The Truly International Sock KAL

Any news?

2008-08-15T03:23:00.001-07:00

What's happening with the socks?

I have to say, I'm really disappointed with how this is turning out... the idea was a wonderful one and I eagerly signed up to participate. When it was my turn, I made sure to knit my part, take some pics and send it on to the next person, all within just a few days (I believe it was 3). What should have been a relatively quick journey for these socks has taken more than a year, with the sock/s often spending weeks, even months, in one place.

Come on people, if you can't meet your commitment, either pull out or just send them on to the next person.

I, for one, can't wait to see what these socks will look like when they're finished, and I want to celebrate the fact that they've travelled around the world and been knitted in so many different places.

TISA? AlphaMonkey? Are you still alive?

2008-06-09T06:37:00.001-07:00

As the mommy of TISA and AlphaMonkey, I'm starting to get worried about them. Fibersnob, knittygurl, are they still with you or have they been sent to the next knitter in line? There were rumors of AlphaMonkey taking part in a scavenger hunt, but TISA hasn't been seen in a loooong time. Does anyone know where they are? I've sent several emails, but no answer yet. Have they been eaten by the big and bad moths, or are they lost somewhere on the way? If anyone has any info, please let the rest of us know. We all want to know how the little sock-creatures are doing.

Helllloooo out there........

2008-06-08T06:02:00.000-07:00

Good morning everyone. My distantly related Monkey socks would like to hear from their wandering relatives, AlphaMonkey and TISA. Where are you, what have you been doing, are you having fun? Inquiring minds (and socks!) want to know. Stay cool and be sure to use sunscreen! - Your friend, Pippin_Knit

TISA, wherefore art thou?

2008-04-03T06:54:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess that she's somewhere in the States with knittygurl, I hope. Hope she's having fun.

Psst, Alpha Monkey and his faternal twin (Beta Monkey) are a little bit ahead of us...

It's here!

2008-03-28T06:54:00.000-07:00

Yay! Looks like Alpha Monkey will be coming with me on the scavenger hunt, or maybe Beta Monkey as I'm set to knit the cuff of the second sock. Pics and crazy knitterlyness to come....

Waiting and hoping

2008-03-27T18:32:00.001-07:00

So Alpha Monkey is on his/her way to me and I'm keeping my eye out for the mail. I'm hoping that it arrives tomorrow or Monday as I'd love to use it for the scavenger hunt here in Toronto on Tuesday for Steph's book launch. At worst I have another pair on the go for that night.

And the winner is...

2008-03-19T02:13:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! AlphaMonkey is on its way again, so I thought this would be a good time to announce the winner of the CONTEST. The random number generator gave me a hand with the drawing, and it picked out.... drumroll... Fibersnob. CONGRATULATIONS!

This delicious yarn will be heading in your direction in the near future.

Enjoy!

Now I can't wait to hear more about AlphaMonkey's and TISA's adventures. Keep the stories coming and the socks travelling!

On its Way

2008-03-16T21:02:00.000-07:00

Hi! I think that Alpha Monkey has seen all there is to see here in Winchester, so I should pop it in the mail in the next few days. I will try to get a full travelogue posted to my blog soon, but just so you don't think we were goofing off all this time, here are a few of the fascinating places we visited together:

One of the first places we visited was Tuesday Night's knitting group at a nearby Starbucks (they stay open late!):

Next day we retrieved the lucky student travelers from Logan Airport; they had just spent six days in Paris! (someday I will learn how to rotate a photo!):

This is a photo of a church that is down the block from me - they are participating in a local tradition of hanging stuffed fabric hearts to decorate the trees for February - some people start when they take down the Christmas lights, and some of the hearts stay up well into spring. Someone here in town started it, and when they moved away they gave away their heart collection to friends and neighbors - now it is all over town. Some have a few, some lots and lots; it is such a nice splash of color while we wait for spring!

This is the view of my side yard and driveway a few days later; AlphaMonkey insisted on playing in the snow:

AlphaMonkey traveled along on many errands, including this trip to the high school office. The secretary and I are great friends, since I usually visit several times a week with something that one of my two high school aged children has forgotten. I wonder how my son will manage when he gets to college!

The sock and I had a lot of fun together, even if it was essentially local, everyday fun. Since the Blogger climate is favorable just now, I may pop over to my blog and post a few more photos. Showing AlphaMonkey a good time was a hoot; everyone I explained the project to just loved the whole idea. Knitting rules!

Tomorrow AlphaMonkey leaves for Etobicoke!

Alpha Monkey on my doorstep

2008-02-16T13:52:00.000-08:00

Hi! AlphaMonkey has arrived in Winchester, MA from "across the pond". This lovely exciting colored sock joins a couple of other Monkeys (siblings? cousins? shirt tail relatives? ancestors? Beta Monkeys?) which are also in progress here at Chez Pippin_Knit. The good news for AlphaMonkey is that this is school vacation week here. The bad news is that we are not going much of anywhere. My older two children are in Paris with the school orchestra - if Alpha Monkey had arrived a few days sooner I could have sent it on an educational field trip! So this week will at least include a trip to the airport to pick them up. I will try to show AlphaMonkey a good time before I send it on its way. There must be somewhere we can go together. Maybe to work with me...

TISA has arrived!

2008-02-16T07:03:00.000-08:00

After a very long and exhausting week at work, I make my way home and find this in a box sitting on my doorstep.

TISA made its way to me from the great nation of Canada on its journey around the world and with it came some yummy goodies from Pixie Riot ! She sure knows how to spoil a girl :-) Thanks Ms. Pixie!

Comments

2008-02-12T04:27:00.000-08:00

It's great to see that so many knitters have already commented on AlphaMonkey's adventures. If you haven't commented already, you still have until the next post about Alphamonkey is posted if you want to take part in the prize drawing.

I also have an update about TISA. She is now on her way from Canada to the US. Yay! Let's hope she gets there safely, and tells us about her adventures soon.

Alpha's Adventures in Geordie Land

2008-02-06T10:31:00.001-08:00

Am I the slowest to do this yet? I can hardly believe Alphamonkey arrived here in Newcastle almost 2 months ago, in early December last year.

This meant I got to see Alphamonkey's first Christmas.

Santa had a try at knitting but decided that having no fingers made it too difficult and so he left the knitting up to me.

Rudolph really enjoyed helping and holding the yarn for Santa.

I knitted my part in some Piece of Beauty Sock yarn in Vintage Floral.

Between Christmas and New year I took Alphamonkey into Newcastle to see some of sights. Including Grey Street, Grey's Monument, The Sage and the Tyne Bridge. No photos of this as the photos I took were deleted- at least you can have some postcards from Alphamonkey courtesy of wikipedia.

I also took Alphamonkey for a 'run down the coast'. I'm not sure if this is a Geordie expression or just one that my family uses. It has nothing to do with running and pretty much means driving to the the seaside and having a walk about.

We stopped off at a funny wall with holes in it.

