Curse broken!

18 Aug 2008: I think I got my groove back - I was able to finish patterns 10 and 11 of the Summer Sampler stole in quick succession. Presently, the stole is about 2 m long (about 2.2 yards) which is rather long, but exactly what I want, because I plan to take it to work to wrap around my shoulders and neck. My cubicle is directly underneath an air register and I always have some kind of cool or cold draft blowing at me. This will be perfect. Can't wait for the last pattern and then the border.

Pattern 11

Pattern 10

And this is the pattern that took over 2 weeks' time, because I kept making stupid mistakes:

Pattern 9

Time flies when you are having fun - not so much when you have to tink back ... has anyone read The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann? It's a most excellent book. One of its main leitmotifs is a variation of the old legend of the magic mountain. You enter it and spend what seems like a short time inside. But once you leave (if you find the way out that is!) you realize that a long time has passed. The perception of time is very elastic. If your days seem short, because they are taken up with a lot of activities (if you are very conscious of what you are doing, iow), and you look back at that general time frame, it will appear long (because so much has happened). Conversely, if your days seem long, because you either do the same things over and over again or have nothing to do (iow if you are bored or don't pay attention), then looking back at that time period, it will seem like a very short time overall. You would be able to sum it up in a few words. It's a fascinating subject.