There's a number of projects in progress, or rather on hold, that I've needed to re-evaluate and draw a line through.

Kitchener Unravelled
Y'know, I think this book project has turned into my nemesis. 

It's been 2 or 3 years now since I put this one on hold, as I really haven't had the headspace to work on it. And a few months back I decided I needed to close this one for good. I no longer include Kitchener at the top of my workshop list as I just don't feel the love for it anymore.

Kitchener Unravelled was very much a left-side-of-the-brain project which isn't very healthy, at least not right now - my pattern collections that mix techniques with designs offer more balance which works for me so well. And if I'm honest, I simply don't have the confidence anymore to put out a book solely on Kitchener. There is so much more information available now than there was when I was working on Going Straight (which is where the idea for Kitchener Unravelled came from) and this little indie can't compete with the big boys. Not in the slightest. 

It's a shame, as I did so much work for this, spent months researching, paid for illustrations to be done, but it would require so much more investment, financially and emotionally, to get it off the ground again and it's not there to give. It really is best laid to rest. Though I'm still holding onto that title, just incase...

Getting Stranded
This one is still a good idea, but the thought of working on another mammoth book to the scale of Going Straight fills me with dread.

Getting Stranded was intended as 20+ Hats with a twist, all using colourwork in a different way, Wormhead stylee. There's a fair few designs charted out, and maybe this one would work best as a 10 pattern collection, something like 'Stranded Woolly Toppers'? The 10 pattern collections are more of a winner - they're a more manageable project size, and for their investment vs return, they earn relatively better. And so the future will hold more of those, and a stranded topper collection would be a good compromise, no?

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Part of me, the big stick part that likes to repeatedly wack me round the head, is feeling like a failure for not finishing these projects. Even though I decided months back to close these doors it's taken this long to find the balls just to type that I'm conceding. On the other hand, on the (currently rare) occasion when the optimistic side finds it's way through the fog, I'm hoping the pressure will start to dissipate and I'll be able to breathe a little more lightly. There's nothing like letting go of a dead weight that you've been carrying around for too long.

Being honest with myself about what I can realistically cope with (rather than what I'm capable of, which is a whole other thing) is an essential part of self management. Sure, I do feel like a failure for dreaming up grand schemes then failing to see them through, yet at the same time, I'm pretty damn proud of the fact that I'm still here, alive and breathing, and finding the energy to be creative and (mostly) productive despite the best efforts of the black dog.

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We're going to view a bunch of caravans this afternoon - wish us luck that we found something decent, of the right size/layout and watertight within our budget?