If you look very closely through the 'window' in the wall you can just about make out St. Mary's Lighthouse.

Here is Alphamonkey with in front of a slightly out of focus lighthouse.

And here is the lighthouse sans Monkey. The tide was out but we didn't walk over to the island. It was freezing cold and without gloves I thought my fingers might have dropped off.

Alphamonkey also went to go to the pub with me one evening for a meeting of the Miss Spiritual Tramp's Knitting Circle.

Here he is hanging out with some of the lovely Newcastle knitters.

And having another look at the Tyne Bridge through the pub window.

I think Alphamonkey enjoyed his rather extended stay in Newcastle. He is now on his way back across the Atlantic to the next knitter.

Ravelry

2008-01-11T06:14:00.000-08:00

The KAL now has its own group on Ravelry.
Ravelers, come and join me there!

Happy New Year!

2008-01-11T04:43:00.001-08:00

Hi Everyone, and a happy start of the new year! I hope you all had a great Holiday season.

This KAL has been hibernating for quite a while now, and it's time to kickstart it for the year 2008.

And how do we do that? COMPETITION TIME!

This is how it will work:

The next time there is a new post about AlphaMonkey's or TISA's adventures, there will be a prize drawing among every KAL member who leaves a comment on that post. The person who wrote the post will also be eligible for the prize.

The first prize drawing will be for this beauty. Some Dazzle sock yarn from The Natural Dye Studio. Anyone interested? (Click on the image to see a larger version).

So, according to the latest info, AlphaMonkey is in the UK and TISA is in Edmonton. Could pinkphish and pixie riot please give us a shout out to tell us everyone is ok (both the socks and their hostesses).

As soon as the next post appears (the 'real' post, not an update), the game is on, and you can leave comments until the next person posts about the same sock. For example, if the post is about Alphamonkey, you'll have until the next post about Alphamonkey to comment. These prize drawings will be organized more or less regularly, and I'll always let you know in advance when they'll happen.

Let's try to revive this KAL!

Alphamonkey in the UK

2007-12-08T14:36:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to let everyone know Alphamonkey arrived here in wet and windy NE England this morning. Now to figure out which yarn to knit my section with.....

Slight delay...

2007-11-28T09:28:00.001-08:00

I just want everyone to know that TISA is fine, she's just somewhat delayed in Edmonton with me. I was in for surgery last week and my body is just NOT reacting well! We will hopefully be seeing some sights this weekend so that she can get on her way earlier next week.

Adventures with Alphamonkey

2007-11-23T10:07:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to let you all know that Alphamonkey is having exciting adventures on my blog and will be heading off to the next knitter before the end of the weekend.

Movin' Right Along...

2007-11-14T09:54:00.000-08:00

TISA arrived yesterday afternoon in Edmonton, Alberta with the Riot family! I had friends staying the night, and they were really interested in the whole story about the sock and how it's traveling the world!

I'm about to start on my part, and TISA will be coming to choir with me tonight. As it's where I've spent the better part of ten years of my life, I figured it was a great place to get pictures!

Thanks so VERY much to Debi for the goodies. I'll post a picture with the rest of it, but I got DPNs, Nightmare Before Christmas lip gloss, a patch for my hoodie, a handknit square for my patchwork blanket... I am so spoiled!

TISA?

2007-11-13T20:37:00.001-08:00

Where did Tisa go?

Alphamonkey is here!

2007-11-13T15:41:00.000-08:00

Alphamonkey arrived today!

It looks like Alpha had a good time in Kentucky and now (he? she?) will be living it up in Boston for a few days.

Alpha Monkey's Stay in KY

2007-11-06T07:03:00.001-08:00

Unfortunately I did not get to take many pictures of Alpha Monkey's stay here as my camera decided to not work for a few days. so if whoever receives the sock next (should be there any day now!) can take a picture of the work I did, it would be much appreciated. I did get a picture of one place Alpha Monkey visited after I mailed it out, so here you go!

we went to ReBelle in Lexington, KY...a favorite LYS for their weekly SNB.

Update...

2007-10-28T02:29:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

It seems that AlphaMonkey got a life of its own and jumped a whole bunch of knitters. There seems to have been some confusion regarding fibersnob's moving post, and AlphaMonkey got sent to her instead. (Or maybe AlphaMonkey just wanted to go to Kentucky, who knows...) The knitting order has been changed accordingly.

I just wanted to make sure that everyone knows who they're sending the sock to. If cyberspace has eaten your email with the next knitters address, please email me and I'll send it to you again. If you haven't gotten a new address recently, the one I sent you in the beginning applies.

Can't wait to see what AlphaMonkey will be up to in Kentucky! :)

And what happened to TISA? Is it still with Debi in the States?

Alpha Monkey is in Lexington, KY!

2007-10-27T13:04:00.000-07:00

Alpha Monkey arrived to me yesterday, I plan on knitting up my part and hopefully mailing it out on Monday. Pictures might have to wait awhile since the computer I upload pictures on is completely fried...but as soon as I'm able I'll share them.

fibersnob

2007-10-12T08:20:00.001-07:00

I have moved, so the address you have to send the sock on to me is no longer good. email me at kekoch (at) gmail.com and I'll send you my new address.

Alpha Monkey Made it to Washington, D.C.

2007-10-09T15:30:00.000-07:00

The mailman brought the Alpha Monkey sock to me today while I was resting in bed recovering from a mean case of Monkey Gut. If you're not familiar with this ailment, it's the much beloved stomach flu that brings a variety of delightful symptoms that are not discussed in polite company. Suffice it to say that I have been staying close to the bathroom.

When the package arrived, I put down the project that I had been working on while convalescing, and I worked the heel right away.

I admire all of the lovely photos that everyone has taken of Alpha Monkey and her travels. When I am feeling up to it, I will take Monkey out on the Metro and try to take photos of her with some of the famous D.C. monuments before I send her on her way.

Here is a picture of the heel that I added:

And here is a picture of the cool goodies that Ozknitter included in the package (Thank you!)

I'm sorry that my tummy is in such a delicate state right now because normally I would have consumed those chocolate cookies by now. ;-)

TISA is back in the States

2007-10-04T15:28:00.000-07:00

And what a quick trip! Postmarked the 29th of Sept and here by the 3rd of Oct (I didn't check the mail yesterday). Very impressive, and she didn't look at all queasy when I let her out of the box.

Holly sent some seriously lovely goodies along with TISA - some gorgeous sock yarn, an adorable Christmas ornament of a little old lady with her knitting, and a heart-shaped keychain with a raised relief of Heidelberg in the center - extra perfect because I love hearts and silver. Thank you so much for your generosity, Holly!

I am deciding which of 2 yarns to use for the gusset...leaning toward the funkier one, but all the posts seem to favor the bluer ones, hmmmmm....

TISA may get to go pumpkin shopping tomorrow, and will take in some sights early next week.
Pics to follow.

Oh! My blog is not the one listed in the sidebar, deleted that one and went back to the old one - http://www.darbyrose2000.blogspot.com/

TISA is on her way.

