EXTRA POST FROM DEBBIE ON 18th July 2010

MY POSTING FOR AUGUST WILL BE LATE NEXT MONTH as my lovely web designer will be away on his holidays [yes I am :o) lol], so please bear with me until he gets back. He is definitely NOT taking his computer away with him and my computer skills are not good enough to deal with uploading web pages! So please look out for the next posting around the second week of August.

THE SECOND MYSTERY BLANKET CLUB MEETING FOR MEMBERS AND FRIENDS IN CAMBRIDGE has been organised again by Susan Ross. Susan says: “Ickleton Barns is a lovely rural location where we can sit outside by the duck pond, or in the café exposed to the temptation of terrific cakes. There is also a craft and haberdashery supply store. We will hold another meeting on Saturday 7th August from 10.30am – 12.30am. Ickleton Barns is close to junction 9 of the M11, postcode CB10 1SH.” Susan would be delighted to see you there. She held a meeting at the same location earlier this month on 3rd July and was joined by a couple of Mystery Blanket Club members and some other knitters too. It sounds like a really lovely event to look forward so if you are in the Cambridgeshire area and you are free on that day, please support Susan and go along for a knit in and a cuppa.

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POST 6 FROM DEBBIE on 1st July 2010

SUMMER IS HERE (IN THE UK!) – and I hope that everyone is enjoying the good weather and not overheating too much. Is it too hot for knitting? – no, because now we can knit al fresco and get a suntan at the same time, yippee! This month you will be able to complete strip 5, so if you are working in strips you can sew strip 5 to strip 7 and see how the blanket is progressing. And at last strip 1 is underway with this month’s mailing with a brand new square for number 1. I hope that you like the seahorse.

SQUARE 33 OPTION 2 was supposed to be printed in colour but unfortunately I did not give this instruction to the printer, so it is in black and white. It is a repeat of square 17 from mail-out 5, so I hope that you will be able to see what is happening if you take another look at that square. It is quite obvious from reading the key what the colours are, but if you are in any doubt look at the chart for square 17 and it will all be very clear.

OH NO! – IT’S SQUARE 35, a repeat of square 15 that drove half of you crazy with the stripe pattern repeat and the chart that did not work together row by row. All I can say is that you need to take a deep breath and approach this square without any preconceived fears. I found it easy to knit once I had set up a system, and this was it. I ticked a row off the chart as I ticked off a row of the stripe pattern. And I repeated this all the way through, ignoring the fact that I started again on the stripe pattern at row 1 before I had completed the last row of the chart. Once you get the hang of it, it really isn’t that difficult to do. Oh ! – and I forgot that this is the square with silver lurex in it, so some of you might have to take an even deeper breath. Don’t worry – it will be ok!!! (and this is the last one of this square – I promise!)

A MYSTERY BLANKET CLUB MEETING IN CREATE IN ILKLEY was organised by Heather Savage on 6th June, and it sounds as if they had a wonderful time! She was joined by Ros, Helen, Jane, Lyssie and Louise (Lyssie’s mum). Here is what Heather had to report back to me about the meeting:

“Today some of us met at Create in Ilkley for a knit and natter and comparison of our squares.

Lyssie had brought the 2008 blanket with her which she had inherited during 2008 from her Mum, and I took the 2009 blanket. Time was spent perusing both blankets and deciding which one we preferred and what to do with them.

Then we discussed which squares we most enjoy knitting at the moment. There was some discussion about how to get the beads to be clearly in evidence in the coral squares, and the best advice seems to be to block them, spray them with water and leave them to dry.

Gaby had asked for any tips on dealing with the silver yarn. It was agreed that although it has a good effect, it is awful to work with. Lyssie suggested using clear nail varnish to stop it splitting.

We agreed that at a future meeting we would discuss how to sew the strips together, and possibly compare notes next week.

Amongst all of this chatting, there was much discussion about various holidays, courses, drinking of lattes, buying of yarn, tools and magazines. I showed off my knitlites (knitting needles which light up), mentioned about the shawl knitting course which I'm going on at Create beginning 24th June (in the evening), someone else pondered joining Debbie's course at Create (Monday 5th July), and we also discussed the Worldwide knitting in public event at Granary Wharfe on Sat 12th June (10am – 4pm) as well as Woolfest (25th & 26th June at Cockermouth in Cumbria).

Busy afternoon!
Thanks to everyone for coming along, it was lovely to meet you all and to see your knitting. I wish my tension was as good as yours!

Next meeting – Sunday 11th July at Create from 2pm until 4pm!

workshop


If you fancy joining Heather at Create for the next meeting then she would delighted to see you. You can contact Heather at the following email address:
heather_l_savage@yahoo.co.uk

THE KNITTER MAGAZINE ARE SUPPORTING THE CHARITY MENCAP THIS YEAR and editor Juliet Bernard has asked me to pass on some information to you. There are lots of exciting ways to get involved with the project, including holding a “Make & Bake” event which could be a great fundraiser. You can apply for an information pack which has lots of lovely recipes in it to make, so if you enjoy a bit of baking, this could be for you! There are also patterns to download from the Mencap website for which a small amount of money is asked for which will go to the charity. If you are interested in raising money for this very worthy cause, then please either visit the Mencap website or get in touch with The Knitter.

DOES ANYONE OUT THERE HAVE AN UNCOMPLETED 2008 OR 2009 MYSTERY BLANKET THAT THEY WANT TO SELL? — if so, then please let me know as I have had a few people contact me about this. These knitters did not join the Club and are frantically looking for anyone that has not started the blanket or has only half completed it and is willing to sell it on. If that person is you, then please let me know and then maybe I can point you in the direction of a needy knitter who you would make very very happy!

MYSTERY BLANKET CLUB 2010 — PRIZE DRAW 7 (July)
This month's winner is Member 167 Brenda Mills from Finchley, London.

