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<\/a><\/p>\nOne of the great things about being a knitter is enjoying the sense of community we all share when we meet other knitters. Knitting has a great way of creating instant bonds like no other commonality I know of. It crosses genders, race, knowledge, language, everything, and instantly connects two people like nothing else. In this “Close Knit Community” I have become a part of – and that you are a part of as well – is a great mastermind or collective that can take a random thought and turn it into a tangible idea. It turns out that this very thing has happened. In my last blog post, one of my “resolutions” was to knit 1,000 stitches a day. When I posted it to Social Media, I asked the question if anyone wanted to knit 1,000 stitches a day with me. It wasn’t meant to be a question\/invite, it was just the tagline for the post. Someone however, read it as such, and asked me if it was a KAL I’m starting. What a great idea! Also, with the number of people who have responded saying they’re in, I began formulating a plan – mwah ha ha ha haaaaah.<\/p>\n
So this is what I’ve come up with. Knitting 1,000 stitches in a day is relatively easy. 50 stitches in a row x 20 rows gives you 1,000 stitches. The thing is, maintaining it over a year, that’s probably not so easy. As a matter of fact, I’m sure it’s not. And coming up with ideas of what to knit, that can be daunting as well.\u00a0 This is where the community comes into play though. If we have a group of people – the close knit community – doing something, we can be inspired and motivated by that group. I’m certain this is where KALs came from – it’s definitely the underlying concept behind them! So, I’m going to start a thread in my Ravelry group (It Takes Balls To Knit) where you can see what’s going on in this KAL. Yes, there will be the recurring posts here as well, but the thread in the group will have many more updates.<\/p>\n
There will also be 2 aspects to this KAL – a free one and a paid one. For the free one, simply knit your 1,000 stitches a day and feel free to send pictures and updates to the group on Ravelry. This will start immediately if you haven’t already been doing it. We will cheer each other on for sure.<\/p>\n
The paid one will be slightly different. It will cost $25, and you will get patterns to knit as the year goes by. I will be providing original patterns throughout, and when we come to the end of one, I’ll send out the other. We will start with a Valentine’s Shadow Knit scarf, then onto other things. I haven’t figured out all the patterns yet, but included will be The Barrington 3.0 – the cowl version of the Barrington Scarf (pictured below) and an adult sized sweater. If any of you saw the cardigan that I designed that won the 30day sweater challenge, a capelette version of that will also be included. I’ll also take ideas from any of you that would like to give it as to what you’d like to knit during the year. This KAL will start on the 15th of this month, although I urge you to try and knit 1,000 stitches a day until then. Here are a few pics to give you an idea of what’s in store … these are ultra secret so shhhhhhhhh! \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n