Quick Note: If you haven't entered my project bag giveaway, click here to go enter!

As of January 1st, I'd never done a KAL (knit-a-long for those that are unfamiliar). I'm still a relatively new knitter, I guess. I learned 2 years ago and while I've knit a lot (A LOT) in those 2 years, I'm still new to the knitting world. I'm in a number of groups on Ravelry, several of which host KALs regularly. I'd never participated before because let's be honest, I was intimidated as heck. How would I stack up against more experienced knitters? Would I finish in time? What if I made a mistake, had to rip it out and start over? What if I hated the project? I really could go on and on with my worst case scenarios.

However, I vowed to be more adventurous with my knitting. I want to grow with each project I complete. So last year, I entered the MadTosh ToshDown (and won a prize!). I figured it was kind of the first step to KALs. Since I conquered that without issue, my next step was to actually join an active KAL (or SAL, as to not leave out the crocheters). Since I don't do anything half-way, I joined two.

For the Yarniacs Self-Indulgent KAL I'm knitting a Calligraphy Cardigan. Worsted weight sweaters knit up so quickly. I started on January 1, as per the rules and I have about a third of the sleeves and the button bands left to finish. I may or may not have done nothing but watch a ton of Downton Abbey and knit for the last few days. My goal is to finish by my birthday, which is February 8th. I have 2.5 weeks to finish so I think that's pretty do-able. However, this KAL runs until March 10, so there's still plenty of time to join in! The only rule is that you have to be knitting something for yourself.


The second KAL I joined is the MadToshForMe SAL, which runs from January 15-February 28. This is another "knit something for yourself" KAL. It must be the post-holiday knitting revolt. Either way, I don't mind. For this one, I'm knitting a Cladonia Shawl by Kirsten Kapur. I posted a few pictures on Instagram last week asking which shawl to knit - this one won by a landslide. In fact, it got all of the votes. I'm using Madelinetosh Tosh Sock in Well Water for this project. I cast on yesterday and managed to complete about half of the increases. I'm planning to put this on hold while I finish the sweater, but I wanted to cast on with everyone else at the start of the KAL.

I also have a gift that I'm working on that I can't really talk about here for fear of the surprise being ruined. I've already made that mistake once and I don't want to do it again. I guess I should never assume someone does or doesn't read my blog. My deadline on that is the end of the month. So needless to say, I'm a little busy in the knitting department this month.

What are your current WIPs? All are mine are listed in the sidebar, if you ever want to see what I'm actively working on. Are you doing any KALs in 2013? If not, you should!