The Plan

My friend Teri and I (FiberTerian and Fulton, respectively, on Ravelry*) were sitting around a couple of weeks ago and I said, "I would like to put together something like Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitter's Almanac for myself and do a year's worth of projects.  Since it's the beginning of June, that gives me seven months to pull it together."

To which Teri responded, "The nice thing about an almanac is you can start on any month."

So, we decided that both of us would commit to putting together a list of 12 items that we would like to do over the next year...and start knitting July 1...of this year...

So far, we have the list done through December and we think that is good enough to start.

Month	Category	Tim	Teri
July	Mittens	Andalus Mittens	Vinterblomster Mittens
August	Socks	Oliver	Bloomin'
September	Shawl	Leaf Shawl	Maja
October	Polo	Open Collar Pullover	Open Collar Pullover
November	Hat	Koolhaas	Custom design to match July's project
December	Neckwear	Incognito	Dragon Scarf

The Rules

• We will work on similar but not necessarily the same projects (e.g. October we will be doing the same Open Collar Pullover Polo, but in July I am doing the Andalus Mittens while Teri will be doing the Vinterblomster Mittens).
• The project itself cannot be started before the 1st of the month.  Swatching and test knitting may be done at any time.
• The project must be completed by midnight local time on the last day of the month.  Completed means all knitting and construction (i.e. seaming) done, blocked (if necessary), and ends woven in.  Failure to complete a project within the given month will result in severe penalties (mocking will be involved).

One of the reasons I want to do this almanac is that since I started knitting in April 2009 I have done almost 40 pairs of socks...mostly toe-up stockinette or 3-and-1 ribbing.  Don't get me wrong, I love socks and I now knit a damn good pair, but I need to get out more expand my repertoire.  I need to do color work (stranded/Fair Isle and intarsia), lace, double knitting, sweaters, vests, shawls, and on and on and on.  There is a whole world out there for me to play in and I have been limiting myself to mostly feet...time to step out!  (I didn't say the humor would be good...)

Teri, on the other hand, has her own reasons for participating in this project (other than being as bat-shit crazy as I am) and she will be sharing her thoughts here also.  The goal is for each of us to blog about our progress at least once a week.  I also want to discuss new techniques (have you tried the Interlock Bindoff yet...it ROCKS!) and whatever else crosses my twisted little mind.

Nothing more to see here.  Knit along.

* If you aren't a member of Ravelry, go there now and join.  Registration is free and it opens a whole world of patterns and information on the fiber arts.