I've had a busy (not to mention exciting) week and ventured out of my comfort zone and into new territory. On Monday, I left the safety of The Woolnest on a little adventure to a Trade Show, and out into the world of interviewing. Goodness me, I was so very nervous and just a little overwhelmed by the enormity of what was about to happen - and when I tell you who I interviewed first (sometime soon, I promise), then you'll perhaps understand my nervousness. But, between my colleague, Fay, and myself, I think we did a great job (fingers crossed). I haven't listened to the recording as yet, but the lovely interviewee did say that it was the best interview she's had - she loved our questions and passion for the industry. I nearly fell of my chair with excitement (and relief), whilst trying to maintain a somewhat professional exterior.
In the afternoon we interviewed another lovely lady whom I've known for a few years now - she works for a well known yarn company and it was great to hear all about their new yarn. It never ceases to amaze me how you can ask the same questions to different people and in return you get such a wide ranging and interesting variety of answers.
To top this off, we also interviewed a dynamic design duo and I've concluded that the knitting and crochet world is just crammed full of the loveliest people.
I really can't wait to share our interviews with you and I'll reveal more about out interviewees very soon, and more about the exciting collaboration that I'm working on with Fay over at madashper.
2016 is turning out to be very interesting indeed.
At the Show, I also had a little sneaky peak at a brand new Crochet Magazine called Crochet Now, Edited by the talented Hugh Metcalf at Practical Publishing. You can download a digital sampler here.
For the first issue, I've designed a cute little nursery set (toy and blanket) using a new yarn called Sirdar Evie, which was a joy to work with. I was delighted to see my Unicorn displayed on their very pretty stand. I also have something else exciting to share with you about Crochet Now, but I'll keep you in suspense for now until the first issue is published.
The Trade Show itself was packed with amazing stands with beautiful yarns, great magazines and books, not to mention all of the knitting & crochet paraphernalia that you could think of. We didn't get a chance to look around all of the stands, as we had quite a busy agenda with our interviews, but left feeling quite exhilarated with my head bursting with new ideas.
Then on Tuesday I travelled to Warrington (yes I know - 2 days out in a row). As if the excitement of Monday wasn't enough, I was lucky enough to book a place at a Black Sheep Wools workshop with the Scandanavian design team Arne & Carlos. If you haven't heard of these guys then I urge you to take a look at their work. They're so inspiring and they have the best stories to tell of their childhood years in Norway. As well as being awesome, they have a great rapport with each other and had us all in stitches. During the workshop we all made wrist warmers, working in the round and with help from Arne, I finally mastered continental purl stitch. The 2-hour workshop simply flew by, but still had the afternoon talk/lecture to look forward to. We heard all about their house in the middle of nowhere on the shores of a beautiful lake, how they planted up the most amazing garden, their family lives and interesting traditions and what inspires them. We also heard about their infamous Kim Kardashian knitted doll and how it was the cause of their first hate-mail. All hilarious, and so utterly interesting.
I take my hat off to the lovely Sara at Black Sheep Wools for organising this, especially as the lecture in the afternoon was completely free. You don't get much for free these days, let alone an afternoon of laughter, knitting and inspiration. Sara interviewed Arne & Carlos after the talk and you can view it here.
If you ever get the chance to attend a workshop or talk by Arne & Carlos, I'd jump at it. You'll feel invigorated and inspired and itching to get out your knitting needles.
I'll be back soon with more news on my new venture, but in the meantime, happy crafting.
Lynne xx
