question for those who crochet or knit

[halfwaynowhere]

i'm working on an afghan for my mom as a christmas present, and i'm gonna make a second one for her friend. i was wondering, how do you get "in the mood" to crochet or knit? these are going to take me forever, i just know it, but i know they will be well worth it. I just have a habit of starting a project and then getting tired of it and forgetting about it forever, i have 2 incomplete afghans that i no longer desire to finish... i'm thinking of just setting aside an hour or two each day, and just sit myself in front of the TV (i use it for background noise, and to keep track of time) and crochet, but i think there might be a more efficient way to work on a deadline... i'm doing 2 afghans, 2 simple hat/scarve sets, a hat/scarf set to match a dog sweater for a friend and her dog, and maybe a few other things... last year i only had time for one project, a scarf that was over a foot wide and over 10 feet long, all single crochet.... this time i have more to do, and i want it to get done! Help me!!!

[*Rain*]

Some days you feel like it and some days you don't. You have to recognise that if you are not in the mood, or are too tired, then you are more likely to make mistakes and should probably leave it for later. Prioritise your work, you've got a lot on there. Pick the thing you enjoy doing most first and get that finished, just so you get a feel for getting something over and done with. Then work on the one with the most important deadline. A lot of crafters work on different projects at the same time, something mindless and easy to work on when stuck in front of the tv, something difficult that they work on when their mind is fresh etc. Just hang in there and keep going, you'll get there in the end.

[Raven Reed]

If you figure out how to get projects finished, more power to you. I have started more projects, and never finished them, than I like to think about. :(

[halfwaynowhere]

well, my mom went crazy at the store and bought enough yarn to make 3 more afghans, after i finish hers... she wants me to make them to sell, which i could do.... its knitting and crocheting month at Joanns, so their prices are a bit better than they usually are for yarn, but the color selection is really limited... yesterday there were plenty of colors in the one pound skeins, today there were only a few colors, none of which i really cared about... i don't have a job anymore so i have all the time in the world to work on these, but i think i'll only do one at a time... maybe i'll work on some smaller projects in between, but i can't let myself do too much at once or nothing will ever get done...

[*Rain*]

Do YOU want to make afghans to sell? There's no joy in making projects that you don't have the heart for. All too often crafters get volunteered for projects by friends and relatives and they can't say no. Ensure you also make plenty of things inbetween that give you pleasure to make, otherwise you will end up resenting every stitch. Sorry if this sounds a little harsh, but i'm on a knitting forum where you hear too many tales of woe from people who have been bullied into making things they don't want to. I don't like to see people have the joy of knitting taken away from them.

[halfwaynowhere]

well, my mom has this idea that i can make one afghan from each pattern, post pictures on a website, and have people order them from me in whatever color they want... i don't think thats such a great idea, i think if i do sell them, i will only sell the ones i have already made, i think there would be too much pressure on me to do it any other way... i do want to make the ones i'm doing as gifts, and after those, i'll see what i want to do, i know that if i wanted to sell them, i probably could, but i don't think that its really a good idea anyways considering all the time i will have put into them, and i would feel guilty charging as much as i would deserve... but gifts are fine, the one i'm doing for my mom is turning out beautiful so far...

[Winter_wolf]

I refuse to start a new project without finishing the one I'm currently on. It is extremely painful at times to work on a project your heart isn't into but if you keep hopping from one project to another you'll never get things done. I just finished an afghan for my husband... it took a long time and towards the end it was driving me nutts because I wanted to work on a scarf/mitten/hat set for my daughter. But I made myself finish it. I was practically jumping for joy when he said he didn't want fringe.

Sometimes I'm totally not in the mood to crochet other days that is all I want to do. After about 2hrs of crocheting consistantly my left hand starts to cramp up so I have to stop... which is very annoying if you really want to keep working on something :(

As far as making stuff to sell... You might want to consider trying something new each project. It helps keep you interested. I made an afghan for my daughter that was all single crochet... I was bored stupid by the end of it. So the next one I made for my hubby was a zigzag pattern in double crochet... then I moved to a scarf that is all half double crochet with 3 colors that I had to rotate in... next is a hat. I would really like to make myself a granny square afghan, I figure that will keep me amused for a while because I've never made one before. If you keep doing the same type of project over and over again your going to go nutts :) Variety helps a lot with motivation.

Definately don't do on-demand type orders... the pressure is a total demotivator. My husband bugged me constantly for a year for an afghan and it didn't motivate me much... I couldn't imagine having a paying customer bugging about one.