Today, I am done picking up the stitches around the heel flap and am about to watch a movie and begin decreasing for the gusset stitches. Relatively speaking I'm being speedy, but technically, I am supposed to finish this sock tomorrow and begin the second on Saturday. eek!However, as I was describing my knitting progress to my best friend Jaime, I realized that the major hurdle for me with this project has already passed. Just the sticking to my plan and not getting tempted away by other projects was a major challenge. After knitting with my KnitLawrence friends on Saturday, I came home and started thinking about all of the other kinds of knitting projects I could have chosen for the Olympics. I even have all of the materials I need to make this lace shawl which would certainly be a challenge as I've never done a truly 'lace' project yet. And as I sat on the couch working on the sock and stewing over the idea of dropping it and starting the shawl instead, I realized just by sticking with the socks, I was completing a part of my personal challenge. Just sticking with my project and not setting it aside for a different project or whim was huge. And it's not like I'm bored with the sock by any means. It's just that I'm constantly wanting to move on to more seemingly interesting things.
I did break my rule a bit by reading a novel (gasp!) this week. The Center of Everything is the Read Across Lawrence 2006 book. It's a smart book I would have enjoyed as a teenager, but which still engaged me as an adult. The author lives in Lawrence and the book takes place in Kansas so, while I didn't grow up here, I felt very close to the story. It was like reading A Moveable Feast by Hemingway while living in Paris. I love being able to tie books and movies and music to a place or experience.
I feel slightly overwhelmed by all of the books I want to read right now so I think I will go sit back down on the couch and knit and watch a movie.
