Last week on the Pen Addict podcast, Brad talked at length about NaNoWriMo. If you aren’t familiar with that term it stands for National Novel Writing Month. Each November, many many intrepid writers gather together to write a novel (or 50,000 words) between November 1 and November 30. The organization that supports it (which is now a 501c3) provides structure, milestones, encouragement and a network to support burgeoning writers participate. While many participants work digitally (composing on a computer), Brad talked about how he wanted to use NaNoWriMo to spend more time with his favorite tools: pen, ink and paper.
Every year since 2010, Ana and I have been participating in a lesser known, but similarly themed November event called NaKniSweMo. This stands for National Knit a Sweater Month and, like its inspiration, encourages crafters (knit and crochet are welcome) to create a garment between November 1 and 30th that contains at least 50,000 stitches. Ana and I use all of our analog tools to participate: needles and yarn to knit with, notebooks and pens (or spreadsheets if you prefer digital) to track our progress of stitches knit. Each year we plan for the process, scouring patterns, jotting down ideas or sketches, and getting ready for the event. And then we knit.
This year, I’m going to be knitting a cropped pullover sweater, Nydia by Vanessa Smith (pattern available on Ravelry). My yarn is Delightful DK from Apothefaery Fibers in the At the Hearth colorway, a gorgeous pumpkin orange I think is perfect for the fall. I’ve already done my homework (testing out the stitches to be sure it will create fabric of the right feel and proportions), and I’ve set up a notebook to track my progress.
In case you’re interested in seeing what we’ve done in the past, I’ve included a few of Ana’s and my past projects for NaKniSweMo.
Do you participate in a November project? (or any other month?) We’d love to hear about it and see your progress!
I’ve never heard of NaKniSweMo but I have (last year) hacked/used NaNoWriMo to help me knit and crochet more. I counted my stitches and had blocks of pre-counted words (50, 100, 300, 500) that I could copy and paste into a word document that was my NaNo project. I didn’t buy the NaNo winner’s t-shirt cause I had my cardigan (https://www.ravelry.com/projects/parkej4/slouchy-stripe-cardigan)!
This year I’m trying to write words for NaNo writing down family stories and memories of my Dad who passed last month. Figure I won’t make major progress the blocks shawl I’m working on til Dec.
That’s so cool and your cardigan looks super cozy!
I’m making Spector (by Joji Locatelli) but I wanted a tighter gauge than what she designed with so I’m making two sizes larger, lol. My spreadsheet says I’ll be over 60k sts before I get to the sleeves though, I have a lot of work to do!
Woohoo! I’m cheering you on over here!
Cheering for you and Ana’s as well! 😀
Can’t wait to see your and Ana’s finished projects! Umm… who is assigned to confirming the number of stitches? 😉
This is my first time playing along, I have no idea who is checking! Or even if someone wants to take on that onerous task!
Well we’re supposed to keep track on our own, and it’s on the honor system. I do so with the help of a spreadsheet and it’s not quite as hard as it sounds. I certainly can’t verify anyone else’s just from the picture!
I’m not knitting but quilting! I have a Dresden plate Christmas town mini-quilt I am working on, and a wreath mini-quilt with the word Joy in the center. Plus a big block quilt I am assembling and a twister lap quilt I am quilting by hand. So I have a few projects going!
Fun! I can’t wait to see!