THE DAILY CHUM

The biggest question on KnitWars so far has been how any one knitter’s adventures fit in with the existing/listed adventures. So to help, here’s a handy-dandy listing of each adventure so far, and what all is involved in each — and how to take the points.

First of all, every adventure starts with a code. Either K, C, or S, or a combination of the three. Those stand for:

K – Knitting
C – Crochet
S – Spinning

So if something says “KCS”, it means that the adventure is for all three, or if it’s just an “S”, then it’s probably spinning-specific.

That said, then we’re on to the idividual adventures. We’ll start from the top:

K – complete personal proj not covered 50XP
This is for projects you turn into a FO (finished object) that aren’t listed. Finish a pair of baby booties for your boss’s baby shower? Take these points. (proj is project, of course — there’s a limit to the number of characters you can have in the headings.)

K – completing the first sock of a pair 50 XP
Just like it sounds, you gain this XP when you finish the first sock of a pair. Then you should probably go have some cookies, because a sock is quite an undertaking, and you obviously RULE the knitsticks.

K – completing the second sock of a pair 100 XP
Take these points when you finish the second sock. Yes, that means it needs to be kitchenered or bound off before you’re eligible to take the points. And it’s a *lot* of points — which should help with Second Sock Syndrome…or even cure it entirely.

K – knitting The Cursed Item Of Breaking Up 50 XP
This one was added by a user before the no-adding rule, and could probably fall under the FO, below, but is more specific to those items you knit for your significant other, who then is supposedly prone to suddenly breaking up with you.

KC – completing an item for charity 50 XP
Charity knitters, heads up! Whether it’s a sweater, a scarf, or a stuffed toy — you get 50 EXTRA points for donating your time and mad yarn skillz to charity. Take these points in ADDITION to any points you make for finishing an object. The world needs more giving souls like you.

KC – dancing with Sir Frogsalot 50 XP
You have those days, *I* have those days, we *all* have them. Those days when you’ve been knitting along and all of a sudden…frog puke. It’s a mystery of modern science how a progressing knitted object transmutates into a tangled mess of ick, but if you end up having to rip it all back out and start over from scratch, take these points. And my sympathies.

KC – doing one lace repeat 5 XP
Lace hurts your brain. Well, unless you’re an amazing Knitter-with-a-capital-K. Knit a lace repeat, and take some experience points. You’ve earned it.

KC – editing patterns/yarn on Ravelry 5 XP
Another user-added adventure meant to encourage Ravelry members to volunteer to help the owners maintain the impressive number of yarns and patterns on the site database. They can always use more help, and it’s a good way to get involved. Take these points once per day of editing.

KC – finishing a gauge swatch 2 XP
What’s the one thing we’re supposed to do as knitters that we DON’T do, consistently, that would make our knitting go better? Knit a swatch. Here’s some encouragement — 2 XP for every swatch you make, even the failed ones.

KC – FO Disaster 50 XP
Oh, dude. Remember that one time, when you made that great sweater and you sped through it and you loved it so much, and then you tried it on…only to find that the neck opening was about six millimeters smaller in diameter than your thick pate? It’s like that. Take the points. You’ll need them. Along with a shot of gin, most likely.

KC – photographing 5 items of stash for ravelry 2 XP
Meant to help encourage you to catalogue your stash, this isn’t so much about ravelry as it’s about organization. (And face it, if you’re not on Ravelry or in the Ravelry queue ALREADY…you will be. Resistance is futile. And you might as well be prepared for when you *do* get your invite.)

KC – rolling all project skeins into balls 5 XP
Sometimes, I just look at the pattern for the project I want to knit, and then at the skeins of yarn waving at me temptingly, and the thought of having to wind all those balls of yarn is so daunting that I have a little lie down until the urge passes. Here are 5 extra XP for you if you buck up and get to winding.

KC – trying a new skill 20 XP
Does fair isle scare you? Cables? Lace? Turning the heel on a sock? Does casting on with a new method make you sleep fitfully the night before? Are you a DPN girl who hasn’t yet tried the Magic Loop? Try something completely new, and get 20 XP.

KC- mitering one square 5 XP
Another one that was user-entered, and probably falls under another category (and thus, may eventually disappear). For those of you making mitered square items, finishing one can feel a little like an accomplishment all in itself. Take 5 XP for this, or take the 5 XP for finishing one unit/repeat further down the list, but not both.