2007-09-30T05:09:00.000-07:00

It is amazing how the weeks just flew by. I had planned on having her for just a short visit, and here it is the end of Sept.

TISA arrived with some lovely treats to my house in Heidelberg.

She insisted on a short trip to the Heidelberg Castle

before becoming essentially lost in the mess that is my table in the studio.

On the 24th, she took the train with me to Stuttgart

where we were picked up by a friend for a trip down to Switzerland. Having finished up the heel (my part) - I am sure that she felt more comfortable.

Since the guys were busy at work - she and I checked out the local train schedule

went to visit the local castle and the sheep

and decided to hang out for a while there before moving on to a playground.

In the morning, after our last view of the Swiss Alps in the rain

we drove from Pfaeffikon back to Stuttgart before catching the train to Heidelberg.

Yesterday, she was safely tucked into a box bound for Illinois.

Please let us know when she arrives safely!

-Holly
www.proseknitic.de

AlphaMonkey & Melbourne

2007-09-27T01:40:00.001-07:00

AlphaMonkey appears to have enjoyed his day in, windy, Melbourne today. He travelled on Melbourne's famous trams, saw the Yarra, everything pictured above and more!

Note: Blogger resized the photos, so if you click on them the writing will be clearer.

AlphaMonkey arrives Down Under!

2007-09-25T00:16:00.000-07:00

AlphaMonkey arrived in my mail box today, all the way from Illinois, USA!

PlumFan included a skein of Colinette Jitterbug in the gorgeous "Velvet Plum" colourway. It's so pretty! Thanks PlumFan!

So AlphaMonkey's spending the night in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Back with an update (and hopefully pics) tomorrow!

AlphaMonkey

2007-09-17T21:29:00.000-07:00

PlumFan could you please contact me: ozknitter AT gmail DOT com

I gather you sent AlphaMonkey my way in August, but he hasn't arrived yet :(

TISA has arrived!

2007-09-10T13:14:00.000-07:00

There, in my mailbox today was a package from Conneticut. Shades of blue - Batman! Now I just have to knit her heel and take her on my next photo cruise. Too bad she missed China.

But Heidelberg is not at all a bad city to visit.

-Holly

And TISA is back on the road!

2007-09-04T19:25:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the delay in posting. Hubby mailed TISA to her next destination for me today, yesterday was a postal holiday here.

I decided to keep with the blue theme and use some jacquard yarn that I had, it's either Regia or Lion Brand, I forget which (I bought some Lion Brand at one point which was very similar to Regia yarn I had so I am not sure which of those it was.)

It's a little busy but I think it's OK in that small band. Hopefully everyone else agrees. ;)

I really enjoyed the Monkey pattern, I can't wait to make a full pair of these.

I look forward to seeing the next section on this sock, as well as seeing Alpha Monkey's progress!

TISA Arrives In New England!

2007-08-29T13:34:00.000-07:00

TiSA has successfully hopped across the pond, bearing gifts:

Yummy rhubarb candy from M&S, and lovely soft yarn!

Luckily, her missing needle followed along, and the 5 needles are reunited once more.

We just got back from holiday in Niagara Falls last weekend, so the timing was perfect. Now I've got to figure out which yarn I want to use.

Alpha Monkey goes to Stitches Midwest

2007-08-27T19:09:00.000-07:00

Alpha Monkey arrived in time to go with me to Stitches Midwest.

We took the Amtrak train from Springfield. Unfortunately the train was late and we were worried we wouldn't arrive in time to meat up with the wonderful Knitties. We hauled some @$$ and were able to get to lunch at 12:40, only 40 minutes late.

We were able to meat some fantastic people. Monkey is now making his way to the next host. I will post the pictures as soon as the computer stops acting wierd and allows me to retrieve my pictures.

ETA: Pictures as promised!

Looking for Alpha Monkey

2007-08-26T07:46:00.000-07:00

Alpha Monkey left Germany about 2 months ago. There was no food in the package to set of the Dept. of Agriculture alarms... (the goody was a bit more "stringy")

If plumfan would contact be off group, I can double check the address (of course, it should have come back to me if...)

and finally...TiSA's adventures in Scotland!

2007-08-20T15:02:00.001-07:00

TiSA is now winging her way stateside as I type and will hopefully arrive at her next destination very soon.

So...where to start? ...well I had to pop a couple of wee wedding pics in first! We are now les 'Marchants' as my cousins french boyfriend Francois put it (he's very impressed with the frenchness of our little scottish famille as Sebastien was born on Bastille day! We aim to please!)

And now a warning...I like taking pictures! A lot!! So without further ado, introducing TiSA in Scotland! And more specifically in St. Andrews. I feel I should explain, since I am from Aberdeen, why all the photos are in St. Andrews. I am half St. Andrean and it is a far prettier town than Aberdeen, I had meant to take pics in both towns, but as the wedding was in St. Andrews and it is also the town where my grandad lived, we have inevitably spent most of the summer there this year...

This is TiSA with my beautiful wedding dress, I had planned to take a pic whilst I was actually wearing the dress, but as any bride will confirm, the day goes past so quickly that you forget a million things you had planned to do!

This is TiSA sitting on the blanket box in our beautiful turret room at the Rufflets, the gorgeous country house hotel where we had our wedding reception. That's a magnificent four poster bed in the background...and a Rufflets 'Do not disturb' teddy bear that is sporting my veil (the house keeping staff would turn down our bed and put the veil on the teddy every night!!).

In the glorious two days of summer that we had in Scotland this year we did a spot of tourist-type sight-seeing. My husband has never visited the castle in St Andrews, (I used to go with my granny all the time when we could say 'Locals' and get in for free! Gone are those days, now it's £7 each!!!), so I decided it was a must that we take the tour. This is the castle entrance, though not the original drawbridge clearly!

As any good castle is built on the cliffs by the sea, there are many fantastic vantage points. From here you can see St. Andrews pier and the towers of the ruined Cathedral.

Here you find us in the remains of the castle kitchen checking out the handy garbage disposal, straight into the sea! (Don't worry, no remnants of rotting food were present!)

You will also be glad to hear that it has been a long time since this sandstone hole functioned as la toilette!

From here you can see the East Sands that were used to film one of the great sequences from the 1981 british movie 'Chariots of Fire'.

And this is a pic of one of the eeriest places in the castle, the bottle dungeon. So named because the entrance is shaped like a bottle neck, prisoners would be lowered down and left, unable to escape. I kept TiSA safe on my hand, wasn't going to risk her falling down the bottle neck!

...and this shows another of the eery places in the castle grounds, the counter mine. This was dug out during a siege on the castle when the inhabitants found out about a plot to dig a mine into the castle and attack. They dug the counter mine and a battle took place where the two mines met! It's very dark, very small and quite damp!

TiSA, my hubby and I then took a wee tour round the castle visitor centre and met some interesting types.

TiSA jumped into the peasants bucket...

