Reality - do the math

So I was working on Carole's shawl again last night, and watching Mythbusters. And at the end of the show, I had done ONE repeat of the pattern. One repeat = 11 rows. 11 rows = 1 inch. This shawl is supposed to be 66" long, and I have 18" to go. There is NO WAY I am going to get in 18 hours of knitting time in the next week, so I told Carole her birthday just got moved to Labour Day. *grin* She's fine with it, told me not to stress about it.

This reminds me of when I did the 2006 Knitting Olympics and did the math... every time I do the math I have this wall of reality hit me. Why is it that I think shawls are small projects? Note to self: Shawls are BIG projects. Especially shawls that are not a big open lacy pattern (Adagio is decidedly NOT open and lacy, but rather like a corrugated blanket for the shoulders. It will be warm).

If I knit as my full-time job, this shawl would take 2 weeks of full-time knitting. As it is, it is taking a little over 2 months of part-time knitting. I love it, but will never knit it again. Ever! [1]

My real job however is going pretty well - I am caught up on the stuff that gets neglected when I get busy, and am actually working at a summer pace - i.e. half my usual speed. Stuff's still getting done but I'm not stressing. That, and cutting back to 1 coffee a day in the morning, is making me sleep better at night. [2]

I still have songs from "Rent" floating through my head - that show really stuck with me. I did not go see the live show (god, that was 10 years ago!) when it was big and came to Ottawa - at the time, the idea of a musical about AIDS was just wrong to me - a little too close to home. But now having seen the movie version a few times, I see that it's about hope and love and good things, and it makes me feel good (yeah, I cry at points, but it's cathartic). Forget regret, or life is yours to miss. Yep. Also the story of the guy that wrote the show is amazing all on its own - if you don't know it, rent the 2-disc DVD and watch the documentary on disc 2. Wow.


[1] You have to imagine Jamie from Mythbusters saying "Ever!", right there.
[2] Yes, I can sleep with Peter gone. Last night I was in bed at 8:00 and out light the proverbial light. Which made waking up at 3 a.m. significantly less painful.