A Plate Full of Mystery

A few months ago, I heard of a CAL/KAL (Crochet-a-long or Knit-a-long) for the first time. That's brilliant! I thought. Not only is it a great way for designers to get their patterns on peoples hooks/needles, its a way to build community among crafters.

Then, I heard of something even more brilliant. A MYSTERY Crochet/Knit-A-Long. As clues are released (usually spaced out within a month) you get more of the pattern, and you don't know what it will look like until it's done!

In my excitement, I signed up for not one, but two Mystery craft-a-longs. The first one is an amigurumi crochet-a-long, put on by Stacey at FreshStitches. (You can see it for yourself here).

I have never done any amigurumi, and honestly I couldn't see myself ever getting into crocheting stuffed animals (unless I had a baby/child), but the mystery really got to me. The idea of a mystery object in three dimensions! I couldn't resist.

You'll definitely hear more on my first foray into that kind of crochet at a later date, though I don't expect to run into any problems because Stacey does a great job of providing tutorials and support for her patterns.

The second one, I stumbled upon completely by accident. It is a knit-a-long for a mystery shawl! You can find information on this one here, on Ravelry. The first clue for this was released yesterday and I've already started! I don't want to spoil the mystery, but I'm going to show an itty bitty smidgeon of what I've done, just so I can show off the yarn I am using!

I am in love with this yarn. I picked it up at Michael's, and did not realize when I bought it that it would make this awesome blending effect! It caught my eye at first because it has colors with all kinds of hues, but they are just slightly dulled, so I can wear a rainbow-colored shawl without looking like a fruitcake.

The colorway, since it isn't visible in the picture, is "clover colors". To me, that doesn't imply 'rainbow' at all, but whatever! I'm not complaining.

I am not really a shawl-wearing person-- I have a really low tolerance for cold so I usually forgo the dainty shawls and head straight for the heavy-duty coats--but I will either find a way to wear this one, or perhaps gift it to my mother for Christmas.

So, my questions for today are: have you ever participated in a Craft-A-long before? What did you enjoy the most? Anything you didn't like?