Comfort Projects

We're getting closer to crunch time. Like the scent of snow in the wind (because we KNOW it's coming back), the sheer desperation of finishing those holiday projects is setting in. It's the mad search for another skein of a particular colorway because someone lost while playing yarn chicken or the "I can't remember what yarn this is or where I got it from a billion years ago, but here is it, and what do you have that would work with it" or the grab and go of thicker and thicker and THICKER yarn because bigger gets done faster, right??? Soon will be the sending in of non-yarnie family members with really specific lists and yarn bands (or voice memos on their phones that they have been directed to play for me).

It's that time of year.

And I get it. Once Thanksgiving is past, it's like our yarn Spidey-senses start tingling and we have to get our projects done--whether they are for gifts or for our holiday outfits or just because. Even if we don't really celebrate the December holidays, the last few weeks of autumn before the Winter Solstice seem to spur us on our frenzied journey to finish. Maybe it's because even though we tend to think of December as a "winter" month, it's actually a transition because the weather tends to be more volatile and unpredictable (just think about that insane wind we've been having lately, then the snowfall, then the rain, and the MUD). And there's something about transitory times that somehow give us a kick in the pants and convince us that we need to get moving on those projects we just want to finish up before we start something new.

All of that rushing, though, has made me think about how we can also find a way to take the time to relax a little within the rushing and the flurry of crafting to seek a little bit of comfort.

Yes, I said it. Comfort while you are rushing to finish those December projects.

So, how do we do that? How do we find comfort within the rush?

For some people, the answer seems to reside within the type of project they have chosen to make. A lot of you have found the joy of the Sophie Scarf by Petite Knits. It works up quickly, doesn't take a lot of yarn, and is predominately garter stitch. Others have found that boot socks in worsted weight are also great options when you want to give someone socks but don't want to use fingering weight yarn to do so.

It certainly isn't a small, fast project, but I've been working on the Andrea Mowry Morning Rituals pullover at the moment. The cables aren't terribly diffcult and after the bottom ribbing, it's mostly stockinette with the center cables until the yoke. It's meditative, and I really love Kelbourne Woolens' Scout. Of course, I'm not trying to finish this on a deadline, though.

I'm curious about what you would recommend as a comfort project for December. Let us know in the comments.