My Plan & Ideas for #YALBingo2025 

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Last week, I noticed Lamoure & Knots (Erika’s IG & Threads) posting about #YALbingo2025 and was intrigued. I love community activities and am a fan of knitting from my yarn larder, so I joined.

#YALbingo2025

I am but a mere participant and in no way affiliated with this yarn-a-long, but I like to document my crafting activities here so I’m going to share my plan & ideas for #YALbingo2025. All the interactions are based in Discord and it’s free to participate, aside from personal expenses like desired patterns or supplies. It is quite straightforward and there is a very engaging and helpful Discord group for the Yarn-a-long. You select one of the prepared bingo cards and away you go. The rules were not complex and listed on each bingo card. The gist of them (for officially worded rules and to participate, contact Lamoure & Knots):

  • It can be done using crochet, knitting, or any combination.
  • No more than half the projects using for your bingo card can be WIPs, but those WIPs must not be over 60% complete and from 2024 or before.
  • To fulfil the stash yarn box, the yarn must be bought prior to the start of 2025. Honestly, I am hoping all my bingo projects are using stash yarn, even if only one can count toward checking off that box.
  • Four squares can be checked off by two projects, meaning they can satisfy two categories each.
  • When you finish a project, it doesn’t count until it has been shared in a specific Discord chat or on IG with the hashtag. Photos or it didn’t happen, right?
  • To be eligible for prizes, you must attend at least one zoom gathering per quarter and The participants are mostly in the United States with the first Zoom today at 6pm Pacific (2am Ireland).
  • Oh yes, and every row completed and shared in the Discord group gives you a chance at a quarterly prize and option for the grand prize.
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My Plan & Ideas

I was feeling a little overwhelmed not being able to visualise my project options, so I sat down and created a spreadsheet of options for each bingo square also noting difficulty, pattern ideas, and possible yarn I already own which could be used. I looked through my current What I Want to Knit list for inspiration.

Strategy was also considered so I could abide by the rules while also maximising opportunities, like For two projects, you can check off two bingo squares too, so I could imagine if it’s more useful to do that based on square location or project difficulty. In any case, this is a list of the bingo squares and the knitting project ideas I have for each. Which I will choose is still to be decided, but having this post to refer back to for my own information will be helpful, but there’s still time to join this year-long yarn-a-long, so maybe you’ll discover you want to jump in yourself. In my run-down of ideas below, I frequently mention a project counting toward double squares. I know this is only possible for two projects (four squares) total, but have not decided which ones yet.

This is also added incentive to properly organise (and maybe destash) my yarn larder a bit. I have it fairly well organised, butt he last time I reviewed it and photographed it (to log into my Ravelry stash) was at the start of the pandemic. I’m referring to yarnsub as needed to adapt to recommended yarn for patterns.

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Mini skeins

I am re-reading a post (How to Create Your Own Yarn Countdown Calendar with Leftover Sock Scraps) I wrote five years ago to guide me as I create a mini skein fade with spares I have in my stash. Patterns I’ve designed that are intended for mini skeins, plus a separate blog post with a massive organised list of mini skein patterns:

Ultraviolet Knits

From a Book

I love so many knitting books, but from Doodleknit I will possibly knit a hat with trees and Sasquatch. From Ultraviolet Knits, it would either be Midnight Waffles (which could double for Mosaic knitting too. two 100g skeins, 273yds/250m each) or the Rigel Cowl and Mitts (which could double for Accessory Duo too. cowl: 110g 240yds/219m. mitts: 100g 246yds/225m). Books I am considering:

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Accessory Duo

The Accessory Duo is any combo of hat, beanie, scarf, cowl, mitts, etc. The Rigel Cowl and Mitts would be a great combo for this bingo square or I’d knit the Firefly Hour Mitts and Altair Cowl in the same yarn to coordinate them together. The nature of the pattern would be best for a speckle or short stripe repeat, so I’ll keep that in mind as I sort my yarn this month. Otherwise, I’d use my friend Quirky Spools handspun for a hat & cowl combo. Which I have been very eager to knit and wear.

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Mosaic

I plan to knit Midnight Waffles for this bingo square. It is a fun and useful cowl that doubles as a headband/ear warmer. The sample I have from the book is a very bold UV-reactive pink, so I would knit one in subdued colorways to accentuate my Soft Autumn self. Generally, mosaic can also cover Colorwork so if you knit any of these then realize you need another pattern for the other square, these options are handy:

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Shawl

This one is a fun one because I have a few WIP shawls I’ve neglected in many moons, but also I’m looking at a shawl for the stripes square. Additionally, I could have it double for a lace square. But I often forget I’ve designed several shawls and they’re fun knits, so I’m putting them here so I consider them:

Trifecta Shawl, my own design being part of a MKAL to raise funds for AIDS/LifeCycle.

Stripes

I’m thinking of knitting either a pattern-free striped shawl I cast on a few years ago and frogged -or- an established pattern using multiple different DK yarns for more vibrant striping. Pattern ideas:

From Yellow to Violet

Stash Yarn*

This square will be easy for me to do since my goal is to use yarn from my stash for every project in the #YALbingo2025. It would be a simple one to check off or even use as part of a double check-off for a project, especially Mini Skeins.

lace shawl modelled

Lace

About 11 years ago, I started a lace shawl and I lost the yarn and never progressed further. I bought similarly dyed yarn at some point, but I didn’t have the stitch pattern by then. So this WIP has been neglected again and again. I’d love to finish it finally. But if I were to choose a new lacy shawl pattern to knit for this, I’d consider:

Jonna is knitting the Cassiopeia KAL | EvinOK

New to you technique

For me, this would be Hilja by Aleks Byrd (shown below) using Roosimine (Estonian Inlay technique), raglan sleeves, or possible levelling up my cable knitting skills. This square is a very likely one to be checked off by one project that satisfies two squares. Otherwise, learning pockets with Tembo by Carol Feller is a top contender since I have the pattern and the yarn. It is reassuring facing new techniques knowing a few years ago I would have been intimidated by a lace shawl (Cassiopeia Mini Skein Wrap shown above).

