New Year Blues (and Purples)

Fear not! This isn't going to be a melancholy reflection on the passing of time or the adversities we've faced this year. Matter of fact, I'm feeling incredibly positive about all that 2012 could bring, not least with all the creative opportunities already on the horizon. This makes me especially grateful to the lovely friend who gave me this Nicky McClure Journal- and sent me a text to say yes I blooming well should write in it, however beautiful the illustrations in it are. So I took a deep breath and made my first jotting in the Make section- there are also sections entitled Plan, Wish, Dream, Build, Explore, Learn, Grow, Give and Find. I feel determined to live up to them all.



True to form, my hands haven't been idle over the Christmas break. I've been revelling in the beautiful deep blue, pink and purple tones of some Bowland DK by Eden Cottage Yarns. I can't say much more about the project as it's another design destined for publication (yay!) but I can say that it was the colour that originally inspired me, and that it continues to do so.



Finally, onto the big blue. My folks just went on a big trip to South America and because they are fabulous to their yarn-obsessed daughter, they found room in their suitcase to bring back this bundle of bright blue yarn from Uraguay. There's 250g of thick and thin, bulky weight pure wool here, which has to make it one of the best holiday presents around. I haven't worked out what I'll make with it yet- all suggestions gratefully recieved. For one reason and another I'm not really into the idea of a scarf or hat, so I'm wondering about maybe some sort of shrug or vest. Ah, shucks, an excuse to wander along the by-ways of Ravlery, what a hardship!
Wishing you all a Happy New Year- here's to a creative and prosperous times ahead.

Pattern Development

You could say that my knitting life has undertaken something of a transformation recently. This time last year I was dipping the tiniest toe in the water of coming up with and sharing my own designs. Since enjoying a small amount of success, I'm a woman possessed and I seem to have projects under development everywhere, from sketches and proposals, to swatches and samples and things that still only exist in my head. Some of them promise much then just don't work out, others change and evolve and end up completely different from the original idea, while others just seem to fly straight away. It's a fascinating and exciting new process for me.

Inspiration has to come first, of course, and it would be hard not to be influenced by the wonders of the late autumn Lake District- the leaves pictured are caught in a beck running down the side of Yewdale, near Coniston. Further inspiration arrived in the post last week, in the form of this glorious 'Autumn' coloured yarn from Eden Cottage Yarns. Eden Cottage is the new name for Wild Fire Fibres, reflecting dyer Vikki's recent move to Cumbria's Eden Valley. The baby alpaca yarn is so very soft and colours speak for themselves really.

A recent charity shop find was the great vintage Paton's design seen above, which I picked up mainly for the interesting stitch pattern. I'm not using it in a sweater as the leaflet shows (although you never know, one day we too may be a family clad in matching jumpers like the ones in the picture!) but have found that it adapts really well to the project I'm working on. I'll reveal more at a later date, I hope.