Book - Blanket no 2, post 1

You might remember I promised to share photo's and stories from my future book as I go along.

As a designer I find it really difficult not to show you everything I do and 2 years is a really long time for me to keep my blankets secret, but I (and my publishers) want this book to be something new and exciting and unseen.
I want to share because I am really excited with what I am doing, sometimes it might seem like the only reason I want to share photo's is for you to tell me how wonderful I am, but thats not the reason.
I share as your reactions help me gauge how good a design is.
If no one comments it normally means you don't like it and I need to re-think what I'm doing, if there are lots of good comments it means I've got it right and I can carry on in the direction I am going.

For example no one loved the Rising Sun, you loved this photo as it tells the story of Daisy finally finding her man and happiness, but you didn't comment or "love" the blanket on its own.
I really loved it and didn't understand why you didn't too, but thats ok as your reaction told me that complex blended colour was the wrong direction, or maybe the photo's were a bit rubbish or maybe you just don't like orange.
You want all the colours of the rainbow in the same place at the same time, which is fine because so do I.

Anyway back to number 2

I've started number 1 and done about 1/4, but while working on my sketch book of designs I became besotted by number 2, I've learnt that when I feel like this I need to go with the flow, so I'm working on number 2 three designing days a week, my fourth designing day is Kaleidoscope day.

Number 2 is going to be big, much bigger than I planned, but thats fine because some of you (including me) have big beds :-)

To start work on number 2 I needed to master crocheting a flat circle, I spent days and days trying to do it, I must of read every flat crochet circle blog post and tutorial on the internet.

I came across several blogs that said once you can do a flat circle you can call yourself a crocheter, quite obviously I wasn't!!

Finally after a frustrating week of wobbles and frogging I managed it, all I needed to do was tweak a couple of numbers, but only after one of the tutorials said the numbers weren't set in stone - DOH stupid me!!

So now I can crochet flat circles I have a lot of crochet time I need to catch up with.

Stupidly I've decided to go back to Instagram, I signed up ages ago and didn't really use it, but have decided I quite like it now and so am planning to photograph tiny pieces of my blanket wips and post them on Instagram.

If you want to follow me I am queenieamanda2 and you can find me HERE

And here is the first photo some of my flat(ish) crochet circles for blanket no2, there is another one of frogging on Instagram, but I can't work out how to save it, and I stupidly deleted it off my phone.

I might take some more over the next few days, but don't expect to see anything that will look like a blanket, let alone a finished blanket.

Kaleidoscope Part 2 - February 2014

Oooops - I meant to do this post a couple of weeks ago, but Unravel and announcing the book got in the way.

Its a good job I didn't do it before Unravel because if I had done I wouldn't have this lovely photo of Caroline and her February.
I was so excited to see her and her Kaleidoscope, its the first one I've seen in person and I'm really hoping I will meet some more Kaleidoscope girls and their blankets over the course of this year's shows.
I know I have some coming to see us at Wonderwool in about 6 weeks

And here are few of our other member's wip photo's, I'm so pleased with the way they are progressing, I feel like a very proud mum.

If you click on the member's name it will take you to their project page on Ravelry.

Bluewren

Stephlorton

7800farenheit

hiloontje

I really admire this kind of dedication :-)

My secret project revealed

At Ally Pally last year (2013) the commissioning editor of Search Press came to see me and asked if I would like to do a crochet blanket book for them.
We were very busy at the time and I'm afraid to admit I was a complete diva, I wasn't sure I wanted to do a book and very was demanding about this that and the other.
Later that evening back at the hotel I began to think I had made a huge mistake and blown my chances of fulfilling a life long dream.
So when we got home I sent a half apologetic e-mail to Katie, probably waffling, but still holding my ground about some of my demands.
I was very happily surprised when she replied saying that they'd still love to have me as an author.

Then came several months of dithering.
I was keen to do the book, but my life isn't my own and I needed to consider NDS and Phil and Daisy.
My designs sell our wool and our wool sales are all we have to live on, we have to pay 2 sets of rent and the rent for the business, feed ourselves and 2 dogs and a cat.
Both Phil and Daisy were really excited and confident that we could do it as a team, they would (will) take on the extra work that I won't have time to do anymore, which needs to be done while I am swanning about with a crochet hook and stolen yarn.
Also the original number of blankets talked about was 20 in 2 years, I don't think I could do it even if I crocheted for 7 days a week.
After lots of discussion and whimpering e-mails from me Katie agreed that 14 was fine.

In January I signed the contract, I was still not sure I was able to do what Search Press wanted, but Daisy and Phil had convinced me that between the 3 of us we could cope and that I needed to seize this chance as I might not get another one.
So for the past month I have been putting together a "sketchbook" of idea's and swatches, I even started one blanket and have solid plans for another two.

On monday morning after Unravel we travelled the extra miles to go and have a meeting with Katie.
I wasn't sure if any of my ideas and plans were good enough or if they were what Search Press wanted.
But I needn't have worried, she was happy with everything I am doing and put my mind to rest about some of my other worries.

I can't begin to express how happy and excited I am.
I get to do exactly what I want, just as long as it is not to complicated for you to do, which is something I am always concious about when I design.
All the motifs are simple ones, the blankets are more about colour arrangement and shape.
There will be 7 sections, each one containing 2 blankets, in each section there will be1 simple, 1 more complex, 1 bed sized, 1 smaller, 1 4 ply and 1 DK.

Along the way I will be blogging about my progress, telling you stories and even showing you tiny snippets of what I am doing.
If I seem a bit absent don't worry I'm still here beavering away on my sofa crocheting like mad and trying to restrain myself from making anything to difficult and complex to make.
2 years plus is a long time to wait for a book, I really hope you like it and that the wait is worthwhile.

Dyeing for Unravel 2014

Daisy and I have turned into mega dyeing machines.

We are doing the UNRAVEL yarn show in Farnham, Surrey next weekend and like a lot of our friends and competitors are still dyeing yarn for the show.

We are so busy I haven't had much time to Tweet, Facebook or chat on Ravelry, so I thought I would share a few photo's with you.

This is what NDS at Alta Lyn looked like 20 mins ago, its all yarn for the show.

And this is what I dyed on Tuesday, Daisy is still dyeing her batch, she would of done it yesterday, but a tree was blown over on our power line in the storm, so we lost electricity.
Once its dry and has lost the worst of its indigo smell it goes home to be wound by Phil, Poor Phil has been sitting in our flat winding solidly for the past few weeks and he doesn't realise how much more there is to come home to be wound for the show.

After taking these photo's I thought I'd take a longer shot of the dye room.

And then I walked around the corner of the building....
We have had quite a few messages from people asking if we are ok because of the storms and floods, so I thought I'd show you that we are.
The below photo is of Hollerday Hill and the whole of Lynton in front of it, our flat is in the bit of town in the middle of the photo, its 500 feet above sea level, so we are safe from the sea surges, although Lynmouth is at the bottom of the hill hasn't been so lucky.

And another photo of Lynton and the Bristol channel on a very clear day you can see the Welsh mountains across the channel and on a clear night you can see lights sparkling on the Welsh coast.

This is our little bit of Exmoor, which cleverly leads me on to our Exmoor White yarn, (50% Exmoor Horn wool/30% Exmoor white Alpaca/20% Silk) some of which is in tonights update, we only have it in small quantities as its an exclusive yarn spun especially for NDS in small batches.

Its spun by John Arbon (our friend and neighbour) at his mill in South Molton, its spun from the sheep and Alpaca's that live in the fields around us, which makes it extra extra special.