Hello November!November is "National Knit a Sweater Month" month aka, NaKniSweMo! This challenge runs alongside NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), a challenge to... well, if you can't figure it out, I can't help you.For the sweater challenge, all you have to do is complete a sweater with a minimum of 50,000 stitches by November 30th. Most adult sweaters knit with DK or Worsted weight yarn probably fit the bill. Smaller yarn - DK, Sport, Fingering - are a pretty solid win with the stitches but larger yarn might be a little sketchy. When in doubt, swatch it out. The start date is (or shall I say... 'was') November 1st, so anything cast-on prior to this date is not eligible for prizes. Not concerned with prizes? Then you should totally knit along in solidarity. The prize is a sweater. Finished in a month! INsanity!I am participating for the first time this year. My plan of action was to stick to something basic but with enough interesting 'things' happening to keep my interest.  Twist Collective 2012, Image © Carrie Bostick HogeMy original plan was to knit Berwick by Kristin Rengren which is a Twist Collective pattern from November 2012. Sooo cute. And the styling in the picture above is the BIZness. I picked this pattern because a) it's knit in the round (win!), b) it's knit on larger needles (not so much of a win for me... but speedier), c) it's knit with Aran weight yarn, and d) well... it's super cute. Totally my steelo. Long story short, my plan was to substitute yarn. I was going to use Malabrigo Rios which is supposedly Worsted (I think), but I wasn't getting gauge at all. I've also been on the fence with Rios as it is more variegated than I like (variegated with white)... and that means absolutely nothing as I just simply don't like variegated yarn across the board.                        Calligraphy Cardigan by Hannah Fettig, Image ©Laurie SavardIn lieu of spending countless hours reworking the pattern, I decided to focus my energy on my back-up sweater, the very wearable Calligraphy Cardigan by Hannah Fettig, which I've had queued since November 2012 and have had the yarn and pattern purchased since about June 2013. Only one year in the stash. Not bad.    Calligraphy was my back-up mostly because I knew that stockinette stitch, not knit in the round, would slow me down tremendously. I'm not adverse to purling, but purling is more taxing on my wrists with the additional hand movements. Well... the way I purl I suppose. Getting gauge on the second try pretty much sealed the deal on this sweater for me.Really quick though... can we just drool over this sweater. It's everything I love in a sweater - long length (great for short torso girls!), deep ribbing on the sleeves and hem, clean lines, stockinette body, and knit with DK weight yarn, so it's body skimming, hugs in the right places, and doesn't add to much bulk, it's got the over-sized buttonband and collar which I cannot resist (very face and neck framing!), and it's also knit from the top down, so you can try it on as you go, if that is your thing.Here is week one's progress ~12,000 stitches (is that all?!):It will be interesting to see how many stitches it will take to finish this sweater. I'll admit that that may be more of the driving force behind me taking on this challenge. ;)I'm keeping things simple (per usual) and I'm tracking all my stitch counts in Excel - one column for the date, a column for the # of stitches i'm working across, a column to track the rows I've completed each day, a column to mark decreases/increases, a column to tally the day's total, and a row to sum up the total stitches knit so far. The spreadsheet gets modified periodically as I am still figuring out what works for me, but so far so good.Initially I thought keeping track with pen and paper would be easier, but Excel is definitely way more efficient (don't forget to hit save!). I was also initially keeping track of increases with stitch markers, but it's unnecessary as it's way easier to do this in Excel as well. (So now I have locking stitch markers for other projects!) I do have a daily goal of about 1,800 stitches, which I'm a little behind on. I plan on making up for it today (Sunday). I also started on the 2nd. It's all good though. Slow and steady wins the race here. For once, I am monogamous. I am still spinning (I've got a challenge to complete here too!), but this is the only item I'm currently knitting on. Progress is slow-going, but it's progress nonetheless. I'm enjoying the growth, little by little, and enjoying the simplicity of the pattern which allows me to binge-watch Gilmore Girls while I knit. This show was not my cup of tea when it was actually on air... what a difference a decade makes. If this challenge sounds interesting to you, it's still not too late to join in on the fun if you have already swatched for a sweater and were waiting for a reason to cast on! If you are ambitious and dedicated, I still don't think it's too late to get started. We are only 9 days into November. Keep it simple and set your daily goal. You can do it! Additional details on NaKniSweMo can be found here on Ravelry. For more information on NaNoWriMo, click here.Good luck to all participating!