Death crept in on little knitted sock feet...

When we got home late last night from Boston, I found...a...package...in my mailbox. EEEEEEEK!!

I started to open the package, gingerly...

...and then...

SOCKY DEATH!!



Here's a close-up of one of the weapons, & the raw material:

Isn't it PURTY?? :)

My Assassin is the BEST - she also sent me UK Chocolate!! She's in England, BTW...but I forgot to take a pic of the KitKat, as I tucked it right in the fridge - it was in the 90's here yesterday, and the package sat in the mailbox all day!

Now, I must go package up my target's socks and mail them to my Assassin's Assassin - Funnily enough, MY Assassin just got knocked off, herself - and HER assassin is in Saudi Arabia. :-) I get to mail my socks to SA so they can be finished and mailed to AZ! I finished the first sock, and did the cuff on the 2nd sock - but then, life got in the way, as it often does. :) NO matter, I had a BLAST, and will do it again next year! I'm already signed up for Glove Wars in September. :)

Moving right along!

From Tuesday, May 19, 2009:

I have finished Sock #1, and started the cuff on #2:I'll post pics of the finished sock later on - I think they're Purty, and I hope my Target likes them! :)

Update

Time: Morning
Day: Sunday, the 17th of May
Status: Just finished Pattern Repeat #2 of 3 on first Barcelona Sock. Pattern going smoothly, some counting is necessary, but not outrageous. Food & Drink readily available, child & husband still able to amuse themselves and if not, each other. Looking Good so far!

Pictures taken approx. 7:30am Eastern Standard.

Pause for Sustenance

I'm taking a quick breakfast break from knitting; I thank you for your encouragement & good wishes!! I'm cookin' along on my sock - chose Barcelona, and come to find out, so did my Assassin! Out of three, we both picked the same, and that amuses me...of course, mine isn't going to my assassin, MY target is in Arizona...but still, I'm amused. :) I can't wait to see what kind of yarn I'll be getting! I mean, I CAN wait - and I hope to get at least one kill under my belt by the time I meet my Sockerly Doom.

Just scanning the TV listings since Boo asked to watch some this morning...and after much laughter & discussion & me mis-reading the listings, Edwin declares that he wants to watch what's on MY TV Schedule: 'Breakfast Parades' on the Travel Channel ("Breakfast Paradise"), and then 'Wild Wild West Tech' on the History Channel ("Wild West Tech"). :) I need new glasses.

Off to knit some more - then we'll go see Star Trek as a family - THEN I'm going to audition for a friend's movie this afternoon. It's a small, YouTube production, but he's got a degree in filmmaking, and he's actually quite talented at it. Wish me luck here, too!

I shall leave you with a shot of Ma Boy yesterday afternoon - he was very happy to have me home after a long, lonely Friday:

Yes, he often lays like that in my arms - Edwin says Murph Loves Me...I hope so! :)

It's On Now!

The War is officially ON - and I don't know when I'll get back here to update, so this is it for now: I am officially a participant in Sock Wars IV, and am still deciding between the three patterns issued by our Supreme Commander. They're all so pretty!!! I think I'm going to choose between Air Raid and Barcelona....Insidious looks pretty, but I'm not comfy with cables yet. :) Have a great Friday, and I'll post again when I've got the FIRST sock done. Yep, I will!

Remember Sock Wars III?

(Originally written January 26, 2009)

You may remember, back in May of the past year, I became involved in a knitting competition/swap called "Sock Wars III". I finished my socks and mailed them off to my "target", and that was the last I heard. Oh, she got them, and loved them - Yay! However, I never got MY socks. I contacted the 2nd organizer - because the first organizer? She decided that a month later she'd declare a winner by asking folks to send her postcards - and the first one she got would win the competition. She also refused to answer emails, and seemed to wash her hands of the whole thing. The yarn company "Southwest Trading Company" was a co-sponsor, and they really picked up the slack. They were AMAZING, and really tried to be available for any & all emails, etc. I asked the 2nd organizer (not the SWTC people yet, but a woman who took up the email lists) if I could get a pair of socks from those who had volunteered to knit for those who had been flaked out on. I was told that they were done knitting, and that was that. Of course, if I WANTED them to, they could ask around till they found someone willing to knit me some socks.

