Get Outta My Queue!
Last night I was poking around Ravelry* and looking at some of the new patterns that were posted yesterday. I added a pattern for a cute snuggle bunny to my queue and then thought to myself, "I wonder how many patterns I have queued? Last I checked it was up to page 4..."
I hopped over to my queue page and clicked on the number 4 indicating the last page of patterns in my queue. I scrolled to the bottom and found that I have a whopping 117 patterns in my Ravelry queue. I had two patterns for how to make a Granny Square, so I deleted one bringing my total patterns queued down to 116. That's a lot of patterns; and I haven't even counted the ones in my Crochet-A-Day calendar at work that I've kept as the days have ticked by.
Understanding the value of having many patterns available at my disposal (keeps the options open!), I don't want to completely wipe out the queue. I also am feeling very overwhelmed that there are 116 things that I'd like to make on a list that will inevitably keep on growing if I don't do something to control it. The reality is that I don't crochet fast enough to keep up with the rate that I have been adding patterns.
I thought about what to do and decided that if I want to feel any sense of accomplishment and control over my queue, I need to stop adding patterns. The problem is that with 5-10 patterns being added to the database daily, I'm always intrigued to see what's new and interesting - and I end up adding 1-3 patterns to my queue with each look. I don't want to say I'm addicted to looking at patterns and adding them to my queue... but I'll say it's bordering that.
What I've decided to do is fast from adding patterns to my queue for a little while. I cannot add any more patterns to my queue until the queue count is below 95. That's about 20 projects completed specifically off of my queue. Projects that I'm currently working on do not count towards the number, and projects that I do that are not currently on the queue (I have 2 hats I'm going to be making that are NOT on the queue, for example) also do not count. This is not going to be an easy thing for me to do because I love looking at the new patterns, but I need to do it before my queue overwhelms me too much and I stop bothering with it.
Heck, I've managed to control my Goodreads queue of what to read next - why am I having such a hard time with this queue? I'd rather use it for what it is - a means to keep me on track without getting overwhelmed trying to figure out what to read/crochet next.
Wish me luck!
*For those of you who don't know, Ravelry is an online community for people who knit and crochet. I perform the latter, and am a member of said community. It also allows you to have a queue of patterns, track your various projects both finished and unfinished, maintain your yarn stash, and keep a listing of your related books.
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3 comments:
I used to be the same way with books. I'd go on Amazon and just make a huge list of books that I wanted to read, then I'd take the list to the library or what not. I finally realized that that wasn't much fun, always having an idea of what I was going to read next. Granted, I do have a system of searching for books on the shelf alphbetically...but I still end up surprised by what I bring home most of the time.
I see no problem with adding patterns to your queue like a madwoman. I do it!
I think to limit the queue limits its usefulness. Sure, I probably won't live long enough to finish all these things, but at least I know where all the patterns are that I would like to make some day. If you want to make it, add it so you don't forget about it.
I also use the favorites collection as a place to store patterns I might never make but I do like the idea of.
If you're ever in a crochet-slump, it would be horrible for your queue to be missing the one pattern that could get you out of it.
But yeah, I do totally know what you mean. I'm still adding tons of stuff, but I've been making a conscious effort to knock some stuff out of the queue, especially small things I know I can finish quickly.
Wow, that's quite a queue. Very much like my netflix....I feel like I'll never get through it!
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