I haven’t taken a real personality test in over 20 years, but I’m pretty familiar with who I am. I’m that person who has a strong desire to finish what I started. Are you one of these? This trait has many rewards, this I know, but would you believe it also has it’s drawbacks?
My younger self (also a seamstress, I’ve been sewing/knitting since before I could ride a bike) could never abandon a project before it was competely finished, even if I knew I didn’t like it, and even at the cost of wasting time finishing. Only once I was completely finished would I release myself from the burden of the project.
I feel like just recently, I’ve crossed a major line of progress in using my “don’t stop until you finish” character by changing what “finished” means to me.
Finished doesn’t have to mean that an actual product was made to completion. It can also mean that the project has served its purpose, and sometimes that happens before it is actually complete.
FINISHED has become more about the PROCESS and less about the PROJECT.
Take this project of knitting a tank top, for example. I’ve knit myself and others many sweaters, but have recently been drawn towards making my own tank top pattern. Once I knit this one far enough to try it on, I realized how much I hated the fit. Rather than getting down on myself for wasting that time and yarn, I counted this project a success since it brought me one step closer to knitting that tank top I dream of, and immediately started unraveling.
And the good news is, there was just enough yarn after I unraveled the whole tank top to knit this baby sweater!
And the even better new is, I enjoyed every stitch along the way!
xo Emily
Looking for a knit or crochet project? I’ve got a growing list of FREE PATTERNS HERE so you too can get lost in the process too!