Obviously, I'm so excited. Taken from the Radio Times:
In 1984 it was Torvill and Dean; in Calgary it was dear old Eddie the Eagle; and four years ago it was that brilliant women's curling team from Ayrshire who made curling into a source of unlikely national pride as they brushed their way to a gold medal. Tonight sees the colourful opening ceremony; tomorrow the games begin in earnest.
Ok, so they're talking about the "sporting" winter olympics (I refuse to call it "real", the knitting olympics has more people taking part, after all), but my knitter's re-write was too, too geeky to paste up here.
I have been thinking though, and may have (brace yourself) a negative comment to make about the whole olympic experience. I remember round christmas I found myself looking ever so slightly grudgingly at my knitting bag. Only a bit, only a few times, and only round the very end of it all.
I was doing so many presents (my brother, mum and dad all have their birthdays running up to Xmas) it was starting to become more chore than hobby. I know I wasn't the only one; many bloggers and communities discussed "knitters block" or general burn-out during the first few weeks of January. Personally, I blamed the idea of knitting-to-deadline. You couldn't leave something and go and play with that new idea you've just had. Gift-klnitting was oodles of fun and everything, don't get me wrong, but ever so slightly constraining. I vowed I'd be kinder on my hobby next time and factor in more knitting "playtime" for myself.
So why are we doing it all again? Or is olympian knitting different from the gift bonanza of december? I think there is one key difference. For all that we're tagging on a sports event the knitting olympics are a slightly exclusive thing, something to share with our peculiar community of online fiber arts, working challengers and patterns that connect us to knitters and we knit for and celebrate knitting itself (as opposed to all the verity of other things that go on in December). Knitting Olympics as a festival of knitting? Maybe that's why its so popular.
But will we all suffer post olympic burn out? We shall see.
Right, 6pm it is then, off to turn on BBC2 and wait for the torch to be lit. Can't cast on though, I'm at home (and so not in public), damnit. Maybe I'll go sit on the front step. Or maybe I'll get on with my cardi. It might go against the sporting approach of single minded discipline (no pain no gain), but I'm keeping the right to choose.
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