Thursday, July 10, 2008

Knit-Along

A pervasive theme in the "knit-blog" world has been the knit-along. For those of you not familiar with this idea, a knit-along is where a few to hundreds of people knit together in cyber-space. The knit-along may focus on a single type of item (i.e. socks), a single book, or an individual pattern; the possibilities are quite endless. The idea of knitting-along has been so popular that recently a book was published - not surprising called "Knitalong". One of the authors, Larissa, also writes one of my favorite knitting blogs - Stitch Marker.

I have not been much of a joiner of knit-alongs. There have been a few (including one for the Blue-Ribbon Wrap pattern in Larissa's book), but mostly, I don't like to have external deadlines associated with my knitting. I have enough stress in my life. The life of a teacher is filled with small daily deadlines - papers to grade, lectures to write and present, etc.

Thus, I am a bit surprised at myself that I have joined, or am contemplating joining, several knit-alongs. Maybe it is the unstructured summer schedule or maybe it is wanting to share my knitting, I don't know.

Here's the rundown.

1. Felted Nest Swap - Based on the felted nest pattern in "Knitalong", the idea of this swap is to knit, felt, and embellish a small bird's nest and trade it with a partner. This swap was set up by a woman named Heather through the Ravelry web-site. My partner is Knittrips, someone I have never met. I have finished knitting the nest and I felted it last night. Currently, it is setting in the sun on my back step. No pictures - it is a secret until Knittrips receives it.

2. The TikkunTree Project - A community art-project advocating peace.

3. Ravelympics - To celebrate the summer olympics, a group of people over at Ravelry have organized this event. The basic idea is to choose a project (or projects) that would be a challenge, but not impossible, to knit during the summer olympics. I have joined in three events.

W(ork) I(n) P(rogress) Wrestling
Mitten Medley
Gift Knit Pentathlon

I haven't yet decided exactly what my projects will be.

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