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.

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.