Gift-A-Long – The Crochet Architect

November 22, 2018January 14, 2019

2018 Ravelry Gift-A-Long

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my crochet and knit friends in the US!

It’s that time of year again for gift making and gift giving! I think every crocheter and knitter enjoys crocheting and/or knitting gifts for their family and friends. I know I do! And it’s even more fun when you’re participating in a GAL (Gift-A-Long) with other crocheters and knitters!

Starting tomorrow night (Nov. 23) at 8:00 pm US EST and running for 5 1/2 weeks (ending on Dec. 31 at 11:59 pm US EST), I’m participating in the 6th Annual Indie Design Gift-A-Long on Ravelry. You may be asking yourself, “What’s so special about this Ravelry GAL group?”. It’s a wonderful place to meet other crocheters and knitters, to encourage each other and to see other people’s completed projects!

Last year, I participated in the GAL for the 2nd time and I had a blast! I was both a participating designer and a crocheter/knitter. During the GAL, I knit and crocheted 8 projects from many wonderful Ravelry designers whose patterns I’d never used before! I learned a lot of new things and was pleased with the resulting items. Each of these projects was from a different category of the GAL (there are 8 categories). That meant I finished a Ravelry GAL Opadoo! Here are the 8 projects I made last year for my Opadoo:

Here are the original designers’ patterns that I knit/crocheted for my Opadoo:

This year, I’m including 20 of my crochet and knit patterns in the GAL. Here’s a collage with all 20 of my sale patterns in it:

Each of these 20 crochet or knitting patterns will be discounted 25% during the sale period (from 8:00 pm US EST tomorrow, Nov. 23, to 11:59 pm US EST on Nov. 29). To see my sale patterns closer and to take part in the sale, check out my Ravelry GAL bundle here.

This year, there are over 340 participating knit and crochet designers taking part in the GAL. 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’ve enjoyed it the last 2 years (and I’ll be enjoying it again this year)!

Happy crocheting (and knitting),

Susan Lowman

December 21, 2017December 21, 2017

Christmas Gift

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all! I hope you’re all enjoying some wonderful time with your families and friends. I’ve been taking part in the Indie Design Gift-a-long on Ravelry and having a great time! I’ve finished 7 projects and I have one remaining project to finish by the end of the year to complete an Opadoo (I should be able to make it in time)! To learn more about the Gift-a-long, check out the Ravelry group here. To find out more about my finished projects (like the yarns I used and links to the designer’s pattern pages), check out my projects page on Ravelry here.

I thought I’d share photos of my 7 finished projects with you now. I also have a few gifts/discounts for you at the end of this blog post.

These are my 7 finished projects:

1. Week Before Christmas hat by Mary Renji

2. Pretty Spiffy Tuxedo Baby Bib by Darleen Hopkins

3. Coffee Cup Cozy by Heddi Craft (knit)

4. Grace and Lace Fingerless Mitts by Lilia Vanini (knit)

5. Lace Labyrinth shawl by 10 Hours or Less

6. Entrechat by Lisa Chemery (knit)

7. Mosaic Slippers by Arella Seaton (knit)

This is the project (#8) that I’m currently working on to finish up by the end of the month. It’s the Seeds to Flowers Cowl by Kristina Vilimaite. Isn’t it a gorgeous design? I have a good start on it and if nothing slows me down, I think I’ll get it done in plenty of time to “Tame the Opadoo”!

So that’s what I’ve been doing for the past month! What about you? Are you crocheting and/or knitting gifts for Christmas this year? I enjoy crocheting and knitting for others, especially when they appreciate the time and effort that went into the gift!

Here is my holiday gift to you! Use the code “gift2017” (from today through the end of the year) on this website to receive 25% off all crochet patterns that I have available here on The Crochet Architect.

As an added bonus, the designer of the “Lace Labyrinth” shawl/scarf above (10 Hours or Less) has given me a special code to pass along to my followers to receive a 20% discount on all of their regular-priced crochet and knitting patterns. The code is “CrochetArchitect” and can be used in their Ravelry store. I LOVED crocheting my Lace Labyrinth and I LOVE so many of the “10 Hours or Less” patterns!

I’ve learned a lot from knitting and crocheting these 7 projects and I’m learning a few more things by knitting the last project. They’re all fabulous designs and I’m so glad that I’ve participated in the annual GAL!

I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Happy crocheting,

Susan

November 21, 2017November 21, 2017

GAL, CAL and KAL Info

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:

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:

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

November 22, 2016

2016 Gift-A-Long!

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

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):

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:

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