Accomplishment!

I would like to confess to being a knitting loser. I start a lot of great projects, but I don't always finish them. I am terrible at weaving in ends and piecing things together, and so I usually don't fully finish my projects. But tomorrow I am going out to lunch with my BFF for her birthday.

Last year, I planned on making her a really cute tea cozy, which I almost finished, except that it required an i-cord, which I found out was short for idiot cord, because any idiot could make one. Since I did not want to be the only idiot who could not make one, I did not attempt this feat. I bought her something else instead. I can't even remember what I got her.

But this year, she's wanting us to exchange more personal gifts, and I really can't think of anything to give her other than something I knitted. Then I remembered a really cute bag I learned to knit at a class taught by Karen Gress at A Knitted Peace. You can find the pattern here: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/spiral-drawstring-tiny-tote

My friend Allie Pleiter also blogged about her experience making this bag.

Our class ended before I could add the finishing touches, so I didn't quite finish it. But I figured it would be quick and easy to finish in time for tomorrow's lunch, and a cute gift to give my BFF. So I finished it. However, as I was digging in my knitting basket for something I needed, I found the tea cozy I was going to give her last year. And I figured... the bag was actually meant to be given to another friend, although now that it was finished, I really liked it for myself. So... Could I brave learning how to make an idiot cord so I could keep my bag?

By golly, yes!

As I finished up the lovely tea cozy, I realized that it had a lot of stinking ends to weave in. UGH! Did I mention that I'm terrible at weaving in ends? But I did it. And she's not a knitter so she won't look at it and think it's total crap. Hopefully she likes it!

Digging in my knitting basket made me aware of a few other unfinished projects. Most of them requiring just a few simple (HA!) things like weaving in ends and sewing pieces together. But as I sit back and enjoy the feeling of accomplishment of having finished two projects in one night, I think I just might have to work on those too.

Do you have any projects you've been dreading finishing? What can you do to cross them off your list? And if you're not a knitter, think about other projects weighing on you that might take just an evening to get off your plate.