Cooking vs. knitting

Previously I mentioned watching the movie 'Julie and Julia', in which a woman vowed to cook every recipe in Julia Child's cookbook. Since then, I've been looking for a similar challenge, just for fun. This weekend, I picked my challenge, knitting.
I received a book titled "Viva Poncho' as a gift. It has 20 patterns for ponchos, capes and capelets. I have decided to knit every pattern in that book over the next year. I have a head start as I've already knit four of the patterns.
I'm sure there were some recipes Julie had to cook that she didn't especially like, but doing 'all' of them doesn't let you pick and choose. Similarly, there are a few patterns in the Viva Poncho book that aren't to my taste. For these, I will have to chose a prettier yarn, or a different texture to make the finished piece better.
I wonder if Julie substituted different ingredients in Julia's recipes? Is this cheating? or is it being creative?
In the movie, the woman kept a blog about her cooking. I suppose I could do that, but knitting isn't always as exciting as cooking. It's more of a meditative activity for me. I can imagine boring blog posts like "Today I knit two rows."
Of course, there will probably be some exciting times, like "today I had to rip out three inches.'
However, I suppose I will offer photos here of the finished projects, and an occasional post about my progress.
To start with, I am knitting a one-piece poncho called Carson. I am using Cascade 220 in a dark green heather and size five needles. This one will take a while, but it is the one that I have kept going back to the book to look at, wanting to make it.
At the very least, this project will help me put a dent in my overflowing yarn stash.