Response from the TSA

Here's what the TSA had to say......

Dear Fibreholic

The Travelling Sock Association is a regulatory body set up to govern the rules and regulations regarding travelling socks.The TSA was formed in order that all travelling socks would have equal opportunities to acquire the greatest possible amounts of knitting mojo.

A travelling sock requires many experiences and a great deal of exposure amongst a wide variety of knitters and "others". Pictures must be taken. They can be taken against the backdrop of beautiful scenery, historical places or unusual or seemingly useless/tasteless monuments that a city has decided to waste money on to amuse tourists. More importantly, pictures of the sock must be taken with "people of note".

The use of the term "people of note" has caused some confusion as of late. We view the term, people of note as a general term. It can include any of the following but not limited to:

• fellow knitters
  
• local celebrities
  
• those rendering aid to get you to a knitting event
  
• those rendering aid for a yarn crawl or simply accompanying you on the crawl
  
• those acting as a tour guide during your travels
  
• the recipient of the socks
  
• someone with so much joie de vivre that the sock is naturally drawn to him or her
  

A blog is the most logical place to display these photos as they allow for the greatest exposure. A blog is easily set up and this should done before you depart on your travels. Because of the accessibility of blogs, not having one is not an excuse.

Knitting the sock in public is also a top priority. Places we suggest are on any form of public transportation, places where people gather or more importantly in the company of other knitters. If the knitters gather in a public place even more mojo is gathered.

As to what sock yarn to use on your journey, it matters not. All sock yarn is equal in our eyes, for it is the journey and the amount of mojo that is important. Choose a good quality yarn that speaks to you and you absolutely can't leave home without.

Stripes and Variegated spoke very highly of you and were delighted to both be chosen for your trip to Australia. They knew how excited you were about the trip.They wrote about their travels and experiences and we are satisfied with the results so far. It is unusual for two socks to be taken on a journey but it is not unheard of. Just to let you know, any mojo picked up by the second sock will be spread over both sock and vice versa.This way if the first sock is lacking mojo, then it can be made up. Because of the high recommendation, given to us by Stripes and Variegated we are confident that sufficient mojo will be acquired for both pairs of socks.

But please remember, because of the lack of pictures taken with the first socks, we will be watching you!

Yours in Yarn,

Miss Y.O. Purl

Mojo Acquisition

Travelling Sock Association

The Adventure Continues.....

Now where was I????

Oh Yeah...In Sydney.....the land of line ups.

Line up at customs, line up at quarantine, line up at the Quantas desk to get booked onto my local flight, line up to go through security, line up to to get on the bus to take me to the other terminal......then run to just make my flight.

I've been told that on Aussie domestic flights, knitting is a big no-no and they confiscate needles. Perhaps it was because I knit my sock on toothpicks (not literally) that they didn't say anything. Perhaps is was because I looked like some wacked out foreigner in need of many hours of solid sleep who was likely to go postal if her knitting needles were taken away.

This is how Wacky I really am.....

DH was attending a conference (which is why I'm there). Let's face it, there is a simplistic beauty in DH working and me being on vacation. Okay, back on track. A tour of a couple of vineyards/wineries was arranged and besides doing my best to avoid stepping in Kangaroo poop, this is what I take a picture of......




I'll go into my thing about chickens in more detail at a later date.......

Retail Therapy

So here I am....left to my own devices.....how do I start of my vacation? SHOPPING!!!!!! I've decided to break up the sightseeing with shopping trips. There is a pedestrian mall around the corner from me with a regular mall the next street over...I wasn't lacking for places that would take my money.

Prior to going to AUS, I checked out the Action bus system web site and got an idea of how to get to the really important places. You'll see pictures of that later.... (insert Sheepish Grin here). I also connected with the Canberra SnB while I was there. Two of the members, Karen and Camille took me on a yarn crawl throughout Canberra. They took me up to Red Hill lookout where I got to see this amazing view and have a wonderful chocolate drink.

In May, Ottawa is home to an abundance of colour from the massive beds of tulips that are planted every Fall. We celebrate this explosion on colour with the Tulip Festival. I missed it this year, but walking through Commonwealth Park I found a landscape company planting tulip bulbs for next Spring's Floriade. That really stood out for me as an indicator of how our seasons are shifted apart by 6 months.

I'd better go...things to do, places to go, people to see, yarn to knit....while I wait for my letter fromthe TSA.

The weather dudes say that it is going to be 33 degrees today, fortunately there is no humidity yet otherwise it would be UNBEARBLE!!!!!!!

Yours in Yarn

The Fibreholic

My Big BAAAAAAd Australian Adventure

Can you believe it??? I'm still pinching myself, wondering if it's true....No Wait....Here's my Visa bill....Yup...I actually went to Australia.

Here was my plan of action for my trip.

1. Buy portable DVD player on Wednesday night and charge it up ready to go for my flight on Thursday.
   

The DVD player doesn't work. :( Crossing my fingers that my 13 year old doesn't try to "fix" it while I'm away.

2. Make sure that I have enough knitting and reading to get me through a 5 hour stop over in Chicago.....hmmmm...doesn't Oprah live here.....maybe I'll pop in for a visit.

Severe thunderstorm in Chicago. The woman in the lineup, in front of me, kept telling me that "my 8:00 am flight was cancelled....yours will be too!" For an entire HOUR. Restrain myself from doing damage to her cell phone.

3. Don't have to go to Chicago to get to Sydney, so I ask for another way to get there. They fly me to Toronto then to Vancouver.

Turns out I didn't need a DVD player as there are monitors on the back of the seats. They are programmed with a wide variety of movies and TV shows.

4. Missed out on the last 10 minutes or so of a movie. No worries, I'll just watch it when I get on the plane in Vancouver.

Didn't have the cool monitors for the rest of the journey. Now I'll have to pay to rent the thing to see who survives the big final battle.

5. The flight from Vancouver to Sydney stops in Hawaii. DH is there over night. I'll call him and play "Guess where I am right now?"

Don't know where he is staying. It is 23 degrees at midnight. Rethink any plans to visit Hawaii during their summer.

5a. Could get on the same flights as DH but the travel agent tells me of a way to save $800.

Choose flights different than DH. $800 can buy me lots of stuff!!!!!

6. Arrive in Sydney dead tired with a lot of knitting done.

I'm dead tired but still have a long way to go on Stripes.

Yours in Yarn,

The Fibreholic

A Letter from my Socks

This note was left in my knitting bag along with this photo.

Dear Janet

This letter is to inform you of our intention to lodge a formal complaint against you with the Traveling Sock Association. The TSA will inform you, in writing, of mojo requirements and how best to achieve them. We should also warn you that not having a blog at the time does not excuse the sock maker from his or her responsibilities.

We would, however, like to thank you for the experiences and limited mojo we picked up during your trip to Australia. Stripes enjoyed the very short stint in Hawaii, the many trips on the Action bus system and visiting the Canberra SnB session. Variegated enjoyed going to the movies and was especially pleased with the road trip in NSW. The plane trip was rather long but we do appreciate you spending equal time with us.

Please do not be upset with us for lodging this complaint against you.It is your first offense and the TSA will be understanding and lenient. The fact that you casted on Stripes's second immediately after finishing the first is greatly in your favour. Please do not worry!

Yours in Yarn,

Stripes and Variegated