...and then onto John Knox's fist...

...before ending up on King James II table whilst he was discussing pressing political matters with the bishop!

We then went on to visit the family church where we got married, All Saints Scottish Episcopal Church.

This is the beautiful church courtyard.

...and this is the garden of remembrance filled with just some of the flowers for my grandad, (my granny keeps saying her house is like Kew Gardens just now because of all the flowers, there are a lot).

We took a short stop for 'refreshments' (a nice glass of chilled white wine, mmm mmm!) in the Castle Tavern, which is run by my cousin Myk, here he is pictured with TiSA and a massive grin!

...before we moved on to the Cathedral visitor's centre.

Here is TiSA pictured with the intricate bishop's emblems.

...and then at the top of St Rules tower

It was very cold and very windy at the top of the tower, so we didn't stay for long!!

We then took TiSA on a wee tour of the St. Andrews Preservation Trust Museum where she found this 1950's wedding telegram, the message reads, 'Two pints make a half pint!'

The counter at the general store in the museum, (another willing model!)

St. Andrews, as you may know is the home of golf, and this is TiSA at the grave of a very famous St Andrean golfer Tommy Morris...

...and finally this is TiSA and myself ending our tour on the famous Swilken Bridge that looks on to the 18th hole and the club house on the Old Course in St. Andrews.

I hope you enjoyed the pics and the tour as much as we did, sorry again that it took so long, but I hope this made up somewhat for the delay!!

Jenni x

The knitting order

2007-08-19T23:21:00.000-07:00

It seems like a lot of you would prefer knowing the knitting order. Here it is for both TISA and AlphaMonkey.

TISA

Kitty <3, USA
mummymakesphotos, Scotland
Rebecca, USA
Holly, Germany
Debi, USA
Pixie Riot, Canada
Desiree, USA
Sandykins57, Sweden
Jennifer, USA
NotSoCarbonNeutral, England
sheepish1, USA
bockstark.knits, Germany
Christy, USA
Ann Christin, Norway
Amy, USA
Melly, Canada

AlphaMonkey

Lisa C..Knitter Navy Wife, USA
MABS, Germany
plumfan, USA
OzKnitter, Australia
Evelyn, USA
Katie, USA
Stariel, USA
pinkphish, UK
Karen, USA
Sarah, Canada
Heidi, Finland
Fiona, UK
Nicole, USA
Holly, USA
Sharon, South Africa
myosotis, Germany
Sandy, USA
Cynthia, The Netherlands

As far as we know now, TISA is with Jenni and AlphaMonkey is still with Maresi, right? Could both Jenni and Maresi please post to the blog to confirm this?

I also like the idea of a time limit. Let's all agree that the time limit for knitting your part is 7 days. If you can't finish it by then, you have the option to send it on to the next knitter as it is (i.e. without knitting your part). That just makes it a little harder to keep track of which parts have been knitted and which haven't, but just count the different yarns and I'm sure you'll figure it out. Knitters are smart! :)

AlphaMonkey

2007-08-17T09:59:00.000-07:00

Ok so is it still in Germany? Is it lost? I know we all have busy lives, children, mates, families, jobs, problems, illnesses, (this is not aimed at mummymakesphotos who had a recent death of her grandfather, my prayers are with your family) etc but honestly, I can say I received the socks and tried to send them out in a timely manner. I don't really think that has happened with most others who have received either sock. Don't worry about the darn pics. Just take one of you and the sock outside your home. Don't have a camera? Move the sock along and post a blurb about your hometown. Most hometowns have a website. Notify the next knitter and maybe he/she can take a before and after photo to show yours and their progress. This is why so many people avoid swaps because of those who delay and forget that others are looking forward to it. Ok off my soapbox...

A sincere apology

2007-08-16T06:05:00.000-07:00

I am very sorry for my part of keeping you all in suspense. I had been on track with my part of the TiSA sock (despite wedding preparations) but sadly my grandfather passed away the week before our wedding and everything was pushed aside for the funeral, which was then followed two days later by the wedding. I am now home and catching up on everything, the sock will be in the post on it's way to the next knitter tomorrow. Sincerest apologies again and I hope to make it up to you all for the delay by posting some fabulous pics of the sock on tour in Scotland.

What do you think about this?

2007-08-16T03:35:00.000-07:00

As it is now, the only thing you as knitters know is who you're supposed to send the sock to after you've knitted you part. What if I published the complete knitting order here on the blog, so everyone knows who is next in line? I know, it removes the surprise element, but maybe it would speed things up a bit. It would also make it easier for you to estimate when the sock should arrive at your destination. And you could post to the blog if you're next in line and the sock is nowhere to be seen.

What do you think about this? Could as many of you as possible please comment to this post and tell me if your in favor or against this.

Why so slow?

2007-08-14T23:44:00.000-07:00

I don't get why it's taking so long between knitters. Is it the actual travelling (the mail) that's slowing things down, or is it the knitting and photographing?

As I've said before, it would be greatly appreciated by all of us (I'm sure) if the knitters with the socks could give us updates now and again. So could you please tell us where the sock is now? Just a few lines would be enough, and if you have pictures, great! Just don't leave us hanging here, waiting for a sign of life. We worry about our friends, AlphaMonkey and Tisa, and we want to know how they are doing.

And the waiting continues...

2007-08-14T22:58:00.000-07:00

I was never a very patient person... *sigh*

The excitement is building...

2007-08-03T11:43:00.000-07:00

I hope I get a sock soon... I've already picked my yarn.

Is it weird that I'm hoping for a heel? I love turning heels!

Until then, I will work on Bellatrix (see socktopia.net for the pattern, it's brilliant!) and wait!

TISA arrives in beeeeeauuutiful Scotland!!

2007-07-24T11:54:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

I know you are all eagerly awaiting some International Sock news...and I have to apologise because I have kept you in suspense for a wee bit longer than I should have due to Tisa arriving with me in Aberdeen on Friday, just in time for a very busy weekend (it did provide some good photo opp's and Tisa managed to see a little bit more of Scotland than first anticipated!).

Anyway this is the first chance I have had to post anything, and I shall return to Friday first, when I saw the postie walking up towards the door with a very colourful parcel in his hands. I gestured to my other half to go and open the front door before the postie rang the bell and disturbed our "just went down for his nap and woe betide the person who wakes him up before he's done sleeping" one year old!

This is what arrived......fabulously spotty, dotty and bright! It made me smile a lot :)

Inside was a lovely card from Shadkitty, which described Tisa's coffee addiction (I can relate to that!), and the instruction manual!

...along with a lovely bag of Starbucks Sumatra ground coffee, mmm mmm! I'm presuming our lovely Starbucks employee/model sold this to Shadkitty after he kindly posed for the camera!!

