Only 6 weeks left until Christmas and it's Gift-A-Long!!
It's high time to get our needles working if we want to offer knitted or crocheted gifts to our loved ones!
To help you get motivated, today I'm going to talk to you about Indie Gift-A-Long on Ravelry! *
*(Please note, the event is held in English. You do not need to speak perfect English to participate in the KAL/CAL, but a minimum level is necessary to get by.).
Come participate in Gift-A-Long 2021!
1. What is Indie Gift-A-Long?
The Indie Design Gift-A-Long is a KAL / CAL* taking place 6 weeks before Christmas on Ravelry.
The patterns knitted or crocheted by the participants will be independent designer bosses participating in this event.
*To find out what a KAL is, take a lookhere (the CAL is the counterpart of the KAL but in crochet).
This year, it runs from Tuesday, November 23rd at 8 p.m. (US EST time, i.e. 2 a.m. for Europeans living in France or Belgium) until December 31st at midnight (US EST).
1.1. Can the Gift-A-Long be described as a simple KAL?
I think not! The GAL begins with a promotional period that runs from November 23, 8 p.m. to November 29, 2020, midnight (US EST).
During this period, you can benefit from 25% on a selection of 10 to 20 patterns from 250 designers.
The code to use is as follows: giftalong2021 . You will find the list of dparticipating designers here as well as a bundle bringing together all the bosses concerned.
1.2. Can Gift-A-Long be described as a simple promotion?
Well no! Because in addition to the promotion, KAL/CAL has several parallel events taking place.
First, you can enter your projects in dedicated threads (for example, a cowl will go in the Cowl or Other Neck things9 KAL).
In these threads, you may be randomly drawn to win a prize or simply asked to answer a question.
So at any time, you can win a prize (these prizes are digital, so patterns from participating designers).
Then, once your project is finished, you can post a photo in the completed projects feed.
This thread will give you the opportunity to win prizes, both digital and physical (so it could be an ebook, a book, wool, etc.).
However, you will absolutely have to enter a price that is made from a paid pattern from one of the participating designers (whether it is a pattern that you bought on a pattern sales platform or from a magazine or book),
1.3. Can the Gift-A-Long be described as a simple KAL and prize distribution?
That's not all, not only can you participate in the KAL, you can win prizes but there is also a whole little world that is active around the GAL, you will find there:
- discussions (at a more or less rapid pace),
- recipe threads for the holidays (or not),
- a thread about our pets,
- an Instagram challenge (given the difficulties some people may encounter with Ravelry, it is now also possible to participate on IG and win prizes, there is also a list of patterns from participating designers available outside Ravelry).
- You can also participate in the New Year's Eve prize-giving frenzy if you'd like. Some moderators (including myself) hand out prizes all day long, whether by creating puzzles, riddles, or randomly distributing them.
As you will have understood, it is a major and intense event on Ravelry, which attracts around 15,000 participants and which is moderated by volunteers (including myself).
2. Who are the participating designers?
You will find the participating designers on the thread here: List of Participating Designers or Participating Designers Bundle (coming soon).
I think you can grasp the magnitude of the event with the few sentences I have shared here with you.
You can easily imagine how important the Indie Gift-A-Long is this year 2020.
This year has limited the opportunities to meet, to share our work, and for some to teach.
This event is generally important for the participating designers, but here it is probably one of the only events that will take place normally and that will help at least some of us get our heads above water.
3. Which of my bosses are affected by the promotion?
You will find the drunkName of my bosses concerned by the promotion here.
The code to use isand the following: giftalong2021
The promotion runs from Tuesday, November 23, 8 p.m. US EST (2 a.m. Brussels time) to November 29, midnight US EST (6 a.m. Brussels time).
If you want to participate, all my patterns are eligible to win a prize in the KALs (even the free ones) and all my paid patterns (even from magazines or purchased on other platforms) are eligible to win physical and digital prizes on the finished project feed.
4. Will I participate as a knitter?
Yes, the goal of the GAL is to have fun knitting!
As a designer, I now have little time to knit other designers' patterns without pressure, without a deadline (well, yes, the Christmas deadline)...
So the GAL is THE time when I take a break from design knitting and knit other things.
I can't make a list for you yet because I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet.
If you are curious, I suggest you follow mean Instagram account where I will post my work in progress and my ideas.
One thing is certain, I'm going to try to make a pair of socks with the wool I bought last year for Christmas! (and above all, I hope to finish at least one pair of socks, that's a challenge in itself!)
If you want to know more, I told you about the GAL 2019 on my YouTube channel
If you would like to share this article with others, please feel free to share it via social media (just click on the buttons below) and, above all, please feel free to give your opinion here in the comments section!
See you soon,
Christelle
