Announcing the 2023 Temperature Snake CAL
I’m so excited to reveal the year-long 2023 crochetalong that I’ve been planning for over a year now! Click here to be notified as soon as this CAL is ready for signups… UPDATE: Sign up now! UPDATE: The CAL may be over, but the complete Temperature Snake pattern and workbook are now available! Click here for details >>
You’ve probably heard of temperature blankets or scarves, where you crochet or knit one row per day to represent the temperature that day. The Temperature Snake is an amigurumi-style riff on that concept!
After crocheting the amigurumi-style head for your snake, its body will progress throughout the year, with one stripe per day representing the maximum temperature of that day.
Choose Your Own Adventure
I’ll show you how to choose a temperature range that suits your climate, and design a colour scheme around your favourite amigurumi yarns. Use a traditional colour scheme, or one that suits your taste. I’ll give you guidance with each step as we create your personalized temperature/colour chart that you’ll use throughout the year as your snake progresses.
I’ve designed the Temperature Snake pattern with several options you can choose between to create a completely custom snake, and I’ve crocheted two samples over 2022 so you can get an idea of how all the options look:
- Two different snake sizes (full sized, or the faster 3/4 sized)
- Two different lengths (one round per day, or one every other day for a shorter snake)
- Two ideas to get you started for colour schemes (the classic rainbow, or red-hot to blue-cold)
- Two different tongues (the easier full-sized tongue, or the more realistic slender tongue)
You can get adventurous and mix-and-match any of these options to create your snake, or copy them all from your favourite of my sample snakes.
Getting Started
Head Start: Although the temperature logging can only begin on New Year’s Day 2023, the pre-CAL will start in early December, so you can get started early by choosing which snake pattern you’ll use, selecting your colour scheme, buying your yarn, and making your snake’s head, so you’ll be ready to get going with the temperature stripes as soon as 2023 arrives.
New Year Start: You can also start the CAL on the official start date of Jan 1st. This is the first day you’ll start logging the daily maximum temperature. (By the way, you don’t need to crochet every day, provided you either keep a note of the temperature, or use a website where you can look it up after the fact.)
Late Start: If you jump into the CAL later, you can either catch up on the days you missed, or choose your time range starting later than Jan 1st – it’s up to you!
Community Fun
The Temperature Snake CAL will be most fun for you if you join us in one of the PlanetJune groups on Ravelry or Discord. (If you’re new to the PJ Community, I’ve just made a new ‘Join the PlanetJune Community’ page with an intro to Rav and Discord, the benefits of each, and links to join the PJ groups – please look there for help and guidance on getting set up.)
At first, we’ll help you decide on your temperature range and colours while we’re all planning our snakes. And throughout 2023 we’ll all be checking in regularly to post photos of our snakes’ progress, giving you accountability and encouragement to keep going, and compare how your snake’s colours are changing compared with everyone else’s.
If you’d prefer to fly solo, you can do that too. As with all PlanetJune pattern licences, I’m available for help by email, so if you want me to advise on your colours or temperature range, I’ll help you get set up. The CAL pattern will be updated several times with the next set of instructions, and I’ll email you each time it’s been updated, so you can log back in and download the new instructions!
Your One-of-a Kind Masterpiece
By the end of the year, you’ll not only have your own unique and personal snake, but also a copy of the complete stand-alone pattern (coming in early January 2024), including all the tips and FAQs that have come up throughout this CAL.
And then I’ll make a glorious gallery of all our 2023 Temperature Snakes, so we can fully appreciate the colourful results of this year-long project. How will our snakes vary across the world? I can’t wait to find out! The great thing about this CAL is that, although we don’t know in advance exactly how our snakes will turn out (and that’s part of the fun) I guarantee that they’re all going to look fantastic!
Will You Join Us?
If you’d like me to email you as soon as the Temperature Snake CAL is ready for signups, click here! Otherwise keep an eye on the blog – I’ll post here when everything is ready for you.? UPDATE: You can sign up now!
I hope you’ll join me in the PlanetJune community throughout 2023 as, day by day and round by round, we mark the progress of the year together as we each create our own colourful Temperature Snake!
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Suzanne Palmer-Holton said
I cannot see any indications of whether the instructions are in British or US terminology.
June said
Hi Suzanne, all PlanetJune patterns use standard (US) terminology. The ‘Terminology’ section at the start of each pattern explains all the abbreviations I use in the pattern, and gives conversions to UK terminology, so you can make my patterns no matter which terminology you’re most familiar with 🙂
See also my tips on terminology and how to convert amigurumi patterns.
Marque Todd said
Hi June,
This looks like so much fun – are you going to do the temperature snake CAL for 2024? Or can we buy the instructions to do our own in 2024?
Thanks!
Marque
June said
Hi Marque! I won’t be running it as an official CAL in 2024, but I’ll be releasing the full pattern before the end of this year so you’ll be able to make a 2024 snake on your own. (And you’re welcome to join one of them PJ groups and share your progress throughout the year – we’ll be happy to cheer you on, and there will probably be some other people making 2024 snakes too!)
You can either buy the CAL pattern now (all CAL participants will be upgraded to the full pattern once it’s released) or wait and just buy the complete pattern once it’s available – check back here or sign up for my newsletter so you won’t miss hearing about it 🙂
Emily Medley said
How do I buy the pattern?