...there was also a bag of Jelly Belly Beans Smoothie Blend...this was so spooky because my other half and I tie the knot on August the 11th this year and when we registered for gifts we wanted to give our guests a bit of a laugh when they checked out our list (we are not a great fan of the gift list idea, but were forewarned by friends that if you don't have space for ten toasters and kettles then you'd better register!) so we put a few random fun items on there, including a pair of water pistols, some Star Wars Lego and 3 bags of Jelly Belly Beans Smoothie Blend! The picture below was taken after I opened the pack and ate half the contents, though I think I managed to mask that fact quite well!

...and finally, Tisa herself...

I have used Koigu Painter's Palette Premium Merino to knit my part of the pattern, I sped through my section on Friday afternoon, as I knew I wouldn't have time over the weekend and if I left it for this week wedding plans would take over and it wouldn't get done. I have taken a few pics of Tisa on location over the weekend, but will wait until she has finished her tour with me before I post them all...

I promise I'll show the sock a great time Shadkitty and thank you so much for your lovely, smile-making parcel!

More from Tisa soon!

xoxox

Tisa in Philly

2007-07-15T22:09:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally named the sock. It is Tisa (Truly International Sock, Alright?), and Tisa is on it's way to the next knitter.

Here we are at the Baltimore Aquarium. Tisa had to hide in my purse for most of it though. We were in the splash zone!

When in Philly...you must see the Liberty Bell!! My big head is blocking the bell. D'oh! It was either that or tourists.

Um...I am not sure what this is. There was construction in front of the building that housed the Liberty Bell, and everyone was taking pictures. I was amused and so was Tisa, so we posed for a picture ourselves.

This is Independence Hall. We couldn't figure out how to get in. You know...past those gates. So this picture is from behind them. Which is actually better, it's hard to get a good portion of the building in the picture.

My friend wanted to stop in Starbucks during our walk around Philly. I'm not too fond of coffee, but Tisa was totally thrilled and insisted on posing with this employee. Who seems to be generally thrilled about holding some weird girl's needles and yarn. This ended up being my favorite picture, we were all thoroughly amused by this guy's enthusiasm.

Here is my friend posing with Tisa in front of the Koigu at Loop. I mean, we had to sample the local yarn!

Well, unfortunately that is all I have for you. Apparently I am a terrible tourist. Hopefully the goodies I sent with Tisa will make up for at least a little bit of my delinquency.

Any pictures soon?

2007-07-12T06:05:00.000-07:00

Please tell there is some pictures coming soon, will you? Something new, anything? Please?

Geez

2007-07-05T10:46:00.001-07:00

Okay, after finally resolving camera and computer problems we had to make a sudden trip to Maryland. I just figured out how to get my MIL's computer to allow me to post.

EXTREME apologies in regards to the sock. I will take it to DC and take pictures, then send it along it's way. My part is not finished and, again, deeply sorry. Some unexpected things happened recently and my mind has not been on knitting. If you feel the need to read up on the details go ahead.

Thank you for not lynching me! lol

The socks have been tracked down

2007-07-03T05:22:00.000-07:00

I've found the socks! :) AlphaMonkey is still with Maresi (MABS). It will be photographed and on its way shortly.

The other sock (no name yet) is with Crystal (Kitty <3). As far as I know, some knitting has been done on it, but there is still some left to do.

I assume that we can expect posts from both knitters in the near future.

I know I didn't put a time frame for how long it's supposed to take each knitter to knit their part, take photos and send the sock off. But I think a week should be enough. If it takes longer than that, you should post about it on the blog to notify the other knitters. What do you knitters think about this? Is one week a good time frame?

Lost?

2007-07-03T03:38:00.001-07:00

Are our 2 sets of socks lost to the world? Stuck in the mail? Forgotten in someone's WIP basket? On vacation? Yoohoo, where are you?

Where are they now???

2007-06-29T12:39:00.000-07:00

Any clues anyone? Should we start a 'Search-Along' aswell as a Knitalong? If you have the socks - please own up now!!!

Tracking down the socks

2007-06-29T12:33:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

I'm so sorry I haven't been around lately. I've been stuck on an island with no internet access and this is the first opportunity I have to check in on the socks.

The socks seem to have gotten lost somewhere. Could the knitters who have them or have just sent them to the next knitter please write all of us a message here on the blog to let us know where they are? I'll also try to track them down by email. It would be too sad if they'd get stuck somewhere along the way!

Let's hope they turn up soon to tell us about their journey.

Ack!

2007-06-22T11:54:00.000-07:00

Sorry folks! I am currently experiencing camera and computer difficulties. :( I apologize for delays on my part. Hopefully things will be running smoothly here soon.

Ok where are they???????????????

2007-06-22T09:13:00.000-07:00

How are the socks doing? Is Alphamonkey enjoying Europe? How's the other sock? Let's not lose these somewhere. Keep them moving!!!

And the Sock is over the Pond!

2007-06-13T00:16:00.000-07:00

This cuff came all the way from Memphis, TN !

And look what else was in the package!

The BBQ Sauce came just in time for Grill Season here in Germany. I am so excited, thank you thank you!!!!

I was especially interested to see the Trekking used for the cuff. Despite the fact that Trekking is made not too far from where I live (Clue #1), I have never happened across it. It was a bit thicker than the Opal and Regina I am used to using. A little internet research yielded some Ombre colorways are just gorgeous.

So, what did I do first: I knit the first 2 repeats immediately. Monkey is a very clever pattern, not really that complicated to remember but a very nice effect. Maybe I will have to make one of my own.

Staying with the blue theme, I used some leftover Opal Handpainted

and finished:

Now off to see the sights and some more clues!

AlphaMonkey

2007-06-05T20:17:00.000-07:00

The sock was born on Saturday, June 2, 2007 at 7:55 CST. Using leftover yarn from a pair of Trekking socks from last summer, I name this sock,"AlphaMonkey."

I now understand how Yarn Harlot feels when people think she is nuts for taking sock pictures. I ~~persuaded~~ ~~cajoled~~ begged my girls to come with me. They finally understood when I explained that this was like flat stanley.

We first went to

Graceland. When in Memphis, you have to visit Elvis.

With so much to do in so little time, the girls and I took AlphaMonkey to downtown Memphis.

Next stop...
the Mississippi River and Hernando DeSoto Bridge. We walked along

Beale Street and saw
Schwab's
and
B.B. King's Blues Club.

None of us, including AlphaMonkey, had ever taken a duck tour so we hopped on board to take in some more sights. We passed by one of my favorite Memphis sights...

Sun Studios, the first place that Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash ever recorded! We passed
Saint Jude's Children's Research Hospital. We drove by
the Pyramid before going for a boat ride by
the bridge again on the Wolf River that empties into Ole Man River. Towards the end of the tour we passed
the Lorraine Motel, where Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated and present day site of the National Civil Rights Museum.

After the duck tour it was time for a visit to
The Peabody to see the world famous

ducks in their fountain.

. We took an elevator to the roof to get a bird's eye view of
Autozone Park,home of the Memphis Redbirds. The last stop for AlphaMonkey was to Lansky's to see the fabulous collection of guitars...
That is a coat that Elvis had brought for repair to Lansky's just before he died. The guitar to the right is signed by Van Morrison.

