On the Eve of Battle
This thing totally snuck up on me. I'm going to have to delay the big unveiling of the new project again because I have more important business to discuss tonight. Tomorrow is the start of Sock Wars III. You know, the thing where they e-mail you a "dossier" on the person you are supposed to "assassinate" by knitting them a pair of socks and sending them in the mail. And in turn, there will be an assassin out there knitting a weapon with which to "kill" me.
I can't believe I'm doing this. On the one hand, it's fun. I'll be part of the thing that all the bloggers will be talking about and I won't have to feel all left out like I did last time around. Plus I'll hopefully and eventually end up with a pair of hand knit socks. Really, I just hope I get to finish at least the one pair for my one target. There is supposed to be a winner in this exercise - if you are killed before you knit your socks, you have to send the unfinished pair to the person who killed you and they in turn will finish them and kill the person you were supposed to kill. Eventually, there will be one person left alive, and there are prizes.
I wasn't going to buy new yarn for this thing. I was going to pick something out of my not-exactly-tiny sock yarn stash when the game starts. But then someone mentioned that one of the prizes - the grand prize, in fact - is 60 balls of Tofutsies sock yarn. The only catch is that you have to be the last knitter standing and you have to knit your first pair of socks with Tofutsies.
The catch is, I don't even like Tofutsies. I mean, it comes in really great colors. But the texture is not at all pleasant. It doesn't have any of the bouncy feel that I love about wool. And I can tell it's going to be splitty from the wonky way it's spun. Just the concept that it's made out of soybean by-product kind of weirds me out a bit. I dunno. So why would I go out of my way to buy some yarn that I don't think that I'm going to enjoy knitting in order to ensure a vague possibility that I can win a giant pile of every color they make of the yarn I don't think I'll like? Because I'd feel like a giant ass if I were the last knitter standing and I hadn't knit the first sock out of Tofutsie and had forfeited the giant prize.
This whole mess starts first thing in the morning. I should be getting an e-mail with the sock pattern and information on my target's foot size around 7 a.m. my time. I've heard rumblings on the internet that some people are planning all kinds of crazy ways to get their socks done faster - things like calling in sick to work on Friday and stuff like that.
I, on the other hand - well, I'm going to be doing my regular job of hanging out with my girls. I'm still going to (hopefully) go to our normal playdate, do the dishes, fold some laundry, change diapers, fix snacks, and all the other great mommy stuff I do all day. Then, on Saturday, I will be teaching a class at the store, then running off to Shepherd's Harvest in my fabulous new sweater. Sunday will be Mother's Day, and I will be returning to my normal mommy-ness even to the extent of sending Joe off to play disc golf in the afternoon (because I'll have already enjoyed my Mother's day present of being by myself all afternoon on Saturday and because the man needs a break every once in a while too) But I'll probably not have to cook dinner at least.
And the socks - well, I'll work on them in between. Hopefully Sophie will go to sleep when she is supposed to, which will help. Hopefully, the person I'll be knitting for will have small feet. Hopefully, the person who is knitting for me will be a slow knitter who is very busy with other things and lives very far away. Hopefully the pattern involves a lot of mindless knitting that I can do while multitasking.
At least I have my tofu yarn wound into two equal skeins ready to start as soon as the situation allows.
And my poor, loyal companion socks that have been hanging out in my purse at the ready for the last month or so and are almost done - they say "What are we, chopped liver?"
Update at some point soon. In the mean time, the next big project has been started a bit, and as soon as the contest socks are done, it'll be right on track.
I can't believe I'm doing this. On the one hand, it's fun. I'll be part of the thing that all the bloggers will be talking about and I won't have to feel all left out like I did last time around. Plus I'll hopefully and eventually end up with a pair of hand knit socks. Really, I just hope I get to finish at least the one pair for my one target. There is supposed to be a winner in this exercise - if you are killed before you knit your socks, you have to send the unfinished pair to the person who killed you and they in turn will finish them and kill the person you were supposed to kill. Eventually, there will be one person left alive, and there are prizes.
I wasn't going to buy new yarn for this thing. I was going to pick something out of my not-exactly-tiny sock yarn stash when the game starts. But then someone mentioned that one of the prizes - the grand prize, in fact - is 60 balls of Tofutsies sock yarn. The only catch is that you have to be the last knitter standing and you have to knit your first pair of socks with Tofutsies.
