Curious and curiouser

I'm not a natural completer-finisher. I'm a recovering perfectionist. I'm consistently continuing to practise the art and expertise of procrastination. And my usual strategy for procrastination is displacement ...

But something curious is happening. In the last seven days there have been continuations, new beginnings and things brought to completion. What is perhaps most curious is the speed with which some of the new beginnings of the last seven days are also on the list on the things brought to completion.

So - what's the list for this past week, that's knit and stitch related ...

1. The warp and weft carpet cushion is complete. Not just finishing the  knitting of the main event - but knitting a striped back, weaving in the ends, blocking, sewing it together, putting it around a cushion pad - and finding it a place in my London apartment. (true completion)

2. I knitted on a flight from Marseille to London (new beginning ... I've been trialling bringing knitting and needles through security for probably 6 months .. this was the first time I actually brought it out to knit on the flight!). (new beginnings for works in progress)

3. I've finally fired up my newly bought London-based sewing machine (a John Lewis entry just-one-up-from-level-entry-machine that has a lot of the same logic as the Frister Rossman Cub 3 that was my 21st birthday present from my parents and is still going strong, albeit with a tendancy to be temperamental on tension - but aren't we all after 36 years of usage without enough servicing / tlc?). (new beginning)

4. Having got to a complicated bit on an angora tunic for E ... it's been temporarily put aside .. as other needs started to press - though the fact that I have been putting the work in progress into a scrappy freebie cheap cotton shopping bag (through security and on the previous flight) has been part of the triggers of this week's completions. (work in progress)

5. I decide to attend the Stitch Crawl event in London for WWKIP (world wide knit in public) on Saturday 11 June (so I needed another decision for a knitting project to take)

6. I had to decide on a project to take with me: the angora tunic I reckoned would need too much concentration - so I thought I'd get a head start on an Xmas present for L (fingerless gloves with mitten cap is the request - so I started on a hat, of course!) (new beginnings)

7. Finished the hat ! (oops - completion of something that should have been work in progress ... but the fingerless gloves with mitten cap that would complete the set looked far too complicated to start ...)

8. so spent Friday evening looking for a simple pattern for something to knit on Saturday ... found one and started it off (new beginning)

9. In the meantime  - I think on Friday - started and completed making a bag (from a kit bought cheaply in the sale, partly because of the fabrics that I knew the intended recipient would love! , also because I knew that I would be able to use the kit as a template for other bags (new, in progress, finished!)

10. and over the next few days worked on prepping and stitching a patchwork quilt that had been work in progress for 7 years or more

11. Saturday - went to the Stitch Crawl for WWKIP  in London and came away with 2 new friends (only 6 rows done on the new beginning scarf ---  but that wasn't the point) and a real sense of connection with the variety of people who are  involved and contributing to the world of knittery and stitchery

12. Saturday - returned home and, from start to finish, completed a sewn "project bag"

13. Sunday - added bling to the aforesaid project bag, and completed another bag - including knitting i-cord. Both bags were from totally recycled stuff that I already had.

14. Sunday - and then tidied up the mess before S returned.

So what's the completion tally for the week;

- cushion (completed)
- 3 bags (started and completed)
- hat (started and completed)
- patchwork (restarted)
- 2 new connections
- sewing machine (learning curve mastered)

plus lots of tidying up and organising, and doing the washing,  so that my flatmate Sarah doesn't come back to complete chaos!

I have to return my energies to the day-job tomorrow. My personal challenge is how to get the same energy for creativity + implementation into my commercial life .. when so often the paymasters play lip-service to innovation  ... which is ok as long as it doesn't rock the boat ... and demand instant results without understanding the creative processess or the time things actually take to do.