FastenOffYAL | PDXKnitterati

Still dreaming of sweaters. I perused the Fasten Off Yarn-Along sweater offerings, keeping in mind sweaters for me, and for DH. He deserves a sweater, too! Maybe for his birthday in January, though. No gift knitting pressure, right?

I really like the yoke design on Big Crush by UkeeKnits (Payhip link). It’s simple, meaningful, and sweet. It’s knit top down, Aran weight, so it would be quick. The pattern has 3/4 length sleeves, so there would have to be some “mannifying” adjustments, but overall it looks great.

This is Snowflake Man by Mona Zillah, aka bunnymuff (Payhip link). It’s knit top down, looks to be about DK weight yarn at 22 sts/4 inches. I’d have to pick some quieter colors for DH, but the math is already done as far as making it DH-shaped.

While I was looking through all the YAL offerings, I came across Paola Albergamo’s designs. She has several brioche pieces, and they are fun and inventive! The buttoned poncho is very cool looking, and looks like it would be fun to knit.

You can look at all the patterns from participating designers in the Fasten Off YAL here. It’s searchable by designer name, and by type of project. Use the code FO2020 for 25% off any of these patterns through December 5.

Now I have to make some decisions, and buy some yarn! Hope you’re settling in to a cozy knitting season, too.

Here’s the scoop on the new Fasten Off Yarn-Along! The event runs from November 25 (9 pm Eastern) to December 31, 2020. The pattern sale period is from November 25 to December 5. I’m quoting from the official website:

“The Fasten Off Yarnalong event (“FO2020” for short) grew out of a need to have an off-Ravelry alternative to the annual Independent Designers Giftalong. Many designers and stitchers would love to participate there, but either can’t or won’t, due to Ravelry’s serious accessibility problems 🔗. But nobody wanted to miss out on the discounts and the sense of community and fun which that event brings; and designers didn’t want to miss out on the end-of-year sales boost, and what is essentially a great awareness campaign for them.”

There are 93 designers participating in the YAL. You can participate on the Fasten Off YAL page on Facebook, follow the Fasten Off YAL Instagram account, follow the Fasten Off YAL Twitter account, and discussions on the FO YAL’s event server on Discord. Holy cats, do I feel old typing that and figuring out what it means…but I’m game for some new fun! FB and Instagram I can handle, so Discord is just one new thing, right?

Here’s my page for the YAL. I have 20 patterns included in the sale; they’re the same 20 patterns that I have in the Indie Gift-a-Long sale on Ravelry. Coupon code is FO2020 through my Payhip shop for the YAL; the sale runs from November 25 to December 5. (Choose whichever way to purchase is more convenient for you. If keeping a Ravelry library copy is important to you, you can purchase my GAL patterns through Ravelry; the code is giftalong2020 over there.)

You can double dip with your projects in both the GAL and the YAL. More opportunities for prizes! Use the hashtags #FastenOff2020 and #FastenOffYAL to participate on FB, Twitter, and Instagram. See the Fasten Off YAL website for a full rundown on details.

Okay, back to what’s cooking! Our Thanksgiving plans are to make a lovely dinner, and leave it packed up on the porch for the kids to pick up and take home. DH and I will dine here, with cats watching. We’ll go back to celebrations next year, I hope. If it’s super nice out, we could dine in the back yard, but I don’t think it will be warm enough. Or dry enough.

Since we’re not having the usual, the traditional, the must-always-be-the-same…I’m going to roast a smaller buttermilk brined turkey. I’ll spatchcock it so it’s a quicker cooking bird, per Samin Nosrat. Check out her video; she makes it look so easy! Then it’s back to our traditional dishes. We’ll have our favorite stuffing (my dad’s recipe, which is basically Chinese sausage and oyster fried rice, with water chestnuts, celery, onion), roasted brussels sprouts, and pumpkin pie. And gravy of course. Cranberry sauce is on its way from Cousin Gwen in NY.

I’m starting to think about classes in real life in the second half of 2021. I hope we have a handle on Covid-19 by then! I’m encouraged by the news of vaccine development; now there are 3 in the pipeline. I love teaching, both in person and via Zoom, but it would be so nice to have a choice of formats! For now, I’m thankful that I can still teach knitters to be the boss of their knitting, either way.

Happy Thanksgiving!