MKALs - are surprises overrated?

Fuss Free Festival Shawl - definitely no mystery here

It’s an interesting question isn’t it - and one which I’ve thought about a lot in my years as a knitter. It’s that time of year again when knitalongs abound and the FOMO (fear of missing out) is strong as I survey Instagram and see everyone’s amazing yarn choices and spoiler alerts.

It looks so tempting, and a very large part of me is desperate to throw my WIPs to the wind and dive into the glorious planning stage of a Shiny New Project.

Perusing websites, squishing yarns and generally having a lovely 'high-on-yarn-fumes’ time.

Because while you are in the planning stage, this project is perfect. It can literally do no wrong. It is going to be amazing, the best shawl ever.

But is it though? I think we all know the answer to this one and it starts with ‘Maybe…’.

With a mystery KAL especially there is always that tiny voice at the back of my mind that says ‘ah, but will you wear it though?’ Will it join the very large, 5-skein shawl at the back of the wardrobe that cost you an arm and leg, and yet to my shame I never wear.

Shame isn’t an emotion that I particularly want to have attached to my knitting, but nevertheless there it is. Looking at me every time I reach to the back of the wardrobe.

One argument for an MKAL is that you invariably learn something new along the way, and that’s undoubtably true but at the end of the day it’s all about balance. And I can learn new techniques once I’ve actually seen what I am supposed to be achieving.

I don’t deal well with uncertainty at the best of times and grappling with an unfamiliar technique when I’m totally in the dark about how it is ‘supposed’ to look can send my blood pressure sky high.

In addition, I have to be sensible (groans) and recognise that I have limited time available to knit the designs I have in my pipeline, never mind the socks and other items that my knit-worthy family ask for. When I do have a bit of knitting downtime, often I’m looking for something super simple rather than something that will challenge me. There’s a reason that I’ve knit over 10 Hitchhiker shawls.

And who would I be knitting it for? That’s a slightly more tricky question because then I would be forced to ask myself whether I’m knitting it for me, really for me, or so that I have something new and shiny to share on social media, so that I felt part of a club.

Obviously, this is entirely my own thought process here and I’m attaching no judgement of others to this at all - just sharing my own jumbled up thoughts. I have definitely taken part in KALs and MKALs before and had a whale of a time. I think it’s more a case of context - at a time when I have a lot going on, the added pressure of keeping up with a KAL can just feel like one more thing on my to-do list and no-one wants to feel like that about their hobby.

All this is a very long winded way of saying ‘it depends’ isn’t it?

I guess it just shows that we don’t knit in a vacuum and that our choices on what to knit are governed as much by timings and personal cicrcumstances as anything else.

How about you? How do you feel about MKALs - and are there are any particular designers who always have you rushing to take part? Or you happy to watch from a distance and maybe cast on later, once you have had a good look at it?

Something completely different

As a change from coffee and knitting, may I present tea and crochet.

This #GiantGrannySquare has been on go for ages (actually I checked back and I started it in 2020) and I was originally doing one colour for each round using scrap sock yarn leftover from other projects.

Then I stalled as each round started to take over 15g - meaning that a lot of my leftover yarn balls wouldn’t stretch to a full round. But there were still a heck of a lot of them to use up.

So last week I bit the bullet and made a magic ball with all my scraps (in colours that worked). I hand wound them into a mahoosive 240g ball and am now going to just whizz round and round trying very hard not to stress about colour placement. I figure that now it has reached a sufficient size (it was a 40” square last time I checked) it won’t be as obvious if there are colour changes mid-round.

This is quite a big deal for me as I normally fuss about how colours line up and embracing a devil may care attitude does not come naturally.

YARN JOINING: I used this tutorial for the magic knot technique but others methods are also available. An alternative would be to just tie a good sturdy knot leaving sufficient ends - and just work those in for a few stitches at the yarn join.

But in the spirit of #HaveAGoFriday (my recently made up thing - and something I talked about last week) I shall be adding to my blanket today and just going with the flow.

Oh - and the tea is a necessity as another handy menopause side effect has been a dramatic reduction in my caffeine tolerance (deep joy).

Ways to support your LYS (without spending money)

It goes without saying, that you are welcome to support them with actual money as well :)

When I originally wrote this article times were tough for our local yarn shops (LYSs). Since then they have got worse. Much worse. Most weeks bring news of more LYSs closing or online stores either closing completely or reducing their range available.

Since I originally wrote this piece in 2020 we have lived through Covid and repeated lockdowns, the impact of Brexit (the economic equivalent of driving the country off a cliff) and now the cost of living crisis which sees businesses facing eye watering increases in their bills.

It’s hard to understate the impact this is having on business in general, and small businesses in particular. Large chain stores can absorb some of the impact, our LYSs - put simply - cannot.

Obviously times are hard for everyone and stocking up your yarn cupboard might not be top of your list but there are ways and means to continue to support our LYSs. The original article lists 5:

1. Leave a FB or social media review

2. Tag them on social media and share their posts

3. If they have a newsletter, share it with your pals

4. Offer to knit store samples or do a product review

5. Recommend them, often, rather than the ‘big box’ stores

To these suggestions I would also add the following:

6. Put them on your Christmas or birthday wish list

7. Ask for gift vouchers - or give these as birthday gifts to friends

8. Grow new knitters - chat to friends and see if anyone is keen to learn

9. Enquire about courses/classes

10. Don’t forget the power of local media - mention them on local FB groups or a letter to the local paper thanking them for good service etc.

