Track Your Knit & Crochet Projects with a Project Planner!
Posted by Sophie Scardaci on Jan 25th 2021
I love planning new knit and crochet projects. Walking into my local yarn shop, my eyes race around to all the colors and my creative spirit soars. I’m touching, looking, and overwhelmed by all the possibilities. Once I figure out my project and materials, it is time to cast on stitches. As much as I want to just jump right into the main pattern, I know I must first make a swatch.
As a former yarn store owner, I know the results of folks not taking the time to swatch and block a small knit square, before starting. Garments and hats running too big or small, running out of materials and uneven stitches….these are all results of not having the right needle for their tension of knitting or crochet. Don’t skip this step. In the recently released Knit and Crochet Planner, each project section has a specific area to track your gauge. You might need to make more than one swatch until you get the desired stitches per inch. Keep track of the gauge different needle sizes create and celebrate when you achieve the gauge your pattern calls for.
The planner has numerous sections to help you stay organized with current works-in-progress as well as serve as a resource for your favorite shops, fiber festivals and needle/hook inventory. The project pages are a great way to keep your progress on track, make notes on alterations for your current or future projects and customize your fantastic fiber creations. The tracking logs remind you of charity projects, Knit Alongs (KALs), retreats and your needle inventory (no more trying to remember what needles or hooks you have or don’t). There’s a contact section for your favorite shops, designers and fiber friends. The back has a reference section with common terms used as well as chart symbols.
I have a lot of unfinished objects (UFOs) so I have two planners: one for new projects and one for my works-in-progress (WIPs). Often I have put down a project and months later can’t find my notes or remember where I left off in the pattern. That won’t be a problem any more. There’s spaces for notes, sketches and charts. The planner has a fun target in it to color in as you finish different steps of each project. I love the reward of progressing on my crafts by getting to color in a section. It’s like a gold star for my creative spirit.
I hope you will treat yourself and your stash to some project organization this year. Taking time to fill out the pages, makes me grounded in my artistic activities and rewards me with an album to look back to my creative growth.
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