Totally fun to knit

I am doing a Stephen West mystery knit-along -- my third -- but I haven't really been enjoying it. I'm behind, so I've been avoiding the Ravelry chat about the pattern, which is part of the fun. I've been having some repetitive strain issues, and one side of the first clue is a tricksy combination of stripes, I-cord, and slipped stitches that messed with my tension in a way I would like to go back and fix. "This is not very fun to knit," I thought to myself. This was a bummer, because "totally fun to knit" could be the hashtag for the Stephen West projects in my Ravelry notebook.

But I have been thinking of the shawl as a birthday gift, and birthdays do not move to accommodate repetitive strain injuries, so I buckled down and finished the first clue with occasional Yosemite Sam swearing moments. Tonight I started the second section, and it is magical. "I am going to knit this FOREVER," I said to myself. "This is the BEST BEST BEST," said some primal part of my brain as it was flooded with dopamine. "Even if it DOES cause Donald Trump to be re-elected," said a part of my brain with a tenuous grasp on logic, "it would almost be worth it." "NOPE, TOO FAR," said all the rest of my brain in emphatic unison. 

I don't know what it is about his patterns, but they make me weirdly happy. The products are often kind of strange, but the process is a joy. Here's a picture for you so you can appreciate the strangeness (and we're just beginning! so much strangeness to come, I have no doubt). As for me, I'm off to knit.