Thank you! - Newish Knitter KAL

by Liz Daly

I’d like to take some time to say a huge thank you to many people.  I’d like to start with Janet Avila, thank you for trusting me to run the Newish Knitter Knit-along (KAL). When the world shut down a few years ago Janet and I were discussing how to run the Mystery KAL.  And then we started talking about how knitting has helped us through challenging times and that we couldn’t leave the newish knitters out of the loop.  So we ran the Newish Knitter KAL alongside the Mystery KAL so that nobody would be left out.  We just tried it to see what would happen.  Almost two years later this group is still going strong.   Thank you again Janet for putting me in charge of this KAL.  

My second thank you is to everyone who has joined me on the first 3 Wednesdays of every month.  I have had and continue to have the best time getting to know everyone.  This group is truly for everyone, newish and experienced.  All of the projects that I choose are “conversational knits” where you might pick up one or a few techniques but overall relatively easy patterns.  Don’t get me wrong, I also pick some more challenging projects to push everyone out of their comfort zones but I am with you the entire way, helping you with what you need help with.  I also try to work the store so that you are exposed to different yarns and yarn weights.  From the bottom of my heart, thank you!  It is the best feeling seeing how many people sign up each month.  

I do want to apologize to those people who are interested in joining but cannot make Wednesday nights fit into their schedule.  Unfortunately as hard as we tried we couldn’t find a day and time that would work with everyone all of the time.  But….even if you are unable to join you can still knit what we are knitting and if you have questions you can always reach out to me.  

Here is a list of what we knit up this past year and the reasons why they were chosen. 

January - Wheat Scarf by Tin Can Knits - This scarf was chosen as a relaxing knit to recover from the holidays.  We also discussed how to play with stripes and color with this basic pattern. 

February - Rib-a-Roni hat by Jane Tanner - This hat is one of my go-to hats because it is classic.  We knit in the round and discussed how to read your stitches with the repeating rib. 

March - Touchstone Shawl by Laura Aylor - One of my favorite shawl shapes is the asymmetric triangle.  Not only is it easy to wear but you cast on only a few stitches!  You can also make these shawls as big or as small as you would like. We discovered how easy eyelets are to put into your knitting.  

April - Baby Face Spa Cloths by Cheryl Toy - I think this was one of the most popular projects.  We went over one design each week because this pattern had several designs. I don’t think I’ll ever purchase a washcloth again. So many different ways to combine knit and purl stitches. 

May -  Runaround Pond by Elizabeth Smith - We cast on A LOT of stitches and knit in the round.  I showed everyone a trick on how to complete a longtail cast on without worrying about the length of the tail. 

June - Olive Night Shawl by Taiga Hilliard - I’m not going to lie, this was a little bit of a challenge but I knew that everyone in the group was going to be able to do it.  This pattern used all of the basic increases and decreases and after knitting this shawl everyone was a pro at k2tog, ssk, cdd, kfb, MIL and MIR.

July - Kallara Shawl by Ambah O’Brien - This project we knit with fingering weight yarn.  Since the store is closed in August we needed a project that would take us through July and August.  This shawl is a great shape and a great knit to use either contrasting colors or monochromatic colors.  

September - Which Way Shawl by - Stephanie Shiman - This shawl was sport weight and a great way to play with color and practice carrying your yarn up the side of your work.  

October - Great Divide Shawl by - Michele Zatarian - Janet suggested this pattern and it was another popular pick.  A great pattern to make it your own, blended colors, contrasting colors, small border, larger border etc…  

November - Soundtrack Cowl by Elizabeth Smith - November is a month that gets really busy really quickly and this cowl was quick and easy to knit with great texture.  I think most of us used 2 contrasting skeins of worsted weight yarn and this pattern flew off the needles.  I have knit 3 so far and Beth said “3?! You never knit that many of any project”.  I don’t but I did with this one, it’s that good. 

December - Short and Sweet - In December we  worked on 3 quick and easy projects: Traditional Dishcloth by Very Pink Knits, Square Coaster by Amanda Berry, Lacy Pinwheel Coaster by Dolly Laishram.  December seems to be a busy month for everyone so we took it easy.  We also worked with cotton yarn which works up a little differently than wool. 

Thank you all again.  I hope to see you on the first 3 Wednesday nights of every month in 2022!

Binding off….

Liz Daly