Sore feet & free pattern review

Slightly random blog - firstly the good news that Alex has done her walk, albeit she didn't quite make the end due to her feet looking like this:

Which is excusable. She has already signed up for next year, so Bob's Beanie will continue to be on sale to fund next year's trek...

Rather foolishly, I'm considering joining her. However before I do anything rash I'm seeing the podiatrist on Saturday (I have "foot issues") to see if this is simply crazy or actually suicidal.

I've also been reviewing some of my free pattern offerings. Basically when I started designing I was just doing it for fun and hadn't imagined a point where I would be having patterns published or be worrying about free patterns affecting my "brand". However it's now got to the point where I don't think having interesting but untested patterns out there is a good idea, and I've also been reading some interesting views from other designers about pattern pricing, so what's going to happen is this:

I will get all of my paid patterns (both existing & patterns moving from free to paid) tested. I've been using the Free Pattern Testers group on Ravelry to test patterns for the new e-book & so far have been pretty pleased with it, albeit I know some users have had problems with the strict group rules - haven't violated any yet! So as soon as the current tests start coming to an end I'll be getting my existing paid patterns tested.

I've already decided to withdraw Monserrat from free download at the end of June & will be considering whether the various problems with this pattern are solvable.

On 30th July (Not 31st as this is my wedding anniversary, so I may have to do something other than faff about on Ravelry!) I'll withdraw Asparagus Lace Scarf, Black Beacon Hat, Black Beacon Scarf, Cavendish, Pendleton and Sparrow Grass as free downloads. These will all be revised if appropriate & tested then re-released as paid patterns.

Bantam's Beanie, Barbara, Beaujolais, Dorothy bag, Pandora and Radcliffe Camera Bag will remain as free downloads.

So, if you would like to knit any of these & are happy to knit from an untested pattern, make sure you download it by the deadline - or alternatively, keep checking Free Pattern Testers on Rav & sign up to test!

African adventures...

I am now having a bit of a readjustment to normal life, London, technology etc, after a wonderful 2 weeks in Zambia & Malawi. I am a self-confessed safari addict & we are now finding ourselves going to more and more obscure destinations in search of somewhere properly remote. We certainly found it this time, at Liuwa Plain National Park, where the 6 guests (including us) at our lodge were the only tourists in the entire National Park. To give you an idea, you fly to Lusaka, Zambia; then take a small plane 2 hours to Kalabo, Zambia; then you drive through the bush for another couple of hours to get to where you're staying.

This is Kalabo airstrip. There are a group of dedicated local kids who turn up to watch their 4 flights a week, about 2 months a year! The park is not accessible by road during much of the wet season and the only realistic way to visit during the dry season is to do what we did and go with Robin Pope safaris who organise a few trips each year, basically building a tented lodge on a site which otherwise isn't used and taking it down again.

Had some fantastic wildlife sightings, including 3 cheetah sisters (cheetah are really rare in Zambia) taking down a wildebeest and fighting the hyenas off; hyenas also seemed rather keen to join us for sundowners:

 



Our guide Kanga assured us this was nothing to worry about & he was right. Fortunately they were just curious and can be almost cute!

I'll probably be blogging a bit more about this trip - we also went to South Luangwa National Park (an old favourite) and spent a few days on Lake Malawi, all in the excellent Robin Pope Safaris lodges - as I used it as an opportunity to take some photos for a teeny new accessory collection I am putting together, called Waters of Africa, with 4 patterns inspired by the lakes & rivers of Zambia & Malawi. I am getting the patterns tested through the Free Pattern Testers group on Ravelry before publication so it will prob be out sometime in August - there's a cowl, a scarf, a stole & a rather funky water bottle carrier. The latter was road-tested in South Luangwa & proved very useful! I'm also going to use the ebook as a bit of a charity fundraiser - the current plan is to see if I can raise enough to help a child from the Luangwa Valley attend school for a year.

That's for the future - for now, my good friend Alex, who has been mentioned in this blog before, will be doing her amazing 100k walk from London to Brighton on 22-23rd June, raising money for the British Heart Foundation. I'm supporting her by giving profits from sales of 3 of my patterns to the cause up until the end of June - they're Talboys Wrap, Cecily Mitts, and of course the specially-designed Bob's Beanie. The team have also put together a book of heart-healthy family recipes to support their walk - Bob's Bites. Keep your fingers crossed for good walking weather...