Sock Madness 2 begins in one week! I’m really thrilled to be involved in the event. It’s my first time participating in anything like this. For this first round, I’m part of the “Maryland Merino Madness” division (you can see all the divisions here). Next Thursday the first pattern will be mailed out and we’ll be able to get started!
We haven’t had clues specifically as to what the first pattern will be, but we do know that they will start with the easiest pattern of the competition and gradually get harder. We also know that there will be several toe-up socks and that one requires us to buy 20 safety pins to do a Japanese short row heel. (Eeek!?) No doubt this is going to push my knitting abilities to the edge.
So, in preparation for Sock Madness, what have I been doing? No, not knitting socks. Shopping!
My order from Knit Picks came in the mail on Wednesday. First off, I got all the needles I needed to complete a set of 16″ and 24″ circulars in every size from 0 to 3 (including half sizes). I did this specifically so I could (hopefully) knit two at a time for the Sock Madness patterns. I also got one of their needle sizers because the one I had didn’t have half-sizes for 1.5’s and 2.5’s. Then, of course, I had to buy some yarn, just because…
The gold-colored yarn is Gloss in “Serengeti”. It’s a very unusual choice for me color-wise, but I thought that having a neutral solid sock yarn might come in handy for Sock Madness too. The blue and purple yarns are Shadow in “Vineyard Heather” and “Jewels Heather”. Again, these are for Sock Madness because they revealed that one of their patterns calls for 2 coordinating colors of lace weight yarn, and Shadow was one of their recommendations.
As far as online yarn shopping completely unrelated to socks, I also finally ordered a kit to make the famous Elizabeth Zimmerman Baby Surprise Jacket. It seems that particular pattern is a rite of passage for knitters, and I thought it was high time that I gave it a shot. That, and my friend Rachel is expecting her first baby later this month. Hopefully I can knit fast enough so that the baby won’t have outgrown the sweater before it’s finished!
So, our new apartment is still in shambles of half-unpacked-chaos. It’s improved, but still a mess. But ya know, those boxes will be there another day. For now, I’d rather knit.
