Qualifier for Sock Madness 2025

 After Valentine’s Day passes, the signs ups close and the qualifier is released.

This year, we started with a toe-up sock. Knitting a toe-up starts with casting on the toe and knitting up the foot, increasing for the gusset, turning the heel, knitting the heel flap, then working up the leg!

Sounds good so far?

This qualifier was just getting started! 

After the first cuff, we kept going into a cuff-down sock!

Both my sock blockers are inside the sock snake. The second half gets a new cuff, leg, heel flap, heel turn, foot, and finally a toe!

I had to remove the blockers to close the toe. Once the pair is knit together as a closed tube, we end up with this push me pull you. How do we get a pair of socks?

In the pattern, we were to mark a particular stitch for snipping later. At the time, I ran a lifeline in the last round of the first sock cuff. Now that I snipped the stitch, I concentrated on catching the stitches from the second sock. 

Once sock 2 was safely on the needles, I quickly transferred the stitches from the lifeline. This pair of socks is nearly done! They just need a stretch cast off…

Conjoined Twin Socks pattern by Katherine Richmond 

Sock Madness Sign Ups

 Ages ago, I had learned about Sock Madness, a knitting competition that occurs on Ravelry each year around about March Madness. I was not able to join because of having a baby during that time, then I forgot about it. 

However, I came across Sock Madness again this winter, and now the sign ups are open! From February 1-14, one can join the forum on Ravelry and follow the instructions to join this sock knitting competition. I have been registered, and the “warm up” sock knitting pattern has been released. 

The pattern is called In the Twilight, and it has several cables running down. I do not expect to get this one done very quickly, however, I am enjoying the cable pattern. The purple is much less pinkish than this lighting shows, and Ben is looking forward to having almost Yahoo! purple foot wear as that’s one of the businesses he fondly remembers working for.

What will you be knitting this spring?