Welcome back to the Indie Design Gift-a-long virtual tour! Today we’re exploring the KAL/ CAL Threads.
We have 8 KAL/CAL Threads this year:
GAL2015 KAL/ CAL Cowls, Scarves, & Other Neck Things
GAL2015 KAL/ CAL Foot & Leg Things
GAL2015 KAL/ CAL Hat & Other Head Things
GAL2015 KAL/ CAL Hand & Arm Things
GAL2015 KAL/ CAL Kids & Baby Things (except toys)
GAL2015 KAL/ CAL Shawls & Stoles
GAL2015 KAL/ CAL Sweaters & Other Garments
GAL2015 KAL/ CAL Toys, Home, & Other Miscellaneous Things
What happens in the KAL/ CAL Threads:
The KAL/ CAL Threads are where the crafting fun happens! Once you’ve picked a category, jump in and say what you are planning on making.
For instance, I jumped into the GAL2015 KAL/CAL Cowls, Scarves, & Other Neck Things with Rian Cowl designed by one of our 2015 participating designers, Loraine Birchall aka Lor-Artemis But don’t worry, I’m not casting on until tomorrow when the event starts!
One of the thread mods will add your project to “post 2” – a running list of all projects in the thread – and mark your post with an italicized “added by mod” note.

Then chat along with your fellow crafters as you knit or crochet your project to life!
Or if you know that you want to knit a something specific, but aren’t sure which pattern to select, like BethGraham in the screenshot from the GAL2015 KAL/ CAL Cowls, Scarves, and Neck Things, asking in the KAL/ CAL for that object is a great idea! For instance, if you know you want to knit mitts, post your request in the GAL2015 KAL/ CAL Hand & Arm Things Thread. The more information you provide, the better able the thread participants are to make that perfect suggestion! For instance, if you have worsted weight on in your stash and absolutely love cables, add that information to your request post.
Note: plenty of chatter happens in the KAL/ CAL threads when crafting, so don’t be shy, jump on in!
KAL/ CAL Thread Breakdown:
When you enter into the thread for the first time you are greeted by the header and post #1, written by our fearless admin, ninaknits.
There are a few extras, special thanks to IamMO for reminding me of them in the chat thread today, that will make discovering what’s going on in the thread a bit easier.
The blue arrows point out some of the short cuts to seeing what other people are crafting. You can click on each one to see the pictures that have been posted thus far, the patterns people are linking (& either knitting/ crocheting or considering to knit/ crochet), and the project pages that have been started.
The header also tells you what special tags to use on your project page! In this GAL2015 KAL/CAL Cowls, Scarves, & Other Neck Things example, the tags to add to your ravelry project page are: giftalong2015 (the generic tag for this year’s event) and giftalong2015neck (that says, hey I’m knitting/ crocheting in the GAL2015 KAL/CAL Cowls, Scarves, & Other Neck Things thread!).
Listed are the thread mods. Be sure to give them extra love as they are all volunteering their time! Again for the GAL2015 KAL/CAL Cowls, Scarves, & Other Neck Things example the mods are: GooseBearKnits, vox8, and Leebah.
Once the FO thread opens, there will be a link to it in the header (as well as on the main Indie Design Gift-a-long page).
The KAL/CAL Mod Squad
After post 2, the next few posts in each KAL/CAL thread are introductions and welcomes by the mods heading up that thread.
Here’s a list of each mod and her corresponding KAL/CAL thread:
AimeeMCM Hats & Other Head Things KAL/CAL
cowtownknits Hand & Arm Things KAL/CAL
crazyl Hats & Other Head Things KAL/CAL
desertroseknits Sweaters & Other Garments KAL/CAL
Drin Shawls & Stoles KAL/CAL
frecklesandpurls Shawls & Stoles KAL/CAL
goodstuff Sweaters & Other Garments KAL/CAL
GoosebBearKnits Cowls, Scarves & Other Neck Things KAL/CAL
gwenschweitzer Toys, Home, & Other Misc Things KAL/CAL
IndianaKimberly Babies & Kid Things KAL/CAL
kateclysm Foot & Leg Things KAL/CAL
Leehab Cowls, Scarves & Other Neck Things KAL/CAL
Littlebitsheepish Foot & Leg Things KAL/CAL
otimurph Floating
Peacock41 Toys, Home, & Other Misc Things KAL/CAL
SarahJaneDesigns Babies & Kid Things KAL/CAL
SharonB Foot & Leg Things KAL/CAL
specialKknits Hats & Other Head Things KAL/CAL
talithakuomi Hand & Arm Things KAL/CAL
vox8 Cowls, Scarves & Other Neck Things KAL/CAL
And that’s the KAL/ CAL Threads in a nutshell! Up next on our virtual tour, the patterns.
So join us with your plans, but hold off on the crafting just a little long – the fun starts tonight at 8PM.