|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TSOCK FLOCK 2008
ANNOUNCEMENTS
(Copied by permission from Ravelry forum
thread)
|
|
|
|
|
Posted 4-7-08
by tsocktsarina
|
Ahem.
It has come to my attention that the threads in this forum have a slight tendency to wander off-topic. It can occasionally happen that a thread intended to announce something important - like, for instance, the end of the yarn drought - metastasizes into discussion of weather phenomena, language evolution, gastronomy, and ooh look something shiny over there I want a pony.
This thread, therefore, is locked and stickied, and is going to be dedicated to the announcement, the whole announcement, and nothing but the announcement.
Having announced which, the next thing I’d like to announce is:
Firebird will ship this week.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted 4-7-08
by
tsocktsarina
|
I made a page!
Look on the Pages tab, and you will see it - it’s called “FAQ-ish Stuff,” and it’s the beginning of a collection of Useful Info about the club and the kits. Needles sizes, gauges, plans, etc. etc. etc.
Suggestions welcome.
Ed. note: The above-mentioned Ravelry page corresponds to this FAQ page.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted 4-11-08
by
tsocktsarina
|
SHIPPING
The first Firebird kits went out yesterday.
Jen had hoped to get all the rest out today, but there was a slight snag with transportation, so shipping will continue tomorrow. And - if necessary - beyond that. She expects to ship the last kit no later than Monday.
I can’t tell you right now which kits are/were/will be shipped on which day; I only know at this point that overseas packages shipped first.
One of us will post another announcement when the last kit has gone out; watch Jennifer’s blog for illlustrated coverage of the event!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted 4-15-08
by
tsocktsarina
|
OK, it’s now 100%official: ALL the Firebird kits have shipped. Every. Single. One.
Also - please note that there is now a locked/stickied thread for Firebird Errata. It has one item on it so far. (Waaaah.) If it grows to any serious length I may make a Page instead, but for now that is the place to check before casting on.
Ed. note: The above-mentioned Errata thread corresponds to this Errata page.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted 4-16-08
by
gwynivar
|
I’ve fielded several questions about the large verses medium skeins in the Firebird kit. Specifically, how to verify your skein is what you’ve ordered.
A large Firebird skein is tied with a black thread. Medium is tied with a white thread.
The gold skeinlet of lace in the large kit is a full circumference skein, bundled in 1/2 before twisting. It’s about 5-6 inches long. The medium is a very small cute little lace button of a skein, folded in half twice before twisting.
Any questions, let me know.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted 4-24-08
by
tsocktsarina
|
I’ve posted a PDF of a new version of the Body of the Bird charts, with vertical as well as horizontal gridlines. It’s about 700 KB - 300 DPI so it’s a good resolution for printing.
People knitting the large version, I’m afraid that for now you are the victims of size-ist discrimination on my part ;-) - I haven’t yet made any provision for your adjusted stitch counts. I’m hoping the grid is still useful to you.
I am planning soon to put up a couple of pages on the main site that mirror the announcements/errata/FAQ materials here, and when I do that the file will be linked to one of them. For now, though, you can go to it directly here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted 4-26-08
by
tsocktsarina
|
Well, I’m afraid that took longer than I
intended, but I’ve now put up a large version of the
bird charts. You can find it here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted 6-20-08
by
tsocktsarina
|
I'm happy to announce that the mysterious (or for some of you not so mysterious)
Club Tsock #2 is set to start shipping on Monday.
That is a simple statement, on the face of it, but it's the culmination of an eventful few weeks in these parts! A lot has happened since the Firebird took flight; most of it pretty exciting and boding well for the future of tsocks.
If you follow Jennifer's and my blogs, or the discussions in the Tsock Flock on Ravelry, much of this will be old news to you. If not, then you may not have heard that Jennifer and family have sold the farm, flock and all, and a week ago they moved to a new place where they are closer to all sorts of amenities (like a 21st-century post office); a house that comes with a dedicated space for Jennifer to use as a fiber studio.
The first week in the new space has not been without its problems: no running water for the first three days; a problem with hooking up the extra stove, so only one burner available at first for dye pots. (This is why we weren't able to start shipping today, as we had originally hoped.) And to add insult to injury, no connection to the outside world except by cell phone. All this has been or is being resolved. Phones and broadband are being put in on Wednesday, which will be a big relief to all parties, especially yours truly.
The other hot tsock news is that we now have a part-time Tserf, and she is gradually taking over the job of printing and assembling patterns and other kit materials - including organizing/ordering supplies and beads and the like, freeing me up to concentrate on designing and writing.
She's also helping Jennifer organize the new studio, and helping her locate pixies to work there with her, so overall we are really beginning to have something that looks like tstaff. Skeining and dyeing assistance. Proofreading. Test knitting. Inventory control. Event planning.
(Including, but not limited to, more fiber festivals. It was great meeting some of you at the NH and MA Sheep & Wool festivals; we're hoping to see even more of you at Rhinebeck in the fall.)
Big doings, overall. I've got swatches on the boards right now for tsocks #3, #4 and #6 (and no, #5 isn't far behind), and I can tell you there's a lot of fun knitting to look forward to in the coming months.
Look for those packages next week, and don't be too surprised if there's a... well, a *surprise* in them. Aside from the kit itself, I mean!
