7th Day of Sock Yarn

On the 7th Day of Sock Yarn, Simply Sock Yarn gave to me...

a special edition skein of Sweet Georgia Silk Crush.

This skein is from a past SSYC Sock Yarn Club- we typically do two 3-month clubs a year, and I'm hoping to have sign ups for the next one soon.  If you want to get in the club, make sure to sign up for the SSYC newsletter so you're notified when sign ups begin.  To win this super-sized (150 gram!), never to be redyed Midnight Sky skein from the SSYC sock yarn club, simply answer the following question in the comments below:

Did you particilate in a Knitalong (KAL) this year, or attend a sit-and-knit?  Tell us about a way that you shared your love of knitting with a group this year.  And if you didn't, tell us if you'd like to and just haven't found the right one, or if you're just not a group knitter or crocheter.

This year, I didn't particilate in an online KAL that I can remember.  I've done a few sock exchanges in the past and I'd definitely do another one, but haven't for a few years.  But I did do a first for me last week, and that was participate in a knitting group.  I have never found the time, especially on a weekend when that's typically family time, to come into town (we live in a rural area) and join other knitters to chat and stitch.  It was a nice change of pace, sitting with a half dozen ladies and sharing coffee and chatting while knitting away, and I can see myself doing it again when time allows.

Want to read the full details/rules of the 12 Days of Sock Yarn?  Click here.

Comments

[Ruth]

I participated in the KAL from the Stephen West group on Ravelry. I finished right before Stitches Midwest and wore it there. I felt like a celebrity since so many people stopped me because of it.

[Marguerite]

I have a hard time being social and concentrating on my stitches both at the same time. The few times I tried knitting in a live group, I ended up frogging what I knit when I got home. I'm rather go out to lunch with a fellow knitter and totally enjoy each other's company and then go home and knit in private.

[Debbie Huett]

I am doing my FIRST KAL in January. I'm excited. It's a toe up sock, which I've never done but hope to learn some new technigues and enjoy others doing the same sock as me.

[Susie]

No KALs this year but I did attend Vogue Live and enjoyed the comraderie in the classes I took.

[Christine]

I get together with a group of friends about once a month - some of us knit - others crochet. We usually take turns hosting at each others houses since we live pretty far from the LYS.

[Donna]

Funny you ask - I have not knitted in a group for a long time - many many years ago - when I took a class. A yarn shop just opened on my street - stopped by the other day and talked to owner - she will be having knit chat days after holidays. I will probably stop by.

[Mary Ann]

I am a co-founder locally of "the National Knit in Public Day", so for the past 3 years
on a designated Saturday in June, we sit outside and knit and encourage others to join us. (Knitting outside in June in Wyoming isn't always nice!) Also have a social knitting group that meets every
Tuesday night.

[Jennifer cameron]

No KAL's, but I have gotten together with my sisters in law a couple times to knit and chat. It's fun. Glad I introduced them to knitting so I could have company sometimes :-)

[moiraeknittoo]

I think I might not be a group knitter. I find that my knitting time is a moving meditation time for me, and I get very confused and lost and stop knitting in order to pay attention to others and what they're doing if I end up in a big group. Knitting with a couple of friends over coffee, though, that works out a bit better usually.

[Julie]

I tried to join a KAL, but my schedule is just way to hectic to be able to accomplish anything in time (as I found out). So I probably won't actively join any KAL in the future. (until I obtain more of that "free time" thing)

[Annette]

No, I haven't participated in any kal's. Perhaps this year I might.

[Teresa]

I was in a small group at our LYS that made circular vests out of different sock yarns. We all loved it.
Mine won Grand Prize Ribbon at our 4-H fair.

[Sharon]

No KAL or knitting group for me this year, but a friend and I recently met at a knitting shop and we spent hours there knitting and shopping. It was so much fun!

[Catherine]

I didn't do a Knitalong, but I do belong to a group. In fact there are several knitting groups in the area. I have only attended one so far. It's very unstructured. The people attending come and go throughout the year, though there is a core group. You can bring crochet or knitting. It's open to the public, meets twice a week at the library at night. It's a most enjoyable event, knitters helping knitters, sharing ideas, skills, patterns...very relaxing...nothing demanding during that gathering.

