Endurance Test

Last week, PT finished a 10 day class that is part of his JD program. Ten days of class and then three to three and a half hours worth of homework. During one of the few conversations we had over this period, he expressed to me how burnt-out he was from the class. I told him to think of it as an endurance test and that I knew he could make it to the end successfully. Sure, I know what you're thinking - I would have said that for any one of my friends. That's not necessarily the case and if I didn't believe it to be true I would have come up with other words of inspiration instead. I can't say all my friend could handle something like that. Honestly, I can't say that I could handle such a testsituation. Ten days straight of class (including weekends) all day, PLUS homework on top of that. Hmmmm . . . I don't know.

I've been thinking of PT's plight today because I recently dove in to making the Cookie A. Mystery sock that I posted about a few weeks back. After a few false starts I put them aside and focused my knitting energy on blankie. However, yesterday I decided the time had come to tackle this pattern once again. Ok, so making socks is not quite the same thing as taking a 10 day law school class. Not even close! But I have to say, these socks is somewhat of an endurance test in-and-of-itself.

Currently, I am finished with the first 26 row left leg repeat. (There are two more to do - though I may just do it once more since I don't like super long legs.) There is no way in hell I could knit this pattern two at a time. I'd have myself committed before that ever happened. Or, knitting two at a time would most likely put me in a state in which I would need to be committed.

Somewhere around row 10 I started to grow less and less fond of my cable needle (I need to learn my friend's secret to cabling on socks without a cable needle) and around row 15 or so I wondered if it would be truly THAT tragic if I were to just finish the left sock and not complete a right one. Seriously, the sock knitter that has never had second sock syndrome is considering taking on the habit. Do they call DCFS for orphaning your knitted socks???

***SIGH***

I can do this. I know I can! I know I can!! I know I can!!! (Said the little froggie that could. . . ) Right now, it just doesn't seem like it. I laugh each time I have put the sock down after a few rows because I know a friend of mine who completed this pattern recently would feel vindicated in their feelings towards said pattern. If I can understand anyones plight at this moment - it's hers! Actually, I'd be willing to bet dollars to dough nuts she's laughing just reading this post.

At the end of the day, this is not a difficult pattern. Cables aren't difficult. It is just a tedious one that challenges ones ability to persevere. In the end, I have no doubt that I will at some point be displaying my finished pair of mystery socks on this blog. When is just the questions.

Until later . . .