Knitting: Boosted!

Well that was fun!

Twelve months, three hats, two sets of hand warmers, two pairs of socks, one child’s sweater, a cowl, a scarf, a shawl, and one delightful bunny later, our Boost Your Knitting knitalongs have, somehow, come to an end! It’s certainly been a productive time; together, we’ve cast on 848 projects from the Boost Your Knitting book. And my, has there been some chat — a whopping 11,828 forum posts in our BYK threads! We’ve had a blast and sincerely hope, if you’ve been knitting along with us, that your knitting feels well and truly boosted! Let’s take a peek back at what’s happened this past twelve months:

New stitches have been mastered …

SewKnittyStar’s in-progress Apple Swizzle Hat, designed by Thea Colman. Look at those dip stitches!

SewKnittyStar’s in-progress Apple Swizzle Hat, designed by Thea Colman. Look at those dip stitches!

VintageRosie’s delightful Bramen Cowl (the second she made!), which featured tuck stitches!

VintageRosie’s delightful Bramen Cowl (the second she made!), which featured tuck stitches!

Kaitlin wearing her gorgeous finished Flying Leaves scarf — what beautiful brioche!

Kaitlin wearing her gorgeous finished Flying Leaves scarf — what beautiful brioche!

And we’ve learned new ways to start …

Saralu’s Totally Tubular Mittens featuring — you guessed it — a tubular cast on!

Saralu’s Totally Tubular Mittens featuring — you guessed it — a tubular cast on!

… and finish projects!

KnitChkKnit’s lovely lavender interpretation of Ella Austin’s Brunny the Bunny pattern which focused on how to finish knitted toys.

KnitChkKnit’s lovely lavender interpretation of Ella Austin’s Brunny the Bunny pattern which focused on how to finish knitted toys.

We’ve become more confident bosses of our knitting:

JackieP353’s stunning Sterlyn Shawl. The pattern, designed by Joji Locatelli’s, accompanied tutorials on fixing mistakes in lace knitting.

JackieP353’s stunning Sterlyn Shawl. The pattern, designed by Joji Locatelli’s, accompanied tutorials on fixing mistakes in lace knitting.

Jen’s finished Marangoni Hat. The pattern, by Tori Seierstad, featured two techniques for joining in new yarns.

Jen’s finished Marangoni Hat. The pattern, by Tori Seierstad, featured two techniques for joining in new yarns.

And had fun playing with colour:

Knitsonik’s ever-so-fun Skystone Armwarmers asked knitters to take colour inspiration from the world around them and translate it into yarn. Maylin’s gorgeous pair were inspired by postcards from Iceland!

Knitsonik’s ever-so-fun Skystone Armwarmers asked knitters to take colour inspiration from the world around them and translate it into yarn. Maylin’s gorgeous pair were inspired by postcards from Iceland!

Dbukko’s Sooper Sweater — which featured the marlisle technique — expertly modeled with other AC Knitwear friends!

Dbukko’s Sooper Sweater — which featured the marlisle technique — expertly modeled with other AC Knitwear friends!

And we’ve approached perhaps familiar types of techniques from new angles!

It's intarsia … but in the round! MimiCodd’s beautiful and ever-so-tidy Heartgyle Socks.

It's intarsia … but in the round! MimiCodd’s beautiful and ever-so-tidy Heartgyle Socks.

It might look like just another (lovely) hat, but the Peaks and Troughs hat is actually double-knit! This adorably modeled version was made by dsews2.

It might look like just another (lovely) hat, but the Peaks and Troughs hat is actually double-knit! This adorably modeled version was made by dsews2.

The Alcedo Socks featured a toe up gusset heel — this lovely pair was knit by GeezLouise.

The Alcedo Socks featured a toe up gusset heel — this lovely pair was knit by GeezLouise.

Whether you’ve participated in one knitalong or all twelve, been a quiet observer or frequent poster, an early joiner or recent purchaser, thanks to everyone who has joined us on this adventure! Your project photos, chat, camaraderie, and most of all, enthusiasm for trying new things make all this possible! (And if you’d like to see more Boost Your Knitting-inspired projects, you can browse the tag on Ravelry!)

And if you’ve not yet dipped your toe in the Boost Your Knitting fun, all the knitalong threads will remain open (the same is true of our first programme, A Year of Techniques) over in our Ravelry group. So if 2020 is the year you’ve decided to tackle some new knitting challenges, do feel free to post questions, comments, or finished objects over in the relevant thread — the forum is a great place to be cheered along! You can purchase Boost Your Knitting (as either a print + ebook bundle or ebook only) in the online shop, where you can also find the yarn and seasonal kits to complete the projects!

Finally, if the end of the official Boost Your Knitting knitalongs has left a KAL-shaped hole in your heart, maybe you’d like to join us for our #SpringintoColourKAL? You can find all the details in this blog post or head over to the Ravelry KAL thread — but we’ll be having fun over the next two months playing with a bit of colour as we wait for spring to come (and it’s a great opportunity to put some of those BYK skills to good use!).