With Christmas just over a month away, it’s time for all you knitters and crocheters to kick your crafting into high gear if you’re planning to make hand-stitched gifts. If you’re still looking for just the right pattern, now is a great time to support independent designers like me. It takes a lot of time and hard work to put out quality designs, so we all really appreciate every pattern sale. The Indie Design Gift-A-Long (GAL) is a Ravelry-wide knit-along/crochet-along (KAL/CAL) that showcases knit and crochet designers who self-publish their patterns. Without wide exposure from magazines or yarn companies, indie designers are left to fend for themselves. This GAL is an excellent way to discover fun patterns from new-to-you designers. The event begins with a pattern sale running from tonight, November 22, at 8 p.m. EST (New York time) through Wednesday, November 30, 2016, 11:59 p.m. EST. Hundreds of designers (335, actually) have created “pattern bundles” on Ravelry to highlight their 5-20 designs that qualify for a 25% discount. Use the universal code giftalong2016 in your shopping cart to take advantage of the sale.
But that’s not all! Once you’ve saved some PayPal cash and added patterns to your queue, you can participate in the KAL/CAL GAL. Get busy with those sticks and hooks and then post pictures of the finished objects in their appropriate threads on Ravelry. You’ll find inspiration and encouragement from other knitters and crocheters along the way. You just might win a prize, too! Since you do need to rest your hands every once in a while, you can play a few games and even win prizes that way. The Gift-A-Long ends at 11:59 p.m. EST on December 31, 2016. All the details are spelled out in the Indie Design Gift-A-Long group.
I’m thrilled to be included as one of the indie designers again this year. All of my patterns (except the free ones, of course) qualify for the 25% discount, so this is a fantastic time to buy one or more that you’ve had your eye on. Only projects started after the official GAL start time on November 22 can qualify for the GAL; however, if you’ve purchased a pattern in the past but just haven’t gotten around to making it, the GAL is an awesome excuse to shop your pattern stash!
I know budgets are tight and you might not be able to support me or others by buying all the patterns you want. That’s totally ok. You can still help by sharing patterns you love with your friends. Hit the like/favorite/pin/share buttons wherever you see them to spread the love. That would totally make my day.
I love to make quick projects, so that’s generally what I like to design. That means any of my patterns could easily be finished before Christmas. If you start now, you might even be done before Thanksgiving. Do you have big knitting/crochet plans this holiday season?