The 2023 Gram Challenge (with @RachelisKnitting)

I saw this on Instagram and decided it was the kind of challenge I could do. 2023 grams of yarn knitted or crocheted in 2023… not that hard right?

The idea is that you keep track or weigh your project when you’re finished (or the remainder and then do some maths if needed) and aim for 2023 grams. That’s just over 20 grams of Stylecraft Special DK for instance… (100g per ball give or take). Then again maybe gorgeous skeins of hand dyed loveliness is your thing…

Sometimes, seeing something physically rather than just imagining it, is helpful, so I went off to get out my Yuletide Blanket Yarn Pack (pattern is by Attic 24 and can be found here). That’s 15 balls (15 x 100g) to begin with. (One challenge for this year is to finishing the project… I started the original Yuletide Blanket last year, then undid it before start twice more and resorting to the Granny Stripe Blanket instead). So that could cross off 1500g ish in one go… it’s definitely going to be an at home project.

Well for the interest, I went to weigh my current project and including the needles and the remaining yarn (as it’s still in progress) that’s on 370g – I think yarn wise it’s about 350 (3 x 50g balls and 1 x 200g ball). I have finished half of one project so I have already crossed off 22g but I’m not counting that until I finish the second half of the project. Also I’ve been working on some Franken-Yarn balls (which might need it’s own post…. what is franken-yarn? I’m not sure it’s an official definition but if some one did coin it before I will happily point people in their direction. I sat with all the odds and ends that I had and tided them all together based on their colours. So now I have 3 cakes of pink (they are numbered so they roughly go from very light pale pink through to magenta almost purple) which could be 250-300g alone… That’s just the pink so once I get through the blues and greens, I could be on 600g+ (When I write a blog post about my franken-yarn I will be back with a post….)

My WIPs (Works in Progress), are being counted once they are finished. Some have had a weight already to see what 20g or 100g of yarn looks like once it’s in a physical project form instead of a ball/cake/skein but other wise it’s going to be great fun for sure! Project 2 (As it’s being called) is getting there but at 300+ stitches a row it is taking longer than I expect to finish a row. The cast off is going to be a chore but also a massive relief I’m sure!

While I’m trying not to buy yarn right away, I do have Christmas money burning a yarn shaped hole in my pocket. I’m tempted by a new set of interchangeable needles but I want to be able to test drive before I buy and I’m not sure how easy that will be… (The Infinity Hearts set by Rito is currently Number 1 but the Chiaogoos are calling to me – but they are both an investment so how can I get a test drive? I’d just need one set maybe 4 or 4.5mm on a medium size cable so that I can make something…)

The pictures on this post are all shared with permission from @rachelisknitting. You can follow her on Instagram, YouTube and read her blog here.