To steal from a notorious large supermarket “every little helps”, but in this case it really does.

PIN FOR LATER

If you knit something set it free

Fuss Free festival Shawl

For todays #Blogtober post I am re-sharing an older post from the archives, prompted by a discussion that has been circulating on Twitter. A lady in her late 60s crocheted a blanket for a young man, only to be hurt when the gift was rejected.

There are many ‘hot takes’ on this and undoubtedly there are more gracious ways to deal with an unwanted gift but at the heart of this lies the central tenet that handcrafters tend to overemphasise the significance of handmade items, whereas for non crafters it tends to be the opposite and they underestimate their significance.

Anything handmade involves a significant investment of time and energy and it makes sense, upfront to determine what you are hoping to achieve with a handmade gift and to take the time to ensure that it is something the recipient will actually want and use.

The original post on this subject: If You Knit Something Set It Free was written in 2017 and apart from an outdated Ravelry reference it’s still just as relevant today as it was then.

Why am I a knitter?

Wishing and Hoping baby blanket

As today is #WorldMental HealthDay it seems a good time to ask the question why do I knit, or more specifically I guess “Why am I a knitter”.

Anyone can knit of course, it’s a learned skill using needles and yarn. But of those who are able to physically knit, a smaller subsection would define themselves as a knitter - a Knitter with a capital K, if you like. My husband can knit, and produce a passable garter stitch square but he would never say that he is a knitter.

“Really, all you need to become a good knitter are wool, needles, hands, and slightly below-average intelligence. Of course superior intelligence, such as yours and mine, is an advantage.”

— Elizabeth Zimmerman

I learned to knit as a child and dabbled with it off and on through my teenage years. I picked it up again in my 30s when I had young children and was in need of something to do, something for myself in odd moments of free time.

Knitting fulfilled the requirements of being something I could easily pick up and put down, and something that was portable and easily tidied away out of reach - something of a necessity when you have two active boys with only 11 months between them.

Knitting gave me something to do with my hands and my brain, and was also very clearly something for me. It demarcated my time and was a very clear signal to my boys that mummy was taking a break for a few minutes. Knitting would also sit and wait for me if I was interrupted by a toddler emergency - unlike that precious and elusive hot cup of coffee that I somehow managed to go all day without drinking.

In time I found the online knitting community (this was back when Ravelry was available by invitation only) and that was when I really became a Knitter. Finding a whole host of people online who thought and felt as I did about knitting was a revelation. Coming from a background where knitting patterns were found in Women’s Realm and the ‘wool stall’ on the market - paper booklets corralled in plastic wallets - only to be sold with the designated ‘wool’ from the shelves, finding Knitty online was a total joy and gave me a whole new way of thinking about my chosen hobby.

Community is why knitting really stuck with me. Over the years I’ve also done tapestry, embroidery and dabbled in sewing. But knitting has my heart and it’s because of the friends I’ve made online and in person over the years. I can’t imagine not being a knitter now.

There are always times when I don’t feel like picking up the needles, and I’d rather read or journal or bake something but I’ve come to see that these are all still acts of creativity and they all feed back to my central core of knitting by inspiring me or getting my brain into the kind of relaxed ‘flow state’ where new design ideas or new projects to try come flooding in.

My summer reading challenge, for example came about as a way to boost my own reading goal for the year and also as a way of encouraging those in my Everyday Knitter Facebook Group to join in with me and share their chosen reads - and it was a handy way to get new titles for my ‘to read’ list. On the surface it was nothing at all to do with knitting, but as a way of boosting connections and conversation between fellow knitters it was invaluable - and very enjoyable. So much so that I am planning a winter version to start soon.

What about you? What keeps you coming back to the needles? Is it the yarn, the people or the mental health benefits - or all 3 maybe?

And if you are looking for a drama-free Facebook Group full of knitters with a capital K, please do check out my Facebook Group at the link below. I’d love to see you there.

Have A Go Friday

It's OK, I just made that up but I thought it might be a nice change from FO Friday.

If there's one thing I could tell knitters (well, all crafter's really) it's just to have a go at something.

I often get comments from people saying they are fearful of trying a new technique or scared to experiment and that makes me so sad.

It's literally just sticks and string, if it doesn't work - and believe me this little square took a few goes - then just pull it out and you are back where you started.

For this square I tried out the tutorial by @germandercc for a solid (or semi solid) granny square and was pleasantly surprised at how quick and straightforward it was.

I'm planning to take part in her blanket CAL but I need to get a move on and make a decision about whether I'm going to do granny stripes or squares - and indeed whether I have enough DK yarn in my stash (I suspect I know the answer to this one).

What about you? Is there one thing that you are planning to have a go at this weekend? Is there one thing that you've always wanted to try and would like to? If so, why not take a step towards doing that one thing - even if it's just finding out more about it, or looking up a resource or two.

What's the worst that could happen?