Well done Brenda. Please choose a prize from the following selection:
   - A Debbie Abrahams book: Blankets & Throws To Knit / 25 Cushions To Knit / More Blankets & Throws / 25 Beaded Knits / Design Your Own Knits (signed, if desired)
   - A Debbie Abrahams dvd: More Blankets & Throws/A Professional Finish 1
   - A Debbie Abrahams kit from the selection on my website
   - A set of 12 handmade ceramic buttons from the selection on my website (can be mixed)
   - 4 packs of Debbie Abrahams beads from the selection on my website

I will contact you directly to discuss your choice and delivery.

Happy knitting this month and if you are keeping up with the project then there are only 15 more squares to go to the finish!..

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EXTRA POST FROM DEBBIE on 20th June 2010!

URGENT NEWS! – regarding a Mystery Blanket Club meeting in the Cambridge area. Susan Ross has organised a meeting for Mystery Blanket Club members on Saturday 3rd July in the café at Riverside Barns, Ickleton, CB10 1SH. All knitters (Mystery Blanket Club and non Mystery Blanket Club) are very welcome to come to the meeting. The Barns are close to junction 9 of the M11 and a 10 minute walk from Great Chesterford Station. Susan would be delighted if anyone would like to come along for a knit and a chat. So if you are around on that day, why not join her at this fabulous location!

MORE URGENT NEWS! – Yarn in Beeston, Nottingham have organised the next Mystery Blanket Club meeting at their shop on Wednesday 30th June between 4.00pm and 6.00pm. I will be visiting the group to give help and advice (and also have a nice cup of tea and a biscuit with everyone!) So I hope to see you there!

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POST 6 FROM DEBBIE on 1st June 2010

AFTER A BRIEF SPELL OF SUNSHINE IN MAY we begin June here in the UK with rain (what a surprise!), but what great weather for staying in to knit!!! Probably elsewhere in the world members are enjoying sunshine. Let’s hope we get some here soon…This month you have squares 40, 41 and 42, which means that after they are completed you can begin to sew together strips six and seven. I would advise that you do this and then there will be less finishing off to do at the end of the project. I am sure that most of us enjoy the knitting more than the finishing (!), so it would be wise to try and get some of it done before all the knitting is completed.

HAVING MET SOME OF THE MEMBERS RECENTLY AT WORKSHOPS I have been made aware again of the concerns about the two green yarns in the blanket and the mixed dye lots. As I explained in post 4, this is something that I had no control over and indeed I was not aware of any problems with dye lots until a member showed me a couple of balls that she had received in her parcels. So again I am sorry about this. However, I can give you a bit of advice that might help those of you that have been unfortunate enough to have received mixed dyes. The dark green and green in question are only used for the beaded cable squares (to date these are squares 45 and 47), and for the cabled squares with an option to knit intarsia cables (to date these are squares 17 and 31). There is also a small amount of both greens used in the bobbles in the cable and bobble squares (to date these are 8, 36 and 42). So, this is the advice. The squares that are plain green with cables should use up just under half a ball, so you should be able to get two squares out of one ball. Any bits that are left over can then be used for the bobbles in the cable and bobble squares (8, 36 and 42), and, if you are knitting the intarsia cables, then squares 17 and 31 too. Those of you that are guessing ahead the squares that are to come will be able to foresee where the other green and dark green cabled squares are going to be – there are going to be more of all of them. So you might just be able to make my advice work with those that are left to knit up. I know that this advice has probably come a bit too late for some of you, but I am hoping that it might just help a few of you out.

I HAVE ALSO BEEN MADE AWARE JUST HOW MUCH SOME OF YOU HATE THE LUREX!!! – oh dear, I did not mean to upset anyone when I used it in the blanket! But I have a bit of advice about this yarn too. When joining it into the work and cutting it off when finished with, make sure that you leave extra long ends so that you can knot them together to secure them. And when you sew in the ends, do not cut off the knots – keep the ends tied together. I do know from my own experience that the lurex unravels very easily – it is to do with how it has been spun. But I am hoping that I can quell some of the despair by giving you this advice and hopefully calming the situation down. One thing I can promise you is that there will be NO lurex in the next Mystery Blanket!

THE MYSTERY BLANKET WORKSHOP WITH SARAH LEWIS IN OXFORDSHIRE took place on 13th May and it was a really lovely day. Sarah had booked up a wonderful studio at Wicklesham Lodge Farm in Faringdon where we all met up at 10.00am to start the workshop.

groupshotJoining Sarah and I were (left to right): Sharon Gee, Tania Williams, Bev Green, (me and Sarah), Stephanie Austin, Debbie Smith, Joan Crouch, Cath Cinnamon, Gail Peters and Pauline Farrar.


Some of the ladies had travelled quite a distance to come to the workshop – Bev had come from Ireland and Debbie had travelled up from Cardiff. After introducing ourselves the ladies got to work on their squares, comparing techniques and notes as I spent the day going round to each of them to give them whatever help they needed. I must say that the standard of knitting was excellent and I was thrilled to see my squares coming to life in everyone’s project. We enjoyed a lovely lunch of warm paninis and fabulous sausage rolls, followed by homemade cup cakes and chocolate brownies, which all went down very well! In the afternoon session I was delighted to be taught how to chain stitch by Gail. I think that a lot of the group were quite shocked that I did not know how to do this (!), but it is just one of those things that I have never been shown how to do. So I was over the moon to learn how easy it is. (Watch out – the next Mystery Blanket could be full of it!!!). So thank you Gail – you made my day! We closed the workshop at around 4.30pm after a very successful day for all. I was thrilled to have met more of the members that day and I think (and hope) that everyone felt the same about meeting each other. Sarah might be planning another Mystery Blanket Club workshop next year, so watch out for details on my website and monthly postings. It will be worth the journey!

