I Am Tired Of Socks

For the first time in a very long time I don't have a pair of socks on needles. Not even the pretty yarn I bought this weekend in Haliburton can tempt me to cast on. This stuff by Regia was terribly expensive, almost 20 bucks for one pair of socks but after that horrible experience with Sock Wars III I wanted to treat myself.

I am undecided between the Monkey socks, which are really pretty, or maybe the Lombard Street socks (can't find the link). So as long as I am undecided I can't cast on. Or maybe I'll just have to cruise through Ravelry to find something brand new.



This is a nice basic wool yarn from Patons, Kroy, which will make someone a nice pair of socks for the winter. I don't need anymore winter socks, I have a whole drawer full. I always liked this yarn for durability. My husband has socks made from Kroy that are 10 years old and still have life in them. They don't always have the prettiest colors but the one pictured below is a new one.



So until I decide which yarn and which pattern I am desperately trying to finish the Central Park Hoodie. I have decided though that I will eliminate the hood and make a nice collar. Caveat here, I have to figure out how to do that first. I have decided though that a hoodie is a bit too young for me. I'm also making it a fair bit longer than the pattern, I really like my backside to be warm.



I'm also doing a little triangle shaped shawl with the hand dyed yarn from a previous post. I had started a scarf but didn't like it very much. I retrieved it from the frog pond and it has started a new life. Pictures later when there is more to show.

I've Been Elimnated - Sock Wars III

In this mornings mail I received these socks from Eliza Broom and they are just lovely. Thank you Eliza I will enjoy wearing them.


Sock Wars III was not as much fun as I had anticipated. The concept was great but when there is a monetary prize involved, people behave in strange ways. Granted it's cut throat but it is supposed to happen without cheating and following the rules. For a lot of us even the start of the competition went wrong.

The "secret" pattern together with a dossier of your target was to arrive in our email in box at 12:00 Pm GMT which was 8:00 AM here in T-Dot. I along with many others set their alarm clocks, bailed out of bed and waited by our computers, and waited and waited and waited some more. There were message boards and lots of people were complaining and wondering what was going on. On the other hand, lots of people already had their patterns and were merrily knitting away. I personally only discovered the pattern listed on the members page some time in the afternoon. The pattern itself was confusing, poorly written and full of errors but most of us sucked it up and knit away, at least I did.

It wasn't until late Saturday night when the elusive dossier finally made an appearance in my in- box with my targets name and foot size. The pattern was also corrected. Some people didn't get their dossier until Sunday. Does that give unfair advantage to some?

When a target is eliminated, the rules state that the eliminated target most post their unfinished socks to their assassin immediately which gives said assassin the opportunity to hit another target. I only stay alive until I receive a pair of finished socks but having the opportunity to do away with another knitter affects the outcome of the game further down the line.

In my instance even though I eliminated (I hate the word kill) my target on May 14th, thus far she has not even mailed the socks. That is completely against the rules. It is not possible to determine how long it takes them to reach their destination once they are in the mail and some people use regular post, others use courier or even hand deliver them, they must be sent out ASAP.

To stay alive in this war the knitter behind you has to be slow thus allowing you to get further down the line all the while hoping the one behind you gets eliminated. It doesn't help if you don't get anything to knit.

For me personally, it was an experience, I got a beautiful pair of socks, but I also have my original assassins' assassin chasing me all spaced out that I have nothing to send her. She left innuendos on the chat that "somebody" might be cheating by holding on to socks! Actually I found that offensive especially since it's not my fault; that lies squarely on my original targets' shoulders.

There were over 1200 knitters signed up for this thing and they are all competing for about $500 + worth of yarn. Thus far 305 knitters have bitten the dust and I just know that things will get far nastier than they been so far. Happy Knitting...

Would I do this again? Not in this lifetime, thanks...I'll just work on my own projects at my own speed and be a happy camper.

One Target Down - Many More to Go

Rowan Falar has been eliminated, she posted her demise on the Sock Wars III fallen warrior board today. These socks went into the mail yesterday just before the 4 PM deadline and I was absolutely gobsmacked that she received them so quickly. I wonder if Canada Post knows about this battle. I hope her unfinished socks make it back to me just as quickly so target number two can be eliminated.



This is probably the fastest pair of socks I ever knit but the wounds of this war are very real. Lots of ice, ibuprofen and no knitting for a couple of days and I hope to be back in top form.

Well, I might cheat a little, I really want to get my Central Park Hoodie finished before it gets too warm to wear it....

The Socks Are In The Mail

Rowan Falar, I'm putting you on notice... by Thursday I hope to hear of your demise, he he he... Now I just have to hope that my Assassin is a slow knitter and I can knock your Assassin off too.

Doesn't look good for me though really, my target and I have been exchanging friendly emails and my Assassin has been dead silent. That can only mean two things; either she's dropped out of the game or she's keeping real quiet about how fast she can knit and her bomb is on the way.

Either way, it was an interesting experience and kept my mind thoroughly occupied during this past very difficult weekend and for that I'm grateful. There is a post coming about what went right and what went horribly wrong with this contest but my friend The Knitting Nurse wrote about it here and here. Actually I think she says it better than I ever could...happy knitting

You Won't See Me - Until...

I finish a pair of socks or I'm knocked off...What say you, what is going on over there in T-Dot. It's this stupid thing I signed up for called Sock Wars III, grrr.

Now what's at stake besides my reputation as a sock knitter? Well, just $500.00 worth of yarn, that's what. Some how though, I don't think I will make it past round one for two reasons, 1. I just cut my finger and it will slow me down, and 2. It's a busy weekend and this thing starts at noon tomorrow.

But I won't go down without a fight, so cheer me on...

Watch Your Heading

This is a little update...my previous heading was Instant Gratification, I should have known better, right? I had a comment that I deleted because when I went to their site I found it objectionable. I then checked my stat counter and found that I had 75 hits in two hours. This blog gets maybe 20 hits a day max. Dummy, it's the heading, it attracts some strange characters so I changed it. Lesson learned.


I'm currently bored with all my knitting project so whenever that happens the only solution is to start something new.


Pretty colorful, I think I'll call it a tutti fruitti scarf...

I'm resting my fingers for the big SockWarsIII starting soon...

It's Been A While

I didn't realize how long since I've updated this blog but I do have a good excuse. I spent a couple of days in hospital getting a little "work" done. Details on the other blog.

I spent most of the night at the hospital knitting and I got these finished shortly after getting home. Sorry for the bad photo, it's been dark, rainy and dreary here. They really are prettier than the picture shows. These are not for me, they are going in my Christmas Gift box. Haven't decided who they are for yet.



I bought some yarn on Ebay recently and it was waiting for me to make into little cakes. I love doing that it is so relaxing, sometimes too relaxing.



So all ready to knit up into something, not sure what yet but I'll think of something.