P.S. My apologies if one or two of you got a copy of this announcement at the wrong e-mail address. With Jennifer mostly off-line for the past couple of weeks it's been a bit of a challenge to coordinate on the most recent version of the membership database, and I have a sneaking feeling that I'm still missing a couple of updates. This should all be straightened out as soon as Jen gets re-connected.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted 6-27-08
by
tsocktsarina
|
Tsock #2 update:
Most of the kits have gone out, including all the international shipments. There are still some stragglers (and Jen is still contending with logistics), but the last of those should go out on Monday at the latest.
The, um, tsurprise I mentioned at the end of my last is apparently going out tseparately. More on this when I know more.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted 6-28-08
by
tsocktsarina
|
Further Tsock #2 update:
FIRST SIGHTING REPORTED!!!!!
In New Jersey. See this Ravelry post.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted 6-28-08
by
tsocktsarina
|
I’ve heard from a couple of people whose #2 kit did not include the cream-colored laceweight for the cuff of the sock.
Very Big Oops. Just spoke to Jennifer and she (after muttering something dire under her breath) confirms that she has a small pile of such skeins that… shouldn’t be there. It is a small pile, but still, there it is.
So if your kit is missing the skeinlet of Zephyr, please send me an e-mail, tsocktsarina AT tsocktsarina DOT com, and we will get yours out to you ASAP.
Silver lining: At least it’s the LAST part of the sock, so it needn’t stop anyone from casting on. Still and all - our apologies!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted 6-29-08
by
tsocktsarina
|
For those who really want serious spoilers on Tsock #2, look no further than my blog post for today - permalink here.
Photos and theme are there, but hidden behind a multi-layer security system, so you don’t stumble on them by accident if you don’t want to ruin the surprise.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted 7-05-08
by
tsocktsarina
|
There is now a Ravelry page for Tsock #2, in case you want to link to it in your projects or queue.
There are still no visual spoilers - I’ve put up my Mystery Sock icon for now instead of pictures, and will update the page after all the kits arrive. But if you’re trying to protect the surprise please note before going there - the TITLE of the sock is revealed.
Here is the link.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted 7-07-08
by
tsocktsarina
|
GAUGE MATTERS, my friends.
It has come to my attention that some people are assuming that Tsock #2 can/should be knitted on the same size needle as Firebird, merely because it is worked in the same yarn.
THIS IS A DANGEROUS - AND FALSE - ASSUMPTION!
Please look at the gauge specification in the pattern and adjust accordingly! These things are not random. Tsock #2 is meant to have a slightly looser texture than Tsock #1, and the ease and stitch counts are therefore dramatically different.
How different?
Well, the gauge for Firebird was 9 sts = 1”. The gauge for #2 is 8 sts = 1”. If you knit the medium size on the same needle you used for Firebird, and get approximately the same tension, your sock will have a circumference of 7” instead of 8”, and it will be TOO TIGHT.
Suggested needles are, and can only be, a guideline, because every knitter’s tension is different. But GAUGE… is CRUCIAL. Please, please, please, if you want the sock to fit - get gauge, no matter what needle it takes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted 7-31-08
by
tsocktsarina
|
Slight change of plans.
We’ve had another surprise on the yarn supply front - the supposedly guaranteed quantity of Panda Cotton we had planned on for Tsock #3, “Frozen Margarita,” turned out not to be quite so guaranteed. So we have decided to switch #3 with #4. This means that the NEW #3 will be “York and Lancaster” - and that “Frozen Margarita” now becomes #4 and will be a late-summer knit instead of a high-summer one. Some discussion of this on my blog here and here; also some Margarita yarn and swatch pictures here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted 9-21-08
by
tsocktsarina
|
Kit #3, York and Lancaster, has landed in a number of
mailboxes, accompanied by Tsuspense Project Part II - if
you don’t have yours yet you should see it soon. If you
want to get a peek at what the latter looks like knitted
up, there is a picture
on my blog today, hidden in a clickable safe.
Enjoy!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted 10-01-08
by
tsocktsarina
|
I’ve just started a new KAL thread for
York & Lancaster. It’s called York
& Lancaster Upside-Down KAL and is intended to
be a discussion of how to work the sock cuff-down
instead of toe-up. I know at least one of our members is
planning to do this, and where there is one there may
well be more, so come on in - the water should be
fine.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted 10-17-08
by
tsocktsarina
|
RHINEBECK DO'S AND DON'TS FOR TSOCK FLOCK MEMBERS
- Do come if you possibly can!
- Do come to the booth - #26-D.
- Don't hesitate to introduce yourself and collect your hugs.
- Do please use your Ravelry name as well as your real name, because we get pretty fried at these things, what with the adrenaline flying and all, and we need all the help we can get matching names to faces.
- Don't forget to claim your club discount on any in-booth purchases.
- Do have a wonderful time!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted 10-22-08
by
tsocktsarina
|
Some of you have made your York and Lancaster socks and noticed that you have an unusual amount of yarn left over.
There is a reason for this! (And no, it isn’t just us erring on the side of overcaution.)
Of course the yarn is yours to do whatever you like with… but might I suggest waiting a little? you might want to see what the Yarn Fairy has in mind before you cast anything on. ;-)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted 11-12-08
by
gchumbley
|
Tsock #4, Frozen Margarita, has shipped. You may start stalking your mail carriers. Please let us know if it doesn’t reach its destination within the next couple of weeks.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted 12-26-08
by
tsocktsarina
|
Tsock #5, Golden West, shipped last week and has already begun arriving in mailboxes all over the globe. Sorry I didn’t announce at the time, but you know - holidays, and stuff. I’ve stickied the discussion thread, which had already reached 8 pages, so if you’re looking for KAL action cut to the chase starting on p. 8.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