No, thanks - don't put yourself out.

So, I ended up with a bad taste in my mouth, and cold feet. Cut to last week, when I saw a post on Ravelry about SWIII, and an exhortation from Jonelle at SWTC to "Get ready for Sock Wars IV!!". I emailed her, and told her I was very happy that SWTC was now fully sponsoring the competition, however, I was not going to participate because I'd never gotten any socks out of the last one. She asked for my sock size and address, assuring me that she had 70 pair at the warehouse for JUST THIS occurrance. I was intrigued, and gave her the info.

Look what I got in the mail on Saturday!

...with this note:

They. Are. BEAUTIFUL. And they FIT!!

I love 'em. I also love Jonelle and Southwest Trading Company, and recommend them to ANYONE interested in a beautiful, quality product and excellent customer service. Go! Find and buy and KNIT/Craft with the stuff!

Notes from the Front

ARRGGGHHH.



Thank you, I feel better now. I've been having computer issues, which is why I haven't been able to update lately. Okay, "able" isn't the right word, but it's not been convenient - that's the truth. My PC has been overheating regularly, and even after taking it apart and cleaning it out, it still did the overheating thing. My husband is my HERO, tho, because he fixed the bugger! He took out something inside... (near the?) Heat Sink? Sinque? I dunno, and he's at work, so I can't ask him. Anyway, he took it out and cleaned inside it - and said that he's SURE that was the issue. So far, so good - and that was DAYS ago! Everything else was nice & clean, where I'd taken it apart...but I had no idea that the Green Thingie came out, too. *Grin*



Sock Wars III is still running, and oddly enough, I'm still alive! I think I'm the slowest knitter in all of Sockdom (said in the Juan Mouse voice), and although I HAVE been knitting, I've also let some days go by where I haven't touched them. I'm into the foot on the 2nd sock, so it's not like I'm just past the cuff or something...but still. I wanted to be done by now - BUT THE IMPORTANT THING IS, WE'RE ALL HAVING FUN!



Right?

;)



Indeed. There have been some...interesting twists in The War, and I don't know if I'll sign up again, unless & until there are major organizational changes. However, I am looking forward to Hat Attack 2 starting up this summer, and a Sock Scarefest that I just read about on Ravelry. I do love some socks, so hopefully by the end of this year, I'll be even faster with them.



If I may digress for a moment...I do have a sick cat that I'd like to request prayers for, if anyone has the energy - Onyx.


He's had an upper respiratory infection for about 2 weeks now...and for a while, he'd disappeared from the daily life of the house. I went & found him where he was sleeping, and started him on Amoxicillin. That helped a little bit, but he's not very interested in food - and he's lost weight. He will lick a bit of tuna juice, or sauce off of wet cat food, but that's all I've seen him do. Once the Amox was done, I decided to start him on Clavamox. I also did the same thing we usually do at this point, got him a B-vitamin injection (which I did at home, after getting it from my vet) and gave him subcutaneous fluids, as he was getting pretty dehydrated. I've given him the fluids three nights in a row now, and he's looking better - but his aspect is still worrisome. Edwin wants to test his blood sugar, because in the years he lived away from us, he had needed insulin at one point, we were told. Thank you for any prayers or good thoughts or even advice/suggestions you can spare - we love our furry family members very much.

One other story to share right now, from the other night...my daughter Boo sat up mumbling a in the middle of the night, and then got quiet. I asked her if she needed to use the potty, and she nodded, eyes closed. I am in the habit of walking her there, sometimes carrying her if she's still very sleepy, so I did tonite. She takes care of her clothes, the toilet, etc by herself...but we have a little routine since she was just starting to use the toilet, and I just realized tonite that I really love this routine, as strange as it might seem to someone else. The first Winter she was using the toilet, she was also wearing one-piece pajamas often. This necessitated taking the entire thing off (except for the lower legs & feet) to sit on the potty, and she would shiver, complaining of being cold. Of course she was! She'd just woken up and was toasty warm...then had to strip - I felt bad, and so I knelt down in front of her, and wrapped myself around her upper body as she sat on the toilet. She relaxed into my warmth, and let herself do what she needed to do. The few times I forgot, she'd say, "Momma, it's cold" and I'd remember. I don't forget anymore, it's almost reflex...but I noticed this time, even with a long sleeved pajama shirt on, I reached in and wrapped my arms around her - and she slumped against me, rested her head on my shoulder - and I, my chin on hers - and relaxed enough to do what needed to be done. I smiled, and decided that I felt good about this strange little routine, and hoped it would be something she always remembers.
:)

Battling along in the Sock War!

