NatCroMo 2017 - Day 3 Amanda Perkins

Hi NatCroMo visitors

Its been a very busy year, I've published an awful lot of crochet patterns since I last talked to you.

I've been self publishing my pdf crochet patterns for about 12 years, but in October 2016 my first real book was published.
There are two versions of the book, Rainbow Crocheted Blankets written in UK terms and Rainbow Crocheted Afghans written in US terms.

I'm delighted to say the book has become a bestseller and the UK version is already on its third reprint.
The book is loosely based on the rainbow and is more about colour than crochet technique, it features patterns for 10 crochet blankets made in 4 ply and DK.
The patterns contain lots of yarn information, coloured charts, step by step instructions and 2 colour variations for each blanket.

The UK version of the book is for sale in my Etsy shop, as a NatCroMo special I am running a prize draw.
If you buy one of my patterns from my Etsy shop during March 2017 you will be automatically entered into the draw, the first 2 names out of the hat will receive a signed copy of the UK terms version of my book.
You can find my Etsy shop "Amanda Perkins Crochet" HERE
You can find the US terms version on Amazon HERE

Just a quick note to say if you scroll to the bottom of this post, you can find another NatCroMo special ;-)

So without further ado here are the book blankets, I've written blog post about each blanket, just click on the blanket photo's to find out the story of the blankets.

CROP CIRCLES 

SOLSTICE

LILIAN

ARABIAN NIGHTS

KNOT GARDEN

FLYING GEESE

MIRAGE

FLOWER POWER

ROSE WINDOW

LIBERTY

I finished writing the book in December 2015 and went into overdrive designing and publishing 8 new blanket patterns during 2016 ..... phew.... :-)

All the new designs featured a simple circle in a square motif, I spent the whole year experimenting with colour which is the thing I enjoy most about crochet.

EXMOOR STARS

The first three blankets were inspired by the Exmoor Night Skies, Exmoor is a International Dark Sky reserve and the night sky's are spectacular. 

You can buy the patterns individually or all 3 are published in a e-book - HERE

FOXGLOVES

The second set of blankets were inspired by the wild foxgloves that grow on Countisbury hill, I can see the hill from my bedroom window and is one of my favourite dog walks.

Again the patterns are all published separately and also in a e-book which you can find HERE

  SCRUMPTIOUS BUBBLES & SEVERN SEA

The final 2 blankets have different layouts and inspirations, both of them use specific yarns, however as with all my designs you can use which ever yarn you wish.

You can find Scrumptious Bubbles - HERE and Severn Sea - HERE

And now that you have reached the end of my blog post here is my second NatCroMo offer.
Buy one of my crochet patterns on Ravelry and get a second one free, the offer includes all my e-books.
Simply put your 2 patterns in your cart, add the following code at checkout and you will only have to pay for one of them.
The code is NatCroMo17
And you can find my Ravelry patterns HERE
The code is valid until April the 1st and you can use it as many times as you want.

Happy camping & crocheting and maybe see you next year.
Love Amanda

Rose Window - Story of a Crochet Blanket

The 10th and last blanket from my book Rainbow Crochet Blankets is Rose Window.
(You can find the book on Etsy HERE)

Rose Window was my grand finale, and finished a few weeks before my deadline, however I stupidly made it round which made it impossible to get a good photo and so didn't get the love or have the wow factor it deserved.
It was inspired by stained glass rose windows found in Gothic cathedrals and contained yarn from all my indie dyer friends.

Rather than choose the colours before I started I decided to work them out as I crocheted, I love working this way as I never know what the finished blanket is going to look like. I start of with a basic layout plan and colour it in as I go.
I had a lots of false starts and really struggled to get the colours right, so there was an awful lot of frogging involved.
In a way I find frogging quite satisfying as I end up with a pile of scrappy dog ends that I refuse to throw away, I want to use every last little bit, if its more than 30 inches I keep it for another day.
I keep my dog end scraps in little bags patiently waiting for the right blanket to come along.

Wip photo's

Finished photo's

As you can see Rose Window belongs on a wall (or flat on the floor), I've learnt my lesson no more circular blankets for me!! :-)

Flying Geese - Story of a Crochet Blanket

Flying Geese is the 9th blanket in my book Rainbow Crocheted Blankets, which you can find in my Etsy shop - HERE

Flying Geese was inspired by the traditional American quilt block of the same name.

I love the colours and shapes used in traditional quilts, they share a common purpose to crochet blankets and so there is a crossover between the 2 crafts.

It is claimed Flying Geese quilts were hung on washing lines as part of the Underground Railroad Quilt Code; the Underground Railroad was a network of secret routes used by American slaves to escape the southern states where slavery was legal to the free northern states and Canada in the north.

The points of the triangles (Geese) pointed in the direction that the slaves should travel on their secret journey north.

Even if this is just a myth, it’s nice to imagine that a quilt could not only be comfort against the cold but also helpful as tool against slavery.

I love the idea that a quilt's could point the slaves to their freedom and wonder who my blanket is trying to aid and what/where its pointing to.

I used about 18 different colours, the blanket design is consists of stripes, the stripes slowly change colour from top to bottom, giving the blanket a very subtle sense of movement.

Wip photo's

 I really struggled to get the colours right, so there was an awful lot of frogging involved :-)

As per usual Billy performed his comfort control tests.

Finished photo's