Chances are, if you’re a knitter or crocheter you probably have a few UFOs lying around, and no…not kind from outer space. UFO, by the crafter’s definition, is an Unfinished Object. You know, those projects you’ve started but haven’t finished and that you’re not currently working on. The projects that have been sitting in a corner and haven’t seen the light of day in a long time.
Why do we have UFOs? There are lots of reasons why a project might turn into a UFO, but the main reasons I’ve come across are either because we got distracted by another project and forgot all about the project that’s now one of our UFOs or because we’re just not loving the project anymore. Maybe you got bored with the pattern, or you don’t love the color you originally chose, and because of that, you’ve lost all motivation to work on it. Or perhaps there’s a technique in the pattern you’re unfamiliar with, and the fear of failure is holding you back from finishing it.
If it’s a project you had forgotten about but still love, then you’ll more than likely want to pick it back up and finish it.
But what do you do if it’s a project that you just don’t like anymore?
Don’t feel guilty about scraping an unfinished object
When you’re just not feeling inspired by your project anymore and if you feel more frustrated at the thought of having to continue to work on it than you do at frogging the entire thing, then it’s time to let it go.
You can rip back, wind up the yarn and save it for another project. If you think your unfinished object is something that you will enjoy working on again in the future, then you can always leave it, work on other projects in the meantime and when the time is right, go back and turn your UFO into an FO.
You learn from your mistakes
If it’s a difficult technique you’re struggling with, fear not! There are lots of resources online that could help, and you can always go to your local yarn store if you still can’t figure it out.
Be fearless in your knitting (or crafting). Mistakes happen, and as Stephanie Pearl-McPhee says, “It’s only knitting, and it’s one of the few times in your life when there are no bad consequences to a mistake.” So don’t be afraid to make mistakes, and don’t let that fear keep you from trying new things.
Know that it’s ok to change your mind. Unfinished objects happen. Crafting is supposed to bring us joy, and life is too short to be working on something you don’t love. I know it can be hard to frog a project, especially if you’ve already spent a lot of time working on it, but sometimes you just got to let it go and start fresh.
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