Fall is here

October came with one of the biggest thunderstorms I have experienced - one of the closest ones as well - at one point it hit the beach near by, and I even got a little scared. There is no mistake - summer is leaving us. It has been a nice summer though - with lots of swimming, lots of sun and it leaves a happy aftertaste. 

So, time to consider fall knitting. One of my favorite yarn shops - ColourMart - is running their semi-annual KAL, hosted by their Ravelry group - ColourMart Lovers. While it is generally called a competition, it really is much more of a knit-along, since most prizes are drawn randomly, save for some popularity votes. The reason why I love it - and most "colourmartians" will probably agree - is because there is such a friendly atmosphere over there and so many beautiful finished projects to inspire! These knit-alongs are a great way to push yourself to finish a project. 

I have taken part in a number of these, my first one was in the fall of 2010, when I was pregnant with Adriana and it was the last two months of pregnancy - I can not believe how many things I had knit at that time... I was just knitting for the fun of knitting. Sounds crazy, I know, especially to a non-knitter.

This year I want to knit myself a nice, cuddly, cozy, warm and soft sweater. I had bought some lovely extra fine merino at one of the Colourmart ebay listings last spring with just this thought, and it has been patiently sitting in my yarn box, waiting when I will get the courage up. Even the color is soft - it's called "buttermilk" and it's a very, very light, creamy yellow. I never really wore yellow before, but lately I find myself attracted to all kinds of colors that I never wore before... shades of yellow, green and even beige among them!

So, I take a deep breath and cast on :) I have not knit a sweater since... 2004 or so, and even then it was just one odd number (that turned out rather nice and I still wear it sometimes). I used to knit much more for myself during my school years, but then I had my mother to nag me to finish all I started - now she lives too far away to do that :)

I have planned for a top-down raglan, as seamless as can be. Cowl neck and small cable details, but in general - really simple. 

If you feel like joining in, there is still time enough to do that - the KAL/contest ends on November 22! (Check the rules at the ravelry group page, if you do!)