Uh-oh

Stash-diving can be dangerous, especially when done with multiple KALs in mind. My brain is now awhirl with multipurpose projects, such as mini-socks in multiple colors for Project Spectrum, but made from the stash so they qualify for Lenten Sockrafice as well. This means sitting up half the night, sorting yarns, looking at patterns, and womanfully trying to resist casting on twenty-seven new projects all in one evening. I've also dug up a bunch of stash yarns suitable to make scarves for a couple of charities I support, plus yarns for hats for The Ships Project.

Now all I need to do is convince my boss that knitting is part of my job description!

What if our stash is really small??

I got back to knitting this year, and my stash is all sock yarn or REALLY OLD Pingouin leftovers from the Great American Fair Isle Vest project of the 80's. Can I purchase some yarn specifically for, say, lap throws for the children's hospital nearby? Or do I really have to dig into my Paris Bon Marche purchases (sob!)?

tnx.

susi

The Points Don't Mean Anything!

Just to make things interesting, each project completed during the Lenten Sockrafice has a points value, although to be clear, the points are meaningless, just like on Whose Line is it Anyway? It just gives us something to talk about and ooh and ahhh over. Maybe there will be something at the end for the most pointed of us, who knows??

Now to be fair, I had considered a sophisticated algorithm that would consider the duration of the project, level of difficulty and the inverse of the number of stitches, but discarded that idea for something a little simpler.

Projects are worth:

Socks = 20 points each, making a grand total of 40 points for a pair, but since some folks have the dreaded 2nd sock syndrome, we will accrue these points per sock. Double points for any socks accounted for on the 200-Sox KALs.

Scarves = 5 points, unless donated to the Merchant Marines or a Ship project in which they are worth 50 points.

Shawls = 15 points

Hats = 10 points, or 50 points if donated to MM or ship project, 100 if donated to a newborn intensive care unit.

Sweaters = 50 points, and 500 if donated to charity.

And finally in light of the whole penance thing, add 50 points for any project that uses up all the yarn in the stash entirely.

Impulse purchases will wipe out all your points, except those from charity projects, and using up the ENTIRE stash in the next 40 days gets the knitter a bazillion points.

5000 points to anyone knitting only and exclusively for charity. Charity knitting is not really the mainstay of the Lenten Sockrafice, but anyone knitting only for charity needs to get lots of points, since they ain’t getting to wear their handknits!

If I missed any points value, someone let me know, suggestions are VERY welcome.

Socks for the Sockrafice

I'll "sockrafice" time and patience learning to handle little-bitty yarn with little-bitty dpns (this from someone whose smallest previous project has been on 10's). My goal is to learn toe-up socks with short-row heels and I'll gladly donate the first pair to charity. The yarn is already in the stash thanks to Stitches West. I'm not doing socks because of the "sockrafice". They are a challenge I had set for myself anyway and I was too late for the Knitting Olympics.

I wonder, will we have to wear ashes on our heads as part of the Lenten penance?

Janet

Let the Lenten Sockrafice begin!

Let the Lenten Sockrafice begin tonight at Midnight!

Having naturally overindulged at Stitches West, Christmas and the Joann's that are liquidating their inventory in favor of the new superstore opening in town, I am starting to think about Lent, and the spirit of fasting or sacrfice that traditional follows the over-indulgence of Mardi Gras, Shrove Tuesday, or whatever you want to call that complete abandonment of all morals resulting in dancing half naked in the streets.

Well okay, maybe we are not all dancing naked in the streets, but admit it, if you are not dancing naked, you really want to, but are having trouble with the fastenings on your clothing and can't get them off.

And wherein some of you have noted and indeed questioned my byline on Knitter's Review:

Going to Hell for buying sock yarn during Lent....(wherein I had sworn off yarn purchases for Lent, and then was tempted by sock yarns on elann.com. Girlfriends were of the opinion that I was going to H-E-double hockey sticks)

I thought that some Lenten Sockrafice might be appropriate....and of course any event of this nature needs some rules:

1. You must fast. That means no yarn purchases for forty days and forty nights. It's okay, really. The yarn in your stash will keep you afloat in the world.

2. You must sacrifice. To knitters of course this means that you need to knit at least one thing for someone else, and then give it away before Easter. Really we are talking about charity here, not something for the family. It needs to be something given to someone less fortunate.

3. You can have one slip up, but you have to plan for it. No impulse slip ups. This means that you can make one purchase of yarn during Lent. For me that means that when the fun fur drops to 1 dollar at my local Jo'ann's, I will stock up.

4. Finally, you must knit from the stash. The more the better. Maybe there should be points for different kinds of projects. Hmmm, I shall cogitate and let you know.

5. It need not be socks, but anyone knitting socks gets extra points and needs to report into the sock knitting projects. Links are forthcoming.

Disclaimer: any resemblance to actual Lent is purely coincidental, as anyone who knows me, knows that I ain't real religious. Any offense real or imagined on a reader part is certainly unintended!