THE THIRD MYSTERY BLANKET CLUB MEETING AT YARN in Beeston, Nottingham took place on 5th May and I was able to go along and join the ladies again (although I did arrive a bit late and only caught the last 45 minutes with them – sorry ladies!) However, we enjoyed another lovely evening hosted by Alison and Sarah who own Yarn. Joining us that evening were Angie Cooper, Rebecca Ford, Venita Parry, Helen Jones, Anne Sampson, Evelyn Pawley, Mary Leeson and Helen Jones (yes, there are two Helen Jones in Nottingham and in the Mystery Blanket Club!) There was not much time for me to answer questions as I did arrive late, however, a few things were sorted out. The ladies all looked as though they had enjoyed a great evening, swapping thoughts and ideas and comparing squares. The next meeting is tomorrow on the 2nd June (oops – this posting will probably be read after this has taken place), and then there will be a break over July and August, with the meetings resuming in September (although you would be wise to check this with Alison and Sarah). I won’t be able to make the meeting in September as I will be in the Maldives on my honeymoon (yippee!), but I will be there for the final meeting this year in October. So I hope to see some of you there too!

I HAVE HAD A REQUEST FROM MEMBER CLAIRE SMITH from Kent to let you know that she is keen to set up a Mystery Blanket Club group in the Kent area. She would love to hear from anyone that might be interested. You can contact her on the following email address: registerlady@yahoo.co.uk  Claire says that she wants me to count her in for the 2011 blanket, so if she gets a group together it could be running for some time to come!

THE 4TH PAYMENT OF £20.00 IS DUE BY 25TH JUNE for those of you who are paying by instalments. If you are paying by Paypal then I will email you a Paypal form around 15th June. This will give you 10 days to pay. Those of you who are paying by cheque will need to get your next cheque to me by 25th June. Many of you have sent me post-dated cheques, so these will be paid into my account on or just after 25th June. And if you forget then no worries — I will remind you! Many thanks for keeping your payments up to date — it is a great help to me in running this Club efficiently.

MYSTERY BLANKET CLUB 2010 — PRIZE DRAW 6 (June)

This month's winner is Member 102 Mrs Jarvis from Romsey, Hampshire.

Well done Mrs Jarvis. Please choose a prize from the following selection:
   - A Debbie Abrahams book: Blankets & Throws To Knit / 25 Cushions To Knit / More Blankets & Throws / 25 Beaded Knits / Design Your Own Knits (signed, if desired)
   - A Debbie Abrahams dvd: More Blankets & Throws/A Professional Finish 1
   - A Debbie Abrahams kit from the selection on my website
   - A set of 12 handmade ceramic buttons from the selection on my website (can be mixed)
   - 4 packs of Debbie Abrahams beads from the selection on my website

I will contact you directly to discuss your choice and delivery.

Have a great June and let’s hope that the sun shines for us this month here in the UK! As I look outside the rain in pouring down again…so it’s umbrellas up and knitting needles out – could be worse!!! See you next month, same place!.....

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POST 5 FROM DEBBIE on 5th May 2010

THE FIRST THING TO REPORT THIS MONTH IS THAT DUE TO THE VOLCANIC ASH CLOUD all of the overseas parcels have been held back until today to be posted. With air freight being seriously disrupted for several days I did not want to post out the parcels as soon as the planes were flying again in case they got caught up somewhere in a warehouse in a huge stockpile – you can imagine the amount of mail that has built up over the week or so that planes were banned from the skies! But now things seem to be getting back to normal again I feel that it is ok to post them. I hope that those of you concerned will agree with me that this is a wise decision. I have sent all of the overseas members their patterns by email so at least they can make a start on some of the squares. The parcels with yarn and beads will follow on very soon and all parcels will still include the pattern instructions. So hopefully you will not be held up too much and can start knitting up your May squares very soon. I apologise for the delay, but when mother-nature decides to do something like this there is nothing more that we humans can do but sit back and wait until there is calm again.

WE ARE NOW HALF-WAY THROUGH THE PROJECT and the first four parcels contained a lot of yarn to get you through those initial squares. But now you will find that the rest of the parcels are smaller and there will be between one and three balls of yarn in each package. Hopefully you have all followed my instructions and kept all of your left over bits and pieces which might be needed further on in the project, so you should have plenty of yarn to use. If you do run into any problems with any of the yarns, please let me know.

YOU WILL FIND IN YOUR PATTERN INSTRUCTIONS AN ADDENDUM FOR THIS MONTH’S SQUARES – (Oh no!) My patterns are given a thorough check, but even so it seems that there is still some degree of human error that can occur. So I apologise now for the two small silly mistakes this month. I would think that most of you would probably be able to work out what the errors are for yourselves. But I will just point them out to you in case you miss your addendum. On square 49 it says to thread the beads onto the pale blue yarn, but it should be the purple yarn. And the second amendment is on the order of piecing sheet. On the last column/strip on the right-hand side the top right-hand square has been numbered as 47 when in fact it is 49. As I said, small silly mistakes, but I still feel frustrated with myself for missing them. Never mind! – at least there was time to include an addendum.

AND JUST A MINOR POINT ON SQUARE 10/OPTION 1 FROM MAIL-OUT 4, it should say at the end of the pattern to cast off sts purlwise with the wrong side facing you after having completed row 49.



THE SECOND MYSTERY BLANKET CLUB MEETING AT YARN IN BEESTON, NOTTINGHAM took place on April 7th, and as it is my local knitting shop and not far from my house I was able to visit the group again. Evelyn Pawley, Rebecca Ford, Angie Cooper, Venita Parry, Mary Leeson and Esther Withers all met up together and enjoyed a couple of hours of chat over coffee and biscuits. I demonstrated some techniques including swiss-darning, and did my best to “comfort” those that were finding square 15 a bit of a chore (you know, the one with the 12 row stripe pattern repeat and 12 row chart repeat!) In some ways the amount of emails and comments that I have had about this square has made me feel a bit mean – sending out such a complicated pattern! – but then I think that knitting is no fun without a challenge or two. And with a bit of perseverance (and a clear head!) it isn’t so bad after all, is it? The next meeting at Yarn is scheduled for Wednesday 5th May between 4.00pm – 6.00pm. So if you live nearby and would like to join us, please come along. Alison and Sarah who host the meeting always welcome all knitters!