The catch is, I don't even like Tofutsies. I mean, it comes in really great colors. But the texture is not at all pleasant. It doesn't have any of the bouncy feel that I love about wool. And I can tell it's going to be splitty from the wonky way it's spun. Just the concept that it's made out of soybean by-product kind of weirds me out a bit. I dunno. So why would I go out of my way to buy some yarn that I don't think that I'm going to enjoy knitting in order to ensure a vague possibility that I can win a giant pile of every color they make of the yarn I don't think I'll like? Because I'd feel like a giant ass if I were the last knitter standing and I hadn't knit the first sock out of Tofutsie and had forfeited the giant prize.
This whole mess starts first thing in the morning. I should be getting an e-mail with the sock pattern and information on my target's foot size around 7 a.m. my time. I've heard rumblings on the internet that some people are planning all kinds of crazy ways to get their socks done faster - things like calling in sick to work on Friday and stuff like that.
I, on the other hand - well, I'm going to be doing my regular job of hanging out with my girls. I'm still going to (hopefully) go to our normal playdate, do the dishes, fold some laundry, change diapers, fix snacks, and all the other great mommy stuff I do all day. Then, on Saturday, I will be teaching a class at the store, then running off to Shepherd's Harvest in my fabulous new sweater. Sunday will be Mother's Day, and I will be returning to my normal mommy-ness even to the extent of sending Joe off to play disc golf in the afternoon (because I'll have already enjoyed my Mother's day present of being by myself all afternoon on Saturday and because the man needs a break every once in a while too) But I'll probably not have to cook dinner at least.
And the socks - well, I'll work on them in between. Hopefully Sophie will go to sleep when she is supposed to, which will help. Hopefully, the person I'll be knitting for will have small feet. Hopefully, the person who is knitting for me will be a slow knitter who is very busy with other things and lives very far away. Hopefully the pattern involves a lot of mindless knitting that I can do while multitasking.
At least I have my tofu yarn wound into two equal skeins ready to start as soon as the situation allows.
And my poor, loyal companion socks that have been hanging out in my purse at the ready for the last month or so and are almost done - they say "What are we, chopped liver?"
Update at some point soon. In the mean time, the next big project has been started a bit, and as soon as the contest socks are done, it'll be right on track.
posted by Shelly Kang at 10:38 PM
10 Comments:
You're a great mom. Just sayin'!
I hope I don't have to "kill" you... my weapons of sock construction are poised and ready!
Oh geez, thanks for the reminder. I knew I was looking at the tofutsies for a reason when I was at the yarn store. Course I had forgotten and didn't buy any...guess we all know where I'll be going tomorrow morning!
Tofutsies knit up a little nicer than I expected. Have you used it before? I hope it pleasantly surprises you, but hey--maybe your "assassin" won't use Tofutsies, and it won't matter, eh?
I hope to be able to participate next year! It sounds like a lot of fun! I have just started learning to knit and I havent gotten to socks quite yet..
Back in the States before I left the lys owner tried to get me in. She said that the girls that participated around her basically stayed up till 2 or 3 am to knit. Crazy huh? Good luck!!
A quote from a great '80s drama seems entirely fitting:
"And, hey - let's be careful out there."
Good luck, Shelly - don't get dead!
Oh wow! I wanted to join Sock Wars and missed the deadline. Hope they have it again another time. I'm going out anyway and buying some of the Tofutsies this morning, just to give it a try. I like your stripes you almost have completed on the socks you are already working on. Good luck on the Wars.
Watch your back!
I too have joined sock wars iii, just in time for my spring concert, school improvement meeting, wedding rehearsal, wedding, musical theater awards ceremony, etc. etc. etc. What was I thinking? And I'm not using tofootsies either. I hope my target likes Regia. :-) Good luck, Shelly,best regards, blogless Mary Lou
It is 7:18 our time and have just got back from a celtic festival. We watched the Irish and Scottish dancers. The Scottish invited the audience to dance with them on the last one. Guess who danced? Just writing again to say I purchased and have been knitting in the car on the way back home with Tofutsies yarn and I like it better than I thought I would. It is soft and I have not had a problem with it splitting. I think you will be pleasantly suprised Shelly. Hope you like it too.
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