Lorna & NDS update

I love reading, I read every night when I go to bed as it helps me wind down and go to sleep, its my only real hobby outside what I do for a living.
I'm a big fan of historical literature, especially Victorian novels.
So when we came to live on Exmoor I knew we were moving into Lorna Doone country.

Lorna Doone is a victorian novel, set about 6 or 7 miles away from where we live.
The story is a breathtaking romance, and well worth the effort of reading.
But if you don't fancy the read, there have also been several films and tv series made.

So I decided I really needed to make a shawl for Lorna, its wild and windswept on the moor and she would need something to keep her warm.

Her shawl would have to be made in Exmoor Horn, or one of the Exmoor mules (cross breed sheep).
I'm going to make a test shawl in one of our Great British yarns and then get some Exmoor/?? to use for the real thing. I'm using Zwartbles/Wensleydale.
Last night I started crocheting Lorna's shawl and this morning I don't want to do anything else except crochet..
Not very good photo's, but I'm sure you'll get the idea.

But today is update day, so I can't!
Most of the yarn is Dazzle (Sock, HT and DK)
And it will be HERE at 7 pm tonight
Don't forget our YARN of the WEEK will also be revealed.

Originally there was a lot of Precious lace, but unfortunately for you we had a big wholesale order in over night and its now destined for a shop.

I'm also going to publish Ermintrude, she will be available as a kit or pattern.

RSI & new projects.

I've just finished crocheting 2 blankets in 6 weeks.
The first is Ermintrude, whose pattern will be published in Thursday's NDS update.
There will also be kits available.
Or you could get a head start and start collecting GODIVA MERINO SINGLES DK now.
She takes 9 skeins of Paracombe and 9 skeins of mixed colours.

I'm not 100% happy with the main photo, so I'll be taking more later.

The second is a secret blanket that will be published in a magazine soon, I'll tell you where and when later.
Last week it was half finished and I had a deadline of 10 days to finish crocheting, write the pattern and get it sent to the magazine.
So I spent 4 days sitting on the sofa crocheting like a mad woman.
The result is a mild case of RSI and a finished blanket that I'm really pleased with :-)
So the RSI doesn't really matter.

I finished on sunday afternoon, so had sunday night to sit and play and see what I could come up with.
After hours of playing and swatching I came up with nothing.
I guess I was all crocheted out and was totally blank as to what to do next.
All the colours I put together looked rubbish and the motifs were just the same old thing I had done a million times before.

But I'm glad to say yesterday was a much better day.
Last night I played with swatches for the new magical mystery blanket club, I chose the colours or rather the colours chose themselves.
I have several persian carpets, my all time favourite is a small slightly grotty anitique carpet, but its a Turkmen nomadic carpet and is over 100 years old and dyed with natural dyes.
I like to look at it and wonder where it has been and who used it.
I'm afraid I don't have a photo, I really must take some.

My other 2 favourites are modern carpets chemically dyed and only about 20/30 years old.

Both have very modern exciting designs and lovely colour schemes, so I have decided to use them as inspiration for the club blanket and use the same colour palettes.
They are slightly different palattes, so I have plenty to choose from.

There will be lots more about the club as soon as I get my ideas and designs into order

Colouring

Its designing day today and I am sitting on the floor with my laptop colouring in charts on photoshop.
I love colouring in.
Give me a piece of graph paper and some colours and I will spend hours and hours playing.

My eldest daughter Felice is an artist, when she saw my colourings for the first time she said I should publish them as works of art on the internet. She is a painter, but has done a lot of computer art as well.
I don't really think they are interesting enough on their own to publish, as they are all part of patterns.

But its made me think about the way I present my patterns.
I have come to the conclusion that I treat the whole pattern is a piece of art.
I'm very, very obsessive about what the finished pattern looks like, just ask my tec editor!
I could add more detail, but it wouldn't fit with the aesthetic.
Although the charts are a minor part of the pattern they are also one of the most important parts for me.

Maybe the reason I love designing blankets so much is that it gives me the chance to do lots of colouring in.

Anyway back to the colouring for me :-)

Oooops I forgot

To tell you about this weeks update, which went on-line last night.

The featured yarn is Stardust, Merino/silk/stellina 2 ply Lace.
Its one of our wholesale yarns, but we thought you might like a little treat, so have done an update for you.
Its not a yarn I normally crochet with, as I'm not keen on lace.
But its sparkly and pretty and lovely to use.
http://www.thenaturaldyestudio.com/yarn-of-the-week-359-c.asp

The kit of the week is Iris crochet scarf, as I've had a week of thinking about rainbows I thought Iris would be appropriate.
As I write this post there are 5 kits left, I wonder if they will last the week.
http://www.thenaturaldyestudio.com/iris-scarf-kit-7612-p.asp