THE SECOND MYSTERY BLANKET CLUB WORKSHOP AT LANA PURA, SHALDON, DEVON took place on the weekend of 17th–18th April and 14 members joined myself and Alison (the owner of Lana Pura) for a fabulous weekend! Some of the members travelled from as far afield as York and Loughborough, so I was thrilled that so many of you made an effort to come along.

A group photo:

groupThe members that made it all the way to Shaldon were (from left to right): June Atkinson, Katherine Saunders, Andrea Gostick, me(!), Fran Carter, June-Eva Seymour, Clare Round, Ros Chown, Amanda Golland, Jane Figgins, Annette Bolton, Elizabeth Holland, Tania Ashton Jones, Gill Nicklin, Mary Leigh and Mary Leeson.


This year the workshop was held at The Ness, a great venue that overlooks the beautiful harbour of Shaldon. On the first day we all gathered at The Ness where they gave us a wonderful spot to sit and knit, in the conservatory overlooking the water, and we sat in small groups, many people meeting new knitters from the Club for the first time. The point of holding the workshop was to help members with their techniques and to encourage them to complete their squares, but it was also a great opportunity to meet other members and to share thoughts and ideas. I asked the whole group what techniques they needed help with, and as it turned out almost every technique in the blanket was mentioned, so the ladies kept me very busy for the whole weekend!

Workshop 2:

workshop2Gill gets some help from Debbie, sitting with fellow knitters Katherine, Fran and sister Andrea. And in the foreground the two Marys get on with completing their squares.


Workshop 4:

workshop4Elizabeth and Jane get to grips with their squares.


We were given a lovely buffet lunch halfway through the day (great scampi!!!) before returning to our tables for more knitting and chatting. It seemed that on the first day everyone was eager to knit knit knit all day with barely a break (!) so we decided that on the following day we would take a walk down to the beach to take in some sea air.

In the evening we all met up at The Ness and enjoyed a lovely three course meal together. The food was great and there was plenty of it – perhaps a bit too much as when it came to the Sticky Toffee Pudding at the end (my favourite dessert!) my stomach said NO MORE! I think that most of us had eaten so well throughout the day that we were all full up after the first course! Anyway, the meal was lovely and afterwards the ladies quickly dispersed, some eager to continue with their knitting, and others simply exhausted from the busy day that we had.

So, onto day two! We gathered again at The Ness in the morning and the ladies spent the first part of the day working on their squares while I demonstrated various finishing techniques, before enjoying another wonderful lunch (with yet more scampi!!!). And then after lunch some of us went for a walk down to the local beach – a beautiful small, secluded beach at the back of The Ness. On the way we stopped off for ice-cream, and I could not resist the bright blue Bubblegum flavour – much to the amusement of the ladies as it turned my mouth bright blue! It tasted nice though, despite the intake of chemical colourings!

Debbie and her bright blue ice-cream! and Amanda left with the ice-creams:

amanda holding on ... Amanda was left holding the ice-creams as Debbie went back to the kiosk to order some more for the ladies.



debbie is ice-coolDebbie and her bright blue ice-cream – it tasted lovely and looked great! Inspiration for the next blanket?!?


Here are some pics of us on the beach, enjoying the lovely sunshine. Some of you that saw the pictures from last year’s workshop might notice that I am wearing exactly the same dress and sweater and jacket! Oh dear! – I do have other things in my wardrobe, but I just happened to put on the same clothes as last year!

Andrea and Katherine on the beach, Tania on the beach and Debbie, I Love Knitting:

beachAndrea and Katherine on the beach enjoying the sunshine


taniaTania on the beach taking a break from her squares


debbie loves knittingDebbie “I love knitting!”


Group photo on the beach:

beach3Those that made it to the beach were (from left to right): Amanda, Jane, Katherine, Alison (owner of Lana Pura), Clare, me, Andrea, Annette, Mary and Tania. Ros also made it down to the beach, but she was taking the photo!


After a lovely walk we re-joined the rest of the group and continued to knit away until the close of the workshop at 4.00pm. Lots of work was done and some great bits of knitting were created. It was lovely for me to see the ladies enjoying the squares and knitting up the designs that I had spent months working on last year. Everyone had made new friends at the workshop and it was really sad to have to say goodbye when it came to the end. But I am sure that this will not be the last time that some of these ladies will meet up as another Mystery Blanket Club workshop weekend is being planned for next year, and I know that most of the group were keen to come along again. In fact, two workshop weekends are being planned for 2011 – one in April and then a “completion of the blanket” workshop in October. So if you are interested in visting idyllic Shaldon next year and taking part in the Mystery Blanket Club workshop, keep an eye on Lana Pura’s website (email: alison@lanapura.com) and my wesbite too, and the dates will be confirmed soon. And Alison and I hope to see you there next year!!!


I AM VERY MUCH LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT MYSTERY BLANKET CLUB WORKSHOP IN MAY in Oxfordshire, organised by Sarah Lewis. Many of the places are now sold, but if you are interested in booking onto the workshop then see Sarah’s details on the first Mystery Blanket Club posting (at the foot of this page), as there may still be room for a few more. It will be great to meet some more of the members and to spend the day knitting, chatting and relaxing! So I will hopefully see you there!!!

I HAVE HAD ANOTHER COUPLE OF REQUESTS FROM MEMBERS WHO ARE KEEN TO MEET UP WITH OTHER MEMBERS IN THEIR AREA. Their details are:

Anne McClure (member 241), she lives in York. If you are interested in meeting up with Anne, please contact her on: annehartridge@talktalk.net.

Anne-Sofie Stenstadvold (member 475), she lives in Sandvika in Norway. If you are interested in meeting up with Anne-Sofie, please contact her on: anne-sofie@stenstadvold.com. She would also be happy to meet up with any visitors to Norway who might be staying near to her.

