Deciding Which Knitting Project to Bring

With three kids, it's sometimes hard to get out the door. Does everyone have their shoes? Teeth brushed? Got all the stuff you need to bring? Got a jacket? Where's kid #2? Oh, next door? Doesn't want to leave? As my mom used to say, "It's like sweeping ants."

But now that I'm knitting, there is another challenge to getting all us ants out the door - figuring out which project to bring with me to knit.

Like most knitters, I have several projects going at once. The easy project, the fun project, the challenging project, the project I just cast on, and the project that I really should finish because it's so close but I'd rather do the other projects, the project for Aunt Martha I promised a year ago...

To get out the door, I must decide, among all the options, which is the optimal project to take.

To figure out this conundrum, I must analyze the following:

• How long will we be waiting? (The project I'm almost done with or the one that has five more hours left?)
• Will I be outside or inside? (Wind, dirt, weather.)
• Is conversation probable? (Rib, stockinette, garter, or seed stitch only, please.)
• Will the kids need me to participate? (See previous question.)
• Will I be able to sit? (Easier to knit standing with straights on a small project.)
• Will the space I'm in be clean? (Dirty places are terrible for knitting sweaters or blankets.)
• Will there be any animals? (Who will eat, play with, or slobber on my yarn?)
• Will I have access to a yarn store? (In case I run out of yarn.)
• Will anyone else be knitting? (Will I need to bring extra needles?)
• Will anyone else be there who will want to talk about knitting? (In which I bring my most beautiful project with me, preferably one I've completed. Just so we can talk about knitting techniques, I swear.)
• Will there be a crocheter? (In which I bring my most complicated project with me. Just for informational purposes, I swear.)

As you can see, with each outing, there's an assessment of what kind of knitting opportunity it will be and which project I need to take to fit the situation. This takes time! And it adds a certain amount of complication to getting everyone in the car and ready to go.

After careful consideration, and the kids are hollering at me to leave, that they've got their shoes, their jackets, their stuff, and all the kids have been retrieved by the neighbors, it's me standing in front of my yarn wall, looking at my project bags, trying to decide what to do.

"Mom! Come on!"

"Be right there!" I holler back.

So much pressure. We're late. We've got to go! Looking at my projects, there really is only one choice.

I'll bring them all.