How Do You Do What You Do?

My DH says I'm a focus freak - well, not in those words exactly - but he often teases me on my ability to focus so intently on what I'm doing that I shut out all distractions. For example, when I drive I tend to focus on where I'm going and the path I need to follow to get there, plus my fellow drivers, etc. I don't gaze around me at the scenery, looking at different buildings, landmarks, etc., unless those are part of my directions I use to help me get to where I'm going. So if I'm riding with my DH, it's not unusual for me to suddenly say something like, "Wow...when did the (such & such) restaurant go out of business?" My DH will look at me like I'm a moron and reply that it's been gone for 6 months.

However, when I knit I can't just sit and knit in silence. I have to have some distraction or else it's just too quiet and (gasp), dare I say it, boring. There is a small voice in my head that just squeeked, "Maybe you'd get more knitting done if you sat in silence," but I just ignore it. I used to knit and watch movies, but I found that I concentrated too much on the movie and not enough on my knitting. I still knit while watching some sporting events, such as Arsenal football, or MotoGP racing. But I really enjoy listening to an audio book while reading.

I started listening to audio books when I found that listening to music just wasn't motivating me enough to work out. I'd play the same album over and over until I got sick of it, then move onto another album. I'd listened to an audio book in the car before (on vacation), so I gave it a go and it really worked.

Now I find I check out more audio books from the library than paper books, with the exception of knitting books, of course. :) Obviously there are so many wonderful books out there that are converted to audio format, but my two favorites for listening & knitting are:

• Duma Key, by Stephen King (love this book - listen to it over and over)
• the complete Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, partly because Jim Dale has such a great voice

Work progresses on the star sweater (I'll show pics in the next post), and my "count every RS row" method is helping me avoid repetitive re-work. I am sure when I'm knitting in public, people must think I'm a counting freak, stopping at the end of every other row to count. No, I'd tell them, I'm not a counting freak...I'm a focus freak.