Apr
The U.S.S. Sock Knitter is on the hunt!
3/30/2018-We’re shipping off! The first clue has been released.
4/6/2018-Nessie has been spotted! Clue two has been released.
4/13/2018-Shore leave to resupply and cast on the second sock: Clue 3 has been released.
4/20/2018-Anchors down in Loch Ness: Clue 4 has been released.
This week, I was determined to catch a glimpse of Nessie. I stood on the deck of the U.S.S. Sock Knitter, chugging espresso, and staring out at the Lake waiting for her to surface.
We only had a few days left on our tour, and there was no way I was going to miss my last chance to see Captain Columba’s beast. Still, even I can only live on caffeine for so long, and by the end of my second day on Nessie watch I started to feel a little crazy. Mrs. Spicer told me my giant, dilated eyes were upsetting the crew and that villagers were starting to tell campfire stories about my unblinking stare. It seemed like time to take a nap. I stumbled downstairs to the cabins, threw myself on my bed, and took a nap that might be more accurately described as a short term coma.
I woke up later to the sound of someone moving around my room. Still a little sleep-deprivation-crazy, I jumped out of bed and threw myself at the intruder. I realized at the last second that it was Mrs. Spicer, but it was too late to stop myself and I wound up tackling the poor old lady. Instead of knocking her down though, it was like hitting a brick wall. She didn’t even flinch.
She said, “You know you should really try to relax more sweetie. You’re awfully jumpy.”
I couldn’t quite bring myself to ask why she was inhumanly strong. I settled for mumbling an apology and asked why she was in my room.
“Your room? Dear, you were so tired you missed your door altogether. This is mine and Mr. Spicer’s room. I thought we should just let you sleep, but I needed to grab a few things.” She nodded to the knitting bag and a few books she had just gotten off a shelf. I was too embarrassed to say anything. I just stared past her, trying to process how weird this whole situation was. On the wall behind her was a framed page from an old newspaper.
The article, dated 1933, published a letter that Mr. Spicer had sent to the London Daily Sketch, along with his photograph.
“…First we saw an undulating sort of neck, a little thicker than an elephant’s trunk. It did not move in the usual reptilian fashion, but with three arches in its neck, it shot across the road until a ponderous body about four feet high came into view…It has been a loathsome sight…It was terrible. Its color, so far as the body was concerned, could be called a dark elephant grey. It looked like a huge snail with a long neck….”
I don’t know what bothered me more, the fact that it was the worst description of Nessie anyone could give or that George Spicer looked now exactly the same way he did in 1933! Mrs. Spicer saw me staring at the article and arched an eyebrow at me before she finished gathering up her knitting.
After what felt like the longest pause of all time, she finally sighed and said, “Honestly dear, I can’t tell you what it is for sure. It might be something in the water. We found this ship and Captain Columba a few weeks after George sent that letter in to the paper. George was obsessed with finding Nessie again, and I was sure I had seen a baby beast on her back that day. If there was one thing I was sure of, it’s that I needed to knit that baby a sweater. So we agreed to spend the last of our holiday on-board before returning to London. Before I knew it months had gone by. It got harder and harder to leave the ship. After a year or so I didn’t want to leave the ship. Now, I doubt I could if you tried to drag me. I think Columba may have been here for hundreds of years. He thinks this ship is blessed by God to keep sailing the lake until he finds Nessie again. Personally, I think Nessie may be magical herself. I think she keeps us preserved here because she likes the game of hide-and-go-seek.”
I didn’t think there was any right response to that. Mrs. Spicer smiled. I think she understood. She merely ushered me back upstairs.
I heard the chaos on deck before I was even half way up. I ran the rest of the way, and was just in time to see an enormous neck rising out of the water! Nessie nearly flew up before my eyes and was followed by a tiny version of herself, clearly wearing knitted warmers on her flippers. I’m not doing the image any justice, I think you would have had to be there. Nessie turned and looked at us for a brief moment, and I swear to you, she looked right at us and winked. They dove back under the water and I’ve never felt happier than I did in that moment.
Our journey on the U.S.S Sock Knitter is coming to a close. Come back next Friday for our goodbyes to the crew of the ship and photos of our on board knitting.
The fourth clue has been released and you can join the Expedition by clicking the “buy it now” link:
A quick reminder: if you purchased a Nessie Expedition Kit and provided us with your Ravelry ID or purchased the pattern on Ravelry, the third clue will automatically appear in your Ravelry Library. To make printing a little friendlier, I did not include all of the project sheet information in Clues 2-4 (though it is in Clue 1). So keep the project sheet or Clue 1 handy in case you need to check abbreviations or other pattern information.
Week One we announced a special MKAL prize, which you can read about HERE. The short version is we’re going to raffle off a skein of our favorite BFL sock yarn, Adventure Yarn, to one lucky member of the Nessie Expedition.
~Megan-Anne
“My wife and I looked at each other in amazement. It had been a loathsome sight. To see that arched neck of the creature – each arch as high as its body – straggle across was something which still haunts us.”-George Spicer, Inverness Courier. August 4th, 1933