Something about putting in waste yarn as reminders.
Well, that's a great suggestion. Because sometimes from one day to the next I don't know where I left off, when I did the last inc/decrease, especially in something that says to "decrease every third row", or even better "decrease at rows 57, 92, and 111."
As self-declared Regional Queen of the UFOs, I have come up with a few strategies of my own.
1) Always keep a copy of the pattern with the WIP (which may become a UFO at any moment). I don't carry my prized books and magazines with me. I photocopy, or print, the page to carry in my knitting bag. I learned this the hard way; lost the pattern for my DD1's "wedding afghan" and it took me 3 years to get another. I still haven't been brave enough to try to figure out where I was.
a) I never know when a WIP will spontaneously become a UFO. It's not like I see it coming or it's a conscious decision. It's a default setting: I lost the bag, started another project, got sidetracked, ran out of materials, lost a tool, Who Knows?! But I do not ever remember saying "I think I'll pack this away until some later time and finish it then".
b) If I carried the whole book with me for every WIP in my bag today, I would have 2 magazines, 2 full sized books, and a computer in there. The point is, it would weigh a ton and have all my significant support people thinking I'm crazier than I really am.
i) OK, I admit, I do have one of those USB drive things with some of the pattens stored on it. And about 10 sheets of paper in various states of crumple.
More next time.........
