It's an exciting
time! My first book is out next week at last.
Though Amazon have
been advertising it for quite a few months with apparently a completely
different cover!
This more intense
blast of colour would have been my preference but I can only guess that the
lovely people at Quarto had their own reasons for the change, I'm sure related
to the fact that it's part of a series. Shame though, and I crocheted that
colour splash piece especially!
Also this week I
have a design in Inside Crochet Magazine - in fact, there's a little inset on
the cover, which pleased me of course, but still leaves my ambition to make the
main pic as yet unfulfilled. Next time, maybe? I've received the commissioning editor's
brief for new ideas next year so I'll get stuck into that shortly. What's
really nice is the number of photos of my Starlight Sweater in the pattern
pages, AS WELL as in the How to Tunisian Crochet pages. It was commissioned to
relate to the free gift of a 6mm Tunisian hook that came with this month's
issue.
Meanwhile, I've been
having a lot of fun with the Knitting and
Crochet Guild this year. I attended the Annual Convention in Sheffield in
July where I taught Improvers Tunisian in a workshop, and generally had a
marvellous time amongst my own kind for a whole weekend.
I have upped my
volunteering game this year by re-designing the 40 year old Guild Newsletter -
'Slipknot', and now every quarter I am doing the layout. I've had mostly
positive feedback about that, thank goodness, so haven't lost my graphic design
touch (phew!). I should be working on the next edition right now actually.
With regard to my
teaching I've, as usual, been having fun at gorgeous Denman College. Beginners weekends,
Granny Square and Broomstick days, as well as an Introduction to Tunisian day.
Most recently I did the Glamorgan Federation weekend and we made crocheted or
knitted and felted bags.
And finally, I've
not neglected my local area - teaching Beginners at Stag and Bow in Forest Hill, where I met my
new and very good friend Susannah, who now comes to my Tuesday night sessions,
has joined the Guild and came with me to Kirsty Allsopp's Handmade Fair in
September. Crochet changes lives!
I've also started
teaching at Fancy Moon in Crystal
Palace - which is lovely and I look forward to an ongoing relationship with
this lovely little shop.
What with the book
coming out and whatnot, I'm being featured as a designer on a couple of other
blogs this month too….
And also on the
Knitting and Crochet Guild's website which is already advertising my book on
their news page and will shortly post
an interview with me.
But WHAT, you may
well ask, is ACTUALLY ON MY HOOK??? Well, as usual, several things but right at
this minute, I'm making Georgina the Hippopotamus from Toft's Edward's
Menagerie, out of Sirdar Smudge in a beautiful muted shade of heather. Should
be done by tonight - lovely. And then I can start preparing my next course at
Denman - Crochet for Christmas!