This Is Knit kit for pattern Hilja by Aleks Byrd

For You

I think if I knit Hilja by Aleks Byrd (shown above) it would be for me, but could also be a new to me technique. I already have several options of projects that could check off two boxes at once, so this isn’t essential for that purpose, but I have the kit for this project I bought from This Is Knit so I’d love to make use of it. I could double this up with a KAL if I do #SSK2025 (Sew Selfish)

5 Fair Isle Patterned Scarf Photo 2

Colorwork

The Mosaic options above work for this, but personally I think the Doodle Knit Directory is ideal for me to fulfil this bingo square. It is also stocked by This Is Knit in Dublin. This evening, I cast on a hat for my husband with the tree motif and a sneaky Sasquatch and sunrise. I knit quite a bit of the ribbing and worked on it during the first #YALbingo2025 zoom meetup. That could possibly also check off two squares with the Book square. But overall, here are all the options I’m considering for this:

Pink Onyx by Ayako Monier

Tee

This is likely going to be a double square check-off with Non-wool. Pattern ideas:

Needlework crafted mini pumpkins with a tiny string of star lights. Photo by Abigail Baines

Holiday

I previously wrote a blog post From Pumpkins to Raven Feathers: 50 Halloween Knitting and Crochet Patterns, so I referred to that for ideas, but am also considering other holidays like Christmas. Pattern ideas:

Sue Stratford Knitted Nessie

Amigurumi

I love this because for some reason I always felt the best Amigurumi was crochet, so I’m excited to challenge that inaccurate perception. Part of me is curious if I knit a tee for Frog or Toad if that counts toward the Tee square. I am considering:

Evin in Dingle at Dick Mack's | EvinOK.com

Free

This is an easy one. I have to double check if it is just empty and a given checked box, or if it can be any project.

Learn about the Trifecta Mystery KAL and how it'll work

Join KAL

I am considering a few options for this square, but also may host a Trifecta Shawl KAL over summer to promote the pattern since I’m donating all proceeds to AIDS LifeCycle this year (and likely the next three years). But here are a handful of the options:

Óg Premie Hat

Charity

I plan to use a Free Knitting Pattern for Premature Babies and donate at least one item (likely baby hat) a charity in Ireland accepting items. These can be donated to my local NICU ward or coordinated through Madhatter Knits.

Though I know there are also options if I end up knitting a hat for someone undergoing chemotherapy. I would check with Knots of Love, Hope Scarves, Delaware Head Huggers, The Heavenly Hats Foundation, Hatsgiving, MD Anderson Cancer Center, or my local oncology department to ask if they would be willing to accept a donation and if they would but do not have specific guidelines, I would follow the advice of Crochet for Cancer as they have a page of chemo cap patterns.

Complete a WIP

I have a few neglected WIPS this will be an easy square to find a project for. At least one of my WIPs is older than my second child. I also have project bags prepped with the yarn and pattern, but never cast on, so they wouldn’t technically be WIPs but they’ve been waiting for their chance in my hands. The top WIP contenders (because I know exactly where the project bag is) are:

Baby Knits | Barra Marled Hat | Country Living | EvinOK

Hold 2 strands together

Absolutely knitting another Barra Marled Hat for this square. They are fun, fairly easy, and make great baby gifts. The only other option for me in this square would be if I used mini skeins for a marled 2-strand project and staggered the shift of each mini skein for a cool colourful result.

Quilt inspired

I’m planning to crochet granny squares or knit squares using then stitch them together to be a squared tote bag. Inspired by this bag. I am not a strong hooker so this one will be a challenge to my skill set for sure. So, I’m considering:

Contrasting heel and toe on socks. Let’s talk about how fun that is. Evinok.com

For the feet

I do not knit socks. I worry that the day I start knitting socks, it will become a hobby in itself. So, I’m brainstorming what to knit for feet that isn’t socks. Maybe slippers or baby booties. I’m still rather lost for this square, but am eyeing:

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Non-wool (silk, cotton, bamboo)

This will be a good fit to overlap with the Tee square because I have a some lovely non-wool blends which would be so soft as a tee. I inventoried them when I wrote A List of Vegan Yarns for Knitting and Crochet. Options in my yarn larder include: Cottonease, Bluesky, Ondine, Abuelita, Lhasa, Denim, Droguerie, or Arucania. Alternatively, this would work for a hat for someone experiencing chemo hair loss or a washcloth. If I decide to do double squares for either of those, here are pattern ideas:

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Cables

Cables are not my jam, but I do enjoy them in small quantities. My friend Marseille can knit them like a goddess (see above Mollie Woodworth’s Eugenia’s Mittens). I have not decided on my options for this yet. I’m looking at options in Contemporary Irish Knits by Carol Feller of Stolen Stitches.

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Bulky weight yarn

Bulky could be checked off with WIP if I finally finish that Martina Cardigan. I’ve had a few inches done on the back for almost a decade so it’s time has come. Otherwise, I would opt for

Creative wrapping ideas for gifts. Evinok.com

A gift

This would be easy to check off with the Doodle Knits Sasquatch hat I just started for my husband. But there are also other gifts I could make so time will tell.

Enough blogging and time to get back to knitting. Here’s to my plan & ideas for #YALbingo2025 working out! If nothing else, I’m enjoying the community Lamoure & Knots (Erika’s IG & Threads) has created as well as the excuse to knit with purpose.

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