This morning when my husband left for work, I waved at him happily and sang out, "Ha ha ha, you have to go to work today and I have the day off!" I'm oh so mature that way. I'm enjoying my day off by knitting and watching Euro 2008 soccer matches today, with a side trip out to get a facial. It should be a perfect day. I'm particularly excited that American television has wised up and ESPN is showing all of the games, even though most people here in the States are completely oblivious that this soccer tournament is going on. In the past, I've had to listen to the Euro Tournament via an audio feed from the BBC Sport site on my computer. No visuals, just game audio, kind of like those old timey baseball games on the radio I remember my grandpa listening to. So, you can see why it's pretty exciting that I can now watch my boyfriend, Thierry Henry, in high definition on our new giganto tv. Plus, my pores will be deep cleaned, so I'll be looking good for him.
And I'll be knitting socks today. (And spinning. And knitting a baby gift, but this blog topic is about sock knitting goals, so I have to say I'm knitting socks.) Why? Because I love knitting socks, obviously. And I have an impressive sock yarn stash, that is currently escaped from various plastic bins and is lounging all over the bed in the guest room, but mostly, because I signed up to do the 52 Pair Plunge II, which may be an exercise in insanity. The goal for this group is to knit a pair of socks a week and at the end of the year you have 52 hand knit socks and a deep sense of satisfaction and a little frothing of the mouth. The deal is, I can knit a pair of socks a week. I've even whipped out a pair in two or three days. But do it continuously for an entire year? Doubtful. I mean, I love to knit socks, but I also love to hang out with my family, read a book, work at my job, and shave my legs occasionally. Knowing myself pretty well, I figure there are three possible scenarios:
1. I take on this challenge as a fun goal, knowing ahead of time that it's Mission Probably Impossible, but it will still be fun to see how many pairs I can knit in a year, and it will be a great way to try all the different types of sock yarn in my "collection".
2. I fall behind right from the start, feel frustrated, and throw in the towel and give up, much like when you vow to eat right and then have three glazed donuts for breakfast and figure the day is already shot.
3. My weird competitive streak kicks in and I start knitting socks obsessively, comparing my numbers to the other 52 Pair Plunge knitters, posting my completed socks and count number statistics on the Plunge Blog, while pointing at my computer and shouting, "In your face, suckers!" (Not attractive.)
Obviously, I hope I opt for the high road of Option 1, rather than the wussie quitter mode of Option 2 or the deranged competitor of Option 3. Do I think I can knit 52 pairs of socks in a year? Yeah, if I made it my only knitting goal, but I like to spin and have some lace knitting plans for the summer, and it always seems like I have a baby sweater in progress. But, I like to tally things up. (Note my cool count column on the left of my blog that I figured out how to set up. Yay, me!) In the past, I've counted how many scrapbook pages I've made in a year, but I've quit that tally, as I now could count them on my fingers. I still think it'll be fun to try to challenge myself. I'm estimating that I can pull off somewhere in the mid-thirties for a count number for pairs of socks. I'll see my sister, Kirsten, for her birthday in July, so I could potentially give her a stack of hand knit socks for her birthday present. (She's probably reading this blog right now and saying, "Screw the socks, Jessie! I want a pony!) So, the 52 Pair Plunge II runs from June 1, 2008 through June 1, 2009, putting us well into the second week. I have one completed
pair of socks so far. Now you can't say that I'm already behind schedule, because we're still in the second week, and it's very possible that I finish up another pair. (Remember, lots of soccer match viewing today on my day off from work.) I'd probably have better luck if I were a bit more sock monogamous with my knitting. Here's what I've
got on my needles right now. Yes, that is three different pairs of socks, plus a skein that's just begging to be cast on, because it's always better to have four socks on the needles than three, right? Yeah, Mission Probably Impossible might be correct.