The guitars are signed, from left to right, by: Celine Dion, Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash, Tanya Tucker, The Dave Matthews Band, Jimmy Dean and Hootie and the Blowfish.

AlphaMonkey had a great time in Memphis and will be departing for his next foster knitter very soon.

I'm Number 1!

2007-06-03T10:27:00.000-07:00

Okay, actually I am Knitter 1. lol I just got the package on Friday, and am very excited! So far I've only just cast-on, but that is because I re-did the CO about 3 times. Had to get it perfect.

The yarn I am using is Cherry Blossom Fibers Blue Flash. Cindy is one of my favorite indie dyers on Etsy.com, even if she isn't really well known like the Yarn Pirate. It is leftover from my I Dream of Africa socks. So far the sights lined up for the sock are the beach, Camp LeJeune, and New River Air Station. Possibly Yuma, Arizona if Mr. Shad doesn't mind. :)

They're Here!!!

2007-06-02T09:16:00.000-07:00

I got the package yesterday. But where am I? I'll give you 2 hints and you can guess (or go to my blog!). I am a Navy wife who is currently living near a large city that has a river and a pyramid.

I am casting on today but I have a silly question...I'm only knitting one cuff not two, right?

So??

2007-06-01T08:21:00.000-07:00

So, what's going on? Have they arrived at their first destination? Where are they?

Inquiring minds want to know!

Drumroll please!

2007-05-19T02:18:00.000-07:00

The votes have been tallied, and the winning pattern is....... MONKEY!

In joint second place: Broadripple and Baudelaire

Monkey got almost a third of all the votes, so I think we'll knit the same pattern in both of the groups.

The socks will be sent out on Monday. Yay!! There are still a few knitters who haven't answered the questions, and I've resent the email to them once more. If you haven't received an email with questions (about address and so on) from me, please let me know. And if you haven't answered the questions yet, please do that before Monday!

I'm not going to tell you which knitter gets the first visit from the sock, or in which order the sock will be travelling. That's a surprise! :)

Hello from Virginia

2007-05-18T11:36:00.000-07:00

I'm really excited for this kal... it's so different from the others! I'm Liz, a sahm with a 6 and almost 9 yr old and 4 cats (the newest one is 7 weeks old, aww!) I taught myself to knit about 3 years ago. I am addicted to sock knitting, the yarn especially. (Let's not talk stash here, lol)

I live in Southern Virginia, but I'm a military brat so it's hard to call this place home. I spent 10 years in Germany as a child. I was 14 when we came back stateside, 29 now, and I still miss it. Someday, I'll get there again.

Bring on the socks!

Hello from outside TO

2007-05-17T20:02:00.000-07:00

Hello!

My name is Melanie and I live just outside Toronto, Ontario. I first knitted about 2 years ago much to my mother's surprise. However, my true knittiness began last November after finding Knitty.com :) Like fibersnob, I can claim LettuceKnit as my fav SnB.

I just finished my bachelor's degree in psychology and am hoping to find work in this area. Until then, I am a swimming instructor and lifeguard at a center for children with disabilties. I look forward to introducing the sock to our snoezelen room :)

Hi from Aberdeen, Scotland

2007-05-17T02:28:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

This is great, so looking forward to being part of it! I'm Jenni from Aberdeen in Scotland and although I knit a little as a child, I only picked it up again about 3 years ago. I learnt all I know about sock knitting by knitting baby socks and one large cabled Christmas stocking for my 10 month old Seb, but I have yet to knit a pair for myself!!

I have just sent off a parcel for my first ever swap (the Knitters Coffeeswap2) and really enjoyed putting it together. So many of the knitters there take part in KALs and I couldn't wait to join in one myself, so this is it, my first one, and what a one!

Can't wait to meet the sock!

Oh and if you fancy a nosey my blog is here!

Greetings from Scotland!!

2007-05-15T07:11:00.000-07:00

Hi I'm Fee and I'm from South West Scotland, sorta half way between Glasgow and Edinburgh. I've been knitting for about 9 months and come on leaps and bounds in that time. By day I'm a biology student at Edinburgh uni just finished third year.
I have so many knitting projects planned but seem to spent more time knitting presents for other people!!
I'm really looking forward to this KAL, my first one in fact :)

Just about ready...

2007-05-13T10:39:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

It's so nice to see that so many of you have introduced yourselves here on the blog! Most of you have also answered the questions in my email, but I'm still waiting for answers from 9 knitters before I can send out the socks. If you could answer a soon as possible, that would be great! I was planning to send the socks out at the beginning of next week. If you haven't received an email with questions from me, please let me know and I'll resend it.

I have also counted the votes for sock pattern that I have received so far, and the three most popular patterns have the same number of votes. I still need the votes from the knitters who haven't answered yet before I can announce the winning pattern. If it's really close, we could knit different patterns in the two groups.

The itinerary is also starting to take form, and it looks like the socks will have an amazing journey all across the globe! So exciting! Let's hope that the remaining knitters answer the questions soon so we can get this adventure on the road. I can't wait! :)

A Big Howdy from Texas

2007-05-10T16:51:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! I'm so excited. This is going to be so much fun. I'm slightly new to sock knitting. I haven't really ventured out towards a more complex pattern but I thought this KAL would give me the push I need to take the next step. :) I can't let ya'll down.
Oh and I want to give Kris from Bockstark Knits a shout out for posting about this awesome KAL. And just in case anyone was wondering, no, we do not ride horses to get us around town, we do have cars here. hehe ;)

Hello/Bonjour from Canada!

2007-05-09T07:24:00.000-07:00

Hey sock knitters! Just wanted to introduce myself and let everyone in on some of my plans for the travelling sock. My name is Sarah and I live in Toronto, hub of all things Knitty. I've been knitting seriously for about three years now and socks for the last two.

Seeing as how this is the City of Knitterly Love I'm going to do my best to introduce the TIS (truly international sock) to some other loverly Torontonians and possibly another travelling sock. Being a Lettuce Knit SnBer I'm ging to try and get some pics with Stephanie's book tour sock and take the TIS to meet Mrs. Knitty herself. I envision trips to the CN tower, the hockey hall of fame and the TSX among other photo ops.

Hi, from Australia

2007-05-08T18:57:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, great to be here. I'm OzKnitter and I'm from Melbourne, Australia. It's going to be great fun watching the socks travel around and see all places they visit. I learnt to knit when I was about 7 or 8 (I think) and I've been knitting on and off since then. Last January I discovered you could knit socks and since then I've knitted 25+ pairs (I do occasionally knit other things, but usually just socks).

Happy sock knitting all!

hey, it's another intro post.