Sock Wars III progresses apace. :) I've gotten through the gussets/instep on Sock 1, and I'm liking both the pattern, and the way the tofutsies is knitting up. I hope my target likes them!

Here's sock #1 as of yesterday:
























My cat Murphy is a big help in "modeling" the sock in progress. ;) He's a good sport, hey?

Home sick today, so I'm gonna get back in bed & get knitting. Happy Hunting, Sock Warriors!

Little By Little

FINALLY got my Dossier, at around 5pm today. S'okay, I know Our Supreme Commander has an incredibly hard job on her hands. It's all good. :) So, I found out who my target is, and I emailed her to find out her sock/shoe size, so then MAYBE I might get her socks done before I get assassinated. I only have one cuff done so far, tho, so it depends on how much I get done tonite & tomorrow. If my Assassin is local to me, she might just decide to hand-deliver the socks once she's done. Her Nom De Guerre is The Knitphomaniac, tho, so I'm assuming she's a fast knitter. Eeek! :)

My Weapons:

My Knitting/Weapons bag:

I finished Boo's socks on Thursday night, so I could "fight" unencumbered...I didn't take a pic of the pair finished yet, but when they come out of the wash, I will. In the meantime, I have this of when the 2nd was still in progress:

They came out very nice, and she wore them for 1 1/2 days before I demanded they get put into the wash. We gardened today, so it was an easy argument, truthfully. ;)


~~~~
On another front, we were all farmers today. I dropped Boo & Edwin off at our Community Garden plot this morning, on my way to work. I was at work for about an hour, then went to join them. We raked the straw off of the plot, broke the crust on the dirt a bit, and then Edwin went to get snacks. Around 12:30p, he came back with a Farmer's lunch: Loaf of crusty bread, water, some cheese, and a cup of pineapple. I asked him where the red onion was - after all, a true "ploughman's lunch" is a slab of bread, slab of cheese, and slice of red onion. :) It was tasty, and we took a break to eat.



We found that the plot was roughly 36' x 36' - in other words, Huh-YUUUGE! We had a flat of plants: Sweet 100 tomatoes, Old German heirloom tomatoes, Roma Plum tomatoes, Cherry Bomb hot peppers for Edwin, Sweet Red peppers and Cubanelle (Italian Frying Peppers, also sweet) for me, Lettuce (I forget which kind), Eggplant, Yellow Summer Squash, Zucchini...and I think that's it for the seedlings. We also had Peas from seed - and we still need to put in Carrots, Beets, Cucumbers, Green & Wax beans, all from seed.





I REALLY need to sit up & knit my weapon....but I'm EXHAUSTED! Hubs & Daughter were at the plot from 10am, and I got there at 11:30am. We worked all day - raked, dug, planted, carried water - until 2:45p, and I am amazed that I forgot what a workout just PLANTING the damn things is. Seeing as how tomorrow is Mother's Day, and I've asked my Husband for a day where I do NOTHING but knit, watch my Discovery Channel Marathon and drink tea - and he's acquiesced, I may just sleep now and try to catch up tomorrow. Since there's no post tomorrow, I really shouldn't have too many worries.





ROFL - Watch, that'll be the line on my Obit!!

Sock War III Update

I'm about 14 hours into The War, and still haven't recieved my dossier yet. Grrrr...I'm not the only one, by far, but I'm thinking - and again, I'm not the only one - that a knitting tournament that has over 1000 knitters is really too much for ONE WOMAN and two email accounts to manage.

What with family & life, I have only now managed to cast on for my first sock; it was pointed out on the Ravelry group for SW that I really only need my "target's" sock size for the length of the foot. Thus, I can cast on and knit through the heel & gussets...that is, as long as I don't get killed first.

I'll check in when I get another chance; tomorrow morning it's work, and then some more knitting. I go see my Mom for mother's day tomorrow rather than Sunday, because I'm supposedly going to get a day where I don't have to do anything or go anywhere...after church, that is...so that means, I go to Mom's tomorrow instead. I wanted to do this - for once, I've stood up for myself and what I wanted to do with my family. I'm nervous, but I think it'll be okay!

Girding my loins...so to speak.

