And...scene.

Sock Wars is finally over...for me. I just packaged up my last pair of Socks of Doom to be sent to Miss Mermaid, my sixth and final target. I am so ready to move on to the next chapter...Christmas gifts! Okay, now. Who's been naughty and who's been nice??

Wow! Now that was quick!!

I logged on. I wrote Yarn Monkey's address on my postcard. I walked out the door to the mailbox. I came back in and logged on again...and Heraldis had already won!! Wooo-hooo!! She had "Flowers of Doom" delivered to Yarn Monkey, thus ending Sock Wars with class.

Congratulations to Heraldis...well played.

Yea, Yarn Monkey!!

Yarn Monkey has heard our concerns!! She posted her New Resolution for Sock Wars on her blog. The goal is to make sure everyone (except the winner) gets a pair of handknit socks. Yea! Thank you, YM! So now... WHERE is my SiP???!!

And, Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Meathead KAL

Needing a break from all the socks of late, I joined the Meathead KAL. I was lucky enough to get in at the last minute. The KAL is also a test knit for Larissa's upcoming book.

I love test knitting. It gives me the opportunity to try something I might not have otherwise considered. It also forces me to follow a pattern. My right brain has to give in to the left and follow instructions AS WRITTEN. What a tug-o-war!

The pattern is fun and very easy. It should do well! Good luck, Larissa!


(Click here for more photos.)

Watch Out, Mamma!

One more hit! Merino Style SOD in Tide Pool and Storm went out this afternoon to Mamma. I took off this morning, running late again, remembered the socks, but forgot the tags and card! So when I got to the post office after work, I had the choice of sending the socks off naked, or waiting another day to mail them. So, sorry, Mamma... you get naked socks! Enjoy, anyway.

The tone of Sock Wars is changing again. Yarn Monkey announced this morning that all of the contestants who are still alive (88 of us right now) will be asked to send a pair of hand-knit socks to her in Belfast on November 24th. She will provide the address on that date. The knitter of the first pair of socks to arrive will be the winner of Sock Wars. All of those lovely socks will then be donated to charity.

In the beginning, this way of ending the game seemed fun and reasonable. I guess I assumed only a handful of individuals would be left and the contest would be on between the few of them. But how things have changed. Having this many folks race with the incredibly slow international postal services leaves too many of those who managed to stay in the game, often knitting several pair to make up others who deserted, without even one pair of socks! Hmmmm... I'm not sure I can get behind this part.

I have enjoyed the game, including the speed bumps along the way...until now. I'm still trying to decide if I want to finish it this way. My options would be (1) to continue on and in all likelihood, end with squat, or (2) stop now and be labeled a deserter. If I choose the latter, I could use the yarn I just purchased to make yet another pair of SOD and make them for myself. ... My very cold toes are trying sway my decision.

Okay, Who's Next?

Oh, Mamma... It's you!! Another Arizonan! Feel the heat of my breath on your back! When you least expect it, I'll pounce on you with my Socks of Doom!

But not too fast... Again, I am waiting for those darned (or undarned!) SiP!!

SOD In My Dreams

Deep Ocean on its way to Arizona.

My dreams have been infiltrated by the Socks of Doom! I don't mean out of fear of being hit and knocked out. I mean that I've knitted this pattern so many times , that I am ribbing in my sleep!

I tend to knit like I cook. I rarely follow a recipe exactly. I add a bit of this or substitute some of that. The end result is always a surprise... sometimes it's even a good surprise! I am normally a person who makes a pattern only once. If I make it more than that, I'm bored. So knitting sock after sock of the same pattern is showing up in my dreams.

At the onset of Sock Wars, I thought I would only be called to create one pair of socks, then finish up others' work. But Sock Wars has changed its face, and has become a challenge on many levels.

• A challenge to stay motivated...waiting sometimes for weeks for SiP to arrive. It's been tempting to go AWOL, myself.

• A challenge to stay connected. With hurricanes, power outages, vacations, work, family, and LIFE (not to mention deserters who do not respond to anyone), communications have been exasperating at times.
• A challenge to stay creative. Without the SiP of deserters, I have had the mixed blessing of initiating four different pair of Socks of Doom. Each has been the same, but very different.

So, what keeps me in the game? Curiosity. I am in deep enough now, that I am just "dying" to find out what will happen; how this war will end...

And I love a challenge. Sweet dreams!

On to Arizona!

Next target...Arizona! I have Lisa Z. in my sites and I'm taking aim. The only problem...no ammo. I 'm waiting for another victim to send me her unfinished socks (aka SiP -- Socks in Progress).

Deserters and the slow international mail systems (not to mention hurricanes) have drastically altered the pace of the game. But "all's fair..." It's already been a fun experiment.

And who would have thought that my socks would be worn all over the world (Korea, Canada, US)?! I still find it amazing. I hope someday I can visit all the places my socks have already gone!

Election Day 2006

I support with everything I am the right of all citizens to vote their conscience on this day. I also pray that their conscience will lead them to bring an end to the abhorant behavior that has become our federal government. Please Vote!

Houston, do we have a problem?

I can't believe I'm not dead, yet. Today, I fired yet another weapon. This time, purple wool Socks of Doom are making their way to Knitting Reader of Houston, Texas. I don't know how cold it gets in the winter in Houston, but I am hopeful that my target will get to wear them a few times, at least.