2007-05-08T14:34:00.000-07:00

hiya. i'm pixie, and i knit a lot in alberta, canada. my life outside of knitting is music, music and more music, and i'm a bit of a punk-ass kid (even though i'm not so much a kid anymore). pink hair, lots of tattoos and piercings and stuff, and i don't really have anything interesting to say about me. :-P

And a hello to everyone from Bergen, Norway

2007-05-08T14:20:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone who participate in this truly international KAL, and a hello! to all who lurks here as well ;) I am 40-something, soon to be a registered nurse and a heavy knitter. Altough not a long and impressing sock-CV.
I came to this KAL a little late, but I am looking forward to do my bit. And a little scared as well: Maybe I will be the one who will make you rip and repair 8/
See you all around :D

Ann

Hi from Georgia!

2007-05-06T20:38:00.000-07:00

I'm Amy from southern USA .... Georgia to be exact. I'm a homeschooling mom to 6 ranging in age from 1.5 to 9. You can see pics of my kids at my blog, www.amyskin.blogspot.com. I have to confess, I've never knit a sock before but I've been wanting to. Heidi said I could join anyway. So whoever wins the socks, just know those few rows that look a little funky were done by me.

I can't wait till we get started!!
~Amysue

Wow, it really is International!

2007-05-06T16:22:00.000-07:00

What fun!
My name is Debi, aka darbyrose. I live in the USA, in Illinois, pretty much in the middle of the state. The Sock is going to have to visit some Abraham Lincoln sites, and it can visit my hubby's firehouse. Depending on the time of year, The Sock might get to hang out with some corn and soybeans...now, now, contain yourselves. I know how exciting that is. Maybe we can even find a corn borer (the squeamish among you should look away if we do).

Can't wait to see where The Sock goes first!

Hello from Munich!

2007-05-06T14:56:00.000-07:00

Hi there! I am Kris (aka Bockstark Knits) and I am an American living in Munich, Germany. I am a SAHM (stay-at-home-mom) of twin 2.5 year old boys. The only way I keep my sanity is to knit, knit, knit.

I was born and raised in Hawaii, but my husband and I call Seattle home. We moved here about 1.5 years ago from Seattle, wanting a new adventure. My husband got a job and we sold off everything and moved here right at the start of the loooooong winter of 2006. We are pretty much settled in now and live a 1/2 German, 1/2 American life. We want our kids to be bilingual and we hope to be too but German is damn hard. Has anyone seen the SNL skit "Nuni"? That's what it's like to us sometimes. haha!

I have been knitting for about 16 years, off and on. It's been mostly off for the last few years, but then I started kniting socks since October of 2006 and it came back with a vengeance! But sadly, that's right about the time I moved here and let's just say that people in the US are very lucky to have so much choice. I have since joined the SNB meetings here and have enjoyed the company online and offline immensely. It's the only place I can talk like an adult during the days!

I am so excited to be a part of such a cool project and I can't wait to see what it looks like completed!

A big hello from Maine!

2007-05-06T14:30:00.000-07:00

Hi! My name is Desiree (aka knittygurl) and I currently live up here in the woods of Maine which could be another country to some :) I am married to the love of my life for a year and a half and I am the oldest of seven brothers and sisters.

I am seriously excited about this KAL because although I have never been outside of the US, I live to travel and if I can't, then at least I'll be able to live vicariously through my sock yarn! I have only knit a couple of pairs of socks but after finding Knitty and seeing the patterns there, I have been buying sock yarn like it was candy so I can dive in and get started.

Knit-Blogging is my new favorite obsession, both in writing and reading them. My blog can be found here .

Can't wait to get this rolling and meet more of you soon!

Hello From the East Coast

2007-05-06T09:40:00.000-07:00

Hi! I'm Crystal, aka Shadkitty, I was born and raised on the east coast of the US. Right now I live in North Carolina with my husband and three children, but spent most of my unmarried life in Maryland.

This sock is a great idea and I cannot wait to see pictures of the socks visiting exciting places! I am hoping that when it is my turn to knit I can show the sock (and all of you) around New River Air Station. My husband is currently a US Marine and flies on a tiltrotor plane called the Osprey. If not then I will just show the sock around my small bit of the world. :)

I have been knitting for a little over a year now, and socks are my passion! They keep me busy and interested without taking too much yarn. Since I do have three children, all under the age of 5, money can be a bit tight. Still, I love to knit, and I love to blog. I blog here and participate in a lot of different knitblogging activities. Drop by my blog any time, I love making new friends.

Hi from the Netherlands!

2007-05-06T09:11:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

I'm Cynthia, from the Netherlands. Born and raised a Dutchie, in case you wondered.

I'm excited to be part of this KAL, such a great idea! Thanks for coming up with it and organizing it Heidi!

Let's see, a bit about me; I'm married, and expecting our first baby in June. So that means right now I'm very busy getting things ready for the baby, and it doesn't help that I'm a bit of a creative ADD-type, so I have loads of ideas and projects going on, both for the baby and "normal" ones. Because of my due date (and mostly the uncertainty of the 5 week timeframe around it) I've requested to be put on the list in a later stadium. I'd hate to stall things!

I blog here, although the blog is both in the process of being redesigned and a bit neglected because of the general craziness in my life right now.

Can't wait to "meet" more of you!

Hello from (pick one)

2007-05-06T07:21:00.000-07:00

Germany, the US, Switzerland...
Hi -
I am a US transplant living in Heidelberg Germany (courtesy of the US government). My DH works in Switzerland and spends 3-5 days a week near Zürich. So if we need the socks to travel, he can always mail them out from theren.

I have been knitting socks since ~1990 (give or take) and have been on email since 1986 (yes, good old ASCII and arpa.net) and general knitting a long time before that.

My preference is for pix here, I would rather not wander over to another program. If you need Vancouver in the process, I will be there 19-25 May and could let the socks have a visit as well.

Looking forward to this!
-Holly

A big HELLO from Finland

2007-05-06T04:53:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Heidi and I live in Turku in the south western part of Finland. I am also your hostess. Like Sandy Z said, I'm really excited about this! And yes, Sandy, we actually do have a knitter from Norway. But feel free to walk across the border anyway. I'm sure the sock would appreciate a free visit to Norway! :)

What else can I tell you about me. I'm a student at Åbo Akademi University, and I'm trying my best to finish writing my thesis. Too bad there's so much fun knitting to be done! It's really slowing me down! :)

Can't wait to start sending out the sock kits! And neither can the socks-to-be. They've been bugging me all week, asking about when they can start traveling.
*Well, it's almost time! Calm down! Stop bothering me when I'm writing!*
Sorry about that. I was sock-attacked!

I'm really looking forward to getting to know all of you knitters a little bit better. Keep the introductions coming.

Greetings from Sweden

2007-05-06T03:24:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited about this! If we don't have any knitters from Norway on this KAL, I can probably take the socks over the border, so that they get an extra country in for free! We only live 15 minutes away, so it's easily done.

I'm an American who's followed her heart to Sweden. My Swede and I were married in Sept. 1999 and I moved here in Jan. 2000. It was fun learning a new language in my 40s, NOT! I became a grandma last November and I will be heading to the States in June to visit her (and my daughter and her husband, of course) and to buy some more sock yarn! Oh, and one of my husband's daughters is expecting this November, so I have more baby feet to knit for! Yay!

