Mystery Knit-a-long and Facebook Groups

I have become a knitter since moving to Seattle. In November of 2015, I learned to knit and I took as many classes as I could to become more proficient at it. I’m still new at it, but it is easier to look up terms now as needed.

This year I decided to participate in a Mystery Knit-A-Long (MKAL) in December. It’s fun…each day we open a box and it either has a knitting item relevant to the project or yarn. If it has yarn, we look at the pattern and work the pattern for that day.

It’s a MYSTERY knit-a-long. That means you won’t see a picture to know what it is supposed to look like until after it is done. All we know is that we are making a shawl. We all know how people are…some work faster than others and some slower. Some have time to knit when it begins or some are in the middle of Christmas projects and need to wait.

The company that the kit is from created a Facebook page for the MKAL. People joined the Facebook group and immediately people start posting their progress. They are excited.

I totally get it and love seeing people’s work. I wouldn’t have joined the Facebook group if I didn’t want to see progress. I knew by joining that the mystery part might be spoiled. I was good with that.

OMG people were livid:

“People shouldn’t be posting their progress for days prior to the day we are on.”

“You just ruined the whole project for me and I’m not sure I want to do the pattern now.”

For pete’s sake people…you joined a FACEBOOK group. What did you think was going to happen? I saw this coming before I even joined the group.

I get that it is a mystery knit-a-long, but if the mystery part was so important to you; you should never have joined a Facebook group. You should have worked the MKAL until you were done and then popped in. Btw, there were several people who joined the Facebook group after they were done.

I guess some people just don’t think ahead.

Here is the completed shawl…I think the colors really pop: