I declare today International Wee Tiny Sock Day! All around the world, wee tiny socks are entering the postal system. Including the one that I finally found the time to make at 4am this morning:

RubySapphire’s Luster in Mary Esther.

I stamped it with the last of the Christmas stamps (I’d been saving it especially for this occasion) and then had to borrow Great Gran’s mailbox to send it to its new home. Our letter carrier* showed up at 10 o’clock this morning with a giant box** and told me that the routes were changed and now our mail comes before lunch. After five years of afternoon walks to the mail box, this comes as quite a shock.

*Our letter carrier (who is new to me as of today) had this route when Gran-mother lived here. She used to invite him in for a Coke Float whenever she saw him. Being a man with a Postal Responsibilities, he never got to take her up on it.
**More on this later, it is a pretty good story that involves the aforementioned Judi. I’ve got to find a minute to write her a nice, long email first. A minute where I can use both hands to type - Ellie is currently occupying one arm. I’ve only answered about half my email this past week. Anything that requires a longish, more personal reply is on hold until napping resumes.

The Pals for the Wee Tiny Sock Swap have been assigned! If you don’t have a match in your email, check your spam folder first and then please let me know as soon as possible (comment or email me or whatever). **Would someone pass this along to the Ravelry discussion? If I don’t go to sleep now, I might not get to.**

Thank you so much to everyone who helped solve our database trouble! I am proud to be a part of a community of helpful (non-mocking) people. I was going to write back to each email to say thank you personally, but there were about a hundred and today was a day with No Naps In It (apparently, Ellie has outgrown them at the ripe old age of 5 weeks and four days) and I didn’t get a chance. It’s the thought that counts, right?

PS: Judi, I have written you back every time! Check your spam folder, for crying out loud. (Judi is a friend from High School - not a Wee Tiny Swapper. I feel like I can say “for crying out loud” to her without any sort of rudeness.)

Sign-ups for The Wee Tiny Sock Swap 2008 are officially closed! The total number of Wee Tiny Swappers is 276. That’s more than triple the number of sign-ups from last year. Fantastic! Just fantastic! Mail carriers from all over the world will be tickled to death.

Expect your Wee Tiny Pal’s information in your email tomorrow (Friday)! I’ll post to this blog after they are sent in case some folks need to check their spam folders.

Here are some of the things I liked best about this Easter.

Little girls in Easter dresses.

(Click to see her Saartjie ’s Bootees.)

The first sandal wearing of 2008.

I’ve been painting my toenails for a week in preparation.

Dinah in Michael’s sandals.

Hates the boy, loves his shoes.

Easter baskets.

Mom The Easter Bunny provided everything except his likeness.

Joining the legs of Ellie’s Romper.

Not as exciting as armholes, but progress nonetheless.

The awesomest thing of all: 182 participants in Wee Tiny Sock Swap 2008. You’ve got ’til Thursday to sign-up!

Sign-ups for the Wee Tiny Sock Swap 2008 are officially open!

**Sign-Ups for Wee Tiny Sock Swap 2008 are closed! Stay tuned to Yarn Miracle for more information about WTS09.**

Here is what you are getting into:

• You’ve got until next Thursday (March 27) to sign up!
• Next Friday (March 28), you will receive your Wee Tiny Pal’s name, email, blog address (if there is one) and mailing address in your email.
• You will knit a single Wee Tiny Sock (the official pattern is here or make one of your own) over the weekend.
• On Monday (March 31), you will place the Wee Tiny Sock that you made into an envelope* with a note to your Wee Tiny Pal that includes your name, email, blog address (if there is one) and name of the yarn you used to create the Wee Tiny Sock.
• Address the envelope to your Wee Tiny Pal.
• Apply a regular first class stamp to the envelope (or go to the post office and procure the appropriate postage if you are mailing out of the country) and drop it in the mail box. It’s still Monday, March 31.
• Wait a few days.
• Rejoice when your Wee Tiny Sock Arrives! Contact the Wee Tiny Pal that made it for you to let her/him know it arrived safe and sound! Be sure to say “thank you.”
• Reply when you receive a thank you email from your Wee Tiny Sock Pal!
• You now have two new friends!

Heard enough? Thrilled to pieces to find a swap as low-key as this one? If you’ve got additional questions, just ask in the comments (or email me if you don’t think other people will be interested in the answer)!

**Sign-Ups for Wee Tiny Sock Swap 2008 are closed! Stay tuned to Yarn Miracle for more information about WTS09.**

The Official Flickr group is Wee Tiny Sock Swap 2008. The Ravelry group is also called Wee Tiny Sock Swap 2008. I encourage use of the Flickr group because not everyone has a Ravelry account yet.

*Mailing Tips: Last year, people found it handy to use a greeting card for added envelope stability. Wrapping the Wee Tiny Sock in tissue works well too. If you are very nervous about your sock (or it has a long way to travel), you might want to try a padded mailer.

Sign-Ups for the Wee Tiny Sock Swap 2008 will open at noon* on Friday, March 21, 2008) and remain open until noon on Thursday, March 27, 2008!

Go ahead and take a button! You can make it a link on Friday.

There is no limit to the number of participants! I will post a link to the sign-up page (which will ask for your name and various addresses) on Friday. Don’t sign up in the comments! There will be a link to the sign-up page at the appropriate time. Matches will be delivered Friday, March 28, 2008. You will have all weekend to knit your sock so that it is ready for the mail on Monday, March 31. International knitters are welcome to play and shoe size doesn’t matter.

Confused? What is a Wee Tiny Sock Swap you ask? Well, let me just fill you in:

The Wee Tiny Sock Swap is the fastest, cheapest, cutest swap in blogland. Participants knit a single Wee Tiny Sock out of leftover sock yarn (the pattern is here) and mail it to their sock pal. That’s right ladies and gentlemen, it’s the only swap that takes an hour and a half and the price of a postage stamp to participate!

To read more about the history of the Wee Tiny Sock Swap, please follow this link. You can also view many of the 2007 Wee Tiny Socks on the Flickr.

I encourage you to spread the word! Wee Tiny Socks for everyone!

*All times are Central.

How to Make a Bunny in One Short Week

Step one: Wait for Ellie to take a nap.

(Repeat as necessary.)

Step Two: Only do housework halfway. (i.e. Wash and dry clothes but do not fold and put away.)

Step Three: Knit all Bunny pieces over the course of several days.

I know you’re sick of this link, but the pattern is here.

Step Four: Seam and stuff bunny pieces.

The ideal stuffing is a blend of fiberfill and cat fur.

Step Five: Take a break to pet Betty and express appropriate gratitude to Michael for the Cranberry slush!

Happy Hour is the best time of day.

Step Six: Assemble Bunny.

It’s easier if you line him up first.

Step Seven: Don’t forget the tail!

Note: Do not make pompoms on the bed. They make a fuzzy mess.

Step Eight: Forget to take pictures finished bunny. Dang. Well, he doesn’t have a sweater yet anyway.

For the first time in my personal history of sock knitting, I am making a sock that will actually require blocking to look good. Weird.

You know it’s lace because it looks like someone has chewed on it.

I love the Shi Bui - it is bouncy almost to the point of smooshiness and I am really happy with the interest that the color variations bring. I’m going to have to order some extra (hmmm, it looks like Simply Socks has more colors in stock)!

I’ve got the dress for Ellie that I mentioned in the last post on hold for a little while (I’ve got plenty of yarn so I can afford the delay). I’ve got another project in mind for the more immediate itty bitty knitty future: a little cabled romper thing from Baby Knits. I ordered some Rowan RYC Cashcotton in Sugar (it’s machine washable!) in the wee hours of the morning.* I also want to make a Fuzzy Mitten rabbit for her Easter basket. More deadline knitting. Sigh.

I am right on track with the CounterPain quota for 2008, with two squares completed for both January and February.

On to March!

There is something to be said for keeping one’s expectations low.

*Ellie likes to eat at 3am. Since that takes about an hour from start to finish, and my body likes to wake up at 5am anyway, there isn’t any point in going back to sleep. I use that time to read email, catch up on blogs, attempt to write thank you notes and (starting again this morning) walk. It’s kind of nice to have that time all to myself - even though Daylight Savings Time has really messed up how much of that happens in the actual daylight. The early morning quiet would be even better if I could convince the kid that bedtime is best when it happens at 8:30pm.