KC-casting on a new project 2XP
Let’s face it — some of us have problems finishing things. And if you’re one of those with chronic Start-itis, you might start feeling like you’re rolling Sisyphus’s ball up that hill. Give yourself 2 extra XP for each thing you start and try out, and start your way to FO glory.

KCS – attending a stitch n’ bitch 10 XP
Fiber is a social activity. When you attend groups and knitting circles and stitch n’ bitches, you’re helping uphold a social framework that’s been around a lot longer than most of us have been alive. Give yourself 10 XP for each meeting you attend, in ADDITION to the points you earn by knitting while you’re there. (If you run the meeting, you can still take the 10 XP for it, too.)

KCS – clearing out the stash 30 XP
Remember those balls of metallic eyelash yarn you bought a few years back to make one of those fabulous fun fur scarves that are now so out of style that you’d almost prefer you didn’t remember forever? They remember you. So does the scratchy 1970’s acrylic monstrosity your aunt gave you and the ball of wool that was much prettier in the store than it ever will be again, and the mohair that your dog drooled kool-aid onto. Evict them from your stash, make it all pretty and usable, and take 30XP for your bravery in the face of Stash.

KCS – completing a UFO less than one year old 50 XP
If there’s a UFO in your closet from last fall that you haven’t done something to — knit the last sleeve, seamed in all the ends, put on a buttonband…whatever it is… — and you finish it? FIFTY WHOPPIN’ POINTS. Because it’s good to finish things. Same with anything you’re currently working on — finish it, get some points. Take EITHER these points or the sock points (if your FO is a sock), but not both.

KCS – completing a UFO MORE than a year old 100 XP
Same song as the last one, but with objects that have been sitting there staring you in the face and biting at your psyche for longer than a year. In addition to that elated feeling for finishing something you’ve been putting off for so long, you also get a HUNDRED POINTS. Seriously.

KCS – listening to Lime and Violet 2 XP
You know this one had to be there. Every episode gets you two XP. We’re nothing if not opportunists, see.

KCS – minor goal-ing (one repeat, one square) 2 XP
Making a multi-step project? Or something big that requires a lot of little victories along the way? Reward yourself with XP as you go.

KCS – organizing related supplies 10 XP
Got a needle disaster going on in your suppy bag or shelf? Or a tangle of patterns that make it hard to find what you need? Get organized; get XP.

KCS – posting to a fiberblog with pictures 5 XP
Sharing with others is part of what makes this community great. Post a picture of your most recent WIP and get chatty with the natives, and take 5 XP.

KCS – stash enhancment acquisitioning 5 XP
Did you find new yarn that sings to your soul? Did a ball just happen to follow you home from the LYS? Give yourself some points for re-energizing your stash with goodies.

KCS – winning roll against buying new yarn 5 XP
The converse of above; when you go visit your favorite store’s update, and find that you RESISTED, VALIANTLY…you totally deserve XP for your restraint.

KCS – working for 15 minutes 5 XP
Sometimes, there are no repeats. It’s just mindless stockinette for six zillion rows until you FINALLY get to some shoulder shaping or the same garter stitch pattern over and over again until the scarf’s done. That’s what this adventure is for — counting up those knitting times you are working in the endless black hole and persevering. And being rewarded, of course. Take either these points OR the repeat points, not both.

KCS – working for an Hour 20 XP
Same as the above, only in one hour increments. Otherwise, you have to click that fifteen minute button four times, which is tedious after your fingers have just worked for an hour on knitting. Either this one OR the repeats, not both.

S – completing enough for a project 50 XP
Whether that project is a scarf, a sweater, or a hat — give yourself credit for spinning up enough fiber that you can use it for a project. (And then use it. Just sayin’.)

S – finishing some fiber 20 XP
Sometimes, you’re just spinning to be spinning. And that’s fabulous, too. So is stashbusting the spinning-fiber stash. So when you finish a bag or a braid, give yourself 20 XP.

S – learning a new skill 20 XP
Whether it’s navajo plying or learning to make novelty coils or just trying a new type of fiber you’ve never tried before — you deserve some XP.

S – predrafting new fiber 5 XP
Much like the knitters’/crocheters’ winding yarn into balls, sometimes predrafting seems to be just one more mountain to climb before you can get to the spinning. Take some XP for taking that first step!

more to come, as adventures are added.

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