I have been watching with interest while Olympic Fever has swept the knitblogging world. Jen and La, Vicki, Daphne, Sedie... Aw, hell, go here for a list of the multitudinous bloggers pulled into the vortex of the 2006 Knitting Olympics.
I'm sorely tempted. I like a good challenge. And I looked through my stash, considered patterns, checked the calendar ( I have two Mondays off during the Olympics), thought about how good it would make me feel to complete a project and...thought about how dumb I'd feel if I didn't finish. And then I realized, I failed the Olympic Trials. Here it is, January 19th and I still haven't finished my Christmas knitting. Not one project finished and given to the recipient. Now, I could and probably will finish them all well before the Olympics begin. But tell me, please, would you pick me for the team? I wouldn't. I am not a monogamus knitter. I don't think I have it in me to stick to one project and one alone for sixteen days straight. And I really disappointed myself with the Christmas knitting. I don't want to set myself up for something like that again.
Then I read Norma's reaction, and then I found Stitchy's (I couldn't put my husband through it either), and The Knitting Fiend, and I started to feel like I'm in good company. Then Margene, I just love Margene, issued an alternate challenge, in the spirit of Eddie the Eagle. "Eddie gave the Olympics his best shot even though he could not win. He trained and played his best, while he had fun and enjoyed the process. If ever any athlete was about the journey it was Eddie. If you want to knit during the games and enjoy your knitting, without deadlines or duress, you can join me in an Eddie Along. It’s all about the process here. Pick a project, knit for the love of it and soar like Eddie. If you finish…good for you, if not, you win anyway."
Now this I could do. And it just so happens that yesterday I was cruising through the ABC Along ring, I found Princess Knits and saw her completed Charley. This is the pattern I've been looking for to knit up the kilo of espresso-colored cashmere blend my brother and I bought at School Products during the Republican Convention (yes, that was in the summer of 2004). And I already have Rowan Magazine No. 37! So, during the Olympics, I will be soaring like Eddie 
, taking advantage of those two Mondays off and knitting stitches of love into a sweater for Timothy. If I don't finish, at least I'll get a good start. If I do, woo hoo!
And one more thing: Go see Kimberli's post from today. It'll get your blood boiling.