2015: The Year of Finish or Frog It

IMG_6800
Do you have any projects hiding in the back of your closet? Or the back of a cupboard? What about under the bed? See, if we are being honest, I have to say yes to all of the above. I’m just laying it all out here. There are little bags of “good intentions” all over the place. Here is the thing, it’s stuff that I really love, or at least, I used to really love. Throughout this year, Kat and I are going to have a look in our cupboards for unfinished projects. We are going to pull them out and make the hard core decision about what to do with them. Either “Finish or Frog”. (“frog” is a knitting term. The opposite of knitting is ripping your stitches out. “Rip it, rip it” is the sound a frog makes. So “frogging” is the opposite of productive knitting.” )
IMG_6795
We would like to invite you to join in! Look into your cupboards and figure out where you stand. I, for one, am going to get REAL this year. I’m going to do it right here in front of you. I have taken some horrifying and humbling “before” shots. (Some are so painful that they would hurt your eyes and your heart, so I will only show them when there is an “after” shot to flash up as well.)

This does not have to be knitting only. That is just where our “frog” term came from. What about paper? Unfinished quilts? Do you have a fabric stash? Beads?

Come on! Who is with me?

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://justcraftyenough.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact us at jcraftyenough AT gmail DOT COM. All patterns, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted.© 2005 – 2015 Kathy Lewinski & Susan Cornish
9 years ago by in Challenges | You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
21 Comments to 2015: The Year of Finish or Frog It
    • Manisha
    • I am so with you on this intention! I have far too many projects that need to get done. Also I have skeins of yarn I bought over a decade ago that are taking up space. I need to decide if I am going to do something with them or if I am going to just donate them because they are taking up space. And they make me hesitate when I want to buy some yummy yarn I happen to see while traveling. Good luck to us all!

      • Kat
      • I’m really proud when I use the yarn from traveling like I have the pink yarn from Austria, but I also have yarns from Ireland and the Netherlands waiting to be used. I think hand knit goods to remind me of a trip are a great souvenir if only I would make them!

      • Susi
      • ALL RIGHT! Manisha’s in! I hear you on the “holding back” part. You hear yourself saying “I have this and that at home.” So, is it a matter of not following through? Or is it something else. Like Kathy, I think yarn is such a nice souvenir. BUT. It is until it transforms into a beautiful expensive boat anchor. And when is that line crossed? I still don’t know the answer, but I am in search of it! – Susi

        • Manisha
        • Thanks, Kat and Susi! Just to be clear – the yarn that I want to get rid of is from MN stores, stuff on clearance, stuff I just randomly bought thinking I would do something with it and I haven’t. It was yarn I bought when my funds were low and now I just don’t like them. I think I’ve kept them around thinking I would make some hodgepodge blanket with them but them gauge always throws me off.

          The yarn I’ve bought while traveling doesn’t stick around because I find something to do with it. And, I totally agree that the travel yarn is a great souvenir! And for the record, even though I hesitate, I seem to always come home with some great yarn. I am so looking forward to the working through all my crafting stashes! You both are awesome!

    • Ros
    • Ooh, I like this plan. I am a bit scared to look and see what there is, but I definitely have some lingering projects that need to be formally abandoned, and others that I just need to finish already.

    • Tracey
    • LOVE this idea. It goes so well with my plan to declutter this year, and what better things to get rid of than those guilt-inducing unfinished projects? I can definitely think of a few knitting projects I’d be happy to “frog”, and also a perler bead catastrophe I want to just toss in the garbage.

    • Patti
    • I’m in!! I knit the back, sleeves and started the front to a sweater but never finished it because the front was too complicated for the yarn (it had cables and the yarn was very knotty so when I made a mistake I couldn’t correct it). This project has been sitting in my pile making me feel guilty for three years. It is getting thrown out because I doubt any one could rip it out. I already feel like a load has been released. I am so frugal I often have trouble letting go but I need to so I can move on. I also LOVE the idea of “travel yarn”. What a great way to remember a place!!

      • Kat
      • Isn’t it a sense of relief to know it isn’t sitting there anymore?! I think I have three sweaters that will at least get frogged.

    • Kim DiGiorgio
    • I am in!! I find it so interesting that we need to give ourselves permission to frog or toss out that which doesn’t really make us happy. My closet, my utensil drawer in the kitchen, even my pantry are full of things that made me happy to own, but now it just takes up space. I am also guilty of starting something for a holiday, not finishing in time, and then putting it away for the next year only to not finish it again. Thanks for the inspiration to finish up or frog toss it!!

    • SmallerPlaces
    • Hey… I found y’all from Pinstrosity and your very first new post since I followed your blog is so on-target for me.

      My early 2015 goal is to finish up partly complete dollhouse projects, rather than having houses sitting around in with bits needing to be done as I get distracted by some other project. I’ve defined “complete” as “all finishes and trim are up, all major pieces of furniture are in, and if I already own the accessories, those are in place.” Some leftovers are definitely slated for eBay or etsy.

      What kick-started me was to divide the first month into Kitchen Week, Bathroom Week, Bedroom Week, etc., in which for one week, I’d do whatever I could across unfinished kitchens, then at the end of that week, I wouldn’t be responsible for kitchens for another month because I’m working on baths, and so on. Once momentum kicked in, I’m kind of off-schedule because it started being interesting and fun again — but having some structure initially made me feel like I’d accomplished things instead of just being bogged in the mire.

      Looking forward to seeing what everybody does!

Leave a Reply to Manisha
Cancel reply

* Required