On May 9th, I will be a willing participant - I should really use the term "combatant" - in a war. On that day, I will become an assasin...and a target. I will be presented with my dossier containing the information I need to accurately eliminate my subject. I have selected my weapons with care, and have been acclimating myself to their heft & style. I will be doing all of this with the knowledge that someone else will be doing exactly the same, only with ME as their intended victim. In the end, after all, there can be only one.

Plus, I'll get a cool pair of socks when I'm "dead"!

Some of you are most likely scratching your heads in consternation about now...wondering WTF am I nattering on about.

Why, knitting, of course. What else? I am entered in Sock Wars III: "the original and bloodiest death-by-knitting tournament."

From the website: "Sock Wars III kicks off on 9th May 2008 and will run until only one blood-soaked champion remains. Over 1,000 knitters around the world have already signed up - are you brave enough to do battle with them til the death?
If you ARE brave enough sign up to do battle you will be emailed a top secret assassination dossier on 9th May 2008. This file contains the details of your target and an exclusive, never-been-published-before knitting pattern with which assassinate them.To kill your target you must knit them a pair of socks in the pattern (your "weapon") and mail it to them. Once your target receives your parcel they are dead and must post their death on the website.They must also send you details of their intended target (who becomes your next person to assassinate) along with their unfinished knitting (which becomes your new weapon).All the while this is going on, someone has been assigned YOU as their target!Prepare to live in fear... kill or be killed!"
...
...
...What?? Don't look at me like that, it sounds like fun! Admit it! :)

Okay, so I'm not a very fast sock knitter. I'll probably get killed in the first round - but I will try my darndest to survive at least long enough to finish my target's socks! I may not post very much for those few first days - we shall see. ;) I may ask my long-suffering husband to post updates for me, but whether he will or not is yet to be seen. Depends on if he feels like humoring me or not that day. I certainly hope he's up to child-wrangling for a few days!!

There's a wonderful crafter at Starknits who has sewn up some WONDERFUL sock knitting bags, and she's currently running a contest to win one with a "Sock Wars" label on it! Later on this week, for folks who aren't involved in Sock Wars but still love the sock bags, she'll be making them available in her Etsy shop, Star Knits Crafts. Check them out, they're really cute!

On a slightly unrelated note, I've got two friends who are both Yarn Dyers, and are going to try to work up a "Breast Cancer Support" colorway for me, to be used in my Fundraising 3 Day Walk socks. I mentioned these in my last entry, I'm going to knit them while I walk the 60 miles, and then they'll be auctioned off. I may run the auction before the walk, I haven't decided yet. :) Please visit my Personal Page at The 3 Day website,





and please donate if you can at all afford it - this disease has touched many of us, and we can make a difference! Let's show folks that knitters can do great things when we put our minds to it. :)

Ambitious Knitter Here!

Well, I've just started my 3Day Breast Cancer walk journey: I signed up. :) I will be training from here on out, and soliciting donations. That sounds naughtier than it is, darn it all. Please check out my Personal Page - I will be keeping a blog over there to update people on my progress. I may just copy & paste to here - it's easier that way, I think.

Here's where I have a fundraising idea that I need help with, from certain talented members of my reading audience: I need a Sock Yarn dyed in a "Breast Cancer Awareness/3Day Walk" colorway. Shades of Pinks, whites, whatever makes YOU think of Breast Cancer awareness, or what you think of, colorwise, when you think of that subject. Anyone up for the challenge?

I need this because I will be auctioning off a pair of socks to be knitted FROM this yarn - to be knitted while I walk the 60 miles. Yes, I knit while I walk if I have my hands free - and a simple sock won't be a problem - probably a pair of Anklets, I think. The proceeds from the auction will go to the Susan G. Komen fund, in their Entirety, and the winner gets the socks to wear proudly. At least, I am praying they'll be something someone would be proud to wear!!This walk will be in October, so I have some time yet. I'm out of ideas for tonite, and I'm hittin' the sack. I look forward to hearing ideas or seeing hits to my 3Day page soon!