MEMBERS ARE INVITED TO JOIN OTHER FELLOW MEMBERS at the next Mystery Blanket Club meeting at Create in Ilkley. Heather Savage organised the last meeting at the lovely shop in Yorkshire and was joined by members Felicity and Rosalind. They had a great time “knitting, drinking copius tea/latte/cappuccino, looking through (and buying!) various knitting related goodies, talking about volcanoes and comparing our squares” – words from Heather herself! The next meeting is planned for Sunday 6th June, so if you fancy meeting up, why not come along. Heather has given me permission to give you her email address so that you can contact her directly for details about the meeting. You can email her on: heather_l_savage@yahoo.co.uk

I HAVE HAD SEVERAL MEMBERS ASKING TO BE ADDED TO THE LIST FOR THE NEXT MYSTERY BLANKET IN 2011, but worry not, as all existing members will be automatically offered a place in the next Club ahead of anybody else. So you do not need to register your interest with me for it. A subscription form will be included in everyone’s September pack, giving you a whole month to decide about joining up again before anyone else. I have just been to see Marie at the Rowan Mill in Holmfirth to view all of the new yarns for the forthcoming seasons, and I must say that they look gorgeous! I feel thoroughly inspired to start work on the next blanket and will do so very soon. There is just some research to do first and then I will be straight onto it. At the moment we are still only halfway through this year’s blanket, so there is still lots of time for you to decide about next year.

MYSTERY BLANKET CLUB 2010 — PRIZE DRAW 5 (May)

This month's winner is Member 120 Jane Elderfield from Hampshire.

Well done Jane. Please choose a prize from the following selection:
   - A Debbie Abrahams book: Blankets & Throws To Knit / 25 Cushions To Knit / More Blankets & Throws / 25 Beaded Knits / Design Your Own Knits (signed, if desired)
   - A Debbie Abrahams dvd: More Blankets & Throws/A Professional Finish 1
   - A Debbie Abrahams kit from the selection on my website
   - A set of 12 handmade ceramic buttons from the selection on my website (can be mixed)
   - 4 packs of Debbie Abrahams beads from the selection on my website

I will contact you directly to discuss your choice and delivery.

Have a fantastic May, enjoy the Sunshine wherever you are and make sure that you get plenty of knitting done!

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POST 4 FROM DEBBIE on 5th April 2010

HAPPY EASTER TO YOU ALL and I hope that you have enjoyed a lovely break. I managed to get all of the parcels posted out well before the end of April, with the hope that you would have your next batch of squares to knit up over Easter. I think that this happened for most of you, but apologies if the postman did not get to you before Good Friday. This web-posting has been a little bit delayed this month as I have been away the week proceeding Easter with Emma King, teaching at the Missenden Abbey Easter School. It was a very enjoyable week and a few Mystery Blanket Club members were there, so it was good to see you! (And I hope that you managed to get your Easter bags finished!)

AS MOST OF YOU HAVE NOW GUESSED THE THEME OF THE BLANKET, it is now time to reveal it to anybody that is still pondering over it. The theme is “Beneath The Sea”. It is something that I have always been very interested in, and I worked on it in the hope that it would be appealing to a broad range of people. As a child my parents used to take me for days out with my sisters to places like Southwold on the East coast, and I used to be fascinated by all the shapes and patterns that I could see around me in the natural landscape. I always had a camera to hand and took many photographs, some of which were pulled out from the archives for this blanket design. In recent years I have started a shell collection, and every time that I travel abroad it is added to. The colours and patterns in the shells are quite amazing! I keep them in a wonderful ceramic “fish” bowl that I bought some years ago in Cypress and I refer to them as my precious jewels! – which they definitely are to me! So far in the blanket you have had a crab, a starfish and a couple of fish to knit up. And these have been mixed with other squares including cable and bobble patterns inspired by water plants, a lace square with beads inspired by shells and coral reefs, textured stitches representing the swirly patterns in sand, and a sequin and lace square inspired by the sea. This theme embraces such a vast variety of different things, all of which lend themselves so well to knitting. It has been a joy to design all of the sea creatures – there are more to come! – and my passion for combining colour and texture together has been realized in the interpretation of all the amazing shapes and patterns that exist in the natural world. I chose a soft colour palette with core shades of pale blue, green, soft yellow and pale pink, and added in bright shots of magenta pink, coral, bright blue and gold. The addition of a small amount of lurex — (I know that some of you hate working with it, but how could I have possibly left it out?!?) — adds an extra sparkle to the overall design. I thoroughly enjoyed designing this blanket and I hope that you are feeling as enthused as I was about knitting it up! We are nearly half-way through the project now, so expect some repeats of squares — although there are still some new ones to come. So no more clues about what else is to come, and I just want to wish you all happy knitting for the rest of the project!

I HAVE HAD A LOT OF QUERIES ABOUT SQUARE 15 — the one with the addendum. Firstly I must apologise for the error here, which was only noticed by my mum as she was packing up the parcels (so thanks mum!) We managed to do something about it just before the parcels were taken to the post office — otherwise there would have been pandemonium amongst the members! It might seem a bit strange but there are 14 rows to the chart repeat and only 12 rows to the stripe pattern repeat, but this is correct. So this is how you need to work: you repeat chart rows 1-14, AND AT THE SAME TIME, you repeat stripe patt rows 1-12. So this means that when you are knitting row 1 again of the stripe patt you will be on chart row 13. And when you are on row 2 of the stripe patt you will be on row 14 of the chart. I found this easiest to do if I ticked off a row on both the chart and the stripe patt as I completed it. I know that this is a bit like rubbing your tummy while trying to pat your head, but it does work, I promise!

