Toward the end of September (2022), I saw that a new thread was started for the upcoming Tournament. So I spent time reading the rules and looking at older sock patterns.
As far as I can tell, it's a Single-Elimination Tournament that begins with a Qualifying Round.
Registration is Feb 1-14, with the Qualifying Round beginning soon after..... 1 pair of socks within ~2 weeks, to prove you can compete. I see this as very much like the qualifying run before the Pikes Peak Marathon... you must prove a minimum level of fitness in order to compete in the actual event.
Then the tournament runs between March and typically May.
Each round has a shorter list of advancing players, which is filled in the order of successful completion of the previous round. So it's a race.... a speed-knitting race... or essentially how Track and Field Sprint Competitions are run.... The player must place in the top X of their Heat, in order to advance to the next round, ending with the top Y players for the final race.
In reviewing the 2022 Information Thread, I learned the durations of each round:
- Round 1 - 10 days
- Round 2 - 17 days
- Round 3 - 15 days
- Round 4 - 14 days
- Round 5 - 8 days
- Round 6 - 4 days
- Round 7 - 1 day
Each of these could be up to 2 days shorter since the announcement message always says the round will start within the next 48 hours... yikes!
It appears that the Ravelry Thread Announcement gives the general specifications and a heads-up that the next round is starting soon. Then the detailed instructions, requirements, and pattern are sent via email. So it appears the players do not know the exact requirements until the round is underway.
At least one of last event's patterns also includes beads. I do not have beads in stock nor have I attempted to knit with beads before.
Also, I've not recorded actual time spent making a pair of socks. However, I am roughly keeping track on my Clown Fish Socks (that I have not yet posted about). I currently expect one pair of socks to take ~48 hours of work to make... or ~3 hours per day for 16 days.
This means that I would need to have a lot of time available at the start of each round, in order to have a shot at progressing very far in the competition. I also think it would be difficult to spend that much time each day while having (1) a full-time day job, along with (2) the farm, (3) in the spring. So I'm not certain I will enroll in this challenge this year, but I have started organizing my sock yarns and tools, in case I decide to go for it.
In thinking about how to streamline.... standardizing on a yarn and needle size or at least swatching each yarn now would mean my gauge is known ahead of time. This means ensuring I have a selection of main, contrasting, and complimentary yarns in stock prior to the start of the Tournament... and that each are caked, swatched, and ready to go... As you can see, I'm definitely not there yet. lol.
This also means having needles and appropriate-sized stitch holders to make two socks at a time. Therefore this means 4 16-inch circular needles in the appropriate sizes needed for the selected yarn, beads, and sock blockers to show off the finished product. Not all of which are currently in possession.
This competition seems like a lot of fun, and I really don't think I have the time available to do it well this year... but sometimes my goal-setting self gets the best of me. I have a couple of weeks to decide. ;-)
Happy Fiber Arts Friday!
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