“There Are No Deadlines”

The past few weeks have been a long stretch of life’s complications and stress leaving little room for knitting or writing. I finished a new design three weeks ago, but found little time to write up the pattern. Hours of Zoom meetings at the job that pays the bills, left me less than eager to spend time in front of a computer working out the chart for the lace pattern.

I had ideas on paper, swatched or just in my head but no time to pick up my needles and begin working up a new design. I told myself, “you can’t start a new one until you at least begin writing the just finished one.” And then there are the sweaters designed by others sitting in various stages, (purchased skeins waiting to be wound, swatches knit or projects started), just waiting for me to pick them up again. “If you’re going to be a designer, you need to knit your own designs and not spend so much time on those.” Oh, the things we tell ourselves!

Last Wednesday, as I headed out the door to book club, I grabbed a pair of slippers I’ve been slowly working on since last fall. Red Cedar Slippers by Lindsey Fowler, is the perfect portable project and just what I needed to get my knitting mojo back. It was also the perfect project to casually knit while siting with friends, drinking wine, discussing books and life events, while enjoying only our second in person and first inside, book club meeting of 2021!

Knit in Farmers Daughter Fibers Pishkun and Spincycle Dream State, it will be the perfect slippers for keeping my feet warm on winter nights watching Netflix. The pattern can be found in the booklet Wood & Smoke which also includes a lovely recipe for smoked whiskey.

Yesterday, during a walk with friends, I was telling them about my few weeks of not knitting and not being able to even write up the pattern when my friend Robin put it all in perspective. “As I tell Joe, (her husband), there are no deadlines. Do it when you can and it will get done.” I realized she was right. It was really just me who was putting pressure on myself. It was me, telling myself I had to do this or I couldn’t do that.

Silly isn’t it? Once I realized I didn’t HAVE to do it before doing something else, I suddenly wanted to make up the lace charts. I completed both charts and then gave myself permission to stop and picked up Ixchel, a sweater kit I got for my birthday last year. It would be nice to have it done to wear this fall but if it isn’t, that’s okay too. There are no deadlines.