I HAVE HAD A FEW COMMENTS THAT THERE HAVE BEEN SOME DIFFERENT DYE LOTS NOTICED IN THE GREEN AND DARK GREEN YARNS. Unfortunately this was something that I hoped would not happen, but it was, to a certain extent, beyond my control. For the blanket I had to order a vast amount of yarn from Rowan, and they sold to me what they had in the warehouse of the colours that I wanted, and then if they did not have enough stock, they then ordered a fresh batch from their suppliers. And as you know, yarns are dyed in batches and a new batch means a new dye lot. It was impossible for the warehouse to pick out specific dye lots for me as it is now all run by robots (how frightening is that!?!) which do not identify different dye lots, just the shades numbers. So this was a bit of an issue which I was pretty much helpless to do anything about. Going forward with Mystery Blanket 2011 I will do my best to try and keep a tighter control on this, but with over 50 large boxes of yarn being delivered, it is a bit of a challenge!

A FEW OF YOU HAVE TOLD ME THAT SQUARE 23 (SAME AS SQUARE 39) is knitting up quite a bit smaller than the other squares. I have advised that you use a smaller needle for this square as lace stitches usually loosen up the tension in comparison to stocking stitch. However, if your square is coming up too small, then just use the normal size needle (3.75mm) for it and see if this makes it any better. And remember that a good block and a press will always help ease in or out the size and shape of your knitting.

ON SQUARE 10 FROM MAIL-OUT 4 and square 31 from mail-out 3, I did not specify in the key for the symbols that when you slip the stitch you should take the yarn back before you slip. Some of you have not done this and have ended up with a bar across your slipped stitch. If this is what you have done, then I would advise that you don’t undo it, but make sure that when the square is repeated you do what you did the first time round so that they all match. This was my mistake and I should have been more specific with my instructions. However, a bar across a slipped stitch does actually look good, so you could call it a “design feature” (otherwise known as a get-out clause!)

YARN IN BEESTON, NOTTINGHAM are holding monthly Mystery Blanket Club meetings in their delightful shop, and I was able to join them on March 3rd for their first meeting. Esther Withers, Mary Leeson, Jane Trought, Helen Jones, Dawn Mindested, Kath Foley, Venita Parry and Evelyn Pawley all made it to the first meeting. It was lovely to meet you all that evening and we spent a couple of hours together discussing the squares and exchanging help and advice while Alison and Sarah looked after us with tea, coffee and biscuits. I think that the ladies found it quite reassuring to be amongst fellow Mystery Blanket Club members, so if you get a chance to join a group then I would suggest that you do so as it really is a lovely thing to be part of. There are plenty of groups set up around the country and a few of you have already reported back to me on how it all went. The list of contact names is on January and February’s web postings, so you might just want to give that another look if you would like to join a group. The next meeting at Yarn is on Wednesday 7th April, and then in May it is planned for Wednesday 5th. So see you there!!!

THIS MONTH THERE ARE 2 OPTIONS FOR SQUARE 10. I think that my last posting about when and where to knit up the options caused some of you some confusion as I said that whichever option you knit up for square 38, you must also do this same option for squares 10, 12 and 40. However, this does not necessarily mean that these 4 squares are the same motif — in fact, as you can see from this month, square 38 from mail-out 3 is a different fish to square 10 from this month. But you would be wise to choose the same option for all of these four squares as it will keep the centre of the blanket balanced in terms of patterning. I hope that this explanation un-confuses those of you who were confused and makes it all clear!

A MEMBER GAVE ME A REALLY GOOD TIP ABOUT KEEPING THE SQUARES ORGANISED, so I am going to pass this onto you. Just imagine coming to the end of the project and nothing is labeled up…it could take you ages to sort out your squares when all you will want to do is finish the blanket! I thought that this was a great tip and worth telling you about — although I am sure that there are other members who are already doing this, but for some of you it will be enlightening! If you have knitted separate squares, then it would be wise to label them with either stickers or swing-tickets so that you know which ones are which. Now that some of the squares are being repeated, this is really important. Alternatively, if you have knitted your squares in strips, then it would be a good idea to label up your strips in a similar way so that you know which strip is number 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7. You could keep them in labeled plastic bags, which will also keep your knitting nice and clean! It won’t take you long to do each month, and your project will be so organised!

THE 3RD PAYMENT OF £20.00 IS DUE BY 25TH APRIL for those of you who are paying by instalments. If you are paying by Paypal then I will email you a Paypal form around 15th April. This will give you 10 days to pay. Those of you who are paying by cheque will need to get your next cheque to me by 25th April. Many of you have sent me post-dated cheques, so these will be paid into my account on or just after 25th April. And if you forget then no worries — I will remind you! Many thanks for keeping your payments up to date — it is a great help to me in running this Club efficiently.

MYSTERY BLANKET CLUB 2010 — PRIZE DRAW 4 (April)

This month's winner is Member 128 Sally Broad from Clevedon, North Somerset.

Well done Sally. Please choose a prize from the following selection:
   - A Debbie Abrahams book: Blankets & Throws To Knit / 25 Cushions To Knit / More Blankets & Throws / 25 Beaded Knits / Design Your Own Knits (signed, if desired)
   - A Debbie Abrahams dvd: More Blankets & Throws/A Professional Finish 1
   - A Debbie Abrahams kit from the selection on my website
   - A set of 12 handmade ceramic buttons from the selection on my website (can be mixed)
   - 4 packs of Debbie Abrahams beads from the selection on my website

I will contact you directly to discuss your choice and delivery.

Have a great April and maybe slow down on the chocolates now that Easter is over…but don’t slow down with the knitting!!!.....“see you” again next month!

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POST 3 FROM DEBBIE on 1st March 2010

THIS MORNING THE LAST PLACE IN THE MYSTERY BLANKET CLUB is in the process of being signed up, so after this the Club is sold out. This means that 500 knitters from all over the world are knitting up this year's blanket, which I am thrilled about! So thank you to everyone that has supported me again this year and I hope that each month is as exciting as the last for you all. All of the March parcels have now been posted — the last of them were taken to the post office on Friday — so you should all be receiving them any day now. Since the first mailing only a few parcels have gone astray, so please remember that if you have not received anything by the second week of the month, then get in contact with me and let me know and then I will send you a replacement.

