Sock Wars III

now that the battle is officially over, I can discuss the "confidential" details of Sock Wars III.

on May 9th dossiers were sent out to each of the 1153 participating warriors, outlining our intended targets (their location and sock size). the weapon this year was "The Detonator", using the sponsor company TOFUtsies sock yarn. the object was to knit a pair of Detonator socks, and mail them off to your assigned target. once they receive their socks they are considered "dead" and must mail their SIP (socks in progress) back to you along with the dossier of their intended victim. you would then complete the socks and send them off to your new target ... etc .... UNTIL, you received your own socks, at which time you are dead.

Sock Wars III officially came to an end on June 13, when all warriors still alive were e-mailed a set of new instructions. post cards were to be mailed into our Supreme Commander and a winner would be drawn on June 21.

as of June 13, I was still alive, and therefore eligible for the postcard draw. I also had made one official kill, and a 2nd kill was winging it's way to it's intended target. the change of rules meant a new strategy was required if I was going to win .... it was time to put my network of "spies" into action.

as soon as the post card draw was announced, my first spy went into action ..... Wendi immediately sent off a postcard from her PakMail store in Burlington Ontario ... but would it get across the pond and land in Antrim Ireland by the deadline of June 21 ??!! this is where it's important to have an international team of well trained knitters in your network. thanks to Wendi's connections a quick e-mail to Máirín, who lives in Galway Ireland, asking her to send a post card for me just in case the one send from Canada doesn't make it in time. then, just to make sure, another e-mail off to Ceire who lives in Belfast Ireland, and another postcard was fired off to the Supreme Commander.

the best part about Sock Wars III was the people I "met". I had a great time "killing" my 2 targets.

Audrey was my first kill. her socks were probably the most difficult but also the easiest. I had to "learn" the pattern on her socks, and they probably got "frogged" at least 3 times before getting completed ... but they were also easy to knit because her size was just a wee bit bigger than mine so I could use my feet as a guide when knitting them.


my second "kill" was Gwyn. she was a bit of a worry for me because she has such tiny feet (compaired to mine anyway) and as I already knew how big these socks knitted up. I to make sure they were wearable for her, while still keeping the rules of battel. as it turns out they were still a bit big for her, but I understand fit her daughter well.



I also had 2 wonderful co-assassins. my original assassin was Anita, who did a lovely job getting my death socks started. before she could finish them she was "killed" by Jana who then completed the socks and posted them off to me.





this past weekend it all came to an end (for me anyway) ....... Friday, on the way to Sarnia for DD's dance competition, I stopped by Wendi's PakMail store to drop off some DPNs she asked to borrow .... and what did she have in return for me ..... my death socks!!!! it's with mixed emotions that I "officially" announce my Sock Wars death ....... the emotions are mixed because now I cann't continue with the Sock Wars III Continues group ..... but my socks are so lovely, that it really doesn't matter !!! thank you so much Anita & Jana !!! to end Friday on a high note, DD's group took the trophy for their choreography number !!! (her dance studio also took 2nd place in the same category, and also the trophy for the choreography broad sword)

DD and I stayed overnight in Sarnia, with the intent of heading across the border to Port Huron if the weather was nice. we woke up Saturday to rain, but fortunately it cleared up, and we headed over anyway. it turned out to be a beautiful day, and we had a great time walking around the beautiful historic downtown area. just before heading back, we decided to sit and enjoy a nice Dairy Queen treat and some water. DD went in and ordered, while I stayed outside with Hasia & Betty (our 2 black labs). I had a small dipped cone, DD had a candy floss blizzard ..... and Hasia & Betty shared a MILK-BONE SUNDAY !!! yes, I couldn't believe it, but for $1.25 I just had to get one for them ...... a dish of ice cream, with 2 milk bones in it! needless to day the mutts were VERY happy !! well, it was time to head back into Canada, and we didn't end up getting home until very late.

Sunday morning came WAY too soon ...... and I was woken up by the phone ringing. Wendi, the head of my spy network was on the phone ..... "YOU WON, YOU WON". ok, fuzzy head me ..... had no idea what she was talking about. Wendi had been keeping an eye on the Sock Wars sites, hoping that I'd win the big draw (for obvious reasons, knowing that I'd share the lot TOFUtsies with her). I didn't in the BIG prize of all the TOFUtsies yarn ..... this was actually more satisfying ... I won one of the two "cheeky" bonus prizes !!!

here is the e-mail from Julie, our Supreme Commander:
You get a cheeky bonus prize from Sock Wars just for sheer geographical magnificence. UK, Ireland and over the pond. Either you are a prolific traveller or have a crack network of spies. Either way for sheer boldness I am going to mail you a set of luxury dpns from signature needle arts!

this has been a great experience. yes, there has been some frustrations ..... I had some "issues" with the Detonator pattern, and unfortunately encountered 2 "flakes" (warriors that went MIA) that really delayed my progress. BUT, it was a game, I went into it with the right frame of mind (to have fun), and so I didnt let the "little things" get to me. I want to thank my 2 wonderful assassins for the beautiful pair of socks, my 2 targets for being so nice and making the war so much fun, my "2nd in command" Wendi and her network of knitting spies Máirín & Ceire without whom I could not have won the cheeky bonus prize !!! most of all I want to thank Julie, the Supreme Commander of Sock Wars III .... it was a tough battle for her this time, but she went above and beyond !!!