June said
Hi Emily, you can find the complete Temperature Snake pattern and accompanying workbook at www.planetjune.com/tempsnake 🙂
Pam Locascio said
When will the tracking page for April – June be available? I’m a bit behind on crocheting my snake but I have been diligent about recording the high temperature for each day. I should be able to get caught up now that I have finished and delivered the baby blanket I was also working on.
June said
Coming today or tomorrow, Pam! Look out for my email – I’ll let you know as soon as it’s ready for you to download 😊
Pam Locascio said
Thank you, June! I’m determined to get caught up as soon as possible now that my other big project is finished, and really looking forward to seeing the color changes the next three months will bring!
Kathy Biallas said
My son wanted his temperature snake right away and asked me to make it with 2022 data. So now I’ve finished the body, but I’m awaiting instructions for the tail. Is there any estimate of when that portion will be available? Thank you so much!
June said
Hi Kathy! I’m sorry – as this is a year-long CAL, the Temperature Snake tail instructions won’t be available until December, when we get to the tail and tongue.
If you can’t wait until then, you can wing it using my Snake Collection pattern – how you do that depends on the size (diameter) of snake you made:
In either case, you’ll have to decide at which point to stop making stripes and go into the tail colour (and resume working in continuous spiral rounds). The dates and specific patterns for each size and length of snake, and instructions for the transition, will be included in the real pattern, but that’ll only be available when we get that point in the CAL!
And the tongue pattern is the same as for the Snake Collection pattern, so you can do the tongue right now if you bought the multipack of both patterns.
PS – If you didn’t buy the Temperature Snake and Snake Collection multipack and now wish you had, email me and we can sort something out 🙂
Pam Sandlin said
SnaKE cal
June said
Did I make a typo?
Christine Marsden said
Am I still able to join this cal? Sounds like fun
June said
Absolutely, Christine! The CAL runs all year and you can join at any point throughout the year. You can either catch up on the days you’ve missed (that’ll be very easy if you’re joining in January – it’s very quick to make each stripe), or start your temperature logging on the day you begin your snake – it’s up to you!
Anne Bipes said
Hi, I ran across you Temp Snake CAL, and before I sign up, I was wondering if you include a technique for changing colors so it’s not obvious on each round?
My daughter raises and breeds snakes, so this will be a fun gift to make for her.
TIA,
Anne
June said
Hi Anne! Yes, I’ve developed an absolutely undetectable striping technique for this pattern – you can find the instructions at www.planetjune.com/stripes 🙂
Christy Tschopp said
I am looking forward to trying this! I have signed up to be notified when I can sign up for it. I will probably need some help with choosing yarn and colors. I’m in NC and we get some crazy weather here. We had temps almost in the 80s this past November.
June said
The pattern will include lots of help for choosing yarn colours, and I’ll also be available in both PlanetJune groups to help you decide on yarn and get your temperature scale set up!
Vicky V said
Ty for this great idea. I never did finish my temperature blanket!
The snake is a great idea!
Judy Carlson said
I love this so much! Please sign me up!
Pat said
I would love to join your CAL snake group.
.: petrOlly :. said
Oh, this sounds fantastic! I have already subscribed and am curious about the mystery. Also, I love the colours of your snakes. I already started to think about making the snake in (almost) all colours of Catania (there are around 100), and not according to temperature but just going through all shades. Hopefully it wouldn’t end up thin like an earthworm – you know how thin Catania is and how small my projects usually end up being. But I’m more than willing to try! 🙂
Glee salveson said
Yes please sign me up for snake.
June said
Okay, I’ll add you to the notification list too – you’ll get an email when it’s ready for signups 🙂
Naomi Appleby said
yes please to CAL temp snake 🙂
June said
Great, Naomi, I’ll add you to the notification list too! (Everyone: you can also just click the link at the top or bottom of the above post to sign up to be notified!)
Elizabeth said
I would like join this project…
June said
That’s great, Elizabeth! I’ll add you to the notification email list, so I can email you when signups are open.
Susan Pihl said
This sounds like so much fun. I always wanted to make a temperature “something “, but they always seemed too time consuming or complicated. I can’t wait to start! ?
Jody said
I love this! All the fun of a temperature blanket with a fraction of the work! Just trying to be realistic about how many I can do at once for my four grandchildren! Wouldn’t it be fun to do the temps for the first year of their life?
June said
Yes! I was thinking that commemorative snakes that are personalized with the temperatures from a special year would be a lovely – and completely unique! – gift.
(And btw I think the hardest part about making multiple snakes at once would be to not get them muddled! I’d recommend giving each one a different coloured head so you can keep them straight.)
Michele said
I am totally doing the first year of life for each of my grandkids. I already have the temps for the 4-year-old. I’m starting on her birthday. I actually found the snake cal because I was looking for something that wouldn’t take forever to make.
I’ll be making 3 snakes. A 2023 one, one for my granddaughter’s first year, and one for my grandson’s first year. I’m excited!
Nancy Faraday said
OMG!!!!! I am so excited. This has tickled my funnybone!!!! I can’t wait to start!!!!
Ruthann Bull said
I have to laugh at this and I do think I will make one. I hate snakes and my granddaughter (5) years old knows this. I’m going to make this and give it to her. I’m going to a brave old grandma. It is such a cute idea. Thanks for doing this.
June said
Ruthann, she will love that you did this for her! And also, PlanetJune snakes are all the friendly non-venomous kind… you can think of them as lizards without legs if that helps ?