Nightmare Mode

Are you ready to *looks over tops of sunglasses* get extreme?

Alright, so the theme of the 2019 Geek-A-Long technically isn’t Nightmare Mode, but in a lot of ways you could make the argument for it. On the heels of the 2018 GAL blanket, which contained 100% of the squares chosen by you, we decided to throw caution to the wind and added extreme double knitting, duplicate stitch, and even three color double knitting to many of the 2019 squares. Take a gander at the Mixtape/ Guardians of the Galaxy square, which features all three techniques, to get an idea of what I’m talking about if you’re just joining us on this wild Geek-A-Long ride.

There is a square on the 2019 blanket that will contain nine different colors. NINE. While it uses the most colors, it isn’t the only one with a higher than usual ‘colors used’ count, and the average square for 2019 utilizes four. There are very few that contain the standard two. 

The reason behind the elevation in difficulty level is simple, if I didn’t start making the designs more complicated, Megan-Anne’s head was going to explode. After knitting over 200 Geek-A-Long squares over the past five (going on six) years, she needed a challenge.

I know that this news might have a few of you freaking out, and you don’t feel as if you’re ready for the rise in difficulty level, but you can do this. Cut your teeth on the earlier, more symmetrical squares and slowly add more difficult ones to your knit-list as you get comfortable with the new techniques. We’ll be providing tutorials throughout the year on how to increase your double-sided knitting skills.

So… What’s the theme?

First, we have to cover a few more details. 

Megan-Anne and I decided that in order to continue the GAL for as many years as possible, we need to reduce the amount of squares we release each year. Partially, it’s due to the fact that eventually we’ll start scraping the bottom of the barrel on material, but also on account of there being a lot Megan-Anne and I can’t do on a personal and Lattes & Llamas level since so much of our time is devoted to cultivating the Geek-A-Long. We’re a two woman show, and it’s easy to forget — even for us — that there are only two of us. We don’t have any employees. Everything from the patterns we put out to the yarn we produce to the emails we answer to the packages we process are done by one or both of us. L&L is more than a full time job before you even take into account the GAL, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. But in order to execute progressively cooler projects like the Nessie Expedition last spring or Call of the Siren, we need time. And that time has to come from somewhere.

Basically, what I’m saying here is that moving forward, we will be releasing 24 new GAL squares a year instead of 48. The first square will be released on the first Sunday in January and then every other week after that. On the off weeks, there will be a Geek-A-Long related post. It might be a tutorial, a giveaway, a highlight on members of the GAL community, or my Nightmare Mode journal.

Nightmare Mode Journal

There are three different ways to geek along: Recommended, a 24-square Afghan; Hard Mode, a 48-square full-sized blanket; and Nightmare Mode, a 156-square king sized quilt. You can read my post on the different modes here. Megan-Anne and I have said good-bye to six blankets (in 2015 we split it into two) and sent them to be auctioned off at the annual Child’s Play Charity gala in Seattle. So, I came up with the absolutely insane idea of ‘Nightmare Mode’ so that I could have a giant chunk of our work for myself. I am knitting 156 Geek-A-Long squares on size US2-2.75mm needles with my favorite sock weight yarn, Vacation. It is insane and I do not recommend it.

But, it is the sort of insanity meant to be shared with others, so I’ll be sharing my progress on the off weeks when we don’t have a tutorial or giveaway planned.

Drum Roll Please

And now for the official 2019 theme announcement! The theme of the 2019 Geek-A-Long blanket is Cartoons!!! I am super excited about it. I’ve done some of my best design work for the upcoming 24 squares, and I can’t wait for all of you to see them.

Without further ado, here are some of the down and dirty details you’ll need to know about the 2019 Cartoon GAL blanket:

• We’ll be using Geek-A-Long Yarn to knit our 24-square blanket. 
• We’ve added 16 new colorways to the Geek-A-Long Yarn palette, which we will be using exclusively.
• Whether you’re planning to knit the Recommended size like us or want to tackle Hard Mode, we now have starter kits available, which includes one of each of the 16 new colorways and copy of all three of our newly updated GAL Blanket Planners.
• Or, if you’re planning to knit all 24 squares just like us, we have the 2019 GAL Blanket Kit, which comes with enough yarn to knit, join, and edge the entire blanket along with the newly updated GAL Blanket Planner.

Unlike the previous few years, we won’t hold square nominations for 2019. In order to provide the comprehensive blanket kit that people keep asking us for, we needed to know exactly what was going to be on our afghan.

See you guys next week for the final reveal of our completed 2018 Geek-A-Long blanket and more details about next years madness!

~Jac

A bunch of people have asked me where their free download for the Nightmare Mode planner is since I made one for the Recommended and Hard Mode blankets. Seeming how I 100% do not encourage anyone to knit 156 GAL squares with sock weight yarn, I hadn’t planned to release one. But, with me starting my Nightmare Mode Journal soon and your constant pleas to delve into this insanity with me, I will release it in the upcoming weeks. You’re welcome.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider making a donation to Child’s Play Charity. Here is a direct link to our official donation widget benefiting the charity. Please help us raise $1,000 this year. No contribution is too small! Wanna make your donation go even further? Lattes & Llamas will donate $1 for every skein of Geek-A-Long Yarn purchased. Ask your local yarn store to carry GAL Yarn or get it through our website.