I can't do it. I just can't do it. I gave up many years ago on trying to do "Holiday Knitting". Or any other kind of "Holiday Needlework". The problem probably stems from the fact that I like to do large-ish pieces. Large ccs projects. Large items in knitting - shawls, sweater, blankets. These may not seem large to some people - after all if you sit down and do nothing else, you can whip them out in no time. Look at Miriam with her Icarus design - someone said she did one in 12 days. Look at me - 3 months later I finished it?

A common complaint (look anywhere in knitting blogland right now) is that projects get abandoned for the holiday knitting. Right - that would be me, setting aside some large project for something small. Then, after the holidays, do we jump right back at our abandoned project? Oh, no, something else pleases our eye or catches our attention and off we go. Then, some people (Juno for example) eventually go back to their abandoned projects. Sometimes that's me and sometimes it isn't.

A major problem that I have with unfinished projects is that if I leave them alone for a long enough time, my state-of-the-art advances to where I can't finish them. I have learned some new technique, some new ability, that I can't abandon because it is better, but which is totally incompatible with the old project. It's far better to start and then finish a project without running the risk of improving past it within the project. Consequently, I hate abandoning projects even for a while. I have too many projects that I can't let go of because they were seriously wanted, but which I can't finish because I can't get past my increased technique. I wouldn't hate the project if I had finished it and then moved up a notch; that would just be an acknowledgement that I had grown as a crafter. But I can't finish a project in what I now know is a lesser technique, even if I really wanted that project as a finished piece.

Consequently, I try not to abandon projects, even for holiday knitting. I still make things for people, if they want them. They get them when the pieces are done, regardless of the season. And for Christmas? A nice gift from King Arthur or Harry&David.