Hello, Geek-A-Long 2021

You know that scene from Friends where Ross and Chandler are taking the couch up the stairwell, Ross keeps yelling “Pivot” while Chandler yells for him to shut up? Well, so in this analogy the Geek-A-Long is the couch, Megan-Anne is Ross, and I’m Chandler. I’m not sure who gets to play Rachel, but we’ve been trying to get this monster up the stairs and I just want to know what she means by “Pivot?”

PIVOT. PIVOT. PIVOT.

The answer, gentle reader, is the Geek-A-Long sweater.

[Pictured Above: Eight Bit by Megan-Anne, which raised $2,990 for Child’s Play Charity during their Annual silent auction.]

Let me be clear before everyone panics and you guys swing by The Torches ‘N’ Pitchforks Emporium on your way to our studio. The Geek-A-Long blanket is not dead and the sweater format is not taking its place. We just need an extended hiatus and, more importantly, the time to update over 250 patterns.

For a while now, I’ve been meaning to overhaul the formatting of the old GAL square patterns, especially the ones from 2015. No matter how hard I try, the very daunting project always ends up at the bottom of my To-Do List and gets shoved to next week. But next week never comes.

NEXT WEEK HAS ARRIVED.

The 2021 Geek-A-Long is bringing a lot of new and fun changes while keeping the traditions alive. Here are the nitty-gritty details you need to know:

Starting on January 3rd, we will update and discuss an old pattern or two every Sunday for 20 weeks. We have a lot of content out there that people don’t know about. Heck, sometimes we forget that we’ve already covered a certain fandom. So, I think this will be a great opportunity to revisit our old stomping grounds while also making sure the revamp stays at the top of my To-Do List.

[Pictured Above: Eight Bit by Megan-Anne, which raised $2,990 for Child’s Play Charity during their Annual silent auction.]

KNIT A NERDY SWEATER

During the second half of the year, Megan-Anne will host a second Geek-A-Long Sweater KAL! She had a blast with 8-Bit, and she’s coming back with more this year. We’ll be releasing the theme and details of the sweater on Sunday, May 23rd of 2021. We’re excited for the opportunity to diversify what the GAL stands for and flex our designing muscles for charity.

Much like the traditional GAL and 8-Bit, the 2021 Geek-A-Long Sweater will feature several different fandoms centered around one theme. Here is what I am allowed to tell you now:

• On Sunday, May 23rd of 2021, Megan-Anne will debut the theme along with the pattern details that you will need in order to cast on and Geek-A-Long with us.
• It will feature double knitting.
• It will be a cardigan.
• The pattern will be divided up into 24 parts and will spread over as many weeks, making it easy for you to knit a nerdy sweater along with us this year.
• The kick-off party begins Sunday, June 13th, when the first piece of the pattern will be released.
• In addition to being available here on our website, Geek-A-Long the Sweater will also be available for you to download for free on Raverly and will update every Sunday with a new piece of the pattern until its completion.
• The last portion of the pattern will be released on November the 21st and the final photos of the project will debut the following Sunday.

[Pictured Above: Eight Bit by Megan-Anne, which raised $2,990 for Child’s Play Charity during their Annual silent auction.]

In addition to all of that, we are dusting off our old YouTube channel and giving it a facelift. In 2021, we’re planning to release knitting 101 tutorials for all the lurkers out there so they can finally start knitting. We’ll also be launching the Geek-A-Long Academy, which will prepare you to cast on your first GAL square and/or prepare you for the insanity that will be the 2021 GAL Sweater. The GAL Academy will also touch on other double knitting techniques as well such as extreme double knitting. We’ve already started filming, but if there are any other techniques you’d like us to cover, whether it be how to read a Brioche chart or how to manage your floats when doing stranded knitting, let us know in the comments below! So far we are optimistic about turning Tuesdays into Tutorial Tuesdays, so tells us what you want to see.

And that’s what we have going on in 2021!

~Jac

There is some contention over the use of a theme song. I keep trying to reign Megan-Anne in and tell her I’ll only consider it for our longer discussion videos, but she is the one with the editing magic. So if there is a wacky theme song and you’re like, “What the fuck is this?” Know that I tried to stop it and failed.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider making a donation to Child’s Play Charity. Here is a direct link to our official donation page 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.