Knit Along Project ( KAL)

Saturday morning…a very quiet morning…Luchi adds her special sparks of mad bites and yelps, but the house sinks back to calm slumber, even while I gather my thoughts for today. After a week of girls and chatter and food and laughter and drives and slumber, we are back to the four of us..two canines and two crafters.

The canines sleep, she crochets and I knit,while Downtown Abbey unwinds slowly and steadily on the TV screen, a great way to slide back to the normal routine of the house.

I have begun a new project…inspired by this KAL ( KnitALong…for my non-knitting readers)…

https://fringeassociation.com/top-down-knitalong/

hosted by my favourite blog and inspiration provider, Fringe Association. This year, its about knitting a top-down sweater, with only one’s measurements, a gauge swatch and no pattern. The instructions and the supporting blog posts are so detailed and clear, that I have taken the plunge this year. I am still thinking of climbing on to Instagram and linking my progress to the KAL, and you might finally see me on that platform too!

We start with an idea of what we want to actually make…I want a cardigan which can move from a shrug to a cosy cocoon, depending on the weather.  High neck, raglan sleeves, 2 inches of positive ease.

I am knitting up some lovely variegated wool which has been hauled from San Francisco by my daughter, which has spent the regulation two years in the stash cupboard and which matches my 333 winter wardrobe.

Swatch knitting has been in progress for the last fortnight.  Pattern books have been pulled out, perused, selected, attempted and rejected. The girls were exasperated by the profusion of small knitted squares all over the house, and I would keep going back to the knitting books, searching for the elusive pattern which would be simple, unique and look good on variegated wool.

I have finally settled on a simple honeycomb pattern which will be all over the back and front sections, with a narrow panel on the sleeves.

The project has been cast on, the neck shaping has been completed and I am knitting the yoke of the cardigan. It seems amazingly simple, and I keep wondering where the challenges will pop out.  Good instructions, detailed photographs and the genuine feedback and support from the knitting community world-wide–it goes a long way in making a new project an amazing learning and crafting process.

Another day begins with gratitude for the Internet, knitting and the quiet spaces of home. Another day begins with knitting and those amazing little squares of chocolate heaven! Thank you, Lindt, for making  these small, sinfully smooth, squares of satisfaction…