Saturday, March 10, 2007

Let's Get Ready to Rumble!

Today is the day that Sock Madness kicks off (yukyukyuk). I finished my last project Thursday and am ready to go. Some people seem to take this waaaaaaaay too seriously. I've participated in a couple of similar knitting "events" and there are people who seriously seem to take leave from their job or otherwise make said event the center of their lives. I will concede that there is little opportunity for competitive knitting, so competitive people may look forward to the few chances that do arise more than the rest of us, but come on. It's just a game.

I'm patiently waiting for the email of the pattern, even though it won't arrive until early tonight or later, because there is about a fifteen hour difference between the hosts and me. I have gathered my knitting accoutrement and have them patiently waiting, though. :-)

That's about all that's going on around here. My days pretty much consist of going to Korean class, teaching, and doing homework. I knit on the train to class and on the bus to work. The end. My exciting, exotic life in Asia.

Last week I recorded my first episode of the podcast. It was a lot of fun. Mostly we just shared our views on expat life in Korea. So, you know, the same crap I sit around talking about all the time anyway, just with a mic in front of me.

The new Knitty is out. There is one gorgeous sock pattern which brings to mind Cookie's recent patterns (if you click through, scroll all the way down, because there is sock after sock each one more beautiful than the last), which I will never knit because it is knee high (so about a foot taller than I find comfortable), one very cool stranded pattern that I will never knit, because my goth days are about 20 years in the past (but I would have totally knit them back in high school), one beautiful pattern that I might knit if and when I get through the current queue of beautiful patterns (that only grows, because I generally just end up knitting my own patterns anyway), and one very basic pattern. I think I have just broken my standing record for longest run on sentence with the most parenthetical asides and a few dangling modifiers thrown in for good measure. Yes, I teach writing, but I'm off the clock. ;-)

I was heartened to read Cookie's post today about writing a pattern just like Queen of Hearts, because I just finished knitting two pairs of socks that I intended to submit to MagKnits (one was a more advanced version of the other). About the time I cast on the fourth sock, I saw a VERY similar, though not exactly identical, sock from Sensational Knitted Socks. I even thought I had very cleverly come up with the lace pattern myself. Hahaha. Since mine is *somewhat* different, with lace panels and a fold-down cuff, I'll post the pattern once I get it typed up. I haven't had time or proper natural lighting to take photos yet, but they are pretty, if I do say so myself.

3 comments:

Wendy said...

Jennifer - I believe that you were the designer of our first Sock Madness Sock? Great pattern - the contrast of plain and variegated yarns looks great and, looking at the flickr pictures there is a huge variety from a fairly simple pattern.
I certainly knit together two yarns I would have never put together normally and they looked great!

Elspeth said...

I had the same problem, creating a sock pattern, then having IK come out with Karen Baumer's "Simply Lovely Lace Sock" and having it be exactly the same pattern. Then I found Heartstring Fiber Arts' pattern that was very similar and even older than Karen Baumer's sock. I guess great minds think alike!

Anonymous said...

Someone loves the link function....:)