The 7 Year Project

Yesterday, I had a great idea. Instead of getting to the painting downstairs, I thought, 'I think I want to knit up a pair of legwarmers!' I searched the internet. Found a pattern. Although knitting up 2 legwarmers on dbl. pointed needles really didn't thrill me much after looking over the patterns, I decided it was worth it, because I really wanted some. Plus, I already had some great sock yarn, but really didn't want to mess with making socks. I got to searching for my size 4 dbl pointed needles. They weren't where I thought they should be. I thought a little more.......

Oh yeah, the unfinished project....

7 years ago my sister Rachel and I were taught to knit, by our mom, while we rummaged through my Grandma's old knitting stuff. We were hooked.
Side Note: Joanna learned to knit too. She even knit her and Jon some Christmas Stockings a couple years ago. She had some setbacks, but they totally turned out! However, she just said the other day, that maybe she would learn how to knit, and get on the knitting band-wagon. What? JOANNA, YOU KNOW HOW TO KNIT! :)
Back to the story.....
If you know Rachel at all, you know she was hooked even more than me. She's practically a knitting machine. (Of course, she is a math/computer science major, and very precise in everything she does. Neat and tidy...I'm not really that way, so knitting for me is a little more haphazard). Anyway, that year for Christmas (7 years ago) we were both given sock "kits" which included the yarn and a pattern for making a fancy pair of socks. I don't know, Rachel probably knit those socks up in a couple of evenings or something. I remember she was contemplating getting a pair of clear, rubber shoes so that she could show them off. I found knitting socks to be a total pain, but I suffered through the double-pointed madness and finished one. I have no idea how long it took me, it was seriously so long ago. I had absolutely no desire to start that other sock. I think I put it off for years. Years later I picked it up and thought, 'I just need to finish this'. Having this unfinished project just gave me guilt....like maybe I wasn't capable of having some self-discipline and finishing something. So on a trip to Arizona one year, I took the sock with me. I remember knitting it on the airplane. I knit all the way from the top cuff all the way down, turned the heel and then I never touched it again. All that was left was finishing the foot...easy... but I seriously left it on the needles for the next....I don't know......4 years maybe!

Back to the legwarmers from yesterday. I needed those needles but I couldn't bare to remove them from the poor unfinished second sock. So I set to finishing it. I had a few reservations in my mind, but I pushed them away and finished the job. It was slow and grueling as I messed up several times and had to go backwards to fix it!

Finally, by the end of the day, I finished the sock! I showed Rand when he got home and he said, "Hmmmm, that looks kind of familiar." I was like, "Yeah, I know, I started this project like 7 years ago."

I slipped them on......

Remember how I mentioned some reservations???

This post is about to get longer...Time to get to know me a little better...

I have this weird, freakish problem. I'm not sure how describe it, but it's a little OCD. I have an "even" problem. I like my body to feel balanced and the same on both sides..at all times. :)

Let me explain a little better: If someone punches me in one arm, I will seriously ask them to punch my other arm so that it feels even (ask my siblings). I try to evenly share chewing on both sides of my mouth. If I take off a shoe to remove a rock or something, I remove the other shoe too, so that when I put them back on and tie them up, they both feel the same. One foot isn't warmer than the other or one shoe tighter. I can't dip one toe in the water unless I dip the other. I could go on, but you get the picture. I'm weird. While I'm on this little confess-all, I might as well share as well, that I absolutely HATE touching dry, hot wood (like the dock in the summer) with my bare feet. I basically can't breathe if I do.

Anyway, by now, you have probably guessed what happened with my socks. It is probably the reason I stopped knitting the second sock after I finished the heel. I didn't look too close yesterday before I started, but the second heel was significantly bigger than the first. I can't wear them. One is nice and tight and the other is kind of baggy. I can't stand it.

I finished the project, which in itself gives me satisfaction, and much needed closure. However, it is a failure anyway. Maybe I should rip them out and make a hat...or some baby booties for my little niece who is almost here. I don't know! I don't care! I will probably store them in with my knitting stuff for the next 7 years.

Well, here they are, finished, but unwearable.