Here is an early bird treat for you delightful, eager knitters!

I have been swamped with excited email requests to get things started. “Please, RIGHT NOW!” one writer implored. “There is no way I can hold out for it [the swatching instructions]. Just can’t. Can Not.” wrote another. So even though this was to originally post Saturday, it is releasing a day earlier. (Lol, guess who wants to get started, too! I won’t do this every time as I want you to have plenty of time to savor the knitting and story.)

So this posts today and on Saturday you will receive Chapter 1…also early! You will have all the information of what you need to start AND the swatching info this weekend so you can be ready to cast on this Wednesday when Chapter 2 will be available.

It is so important to me that you know this whole adventure is to be enjoyed AT YOUR PACE! If you are still planning to go to your LYS for supplies or eating on yarn to arrive via post, do not worry that you are going to be missing out. Everything you need is going to stay put an be waiting for you when YOUR time is right!)

Ready to get started? Today’s post begins our story with an introduction from me followed by Ebbie’s first journal entry. Read it here or give a listen to the podcast below or on iTunes.

An Introduction:

I have written many stories since I was a kid. Ask my mother about the four pages describing an apple…on a test where I was to write 3 to 5 sentences. She will laugh. The apple was just so interesting. I had so much to say. My mom would also tell you about my first great chapter book: Fred the Fish that Couldn’t Swim. I skipped many an elementary school lunch to go to the library to type it. Mistakes were rectified with a bottle of something called Liquid White-Out. It took almost a semester to complete. Story telling was more than something I did. It was my imaginary friend I could play with each day.

As an adult I have sought to develop community, especially with lovers of knitting. I show them what I am making, where I live and tell them stories about my small part of this big, incredible world.

The following story is about a woman who likes to knit, and finds herself creating as her life happens. The story can offer you a bit more to do than just reading the words on the page, if you decide you would like to join in.

Tucked into this story is a knitting pattern, which Ebbie, our main character, is making and writing about as she does. The incessant journaling she inherits quite honestly  from me. There are any number of notebooks, binders and even bound index cards with my thoughts and feelings about projects I have made, written out in vivid detail. Very few finished objects made their way to my online Ravelry project gallery, but almost each cast on made it to a paper record.

Notes on where I purchased yarn, what needles I chose, what was I thinking when deciding on the pattern, responses to what I am making all collected on paper. Bits of the yarn are taped beside skein labels. Most entries pre-date now fashionable washi tape. I’d grab blue painters tape, scotch tape and once in awhile silvery thick duct tape to secure my fiber sample supply log for posterity. 

Ebbie doesn’t go to the extent that I did, not yet anyway. But she definitely gives enough insight so you can replicate her cosy knit as you read. She will share everything from supplies required to what she actually used, to number of stitches to cast on and bind off and what method she thought best. To ensure you get the fullest understanding, the pattern segment she refers to is included at the end of each chapter. 

Creative designers work very hard to formulate beautiful patterns to replicate. It is important to note Ebbie is sharing with you my pattern for you and doesn’t undermine the pattern copyright parameters.

Enjoy the story, enjoy the knitting. If you would like to share this project with others, please point them to this story in it’s entirety housed on the Encourage Better website: https://encouragebetter.com

From Ebbie’s Journal:

Starting & Materials Needed

I bought the Bird’s Egg color way and used 32 inch circular needles. The pattern called for 5 skeins for Size 1, which is what I plan to knit, but I got one additional skein in case I wanted to make it longer. If I opt not to increase the length, I have a small project in mind this extra skein will be used for. That hat I just bound off would be fun to do again in this yarn! 

I had quite a hard time picking a color. If I hadn’t gone with the Bird’s Egg, I would have loved to use Clay. I kept picking it up only to put it down again to reach for Bird’s Egg. So that is what I now have safely in my sack. The blue looks like calm water, gentle, clear and cool. That’s what I want my knitting to make me feel right now. 

The first ball I wound by hand this evening in my room here at the B&B. The skein fit over the back of the red linen slip cover chair by the window. It was quite a lovely contrast, red linen, blue wool, soft grey sheer curtains. Soft drops of rain slid slowly down the window. If I had my umbrella swift and ball winder I would have been done in half the time, but I did rather enjoy the repetition of around, around, around, watching the ball build. 

The pattern called for 6 stitch markers, but I have a few safety pins and always some waste yarn on hand. I did buy a new tapestry needle to seam up pieces when I finish. I like the bent tip of it, will it make a difference when seaming I wonder…

I have a progress marker, a wee little ceramic blue sock I was using for my airplane knitting. Not that I need a progress marker, but there is just something about that little sock that I enjoy. And there is something quite satisfying about getting lost in my knitting, only to discover I have knit so many rows!

Mrs. Holmgren had some wood ready in the fireplace with extra stacked beside, so I now have a place to be comfortable.

On to the swatching…

Want to see the materials list and schematic? Let me take you there! CLICK RIGHT HERE and I will whisk you away to where that info is shared! Need more help? Let me know in the comments below!

BEFORE YOU GO…

Answer this one question below in the comments:

Why are you participating in the A Knit With Me Story adventure? I really do want to know your thoughts!

With aloha and kindness,

Mel