[Lori]

I participated in 2 KALs this year and had a great time! The first one was a camp where the challenge was knitting 800 or more yards in 4 weeks. I made a sweater in 3 weeks and along the way, had a "knitting injury" and did something awful to my back. My husband who is a chiropractor told me to stop but I told him to "work on my back, I am on a mission to finish this project!!!" The second KAL was with Susan Anderson making the Polly Cardigan. Loved it!

[wendy]

No knitting group, but I have a friend, who is a knitting group in herself and we share all our stash and projects.

[Brenda]

I'm in a knitting group. This year we decided to exchange 12x12 knitted squares. We just finished it this month. Now we just have to piece them together for our blanket! Yea!

[Loribird]

I didn't do a KAL online this year, though I keep up with several forum groups on Ravelry and we share our projects.
I did organize a little knit-night group here in my town last spring, and we met once a week for a couple months until the summer madness made it too difficult to schedule (I live in a tourist town on the beach, summers are crazy!) I hope we can start meeting again after the holidays!

[Terri]

I participated in some on-line sock KALs on Ravelry.

[Lynn Beck]

I haven't participated in a KAL or a sit and knit. I have watched the progress of others while they participate in a KAL. Fun to watch. I just never have time.

[Vickie]

I did participate in a knitting group at the store where I took knitting classes. It was always fun to see what other people were working on. Unfortunately the store closed and the group disbanded.

[Jo]

I participated in the 11 sweaters in 2011 KAL on Ravelry. I made it to 10! I think with all my holiday knitting I won't get to 11.

[kristieinbc]

I don't think we quite qualify as a "group", but I have a knitting friend that i meet at Starbucks about once a month. We drink tea, knit, and catch up on each other's news.

[Jenn]

I haven't found a group of people to share my craft with yet, I hope to soon! I'd love to sit around and knit and chat with people.

[Ina]

I love KALs! My favorite this year was Free Up Your Needles in August, which provided the bit of motivation to finish some languishing projects. I'm in a long-running SnB too.

[Nancy]

I am very active on Ravelry, and participated in several KALs there over the course of 2011. Most of them involved knitting socks (either for a certain brand of yarn, a certain designer, or for making solid socks). I also did one KAL for making gloves (using sock yarn, of course), and one for mitts.

[Cindy]

I don't know any other knitters, and I'm not very outgoing, so I knit alone.

[Andy]

I hosted two WWKIP Day events and did a couple of informal KALs with folks on Ravelry.

[Renee Anne]

I love the ideas of KALs but I just don't have enough time for them, what with Little Man running around and being a toddler. And when he was smaller, I was just too tired.

Perhaps when he gets bigger and stops being so interested in my yarn, I'll start participating in KALs again.

In the meantime, I do go to Wednesday night knitting as often as I can (which is less and less as Little Man becomes more and more mobile and interested in breakable things). Most of the ladies there have taught me things more than I've taught them...they've all been knitting much longer than I have :)

[Celeste Culpepper]

Yes, the Six Sox KAL a Yahoo group that has a free sock pattern every other month.

[Meg]

I organize a knitting group of about 250 members here in Raleigh. We usually have about 3-4 meetups a week around town, and they are some of the best people I know. We did a side-to-side shawl knit-along over the summer.

P.S. That is a beautiful skein of yarn!

[Elaine]

I don't have a knitting group. I would like to form one of mom's that knit at the school sporting events.

[Nathanne Verner]

I've never participated in an online knitalong. Usually I am not interested in the particular project they are doing. I did attend Knitting Guild meetings a long time ago, and they were helpful, taught me a lot of new things. Right now I am doing a sort of knit along on Skype with my daughter who lives overseas. We are working on a lacy scarf, and we compare notes about how to do certain stitches.

[Martha]

I occasionally participate in an on-line sock knit-along and a knitting group that meets monthly. For the past two years, I've gone to a knit-in hosted by a local councilperson whose purpose is to provide knitted or crocheted items to children living in shelters. The experience is awesome.

