Hi all,
This is not about a “WIP” per say but rather a knitting journal where you keep track of your "WIP"s and "FO"s. (Hmm… how do you make those plural? That looks wrong!)
Now, I’m not talking about the kind of journal where you write down your personal stuff or anything like that - unless you want to! (Hey, someone might want to put in their interesting knitting dreams? No names given! :roflhard: ) I’m talking about a book where you keep track of what you knit. I’ve been doing it for about a year now and find that it helps TONS! Plus, whenever I feel like a slug who never gets anything done, I open it up and go, “dang, I’ve done a lot!” :happydance:
I went to one of the book stores (Border’s I think) and got one of those hardback blank journals. It was like 6 or 7 bucks - they always have them on sale! In the front, I wrote down the story of how I started knitting. On the blank pages, I put what I knit. What kind of stuff do I put? Well…
When I started/finished.
What yarn and how much.
Which needles and extras (cable needles, etc)
The pattern - can be a word like “scarf” or a full pattern noted down.
If it was a gift, who got it and what was the occasion.
Sometimes I put a scrap of the yarn in there if it’s something very interesting or different. I ALWAYS put any “Thank You” notes in there but… there’s aren’t as many as I’d like. 
If I love or hate the pattern, I write that down too. There are some things that turn out great but I HATE doing them - good to remember! I try to put in pictures but those usually end up on a CD with all my other knitting pictures.
So… why should you do this? If you’re a new knitter, it’s a great resource. I find that I go back and look at what I’ve done before and try new things. OR I look back and think of way to make the same thing different - new stitches or yarn or whatever. If you give lots of knitted gifts… I can’t tell you how much this helps! I can look back and see that I made someone a scarf for Christmas last year and this year, I can make a matching cap! I also avoid giving knitted gifts that are a little too similar to ones I’ve done before. If you’ve been knitting forever, it’s something new to do! Why? Well… why not?
My DD claims that she wants this book, eventually. Hmm… that’s interesting. I might be making something that will be handed down. :shock: What if my beloved MIL had done something like this! What if I were the one to get it!!! Ooooo! Wouldn’t that be cool to see what she knitted over the years - she was the South African version of Ingrid until arthritis took away the joy of knitting. :crying:
Anyway… this is my WIP that is never ending. I find that I enjoy writing down what I’ve done and watching the book fill-up. It’s something that I thought other folks might enjoy doing as well. The possibilities are endless - do it on computer, use a spiral notebook, use index cards… whatever! I just wanted to throw out the idea because I’ve not seen it mentioned here before. Well, I mentioned it in my blog but… that’s different. If the idea appeals… take it and run with it! Make it your own!
Later! Angela
I bought just a small 8x8 inch book and use 1-2 pages per project – I include all the info that you guys do, and a couple of pictures and a swatch of the yarn. (Plus, it helps me use up all the scrap pieces of cardstock and random stickers and embellishments left over from my “real” scrapbooks.) It’s neat to pick it up every now and then and see what I’ve accomplished, plus then I have the fun of making up the pages!