All you need is tea and warm socks!

Stage 1 of TDS starts in 8 days 7 hours and about 50 minutes. The supplies for stage one are already listed. I’ll need 400 yards of solid, tonal, variegated, self-striping or gradient yarn. That means no beading or color work in this stage. I’ve done a preliminary look through my stash yarn to identify skeins that would work. As you can imagine, I have several skeins that meet these requirements. From previous years, I’ve learned to wait until the pattern posts to make my final decision. Yes, this means I’ll lose racing time to wind yarn. Let’s be honest, I’m not in this to win. Last year, I decided to only cast on patterns I really loved so there is a minuscule chance I won’t be casting on the stage one sock. (I know that seems hard to believe, but it is possible!)

How does one prepare for an international sock knitting competition?

1. Have a good supply of sock yarn. Contrasting colors for color work vs. striping. My recent yarn purchases have that one covered.
2. Have plenty of my favorite beverage. Tea! We’re never in short supply of tea.
3. Knitting supplies: stitch markers, row counters, project bags, needles, highlighter tape. I’m in pretty good shape here, but I am attempting to free up as many sock needles as I can in the next eight days. See photo above.
4. One cat or multiple cats to keep me company. Ernie has this department covered.
5. A good audio book or tv show to binge watch. I’m still following the podcasts for 1984 and The Count of Monte Cristo, but I also love to listen to Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files while knitting.

Over the weekend, I finished sock number one on my British Tea Latte socks for the British Hubby. I’m really pleased so far. These are my first socks using Zauberball. It looks really great on this pattern. Even the heel turned out in pretty much the same color. I think sock number two is going to be pretty similar to the first sock. There was no planning on my part to make either of those two amazing things happen.

Ernie’s getting some practice snuggle time in before TDS begins. He even poses with my socks!