Olympic Victory: thank god it's over

Whew. Rogue was finished in the nick of time, and proudly worn Sunday. I even watched a (very small) portion of the closing ceremonies in the Rogue. And you know what? It fits, and it's comfy, and warm, and I love it. But I don't think I can ever do a monogamous knitting project again.

At first, I loved how it consumed me. The competitive drive to churn out this sweater in 16 days really lit a fire under my ass, and I dove right in enthusiastically. But somewhere around day 8 or 9, I realized how behind I was in real life stuff, like getting taxes ready, receiving inventory at the store, doing my bookwork and paying bills, yadda yadda yadda. And once I took a break to do those things, I lost my zeal to attack the Rogue with everything I had.

So it sat, near completion, for several days. I finally finished all of the knitting around day 13. And then it sat again, just needing the hem sewn up, until the morning of the 26th. It took all of half an hour to put the finishing touches on, and I was oh so happy to know I was done with the damn thing.

Don't get me wrong: Rogue - wonderful pattern; MY Rogue - wonderful sweater. But focusing on one project for 16 days at the cost of all other creative outlets and distractions was really exhausting! And my face is full of zits, which really pisses me off. I have no proof that there is a direct correlation, but let's just say there is.

So to sum up my event in the 2006 Knitting Olympics, I would have to say that it was enjoyable (overall), that I learned a tremendous amount about myself and my knitting, and that it did indeed inspire me. But I'm glad to be done.

Here's the finished Rogue and some highlights from the Olympics (more pics to follow when I'm back at work tomorrow):