On January 15, 2010, I entered into a death-by-sock knitting competition known as Sock Wars. This is the fifth war, but the first that I have had the time to join. Before the start date, one is emailed a dossier about a “victim.” It includes sock size, color preferences, Ravelry name and mailing address. At precisely 8 PM on Friday, January 15, the patterns were posted online. The idea is to choose a pattern, knit the socks and send them to the victim before an assassin does the same to you.
I started immediately, doing two socks at a time, and continued to knit for the following three days. I have to admit that I didn’t even bother getting out of my PJs on Monday just to get the socks finished. In the meantime, while all this knitting is going on, people post taunts to their assassins and victims on the Ravelry website. It all gets rather intense. Someone actually stayed up for 19 hours straight and finished her socks on Saturday in time to get them in the mail!! Another person hand delivered hers on Sunday. I was beginning to panic, but, since it was a three day weekend, mailing the finished socks on Tuesday morning was the best I could do.
I forgot to mention that when a victim receives the death socks, his/her unfinished socks must be sent to the assassin to be completed. The winner is the last person standing. My victim in Rochester, NY received her socks on Thursday, but she had already mailed her weapon to her vicitim. That means I have to wait for those unfinished socks to be sent to me. I was thinking that I was in pretty good shape because my assassin was ill and complained that her medication made her too sleepy to knit. She also had to frog (rip out) her socks because she made an error that would have caused her to be disqualified (called a misfire). I kept reminding her that knitting might slow her recovery and she shouldn’t hurry on my account, but to no avail. I got the dreaded message that my socks are in the mail. Now the question is, which will come first, the unfinished socks or my death socks.
I don’t plan to go anywhere near the mailbox for the next few days, lest the death socks attack. DH will have to get the mail at his own peril!!
2 comments:
Insightful blog. Each actual historical generation (WWII Gen, Boomers, etc.) passes through the “sandwich generation” phase of the life cycle. “Sandwich Generation” is not an actual generation, but rather a term which has been used for over 30 years to describe the "sandwiched" life stage which various actual generations pass through.
It is important to distinguish between the post-WWII demographic boom in births vs. the cultural generations born during that era. Generations are a function of the common formative experiences of its members, not the fertility rates of its parents. Many experts now believe it breaks down more or less this way:
DEMOGRAPHIC boom in babies: 1946-1964
Baby Boom GENERATION: 1942-1953
Generation Jones: 1954-1965
Generation X: 1966-1978
Perhaps the most relevant here is Generation Jones, which has received a great deal of media attention recently. As numerous top national commentators have pointed out, GenJones voters might well decide the 2010 midterms, so it’s not a surprise to see the Obama administration targeting GenJonesers with these new proposals.
I had hoped you would last longer. Due to nothing I did, I lasted much longer when I participated than I really wanted to. I was dying to die, if you know what I mean. I did get a lovely pair of socks out of the deal. Your victim will be pleased with her socks I'm sure. They are lovely...
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