The 2021 Indie Gift-A-Long is already a week old, and I’ve got projects to share!
Even though I’ve loved being a participating designer this year (thank you to everyone who bought a pattern—or patterns!), my absolute favorite part of the GAL are the giant searchable bundles of eligible patterns, and the KAL/CAL threads where we get to make them. During the sale period last week, I did quite a bit of digging and found lots of fun things that I can’t wait to knit and crochet.
I decided to try and make a garment for this year’s GAL; this is Glymur (Ravelry link) by Jennifer Weissman. Those who have been around here a while know that I’m a huge fan of Jennifer’s designs, and this might just be my favorite from her portfolio. I admit, it’s sort of a cheater garment, since it’s really a super-sized rectangle that’s sewn along one edge to make a poncho. But it’ll still be beautiful…
I’m using some Classic Worsted seconds from Autumn and Indigo; this is their Fog colorway. I have absolutely no idea why these skeins were listed as seconds. They’re knot free, evenly dyed, and just all around lovely. Classic Worsted is 100% superwash merino, but merino with a bit of a rustic texture. It’s wonderful to knit with, and I think the final garment will be warm and wearable but still elegant.
Another personal goal for this year’s GAL was to crochet more than I did last year, particularly patterns by new-to-me designers. My first crochet project is Stitch Oasis by CJ Brady (Ravelry link) in SweetGeorgia Seasilk Lace. It’s a quick, easy pattern, and I think it’ll be off my hook my the end of the week, even with adding a couple of extra repeats. I love crochet designs that deviate from the popular image of crochet, but are still distinctly not-knitted.
Simple stitch patterns are a great canvas for fun colorways, as many of you know. I was excited to see how this limited-edition Quiet Time colorway would play out—and I couldn’t be more chuffed. The soft blips and shots of different blues and purples are such fun to work with and give a lot of life to the fabric.
And because there just has to be a shawl, I’m making Callisto by Frauke Neubauer (Ravelry link). Even though Frauke’s patterns have been part of the GAL before, somehow I’ve missed them in previous years. This pattern is one of my favorite finds of this year’s GAL—it’s got a lovely Mediterranean feel but isn’t too overt. After digging around in my stash, I found these colors:
I got to the first mosaic section over the weekend; the blue and the grey are pretty low-contrast against each other, but after consulting with the lovely people of the GAL Shawl thread, I’ve decided to keep going with it. They’re so pretty next to each other, and I think blocking will even out some of the surface texture and allow the colorwork to shine a bit more.
These aren’t the only patterns I picked up during the sale; I’m hoping to make several more smaller items over the course of the GAL. We’ll see how it goes…