Hope the socks get here soon!

We're on our way!

2007-05-06T02:56:00.000-07:00

And so it begins. The International Sock KAL is ready to take off!

You should all have received two emails from me by now. One that includes some information and a few questions, and one invitation to contribute to this blog. If you have not received both of these emails (check your spam/junk folder), send me an email to voivitsi@yahoo.com and I'll sort it out.

If there are knitters out there who are interested in this KAL but haven't signed up yet, there is still time to do that. Sign-ups close at the end of the day today (May 6), but if you feel that you can't survive if you don't get to participate in this KAL, and you discover that on Monday or Tuesday, I'm sure I can squeeze you in... :)

The faster all of you knitters answer my email, the sooner we can start sending the socks out. So exciting!

Oh, the places we will see!

2007-05-02T09:24:00.000-07:00

Knitters from a whole bunch of different countries have been signing up at a steady pace, and the socks are already beside themselves with excitement! :) I'm sure you would be too if you had a chance to visit places like Australia, Canada, Germany, Sweden and USA (among others). There are even rumors that the socks will get to meet a real celebrity sock...

Sign-ups are open until Sunday (the 6th of May) and after that I will send out an email to all the knitters with some questions and more information. We will be posting our pictures and stories here on the blog instead of on Flickr, because it makes so much more sense to keep everything in one place. I will add all the knitters as contributors to the blog.

If we get just a few more participants, we can send two pairs of socks out! Yay!

A question...

2007-04-26T23:55:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to ask all of you if you would rather post your travelling sock pictures here on the blog instead of on Flickr. It might be better to keep everything in one place and not have to alternate between two websites. If you want to do this, you would need to set up a Blogger account, if you don't have one already. What do you guys think?

Button, button, who's got a button?

2007-04-23T07:57:00.000-07:00

Would any of you, dear participants, be interested in making a button for this KAL? I'm not much of a button maker myself, so I'm sure you would do a far better job.

The blog has been up two days now, and we already have enough members to make one whole sock and the cuff of the second one! Woohoo! :) Do tell all your blogland friends about this KAL. We want as many members as possible.

And remember, it's not a contest to make the most beautiful sock. It's the experience that counts! It doesn't matter if you've knitted 100 socks or 1, everyone is welcome!

Comments and suggestions

2007-04-21T02:39:00.000-07:00

I see that some knitters have already found their way here. Welcome! It would be great to get some comments and suggestions about this KAL.

What do you think about the idea?
Will you participate?
Is there anything that you would add or change?
Any comments or suggestions that you might think of are welcome. Just comment to this post.

A few knitters have already signed up, and there will be a list of participants on the blog when we have a little more names.

If you have any special requests about when you would like to knit your part (e.g. if you're going on a trip or otherwise are unavailable during a specific time), please email me and I'll try my best to adjust the knitting order accordingly.

Sign-ups will be open until May 6. It will be so exciting to see how many socks we can turn into globetrotters! Send me an email with your name and blog address to voivitsi (at) yahoo (dot) com to register.

Guidelines

2007-04-20T13:25:00.001-07:00

How to register

Send me an email with your name and blog address to
voivitsi (at) yahoo (dot) com.

General stuff

1. Depending on the number of participants, one pair or several pairs of socks will travel around the world.

2. Every knitter will knit a small part of the same Knitty sock pattern. The participants will vote for a pattern, and the pattern with the most votes will be used. More information about this later.

3. The goal is to get the socks to visit as many countries as possible during their journey.

4. The first knitter will receive a package with needles, the pattern, instructions, a journal and a small treat. Everything except the treat will be sent to the next knitter.

5. The address of the next knitter will be sent to you by email. (No list of participants addresses will be travelling around the world inside the package)

6. The last knitter in line will be responsible for grafting the toe, weaving in the ends, and washing and blocking the socks. This person will also send the socks to the person who wins them in the drawing.

What you need to do as a knitter

1. Register for this KAL by sending me an email with your name and blog address. The email address is : voivitsi (at) yahoo (dot) com.

2. Knit your part of the sock within a reasonable time frame using your own sock yarn. Your part could for example be the cuff, or a pattern repeat, or the heel, etc. Follow the instructions that come with the sock. Needles will be included in the package. The needles will be dpns, so if you prefer to knit with circs you can transfer the stitches to your own needles. Just remember to put them back on the dpns before you send them!

3. Take a picture of the sock at an interesting location and post it to our Flickr group. Write a "story" under the picture, why not in the form of a post card.

4. Write something in the journal that comes with the sock.

5. Include a small treat in the package for the next knitter (optional, but highly appreciated).

6. Cut the yarn and put the sock in a bubble envelope after you've finished your part and make sure that it gets sent to the next knitter (appropriate postage, etc.).

7. Have a lot of fun!

The Truly International Sock KAL

Any news?

TISA? AlphaMonkey? Are you still alive?

Helllloooo out there........

TISA, wherefore art thou?

It's here!

Waiting and hoping

And the winner is...

On its Way

Alpha Monkey on my doorstep

TISA has arrived!

Comments

Alpha's Adventures in Geordie Land

Ravelry

Happy New Year!

Alphamonkey in the UK

Slight delay...

Adventures with Alphamonkey

Movin' Right Along...

TISA?

Alphamonkey is here!

Alpha Monkey's Stay in KY

Update...

Alpha Monkey is in Lexington, KY!

fibersnob

Alpha Monkey Made it to Washington, D.C.

TISA is back in the States

TISA is on her way.

AlphaMonkey & Melbourne

AlphaMonkey arrives Down Under!

AlphaMonkey

TISA has arrived!

And TISA is back on the road!

TISA Arrives In New England!

Alpha Monkey goes to Stitches Midwest

Looking for Alpha Monkey

and finally...TiSA's adventures in Scotland!

The knitting order

AlphaMonkey

A sincere apology

What do you think about this?

Why so slow?

And the waiting continues...

The excitement is building...

TISA arrives in beeeeeauuutiful Scotland!!

Tisa in Philly

Any pictures soon?

Geez

The socks have been tracked down

Lost?

Where are they now???

Tracking down the socks

Ack!

Ok where are they???????????????

And the Sock is over the Pond!

AlphaMonkey

I'm Number 1!

They're Here!!!

So??

Drumroll please!

Hello from Virginia

Hello from outside TO

Hi from Aberdeen, Scotland

Greetings from Scotland!!

Just about ready...

A Big Howdy from Texas

Hello/Bonjour from Canada!

Hi, from Australia

hey, it's another intro post.

And a hello to everyone from Bergen, Norway

Hi from Georgia!

Wow, it really *is* International!

Hello from Munich!

A big hello from Maine!

Hello From the East Coast

Hi from the Netherlands!

Hello from (pick one)

A big HELLO from Finland

Greetings from Sweden

We're on our way!

Wow, it really is International!