[Lisa P]

I belong to a knitting group that meets twice a week although I usually only am able to make it once a week. I cherish this group, it is such a wonderful group of ladies (and one gentleman). It has greatly enhanced my knitting and I've tried things I never would have had the courage to before as there is so much encouragement and support. Couldn't live without these folks :)

[csaar2002@yahoo.com]

I've been thinking it would be nice to participate in a KAL, but right now I have enough other projects to keep me busy for the following year. However, if I see one that really looks good, I might make time for it. Currently, a local yarn shop has a knit and sit and the group is really eclectic, and when I can, I enjoy sitting in and just knit while I listen to everyone else talk about anything that comes to their mind. It's relaxing to be around others, but still be in your own world.

[Margaret]

I belong to four knitting groups, one of which is a charity group. Through these groups I get to meet all different types of people. We all share a love of knitting and support one another in our projects.

[Sharon Hurlbut]

No KAL, but I did start a knitting club at my daughter's elementary school and taught 5th and 6th graders how to knit. They loved it so much we'll probably continue after New Year's.

[Kay Morrissey]

I did not participate in a knitalong, but did participate in sit-and-knits at our local yarn shop and with friends at the local Michaels store.

[Lisa Viviano]

I haven't attended a sit and stitch or participated in a KAL at all this year, but just yesterday I taught my sons girlfriend to knit. A totally joyful afternoon.

[sprite]

I did a couple of sock knit-alongs this year, but my favorite is Sock Madness, where a bunch of knitters compete in various rounds to see who can knit the same pattern fastest. I am not fast, but the group is a friendly, supportive one, and it makes being eliminated from competition so much nicer when you know you'll still enjoy the interactions. Signups are coming up again in February via the Ravelry group.

[Elaine]

I haven't participated in a KAL or group knitting. I have taken knitting classes, though, and I find that I am easily distracted when knitting in a group; therefore, I make many more mistakes than I do when I am knitting in solitude. I prefer knitting alone because of the distraction factor.

[Melanie]

My schedule has not allowed me to sit and knit with others, but I KIP all the time and it has started so many fun and interesting conversations! Knitting is just something people gravitate towards whether they have the skill or not. I love it!

[Carla]

Yes, I am a lemming - I like KAL's also do lots of group knitting- LOVE todays yarn color!!!!

[tina]

i participated in several KAL with friends!!

[Debbie H]

I have done a couple sock KALs on Ravelry and plan on more. Debbie H gussek on Ravelry

[Cheryl Ellis]

I would LOVE to be part of a sit-and-knit group - it always helps me get motivated to keep going and finish a project! Also, the comraderie of other stitchers is so supportive. Let me know if you start one - I'll be there!

[thesqueak]

I've done a few online Knit-Alongs, including my first lace project, Rock Island.. But I haven't found any groups in my area that I'm comfortable meeting up with yet. :(

[Karen Majors]

I joined the Ravelry group knitting an Advent garland...I got one hat done and that is it. I hope to get all 24 hats and mittens done by next December. I've also participated in sock KALs in the past.

[Susan Hill]

After retiring, leaving life-long friends and activities and pulling up roots and moving across the country, one of my first efforts was to find a LYS and some knitters. Found a creative retirement knitting group at my neighborhood community center that meets weekly. Look forward to Thursday mornings when I pick up coffee with steamed milk and chat and knit with several ladies. Through that connection I have found some contacts that have greatly helped me adjust to a new way of life in a new city with new friends.

[Linda]

Knitting is my time to relax and reflect so I'd rather not knit in a group.

[Julie]

I'm not really a group knitter. I like the meditative qualities of knitting and really prefer to knit solo.

[Kim Baker]

I have never been a group knitter, but I like the idea of it.

[Sumiko Keay]

I did both!

I love KALs and joined a bunch. . . sadly I only finished the piece from one of them. (One of the She-Knits KALs on Ravelry.)

And my town has a sit and knit that I finally joined in October and I have been loving it.

[Sue]

I go to a knitting club once a month. I can only bring something to knit that is simple, otherwise I'm home frogging afterwards.

