Revised, Revamped and Redesigned: Year Long Afghan II

It's hard to believe it's been 10 years since I designed and taught the first session of the original Year-Long Afghan. In those 10 years, I've learned a lot! I've grown as both a knitter and as a teacher. I've added techniques to my own repertoire through classes and books and patterns, and I try to find fun ways to pass those skills on to other knitters. I've also spent a lot of time thinking about the original YLA and what I would do differently if I could do it all over. Then I realized that I CAN do it all over!

Enter Year-Long Afghan II. (This is just a working title. It's boring. I'm open to suggestions.)

What's a YLA?

It's a series of classes lasting one year and meeting once a month. Each month, a new knitting technique is taught in the form of a 14" afghan square. (The original YLA has 16" squares.)

How is the YLAII different from the original YLA?

There are more techniques and skills. You'll really learn something new every month. The original YLA repeated some skills (Fair Isle and Cables had two squares each!), and it even had one square that was just garter stitch using leftovers. This repetition has been eliminated. As a result, there are 12 square classes and 1 finishing and assembling class, for a total of 13 classes, each presenting something different from the squares before.

Awesome idea, but I'm not much for knitted blankets.

I got you covered! :) Each month will also have a scarf or cowl pattern teaching the same skills. 

I'm interested. How does the class work?

The class meets once a month, on the third Tuesday, 7-9pm. You can sign up for as few or as many of the classes as you like, but if you sign up for all 13 classes at once, you get a break on the price AND you'll receive an electronic copy of the final pattern booklet for free. (Details on price are in the information sheet linked below.)  I've already been asked if there will be an online option for this class, and unfortunately, the answer is no. This is a very hands-on class, and I don't feel I could give quality service to online students.

Are you intrigued? Check out the information sheet for all of the details. As stated on the sheet, I'm still in the process of designing the squares--8 are complete and one is nearly done. So, I don't have final, official, accurate yardage needs calculated yet. However, the sheet does show how much yarn was used for the squares that have been completed as well as rough estimates for what remains. I hope to have final, accurate quantities by mid-April. 

In the meantime, here's some eye candy. 

What? You want to actually see the individual squares? Okay...

June: Texture Stitches with a focus on learning how to read a chart. The top picture is actually a much more accurate representation of the color.

 July: Short rows. This one is still in progress, but here's what it looked like yesterday afternoon:

August: Mock cables

September: Log Cabin

October: Twist Stitches

December: Cables

January: Mosaic Knitting

February: Embellishments. Clearly, this square is just plain stockinette and has not yet been embellished.

 April: Lace

You've probably noticed that there are a few months missing. I haven't knit those squares yet. They are November: Entrelac, March: Fair Isle, and May: Intarsia. Pictures will come as soon as I have them completed.