This week has bought me deeper into the world of the obsessive sock knitter- which so far, in knitting my many pairs of plain ‘n’ simple vanilla socks, has been like looking in the rabbit hole without actually tumbling down it. I look at the many pretty sock patterns I COULD knit- with all the cabling, different heels, and swirly lace patterns- and feel a certain sense of envy. Who doesn’t want socks that look that fabulous and tell their own story in stitches and colour changes?
I got the push to jump forward last weekend at our local spinners’ group (the “Danske Spindere” group on Ravelry). Some of us got dangerously enabled by a very talented and skilled sock knitter who asked us, did we know about Sock Madness? Hmm…this rang a bell. Wasn’t it some sock competition on Ravelry?
Well, yes, it is. “Sock Madness” (or “SM”, now in it’s 9th year) is a friendly challenge run in the “Sock Madness Forever” group on Ravelry, and it starts on March 1st! That’s SOON, people!
Participants are assigned to teams based on sock knitting experience. Every 2 weeks, an exclusive pattern is released to challenge you to have fun learning new techniques. It’s a great way to explore different yarns and colours. A good tip is to organise your yarns. Have a look at Sort Your Stash Part 1 and Part 2 to learn how to do this using Ravelry.
Sock Madness enables you to create lovely footwear- together with many others around the world. I hear it’s a great supportive community, awarding prizes for the slowest as well as the fastest in each round (of which there are 7, each more tricky than the last) and also for knitting through tough times (or just having a tough time with the pattern!). Participants need to be signed up by email by the 28th February to take part- take a look at the group on Ravelry for all the details.
In all this excitement, I found out that a “warm up” pattern had been released for this year’s SM knitters. That sounded like a good idea- but I still had my Spring Socks on the needles! So I ploughed through the last one, impatient to start the wonderfully named Stroop Stroop Socks warm up pattern (see first photo). Now I have another fine pair of vanilla socks to add to the sock drawer, and maybe my last for a while! The spring socks are very cosy, knit in Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock Multi in the “Huron” colourway. Ahh, I do love my self striping yarn!
Are you taking part in Sock Madness this year? Got any tips for a first-timer? :)
Happy Knitting!
Rosie x
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