Miter-ing

I can't say I wasn't warned...it does say in plain English, right there on page 106 of Mason-Dixon Knitting "Miters are one of the most addictive of knitting pleasures." But I just assumed it meant addictive as in, "Oh, that's fun to knit, I think I'll casually make 20 or 30 as gifts." You know, normal addictive knitting. Maybe that's where I miss it. Truly addictive knitting must not be normal.

I am obsessed by these miters. I started one with leftover dish cloth cotton (ok, it's sorta my favorite yarn anyway) just to see how it was done. The colors, striping into that square, it just blew me away. So now I've been to every possible local outlet for cotton yarn, in desperate search of this teal color...but to no avail! Why is this an issue? Because I MUST MAKE A BAG out of these miters!!!! I've dropped all other knitting projects in a dejected heap to do this thing that I MUST DO. It's like I no longer have the power to make a decision about what I'm going to knit. I've started squeezing knitting time into little snippets of time that really aren't that ideal for knitting. As if I didn't haul the knitting around a lot as it is!

Even just thinking about mitering and the resultant planned bag have distracted me to the point of doing things I don't normally do...like put the detergent and water in the washer, but not the laundry; forget to cook meals; and, here's my favorite: be an idiot at a fast food drive-thru. There I was, salivating at the thought of a Schlotzsky's original (hold the onion), pulling up to the drive-thru. Oh, good, there's another car, that gives me time to peruse the menu, just in case I get really crazy and decide to order something different, which I haven't done since 1988. Nah, I'll stick with the Original. And I'll just knit a few rows of this miter while I wait my turn.

Huh, what? Oh. My.

How long HAVE I been sitting here, at the speaker and menu, while the poor guy inside has been waiting for me to order???? I didn't SEE the speaker. But it makes sense that they would put it right next to the menu, right? Golly. Give order, drive forward, pretend not to be so stupid I don't know how a fast-food joint works. Play it cool. Oh, wait, hide the knitting!

The benefit of the compulsive mitering is that maybe it'll be like a summer storm---violent, noisy, intense, but over soon---and I can return to my normal (there's that word again) life. Or I could start making blankets...the Mitered Square Blanket on pages 108-109 only takes 80 squares! I can DO that!!