The Gym Bag Syndrome

This might seem like an unusual name for a post on knitting, but it is very pertinent to describe the situation I found myself in after I had finished my first project. Believe me, I will make good my case.

So here I was, the scarf for my dear mother all ready and delivered, thinking that I was ready to conquer the knitting world now. At this stage, I was beset by what my father likes to call the Gym Bag Syndrome. It’s when you stock up your gym bag with the trendiest athleisure wear from Reebok, get the biggest box of whey protein from GNC and buy all sorts of pain sprays and ice packs in anticipation of workout injuries you are likely to get – without ever having stepped foot in the nearby uber-elite ‘Ozone Fitness and Spa’ for which you have already taken a very expensive year-long membership. Simply put, it’s the equivalent of putting the cart before the horse. I guess sensible people probably spend a month regularly exercising at the gym first and then decide to splurge on stocking up on the gym bag. Unfortunately, I don’t fall into that category.

It pains me to tell you of the number of knitting-related accessories I purchased in just one day, with a little help from my friend, Jeff Bezos. In fact, words may not suffice to demonstrate the gravity of the situation, so I will let a picture do the talking

As you can see, most things I could have done without. Hell, I think I can still do without some of them. But why harp on bygones? I also purchased a speckled, multi-coloured (very thready) pink and blue yarn from Vardhaman, believing that after my bulky yarn experience, I was ready to tackle anything. Oh boy, was I wrong! In fact, I was so wrong that I even forgot to wind the yarn into knitting balls. That is when the infamous incident, of my saintly husband (then partner) Nikhil spending 4 hours untangling the whole mess, took place. Imagine, if you will, two people on opposite ends of a long dining table, pushing and pulling, trying to make sense of the mayhem. That incident should probably go down in the annals of history as a feat of extreme patience (on Nikhil’s part) in face of grave provocation (on the yarn’s part and maybe mine).

In any case that was enough to make me realise that it was time to set my sights a bit lower and work with something easier. I didn’t look at that Vardhaman yarn for 2 years until earlier this year when I felt sufficiently skilled to tackle it. I found a lovely lace shawl pattern, put some of the accessories mentioned above to use and voila!

So the moral of the story is – it’s not bad to stock up the gym bag in anticipation of gymming (or in this case knitting), as long as you have the patience and perseverance to stick it out till the very end.

~P