Possessed to Knit

Sock Wars Update

I've completed these socks over the weekend and they will be my fourth "kill".  Sock Wars has turned out to be a little complicated.  I killed my first target and when I received her socks in progress, it turned out that there was not enough yarn to complete them.  I made another pair yet one sock turned out to be bigger than the other, and after studying my target's blog, I knew they would be too big.  I knitted her a correctly fitting pair and "killed" her.  She lives in England and it took over two weeks for her socks to arrive.  Then the Supreme Commander of Sock Wars decided to end the war with a name drawing.  Many members were not happy with this and some decided to continue on in the Yarn Smackdown.  I received socks to send to my next target as the person sending them decided to drop out.  She ended up traveling and completing the socks so all I had to do was send them to my third target.  My third target sent me her socks in progress, she had one sock started and was half way through the gusset decreases.  I started the second sock before continuing with her first sock to see if I had the gauge correct.  This is Plymouth Happy Feet yarn and I ended up using my 2.75 mm Knit Picks circular needles to achieve the correct gauge.  These socks are washed and ready to go into tomorrow's mail.                           

Sock Wars Update

These are the socks I sent to my next target who lives in England.  I used Plymouth Sockotta sock yarn and size 2.5 mm needles for the body of the sock and size 2.0 mm needles for the heels and toes.  I studied my target's fiber blog and her Flickr sock photos and did my best to make socks that would fit her.  I like the Detonator Sock pattern a lot and had knitted her a pair of Tofutsie socks that simply looked like they would be too big for her.  I could not bring myself to send her socks that I knew would not fit her, so I knitted another pair for her.  I now have the Detonator pattern and all its nuances secured in my memory.  I read on my current assassin's blog that she is dead so I still have more time to live in Sock Wars III.  Over half of the 1150+ participants have been "killed" which makes for lots of socks traveling around the world. 

Sock Wars Socks

Here are my completed Sock Wars III socks.  I used Tofutsie sock yarn in the Tender Foot colorway and size 3.0 mm Knit Picks circular 32" needles.  I used a smaller needle for the heels and toes.  I also did a few little modifications like picking up an extra stitch on each side of the flap heel in an attempt to minimize the little gap between the heel and the instep.  For the toes, I slipped each edge stitch over the next stitch before grafting to make the toe more rounded.  It was somewhat like knitting a marathon.  I paced myself and took breaks as needed.  I stretched my shoulders and wrists a lot, too.  I also completed my Petite Rib socks as I traveled to visit my sister and her family.  It has been a busy week of sock knitting.  It will be fun to see how far I get in Sock Wars III. 

Sock Warriors

Here are my Sock Warriors, Justin (left) and Joshua (right), holding my Tofutsie sock yarns.  I went to see my sister, Teresa, and her family for a long weekend.  They were patient with me as I continued to check my email throughout the weekend to find out who my target is and what her sock size is.  I had a wonderful time with my darling nephews.  They took turns clicking my row counter for me.  They also enjoyed playing with my retractable tape measures, who knew that a knitting bag could be a treasure trove of toys?  My sister, Maria, is my coach as she monitors my sock knitting progress and cheers me on.  She convinced me to sign up and compete.  Al thinks the Sock Wars III competition is a little over the top, but he is well aware of how passionate we knitters can be.  My assassin's nom de guerre is Madame De Farge so I am not sure how long I will be alive in this game.  At the very least, it has turned into a fun family affair.

Tofutsie Mini Socks

The gauge requirements for Sock Wars III were released on Saturday.  I worked the weekend (so I would not have to work on MSWF weekend) and appreciated the gentle reminders from Maria and Al that the gauge had come out on April 26th.  At any rate, the gauge is 8 sts per inch, not a big surprise, but a challenge for me to achieve.  I typically do not knit sock gauges, or as Rita Buchanan would say, I knit size a 8 1/2 sock as my gauge square.  As I searched for my size 3.0 mm Knit Picks 32 inch circular needles, I came across this pattern for a Mini-sock.  I would use it when I taught sock knitting classes, especially to show the grafting technique.  I knitted the sock on the left with my 2.5 mm Knit Picks circulars and the sock on the right I knitted with my 3.0 mm Addi Turbo needles as my Knit Picks needles did not turn up.  I'm surprised at the difference between these two socks with only 0.25 mm needle size diameter between them.  It appears that I have 8 sts per inch with my 3.0 mm needles.  I think a tighter gauge would make a better sock, but that would take longer and I will want to get these into the mail as quickly as possible.  Maria has high hopes for my winning this contest, though I did explain to her that a large part of it will be the luck of the draw.