Category: CAL

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GAL, CAL and KAL Info

Ravelry GAL 2017

Do you know what the terms GAL, CAL and KAL mean? They’re gift-a-long, crochet-a-long and knit-a-long, respectively. So what does that mean? It means that many crocheters and knitters get together either in person or online to crochet or knit the same pattern (or sometimes different patterns). What is so special about these CAL’s, KAL’s and GAL’s? Well, they create a sense of community, encouragement and helping each other out. If someone has a question about the pattern that many people are crocheting or knitting (or a particular yarn they’re using or thinking about using), it’s the perfect place to ask questions!

 

Starting tonight at 8:00 pm US EST, I’m participating in the 5th Annual Indie Design Gift-A-Long on Ravelry. You may be asking yourself, “What’s so special about this Ravelry group?”. It’s a wonderful place to meet other croheters and knitters, to encourage each other and to ooh and aah at other people’s completed projects! Last year, I participated in the GAL for the first time and I had a blast! I was both a participating designer and knitter. During the GAL, I knit 2 projects from 2 wonderful patterns by 2 different Ravelry knitting designers whose patterns I’d never used before! These were the 2 projects I knit last year:

 

Schaumkronen

 

No-Brainer One-Skeiner

 

The top project is a Schaumkronen, designed by SimoneKereit. The bottom project is a No-Brainer One-Skeiner, designed by Susan Ashcroft. Both of these patterns were absolutely fabulous! I thoroughly enjoyed knitting them and learned a few things at the same time.

 

I have 20 crochet and knit patterns that I’m including this year in the GAL (that’s twice as many as last year). Here is a collage with all 20 patterns in it:

 

2017 GAL patterns on sale for one week

 

Each of these 20 crochet or knitting patterns will be discounted 25% during the sale period (from 8:00 pm US EST tonight, Nov. 21, to 11:59 pm US EST on Nov. 28). To see my sale patterns closer and to take part in the sale, check out my Ravelry GAL bundle here.

 

There are over 300 participating knit and crochet designers taking part in the GAL this year. Each designer has between 10 and 20 of their patterns discounted during the one week sale period, so that’s a lot of SALE patterns!!!

 

To find out more about the GAL and everything that’s going on in it, check out the official Ravelry GAL group here.

 

I hope you enjoy taking part in the GAL as much as I enjoyed it last year (and I’ll be enjoying it again this year)!

 

Happy crocheting (and knitting),

Susan Lowman

 

 

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2016 Gift-A-Long!

Ravelry GAL 2016

Have you ever taken part in a crochet-a-long (CAL), a knit-a-long (KAL) or a gift-a-long (GAL)? I have a few times and they’re a lot of fun!

 

I wanted to tell you about a Gift-A-Long that’s taking place on Ravelry right now. It’s a group where hundreds of knit and crochet designers from around the world are taking part, discounting between 5 and 20 of their self-published patterns 25% for the GAL that officially starts tonight! The pattern discount runs from 8:00 pm EST tonight through 11:59 pm EST on Nov. 30. That’s over 8 days to purchase some of your favorite crochet and/or knit patterns by some fabulous designers at a sale price! There are thousands of patterns discounted and 335 designers participating this year! There are lots of games, prizes and KALs/CALs going on! You can read more in the Ravelry Indie Design Gift-A-Long group here.

 

This is the first year that I’m taking part in the GAL, both as a participating designer and a KAL/CAL participant. I’ve picked out 2 knitting patterns that I’m going to knit during the GAL, along with the yarn for each pattern. I’m very excited to take part in the GAL and I’m hopeful to win a prize or two! These are the 2 patterns/projects that I’m going to knit in the GAL:

 

No-Brainer One-Skeiner by Stitchnerd Designs
No-Brainer One-Skeiner by Stitchnerd Designs

 

Schaumkronen by Owl Cat Designs
Schaumkronen by Owl Cat Designs

 

You can find the No-Brainer One-Skeiner pattern here and the Schaumkronen pattern here.

 

These are the 10 patterns that I have discounted for the GAL (the discount is only available on Ravelry during the discount dates/times):

 

Web

 

If you’re interested in purchasing any of these 10 scarf and cowl patterns at 25% off, you can go straight to my “bundle” page here.

 

Here are some stats about the GAL:

 

2016_gal_stats

 

As you can see, the KAL/CAL period runs from tonight through the end of the year. That’s plenty of time to knock out some of the crochet and/or knit gifts on your list!

 

I haven’t gotten totally organized on what I’m crocheting or knitting for who this year. I’m just concentrating on what I need to do for our Thanksgiving meal right now! But Christmas will be here before we know it! I may be ready and I may not be ready! Time will tell!!!

 

Have you taken part in the Indie Design Gift-A-Long on Ravelry before or are you participating this year? Do you enjoy taking part in CAL or KAL groups? It’s a lot of fun to crochet and/or knit with others, either in person or through the internet! There’s lots of cheering, encouraging, suggesting, etc that takes place and I’ve found that crocheters and knitters are a great group of people!

 

Happy crocheting (and knitting),

Susan

 

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Filet Heart Coaster CAL

crochet coaster

Are you familiar with CALs (crochet-a-longs)? CALs are organized groups of crocheters who often crochet the same project at the same time, kind of like a group of people crocheting together in person! However, many CALs are held through cyber-space instead of in person! Some CALs are held for a specified length of time and some are ongoing. But one thing that is common to all CALs is encouraging each other and helping each other with our projects. Questions are very common about what yarn/thread to use, the pattern and more. There’s lots of sharing going on in CALs, too. KALs are much like CALs, except KALs pertain to knit patterns, not crochet patterns.

 

If you read last week’s blog post, you’ll know that I started a Ravelry group as one of my New Year’s resolutions. In that new group, I’m holding my very first CAL (in time for Valentine’s Day!). Around 10 Ravelry group members will be crocheting my Filet Heart Coaster pattern, starting next week and running until Feb. 14. And I’ll be there to answer any questions that may arise while these participants are crocheting their coaster(s). This coaster is crocheted in the filet crochet technique and has 2 layers for added absorbency. If you would like to learn to do filet crochet, this is your chance! I’m discounting the cost of this pattern by 50% for CAL participants, too. So for less than $2, YOU can learn to do filet crochet!

 

Filet Heart Coaster
Filet Heart Coaster

 

I’ll be crocheting along with the other group members. I decided to make my coaster larger with some Omega Sinfonia yarn instead of using size 10 crochet thread. It’ll be interesting to see what size it turns out! I think it’ll be potholder/hot pad size, which will be nice!

 

If you’d like to join my Ravelry group and participate in this CAL, I’d love to have you join us! You can find the group on Ravelry here. Why not take the first step and learn your first crochet technique this year?

 

Happy crocheting,

Susan

 

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