As I considered the warm summer days and lazy afternoons ahead, I couldn’t help but think we needed something to entertain our knitting fingers. Then inspiration hit. A knit-along (or KAL for the blog savvy). For those who don’t know, a knit-along is created when many knitters are suddenly overcome with the desire to make the same piece, each putting their own creative spin on it. Along the way, they share their progress, their triumphs (yes! 4 repeats of the lace done!), their heartaches (ripped out 4 repeats of lace - missed a YO in first row), and their questions (has anyone else had trouble with row 14 of the second chart?). It is a great way to cheer each other on, to learn from each other, to advance your skills and accomplish what you didn’t think you could do.
Now, most KALs are basically restricted to blogland - which has been great. You can knit, and talk, and share with people all over the country, and world. But, what if we combined the advantages of the internet KAL with a personal, local KAL?
What if, we knit a sweater. Why a sweater? Because so many of you are hesitant to take that leap on your own. To put down the scarves and blankets and to tackle a fitted garment. Let us be your support group.
And what if that sweater challenged you to try something new, such as knitting in the round, doing cables, etc.. but you knew you could do it, because other knitters would be there to help?
What if the sweater was drop-dead gorgeous.
Let’s knit the Rogue sweater. I give Becka the credit for starting this little obsession of mine. She has been planning on knitting Rogue for weeks now and has even picked out her yarn. I was jealous. Very jealous. I wanted to knit it too. Well, why couldn’t I? And once 2 of us are doing it, we might as well throw open the doors and make it a knit-along.
So... check out the pattern. You have to buy it directly from the designer: The Girl from Auntie (who is clearly brilliant) on her webpage. Look at past KALs for this sweater to help you decide what look you want for yours. Becka is doing the pullover without the front pocket in Cascade Sierra. I am going to knit the cardigan version, also with no pockets in Cascade 220. Neither one of us has done this sweater before, so we’ll be knitting and learning along with you.
Where does the personal KAL work into this? I propose, that in addition to my postings, updates, pictures on the blog, that we gather at the shop on Saturday afternoons from, say, 1-2pm every Saturday through the end of the summer. No charge. This isn’t a class. It is a support group. We’ll be helping each other out. Sharing tips and advice. And knitting. Lots of knitting. Everyone will need time to consider the pattern, select yarn, swatch, and get started. So let’s have our first KAL gathering on June 23.
(I know that Saturday afternoons aren’t convenient for everyone, so feel free to grab a Rogue buddy and camp out on the big red couch during the week.)
In the meantime, feel free to email with questions or just stop by the shop. I was so excited about it today, I couldn’t stop talking about it and now we already have 4 more people ready to go!
And at the end of the summer, we’ll just have to have a Rogue party.