Last Sunday... I woke up and decided that I was going to knit a sweater. In a day.

And I did...

Pattern: Oatmeal Pullover by Jane Richmond

Yarn: Brown Sheep Nature Spun Chunky in Charcoal

I get crazy knitting ideas on a regular basis, sometimes they turn out, sometimes they don't. I know about the risks as I go into it, but optimism usually wins and the yarn finds its way onto my needles.

This last weekend, I knew we were going to spend time with family to watch a football game and travel was required, so I gathered supplies for sweater (in a day) before the car ride.

The yarn looks a wee bit purple here, but it is in fact a nice charcoal grey and that Milk and Honey lotion bar is a necessity for all knitters - we stock them at Firefly Fibers and everyone loves them!

Anywho... I cast on in the car about 12:30PM on the way to our destination and made some pretty great progress during our visit...

I've been knitting a lot of pieced sweaters lately and I finally got to try Bristol Ivy's Provisional Bind Off that was featured here on Very Shannon's blog - it worked great and I highly recommend giving it a whirl if you've only used waste yarn.

So... I started the ribbed bottom edging in the car on the way home, finished it up at home and started sleeve #1 before heading off to bed that evening.

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The next morning, I was back at it and finished up the first sleeve in the car on the way to an eye appointment (hubby was driving), then got the second sleeve going and wrapped up my sweater a little before noon for a sweater-in-a-day success!

Truth be told, this isn't my first Oatmeal Pullover. I knit the first about 2 years ago over a weekend, so I knew I could do it in a day... even with frivolous things like eating, sleeping, showering. Jane's patterns are so wonderful and well-written that if someone wanted to knit this on more than a 24-hour timeline, it could be a easily completed in a couple long weekends because of the large needles and chunky yarn.

Here are my freshly washed and blocked Oatmeal Twins:

I have some pretty lofty sweater knitting goals for 2015 and this was the perfect start to the year. I still have yet to organize my sweater plan -- it's currently just bouncing around in my head and being added to on an hourly basis -- so I'm hoping to sort that all out this weekend and I'll share some of the dirty details of my upcoming year of sweaters then.

Until then... I'm almost ready to bind off our first Simple Knits Knitalong project - Lansbury by Very Shannon.

With a little more than a week left in the month, there's still time to knit up the January project and join our KAL fun - several of the ladies at the shop are casting on this weekend. Unless, of course, a sock WIP has somehow taken up residence in the same project bag as you see above. *wink*

Cheers & happy weekend knitting!

Times moves much too fast and there really aren't enough hours in the day for everything that I want -- or think I 'need' -- to do. Can you relate?With each New Year I promise myself that I'm going take the time to knit some small, simple projects for myself and gifting throughout the year, but life takes over and so many of the things I would love to knit get pushed aside, or are knit in a last-minute frenzy. In reality, I know I allow life take over, and I'm determined to change that this year....

Simple Knits is a year of knitting one project each month that is simple, yet enjoyable, because of technique, yarn, design, or all of the above - you know, those projects that just let you enjoy using two sticks & some string to magically create fabric. A year of simple projects that are a fabulous 'something' to knit for yourself or perfect for gifting to a loved one, yet... most won't take more than a few evenings or a weekend to complete.

So, what can you expect? Well, I surely don't want to spoil any surprises, but I can tell you that some of my favorite designers will be featured in the upcoming months and there will be some giveaways along the way. To kick off our Knitalong, we're going to start the New Year with one of my fave's -- Very Shannon.

Very Shannon Logo

I adore Shannon and her designs - simple and elegant with a touch of interest for an enjoyable knit (or sew) and a very special finished project. Lansbury has been on my 'to knit' list since Shannon released the pattern nearly 2 years ago, so that's exactly what's going on the needles for January!

"Named for the lovely Angela Lansbury & her long time show Murder, She Wrote, this cowl represents all the twists & turns involved in solving a good mystery. I have fond memories of curling up watching Angela Lansbury daily with my Omi while knitting & crocheting alongside her. I still tune in regularly with reruns on netflix with my favorite tea and some twist filled knitting."

Like Shannon, I watched Murder She Wrote with my grandma many (many) years ago. My grandma has since passed and I'm sure I'll think of fondly, and often, as I knit this cowl - I may even reminisce by watching some episodes on Netflix while I knit.

One of the things that I love about this cowl, is that it's perfect for that special skein of yarn -- Lansbury only uses ~200 yards of aran weight yarn (heavier worsted). I've wound my skein of yarn and I'll share my yarn selection and progress soon - I can't wait to see the yarn you choose!

Pop on over to Shannon's blog to read more about her Lansbury cowl here. If you don't already follow Shannon... along with awesome blog, you can find her on twitter, facebook, instagram, and pinterest.

This is just the beginning of our Knitalong. With 12 months and 12 projects, you can knit a few projects for yourself and some as gifts throughout the year -you may even decide to knit duplicates! Just the thought of having some fresh knitted items for myself and the potential of being prepared for gifting before the last-minute, brings a smile to my face and I hope you're smiling too!

:: Simple Knits | A Knitalong ::

Taking -- and making -- time each month to knit a fabulous new something for yourself or the perfect gift for a loved one.

Visit our Simple Knits Ravelry thread for Knitalong details and to join the fun -- don't forget, we'll have some giveaways throughout the year for your FO's!