Cabled-out

Why is knitting a basic stocking stitch such a torture? Even knitting a gauge swatch, all I can see is that the stitches are uneven, loose, inconsistant. I show my mother the swatch and she can't see anything wrong with it. And I'm going to unravel the goddam thing anyway! I can knit with dpn's, place a thumb, cable, yarn-over, crochet with 1.75mm hooks, but a stupid stocking stitch will drive me up the wall. I will spend half the time sitting there, yanking at the yarn trying to get it even. And yet another week without an Illo Friday submission! I keep telling myself I will do a two-minute drawing as soon as I get the topic, but I've said that for the last three weeks.