[Lennette Daniels]

I didn't attend any knitting groups or KAL's this year. Unfortunately, the only group meets on Sunday afternoons over 45 minutes from my house. Sundays are wash days, clean days, get ready for work/school days so it is too hard to drive all the way in for the group. But I would love to get together with a group of knitters and I recently found a group who posts on Ravelry for Friday night knitting so I may start joining them.

[Fran]

Greatest group at my LYS. We knit, learn new techniques and share our stories. Something to look forward to each week!

[Megan]

I participated in tons of KALS. I watch Knitabulls and The Knit Girllls podcasts and they had MANY knit-alongs. They help me decide which pattern in my HUGE queue to do next!

[nina]

For me, knitting isn't a social activity. I knit when I have a few spare moments here and there; I know I wouldn't get anything done if I were to sit down with a group of people! Plus I knit quite slowly so a KAL probably wouldn't work out for me. I do like to follow some of the KALs for projects I like though!

[Karen G.]

I've done online sock KAL's. I tried one last month for a holiday project I was planning, but it's the only holiday project I'm not finishing in time!
That Silk Crush is one beautiful skein of sock yarn!

[Kathryn]

I have never participated in a KAL. When I see one that interests me I am usually in the middle of a project. I guess timing is everything.

[Sharon B]

I am participating in the Skacel knit along. It is a progressive knit along--so each week we get new directions for the months project. The next one starts in January(mittens) I enjoy the challenge and I'm learning a lot.

[Amber]

I go to a knitting night at my LYS every Friday night. It's a great time to spend with friends, have some coffee and chocolate, and work on my projects. My group also gets together in other places informally between Fridays just to get in more knitting and chatting time.

[Anne Bond]

I have never participated in a KAL but might get involved in one eventually. I would like the idea of a group too, but all the groups I've found around here meet at night and I prefer to not go out at night (getting too old I guess). The quilt group in my church is interested in expanding into other types of needle work, so maybe we will have a few knitters interested in getting together.

[Joyce]

I've never participated in a KAL. However, I do attend a twice-monthly 'sit and stitch' at our local library. I have come to really enjoy the group.

[Amy G]

I have not done a KAL this year, but now that I know about the Ravelry KAL's, I will look into it. I belong to 2 knitting groups and I get to share what I know with both of them as well as learn many new things!

[Deborah]

I did do a KAL this year!! Sort of a way to get a couple of going on a challenge. I even think I will be willing to do it again.I also did a sock club with another sock company, but would love to try someone new this year, any suggestions??

[Bobbi]

The only group knitting I've ever done was when taking a class. I found it a bit distracting especially if working on a pattern of any complexity to have a lot of chatter going on around me. Guess it would be all right if I only worked on a plain sock-like most things I'm always willing to try.

[Kathy B]

No knitting groups yet. Between a full time job, yard work, and 5 pets, I feel guilty leaving the house when I could stay home and knit sitting on the deck. Maybe the right group will surface. No KAL so far; looking for the right, uncomplicated project that won't require all of my time to finish.

[Denise]

I haven't participated in a KAL, but each week I gather with several friends and "knit the day away"! We share yarn, patterns, ideas, fun, food, and fellowship! I consider it my "therapy"!

[Holly]

I participate in a knitting group, known as the Knit Nutz every week.

[Yarnwitch]

I don't participate in KAL's but I knit with the coolest ladies in the world over lunch every day. We are the Lunch Bunch and have delveloped into best friends.

[Abby]

I may have participated/joined a KAL but unintentionally. It was online and I was looking for some help and the KAL seemed to be where all the people who knew anything about the project were hanging out. In general, the idea of a KAL sounds too stressful - I doubt I would be able to keep up.

[Andrea]

I have a regular knitting group that I have been a part of for a little over two years now. I love having a group of friends that can share my knitting adventures with me.

[Janice]

I have not joined a KAL this year. I never find the time to get online that much. I have seen some interesting knit or crochet alongs on Lion Brand Yarns blog.

[Rusty M.]

I've done several mystery kals and a few others to learn new techniques and have the support of others doing the same thing.

