So I have more OTN now than I ever have before. I’m working on a cardigan, socks, pillow, blanket, on top of the snuggles and oddball blankets that show up from time to time, and i just got a swap package from someone on ravelry. The shawl pattern she sent me looks great and i’m already in love with yarn (Patons Silk Bamboo, soft as anything!) I want to cast on for the shawl but I’m just not sure if i should or not. i know there’s been a bunch of threads about how many wips people have but i’m wondering more how people manage so many wips. I seem to be working a few rows on every project (except my travel project for work) right now and i just feel like nothing’s getting finished.
I knit for the pleasure of it. That pleasure includes trying out new yarns and patterns. If I am working on something and I come across a pattern that I have to try or a yarn that I must use immediately, I go for it. After a while that loses it’s new project shine and I go back to the other.
I like having a choice, nothing is hanging on when I finish something–that’s solely up to me. I refuse to feel guilty about them.
I know I will eventually finish them up, and I’ll be in the mood to do them. If there’s a project that always gets put to the bottom of the stack, then I have to consider if I’m really going to finish it or if it’s really a frog after all.
One of the hardest parts for me is finding the perfect yarn for the pattern I want to make. Once I find one that clicks, I start it. It’s a relief to know that the decisions have been made and it just needs to be picked up again when the time is right.
I also usually have several projects going at once but eventually I get that “feeling” that having so many projects going at once is counter productive and make myself finish them all before I start another one. If you aren’t experiencing anxiety about all your ufos I say go ahead and cast on for your shawl! Only you know how you feel about having so much to get done!
I have several projects going at once some knitted and the others are crocheted. I go from one project to another. Sometimes I work on them for a day others times off and on for a week. Time spent on a project during the day is 2 to 3 hours and sometimes more. The only day for quality time for me is Sunday. When I finish a good portion of a project I have a great sense of accomplishment and if I finish it entirely, Yea!! I then add another project!
I say go for it!!!
In the interest of keeping my sanity…I keep two projects…a small totable one (usually socks or something of the like) and one that I can do on the couch watching TV.
I learned once from having a WIP on my needles, then needing the needles for another project I wanted or needed to complete, and I didn’t want to run out and get another set…
I do knit for pleasure…but my next lined up project sometimes has a goal…like DH needs a new dice bag, and I have been dying to try out some double handed fair isle technique…so BINGO…next project…or friend is getting married…there is a beautiful lace shawl I would love to make…BINGO…again…
I think it’s a personal choice. If you’re ok with it, then by all means, cast on!! For me, having that many projects going at once would get on my nerves. I, too, knit for the pleasure but I also love the feeling and excitement of finishing a project too. When I have that many going at once, and work on them all a bit here and there, it takes me forever to complete something. I usually have 2-3 going at the same time for different reasons - a brainless, sociable project; a portable project; and one more complicated that requires thinking. But that’s just what works for me. 
It’s all a matter of personal preference, and how you feel. I remember when I first started knitting, I thought I had to finish one project before starting another–and then discovered that’s not what most people do.
I usually have 2-3 going at once–a portable one, a mindless one, and a challenging one, usually. But at any point where I feel I’m juggling too much and not getting anything done, I’ll just pick up one and work till I’m finished before moving on.
So for me, it’s sort of a cycle. Look through patterns, find 2-3, cast them all on over a period of a week or two, cycle through them as I feel like it, add another one or two…get frustrated, and start finishing them up…and then start the cycle again.
About a year ago I decided that I would only do one project at a time because I had too many things OTN and I was getting frustrated, mostly because I didn’t want to work on any of them. I mostly knit socks so sticking with the process has meant that I never suffer from SSS (Second Sock Syndrome) since the minute I finish the first I cast right on with the second. Project started - can’t do anything else. I outwit myself!
I’ve started Christmas knitting, which this year consists of some really funky dish cloths I found patterns for. I finished a pair of socks earlier this week so I did one cloth from Friday evening (finished Saturday morning), made another one Saturday afternoon and another one on Sunday. It’s fun to zip through things, too!
But, I’m a “one at a timer”.