MEMBERS THAT ARE PAYING BY INSTALMENTS have the “payment due” dates written on their welcome letter, which was posted out with the membership card. However, as I have had a few queries about when the remaining payments are due, I am going to list when those dates are so that everyone is aware of them. I will send a reminder to all of those members who are paying by cheque when your cheque is due, and I will email a money request form to those that are paying by Paypal. So you do not have to remember yourself. These are the dates:

25th April
25th June
25th August

YOU WILL FIND THAT SOME SHEETS IN YOUR PACKAGES have the patterns for two squares printed on one side. So if you think that you have a pattern missing, please check carefully that you have not missed it. This happened in mail out 1 with squares 23 and 36, and in this month?s mail out with squares 30 and 32.

SQUARE 39 this month is the same lace square with beads that you knitted up for square 23 in mail out 1. I had quite a few members contact me about this pattern, and there seemed to be some confusion over the stitch pattern on the even numbered rows and getting the number of stitches correct. So I am going to explain exactly how this pattern works so that hopefully no-one is confused this time round!

— You should work row 1 as follows: K2, then “yfrn” means bring the yarn towards you between the needles and then take it back up over the top of the needle and back round to the front again, ready to purl. You then P1, P3tog, P1, and then “yon” means that you do nothing but keep the yarn held at the front as you work the next stitch (which is K1).

— You should work row 3 as follows: K3, then “yf” means bring the yarn towards you between the needles and hold it there as you sl 1, K2tog and psso. You must leave the yarn at the front as you do this and not take it back between the needles. After psso you then bring yf again, and so on to the end of the row.

— On rows 3 and 7 after you have placed the beads, to keep the beads held at the front of the work you will need to hold the beads down against the work as you sl1, K2tog, psso. Some knitters are finding that their beads are moving round to the back of the work, so you just need to make sure that they are held at the front.

— At the end of every row you should still have 39 sts, and not anymore and not any less!

And hopefully this should help!

THIS MONTH THERE ARE OPTIONS ON TWO SQUARES, numbers 31 and 38. I have had a few members ask me if you have to stick to either option 1 or option 2 all the way through the project. The answer to this is no, not for all of the squares. So I thought that it might help you if I tell you now which squares have options in the whole project, and when you need to stick to either option one or option two to keep the design balanced:

— Square 22: whichever option you go for, you must repeat that option for square 28
— Square 43: whichever option you go for, you must repeat that option for squares 1, 7 and 49
— Square 38: whichever option you go for, you must repeat that option for squares 10, 12 and 40
— Square 31: whichever option you go for, you must repeat that option for squares 17, 19 and 33
— Square 25: you can do either option regardless of what you have chosen to do before.

TO HELP YOU IDENTIFY WHICH TECHNIQUE YOU SHOULD BE USING FOR EACH SQUARE, I have written a brief description at the top of each pattern instruction. So for example, on square 38 I have described it as an “Intarsia motif with beads” so this suggests to you that the intarsia technique would be better to use than the fair isle technique to knit this square up. In knitting there are no “rights” and “wrongs” — just ways to get a better result. So my suggestions that I give on technique are just what I would recommend. As long as you are happy with the results you are getting, then how you get there does not really matter. So please do not start undoing anything that you have already knitted — unless you are not satisfied that you have achieved the best result possible!

MANY OF YOU HAVE NOW GUESSED THE THEME OF THE MYSTERY BLANKET, but for those of you who are still guessing, here are a few more letters to get you thinking:

— — N — A — H / — H — / — — A

Next month I will reveal the theme and tell you more about my inspiration for the project.

SOME MORE MEMBERS HAVE CONTACTED ME ABOUT MYSTERY BLANKET GROUPS and they have asked me to post their email addresses on my website. So if you live near to any of these knitters and fancy getting in touch, then they would be delighted to hear from you:

June Atkinson, Member 236 is in York: jvatkinson@yahoo.co.uk

Caroline Chapman, Member 328 is in Brighton, East Sussex: caroline_c_64@hotmail.com

Susan Ross, Member 96 is in Great Chesterford, Essex: honeybun@talktalk.net (contact her after April)

Jill Holden, Member 269 is in Radlett, Hertfordshire: rob.holden1@btinternet.com

Madeleine Bilbrough, Member 306 is in Taunton, Somerset: withybrake@aol.com

Lynda Wynder, Member 405 is in Ashford, Kent: lynda2749@googlemail.com

Jenny Stilwell is a Mystery Blanket Club member and a Rowan Consultant at Welwyn John Lewis. She has arranged regular meetings for Mystery Blanket Club members (and other knitters too!) in the Place To Eat from 10.00am — 12.00pm on the following dates:
March 17th
April 28th
May 26th
June 23rd
July 21st
August 18th
September 15th
October 27th
November 24th

So if you fancy meeting with other fellow members, why don't you get in touch and have some Mystery Blanket Club fun together!

AND FINALLY FOR THIS POSTING, THE THIRD MYSTERY BLANKET CLUB PRIZE DRAW FOR 2010!


MYSTERY BLANKET CLUB 2010 — PRIZE DRAW 3 (March)

This month's winner is Member 333 Clare Haw from Rotherham, South Yorkshire.

Well done Clare. Please choose a prize from the following selection:
   - A Debbie Abrahams book: Blankets & Throws To Knit / 25 Cushions To Knit / More Blankets & Throws / 25 Beaded Knits / Design Your Own Knits (signed, if desired)
   - A Debbie Abrahams dvd: More Blankets & Throws/A Professional Finish 1
   - A Debbie Abrahams kit from the selection on my website
   - A set of 12 handmade ceramic buttons from the selection on my website (can be mixed)
   - 4 packs of Debbie Abrahams beads from the selection on my website

I will contact you directly to discuss your choice and delivery.