[Kathy]

I participated in a mystery shawlettes KAL this summer. Loved the end result!

[Jan Walsworth]

I've not participated due to an ongoing struggle with arthritis in my right hand. My knitting time is limited and I've not felt I could keep up with a KAL for some time. With a recent change in medication and a low-gluten diet I am hoping for improvement in the new year :)

[kelly-ann (on ravelry)]

I try to attend a local knitting guild once a month. My favorite part is to see all of the other finished objects during show and tell.

[Chris]

Our local knit group gets together every week. May not be the same people each week, however there's always a group that meets, and we knit, spin, or crochet. We didn't do a KAL, however many of us made the pattern Citron as we all loved it. Always nice to share with friends in fiber.

[Janet]

Our local knitting group did a Paulie KAL which was fun! We usually meet at night, but decided to have a Paulie park playdate w/ kids and I managed to get mine done before that and showed up wearing it :)

[Sara]

I did not do a KAL this year, although I have enjoyed them in the past. I attend a knitting guild once a month, if I can, but other than that I am a lonely knitter. Just me and the TV!

[Beth]

I did not participate in a KAL this year. I belong to the six-sock KAL which is a yahoo group but I am always "off" a month or more in my knitting of patterns. When a pattern I particularly like comes up, I am going to try to stay on track in 2012. At some point in time I would love to participate in a BSJ KAL; either that or find a "BSJ for Dummies" copy of the pattern.

[Georgienne]

I participated in the Mystery 220 KAL on Ralvery this year. I also atten 2 knitting groups each week.I love to knit with other people who share my passion.

[Carolyn Ross]

I've participated in Ravelry group KALs but not at any local groups. I tried one local group but found they were just doing plain dishcloths or blankets and nothing very interesting. Since I like to do socks, gloves or lace, they weren't offering anything to stretch my knitting skills.

[Patti]

I have not participated in a knit-along for some time. I miss knitting with other knitters, but there are no close goups around.

[Meg]

I have a knitting group that meets in my home once a week. There are a couple of other ones that I'd like to go to but they are a distance away and I can't drive, so I haven't managed them yet.

[Terri]

Although I haven't done a KAL or a group knit this year...yet, I have done it in the past and have enjoyed it very much. I will have to make it a New Year's resolution for 2012!

[Charissa]

I've participated in a few Ravelry KALs this year, mostly socks. Right now I'm doing a scarf KAL with the Sock Madness Forever group.

[Elizabeth Seager]

I've never participated in a KAL, but that might be fun. this last year, I've taken a few knitting classes, so I am busy trying to finish a sweater from my last class.

[Tammy M]

No KALs or Sit and Knits for me, I get distracted way too easily and then end up making mistakes that I have to rip out and do over! I'm a knitter best left to work alone or I wouldn't get much accomplished ;)

[Cyndy]

I meet once a month with a group up in Mass. It's great fun to see what others are knitting!!

[Beth]

I didn't participate in a KAL this year although I have in the past. I haven't been to a knitting group before, but I think I would like to try one!

[Peg]

Potatoe Chip Scaves are great in sock yarn

[Helen]

I am not a group knitter, unless I'm knitting something plain without a pattern.

[Nicky]

I participated in a couple of KAL's this past year. It helped me in completing my projects this year.

[Merna]

KALs are not for me. I do knit at weaving guild meetings along with many others -- that's group knitting, isn't it?

[Peg]

I've never participated in a mystery knit or a knit a long; I do occassionally go up to the coffee shop and sit and knit with the group there, everyone shares what they are knitting and what they have recently knit or spun.

[Noelani]

I can't go to a knitting group with an infant and a toddler, but I do enjoy sitting and knitting with my mother. I participate in KALs on ravelry sometimes, but I don't think I have this year.

[Judy S-G]

I've been teaching some coworkers how to knit & crochet this year & we've formed our own little lunch group... I've been sharing different patterns and links for simple KAL/CALs that are giving them motivation. I'd like to find an experienced outside group but my work hours haven't allowed me to do that just yet. Maybe in 2012?