Plays well with others

Today is devoted to showing how I'm being a Joiner and Playing Along at Home. I've signed up for a good number of things, and I'll sign up for more before I'm done, I'm sure.

First, Sockapaloooza from The Blue Blog. Signups are closed for this one, but they look like a lot of fun; sign up for the next one! In this knitalong, each knitter knits a pair of socks for their "sock buddy". (BTW, do not Google "sock buddy". I do not know what the fetish you get when "I'm feeling lucky" entails, but I'm not going to find out.) Seriously, what beats getting a pair of hand-knit socks in the mail?


Next, the Yarn Harlot's Knitting Olympics. The sign-up for this one is still open, though the harlot's a bit snowed under. Hopefully my sign-up will make it! Anyway, I signed up to tweak and knit Zippy the sweater, then knit socks. Yes, my math was wrong. Yes, you can tease me about it. No, that won't stop me from teasing you about your math skills in return.

I also have these nationalistic team buttons: (thanks, JenLa)


We're still missing a "Team Pittsburgh" button, though there will be quite a few Pittsburgh players. What I really want to see is a "Team Procrastinator". I have one more Olympic button, though, just for my mother-in-law:

Ever since I took up knitting she's been telling me about this sweater she started for her daughter years and years ago. I believe there's also an implicit threat involving my needles instead of hers. Anyway, maybe she'll take up the Olympic challenge. Somehow, I doubt it. :)

The most important signup, however, is for Tricoteuses Sans Frontières, also run by Yarn Harlot to encourage donations to Medecins Sans Frontières. I've been staggeringly lucky in my life. I can even afford a hobby in which I make warm, comfy clothes and actually have warm, comfy clothes. Even more than that, I have medical care. I've had quite a bit of medical care over the years, in fact, not even counting the vaccinations that help keep our society healthy. Even though I'm a bit crimped for money right now, I'm crimped because I have incredible opportunities, so I'm donating money to try to give other people a shot at happiness as well.


The last knitalong I'm linking to is one that I'm not actually participating in yet. My Mermaid kit may be burning in my hot little hands, but it's also buried in my stash for the moment. When warmer weather is coming (the kind of weather that might allow me to actually wear the thing), I'll dig it out and join the Hanne-along for motivation and commiseration. At least I'll be knitting the small size (if I remember correctly), so it'll move along a bit faster. I never saw that much of an advantage to being small until I started knitting and noticed that it takes a good bit less yarn to go around me. I can't complain about that!