What Hedrick and I have in common...

****EDIT: A COUPLE OF HOURS LATER, I REALIZED HEDRICK'S NAME IS "CHAD" NOT GREG. I'M BLAMING IT ON LACK OF COFFEE....***

Did you watch Greg Hedrick in the 6 mile speed skate last night? Here is a guy who watched the last Olympics from Reno or Vegas or some such place, played blackjack and thought to himself, "Why aren't I there?" So he did something about it...changed sports from inline skating to speed skating and four years later...he is an Olympian with a Gold, Silver AND a bronze. Last night was the most exciting moment of the Olympics that I've seen so far...He was obviously fatigued but kept on...when he saw his competitor about to overtake him a few laps before the end, despite his fatigue, he said..."oh no you don't! You're gonna have to work hard to get past me!" and he took off and won Silver.

So what do Greg and I have in common? I'm pretty damn tired from my Olympian effort, that's what. But, I'm not giving up. There have been some points lost during these Knitting Olympics...but a lot has been learned.

• Neck cable point inside out - Lesson learned: Trust my instincts
• Mis-crossed cable on one side of body - Lesson learned: EZ's advice about "admiring" your work frequently...I could have tinked back and dealt with this easily if I'd been watching my work...instead, I didn't see it until a day or two (and many hours of work) later.
• Shoulder seams look a little "beginnerish" - Lesson learned: Cut myself some slack. I gave myself a load of grief over this one, till I realized, hey, this is the first time I've ever gotten this far in a sweater, the first time I HAVE seamed the shoulders, so duh, it IS beginnerish.
• Day 15 and sweater not done, nor will it be by closing ceremonies - Lesson learned: Rogue was definitely an Olympian challenge for me. I have continued on despite my falls, double-instead-of-triple jumps, and imperfect landings. I have gotten farther on this sweater in 15 days than I have in months of working sporadically on other projects. The ultimate lesson: Knit on...despite your projects imperfections...Knit on.

Today at 7 a.m., a little over 24 hours from The End of the Olympics, I am about to start row 9 of the hood. I have some concerns...when I hold it up, the sweater looks long and skinny, weirdish. I'm holding out on that point till the sweater is blocked. Overall, I'm very happy with my progress and send out huge kudos to Steph for beginning it all in the end. Non-knitters may think we're crazy, hon, and hell, we ARE....but we are a breed apart. And in my book, that's a good thing.