a project to continue, but the colour definitely is pretty and ‘me’.

Well, one more item was hidden in the basket, a blanket square.

And even though I started this project years ago also, I knew right away what it was all about – it’s a square for the GAAA, the Great American Aran Afghan. There was a KAL in a German knitting forum in, hm, 2008 maybe?, and I did pretty well – at least for a couple of months. Now does anyone know why I neglected this project, that I still think is awesome (even though I might choose different yarn today)? Even the squares I have knit so far would make a nice blanket. Sigh…

Now, why I’m telling you all this? Because I think it’s time to clear my basket, so it’s either finish, frog or throw away and I hope you’ll remind me of my intention shouldn’t you hear any news about the projects shown above by the end of 2015…