Busy Times: the Final Stretch Goal & Meet the Hand-Dyers of This Thing of Paper

Much of the past week (or so) has been spent "steering home" the proverbial Kickstarter ship. I have limited some levels of rewards as I'm starting to manage that side of things. So, if you are yet to pledge, make sure your preferred reward level is still available to you! Today I'm also going to reveal the final stretch goal and talk about the hand dyers who are supporting This Thing of Paper borderhorz

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I find stretch goals (a target beyond the initial funding goal) tough because This Thing of Paper is already a complex project and adding extras simply means things will take longer. However, I love that with your help and enthusiasm we are now throwing two book launch parties - one in Central Scotland and one in London. If you are a £30+ pledger, you will receive an invitation to either (and if you cannot make it, we are hosting a Periscope video feed).

With the first two stretch goals achieved I am now able to:

  • shoot photos on location
  • improve the quality of the paper
  • get sample knitters onboard to help me make the items in the book

Thank you so, so much!

So, the final stretch goal is £19,400 - or reaching 200% of initial target, if you like. The extra funds will enable me to do the following:

  • apply to be a vendor at UK knitting shows (come & meet me! see the samples in real life!)
  • get a second photographer onboard
  • do a slightly larger print run

In return, I am going to add two This Thing of Paper book plates to each £30+ pledge - they will feature artwork designed especially for This Thing of Paper. I will also be doing a trunk show/Q&A in Manchester, UK - again with a Periscope video feed. This trunk show/Q&A will be slightly different from a book launch party, but still totally awesome. Can we make this happen? I hope so!

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Samples from DyeNinja

 I have already introduced you to the exquisite yarns of Blacker Yarns - now I want you to meet the hand-dyers who are involved with This Thing of Paper. They are quite a special bunch - I spent a lot of time looking at dyeing processes and colour palettes before I found three hand-dyers whose colours are not just exquisite but whose dyeing processes also align with my interest in 'hand-made' (for more on my thoughts about that,  please read Tom's interview with me).

First, meet Sheila of DyeNinja. I first encountered her colours at this year's Edinburgh Yarn Festival and, quite frankly, they blew me away. Sheila dyes semi-solid colours inspired by the rich, saturated colours of The Silk Road - colour names like Byzantium, Samarkand, and Tashkent bear witness to this. What I particularly loved was that Sheila had peppered her colour palette with near-neutrals - Dromendary and Arabica, in particular - which work beautifully with all her jewel-like colours. It speaks of thoughtfulness and as a designer, it gives me great scope to work with.

Second dyer is Helen of Ripples Crafts. Helen lives and work in the Highlands of Scotland and her colour palette is inspired by the colours in her everyday environment. I have previously collaborated with Helen on the Frances Herself shawl, and I absolutely love her yarns. They are produced in a tiny dye shed off the grid and are dyed in very small batches. There is a real attention to detail in Helen's colourways and I love how rooted they are to Helen's landscape and lifestyle - that ethos is so very appealing. Again, I found my interest in small-batch, site-specific production mirrored in Helen's work and I'm so excited she's onboard with some very, very gorgeous yarns.

The third and final dyer is Larissa of Travelknitter. I have known Larissa for years and been in absolute awe of her multi-layered, saturated colours for as long as I can remember. When I first asked her if she would be interested in collaborating with me on This Thing of Paper, I received an email which was one long shriek of YES, ARE YOU KIDDING ME. Larissa dyes really fabulous semi-solids that have such an air of warmth to them - even her teals and blues radiate warmth and character (a bit like the lady herself, actually). I am very thankful to have Larissa as a collaborator - one of the key projects in This Thing of Paper would have had a very different feel without her involvement.

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Shout-outs to Woolly Wormhead, Tom of Holland, and Ella Austin who have all written lovely, thoughtful blog posts about This Thing of Paper. I admire all three so much and having them write about my work feels very special. They also cover very different angles (as they should - all three have very specific points-of-view). And I did a video interview with Leona of Fluph fame!

Big shout-out to everybody I met at the Indieburgh Yarn Crawl - too many to mention but I loved getting so many hugs! I had to leave early with a persistent headache, but I had a great time. Special thank you to lovely lady Ginger Twist Jess, who had organised the yarn crawl.

I am back in Glasgow for a workshop next week at The Queen of Purls before heading out west. As previously stated, I'm rolling back my workshop commitments going forward (I have a book to write) so catch me when you can.

Love from my tiny corner of the world and knit on, my friends, knit on.

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