Knit-Along

I just signed up for a knit-along.  I've never done that before.  I'm not sure what it is about knit-alongs that I find so off putting.  I have lots of friends who love this approach to knitting.  Or to weaving.  Or quilting.  I guess it's the "let's all do this together" feeling that people love.  For some reason I've always thought of it as manufactured competition.  And there is a deadline for finishing the project?

The single most unappealing kind of knit along is the one where you only know the first part of the pattern to begin with.  Then next week or maybe next month you receive the next part of the pattern and so on.  Please, no.  It's not that I don't think I could manage some random unknown pattern.  I'm a pretty good knitter and there isn't much I couldn't figure out even if I didn't already know the stitches.  But put that uncertainty on top of the time constraints?  I don't think so.

So despite all that, I have decided to do Franklin Habit's knit along.  A couple of things about this project pulled me in.  First of all, it's Franklin Habit.  He is so funny and so creative and makes everything you want to know so completely available.  I love his Fridays with Franklin blog.

Second, there is the pattern, which is lovely.  It's a beautiful scarf with a beautiful pattern.  And, perhaps the most important aspect of the scarf is that gauge is not an issue.  I have lots of gauge problems.  Franklin says he will be releasing information on the pattern every week but that has not put me off.  It really looks pretty much the same from beginning to end.

And third, the yarn in stunning.  It is a beautiful color at each end and they oh so slowly fade one into the other.  No one will be surprised that I went for the totally neutral choice - black at one end and grey at the other.  Maker's Mercantile is carrying the yarn, called Infinito, in five colors.  I love the green and also the blue but went with the black/grey.  The purple and the cream/brown are both beautiful also but would not be my favorite colors to knit with.  The yarn is fingering weight superwash merino that feels wonderful in my hand.

So here we go.  The first episode is Feb 1st.  I've ordered and received my yarn and have a selection of needles so I think I'm ready.