The Gift Sweater KAL

Welcome to our last KAL of 2015!

The days are getting shorter, the yarn is getting bulkier, the firewood is piling higher. It’s time to cozy up for the next six weeks for a mini-KAL: we’ll be tackling the Gift Sweater!

Gift-KAL

Amy talked about the magical, sentimental, heartfelt parts of gift knitting last year. She did a better job than I ever could capturing how it feels to knit something for someone you love. But there are fun parts, too! Here’s some things I’ve loved about knitting for friends and loved ones.

You can knit something that isn’t your style. I’m not a shawl wearer in general, but sometimes I can’t help knitting a popular pattern. Though I wasn’t planning to wear it, the process of knitting this Color Affection shawl was so enjoyable I was happy to give it to a good friend.

coloraffection

Your friends are different sizes! Sometimes it’s a relief to knit a sweater for someone who isn’t 5’11”! My shorter friends and sisters-in-law are more likely to get sweaters from me, since they seem to take half the time. (Okay, I’m modeling this Auburn Top sweater, but I promise it was a gift!)

pinksweater

You can try out new yarns. More than once I’ve “auditioned” a yarn by knitting an accessory or a gift with it, before investing in a full sweater quantity. This squishy Little Baby Sweater was a hit, and knitting it up helped me realize I liked the nextured, nubby fabric enough to consider knitting an adult sweater too.

stripybaby

 

The three of us are Amy Herzog Designs HQ are firing up our needles for a cozy winter full of knitting — for ourselves and others. We’ll share our progress here and on social media as we do! Join us by using the hashtag #giftsweaterKAL, or use giftsweaterKAL on your Ravelry projects.

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Of course, if you haven’t yet registered for the make. wear. love. west coast retreat in 2016, there’s still time! We’d love to have you. More details here.

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Finally, if you knit a Fall Festival sweater, share it with us on Ravelry in this thread! We’ll pick a winner (or maybe more than one!) early next week.

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