CALs and KALs

Thank you all so much for your wonderful comments on my last post about Eve's graduation.  We are still basking in the warm memories of that lovely day.  How grateful we are to have such good fortune come our way.

With all the travelling in the car we have done lately, I've been making excellent progress on a cardigan I'm knitting.  I'm hoping to finish it in the next day or two, so I'll blog about it then.

Today, I'd like to talk about my latest, favourite things, KALs and CALs, that's knit-a-longs  and crochet-a-longs.  And especially the mystery ones.

As you know I recently completed the Sophie's Universe blanket CAL.  It would be a complete understatement to say I enjoyed this, I loved every minute of it.  Part of the fun was waiting for the next section of the pattern to be released, trying to anticipate what will come next.  Now that Sophie is finished, I've been exploring Ravelry to find other CALs and I've even looked at some KALs.

Now, on the one hand, the mystery part is fun, on the other hand, you have no idea what the finished item will look like.  So I'm rather reluctant to purchase a pattern for which the outcome is a total blank at the time of purchase.  I have however discovered some interesting free "alongs" and some that are free for a limited time.

So, with this new obsession, I'm currently working on the Circles of the Sun mystery CAL by Tatsiana Kupryianchyk.

The end result will be nine different granny squares, incorporating overlay crochet, that can be made into a cushion cover.  The patterns are released weekly over a ten week period, with the final pattern being the border.  Square one was released last Friday.  I think I will make two of each square.  Here are my versions of the first square.

I love the way, the squares look so different just by changing the colours around.

I can't wait for the next square pattern to be released on Friday.

I've also joined in with a mystery knit-a-long.  This time it is for a shawl.  The pattern is called Dancing Bees and it's by Kate Poe.

The first part of the pattern has been released, but it is only very small so there isn't much to see at the moment.

This pattern is being released fortnightly, with the second part arriving on Friday (it's going to be a fun day!).

Now the thing I have discovered whilst waiting for these "alongs" to start is that no matter what, there is nothing you can do to rush these projects.  They set their own pace and can't be finished any earlier than the schedule dictates.  This means that, the project is worked on, put away and then picked up again on release of the next part of the pattern.  This is such a relaxing and soothing way to create, I'm loving this aspect of the projects.  Usually, once I start I project I put myself under pressure to get it completed as soon as possible.  You just can't do that with these "alongs".  So, I'm feeling very chilled and relaxed at the moment.

Having said that, I have signed up to three other "alongs" that start shortly, so the relaxed state probably won't last long as I try to juggle all the extra projects I've started!  But so what, that's just the way I am!  How about you?  Are you joining in with any CALs or KALs?