Have fun this month and enjoy the squares!

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POST 2 FROM DEBBIE on 1st February 2010

THE SECOND PARCELS for February have all been posted out now and should be with you soon. The Christmas break disrupted some of the deliveries for January, and a few of the members received their parcels very late — which I can only apologies for (on behalf of the Royal Mail) — but now I think that everyone has their first set of squares to knit up, with the second batch for February arriving any day from now. As pointed out on your welcome letter, the parcels are posted out on the 1st of the month, however, we try, if possible, to get them to the post office a few days before that so that you get them by the 1st. However, you should expect your parcel to arrive within the first week of each new month. We post out the parcels to all of the overseas members a week before the end of the month, with the faint hope that everyone in the Club will receive their parcels at around the same time. Our aim is to try and keep everyone happy and knitting at the same time!

EACH SQUARE SHOULD BE BLOCKED OUT AND PRESSED to approximately 15cm x 15cm (6in x 6in). However, the size of your finished squares are dependent on your own tension that you achieve. So if you find that your squares are knitting up slightly bigger or smaller than this, it does not matter. Just block and press them all to a uniform size. Unless you are way out on your tension and they are coming up huge, there will be enough yarn in your parcels to cover any small discrepancies with tension.

HOW SHOULD I BLOCK AND PRESS MY SQUARES? — a question that I have been asked a few times this month. When I knitted up the sample blanket I worked in vertical strips (as suggested on the order of piecing page) and I blocked each square as I went along. However, it would be perfectly ok to block and press each completed strip rather than each individual square — if this is easier for you. I used a damp pressing method rather than an iron, and blocked and pressed each square as follows:

With WS facing up towards you, pin out the knitted square onto a suitable surface (for example, ironing board, pressing board, blanket) and using a tape measure ensure that the knitting measures the same horizontally as it does vertically.

Lightly spray the knitting with cold water (a spray gun for watering plants is ideal for this).

Let the knitting dry out completely before removing the pins.

Please note that some of the squares with stitch textures may appear to knit up to a different size to the others in the blanket. For example, square 44 with the sequins and square 29 with the purl and knit stitch pattern will most probably come off the needles and not look long enough as the stitch structures will “concertina” the fabrics down in length. However, you will have to make sure that when you block out these squares you gently ease them into shape so that they measure the same dimensions of your other squares. And believe me — they will all then be the same size and will piece together nice and easily!

MANY OF YOU HAVE GUESSED THE THEME OF THE BLANKET CORRECLY within the first month, however, I will not yet disclose the title of the blanket as some of you are still guessing. So here is another clue … I have added in some more letters:

— — N — — — H / — H — / — — —

If anyone hasn’t guessed it correctly yet, then please get in touch with me if you think that you know the answer: debbie@da-handknits.demon.co.uk

THE FOLLOWING MEMBERS ARE INTERESTED IN HEARING FROM OTHER MEMBERS IN THEIR AREA, so if you fancy joining a Mystery Blanket Club group or having someone else to contact about your Mystery Blanket knitting queries, then they would be delighted to hear from you!

Norma Jackson, Member 251 is in the Dorset/Wiltshire/Hampshire area: nsj@keme.co.uk

Jane McCandlish, Member 293 is in the Harrogate/York area: ianandj@hotmail.com

Christine Haigh, Member 064 is in South Worcestershire: cshaigh@btinternet.com

Alison Allen, Member 332 is in Warwickshire: poshpaws48@aol.com

Pauline Farrar, Member 059 is in Oxfordshire: pauline.farrar@ntlworld.com

Heather Crane, Member 149 is in the West Yorkshire/Leeds area: heather_l_savage@yahoo.co.uk

Maggie Winter, Member 131 is in the Stockton on Tees area: maggiewntr56@googlemail.com

Sophie Fergusson, Member 049 is in the West Sussex/Surrey area: sophie@fergussons.org

Gaby Martin, Member 002 is in Herefordshire: gabynmartin@btconnect.com

Mairead Quinn, Member 446 is in Ireland (but also would like to hear from members in Northern Ireland): maireadq@gmail.com

Jessica Sant, Member 468 is in the Philadelphia, USA area: jessica.sant@gmail.com

Vivienne Bunt, Member 478 is in New South Wales, Australia: vmbunt@optusnet.com.au

Susie Manso, Member 189 is in East London: susie.manso@ntlworld.com

Janet Holdsworth, Member 197 is in South West London: janet.holdsworth@btinternet.com

Ann Derham, Member 378 is in Leicestershire: ann.derham@talktalk.net

Sarah and Alison are at Yarn in Beeston, Nottingham: info@yarn-in-notts.co.uk

Gwyn Davies from North London has also let me know that there is a weekly meeting for knitters held at John Lewis in Oxford Street at The Place To Eat on Wednesdays between 10.00am and 12.00pm. She says that many of the group are Mystery Blanket Club members, but they welcome all knitters!

Thank you to everyone that contacted me about Mystery Blanket Club members, and special thanks to all of the members listed above who kindly gave me their permission to post their email addresses on my website. I hope that you all get together and have some fun!

MY BLANKETS & THROWS TO KNIT dvd is still available to buy and it shows you many different knitting techniques, including intarsia, cables, swiss-darning, beads, picking up stitches and mattress stitch. So if some of you are struggling with new techniques you might find this useful. It usually costs £13.50, but for all Mystery Blanket Club members I am offering 10% off this price, £12.15, (with free postage to UK members). It will play on any UK dvd player or computer (PC and Mac). If you are interested in purchasing a copy, please get in contact with me and I will send you a copy.

I HAVE HAD SEVERAL REQUESTS FOR PATTERN INSTRUCTIONS TO BE EMAILED each month. This is something that I offered as a choice to members in last years’ Club, however, this year I decided to streamline all of the parcels and include paper copies of the pattern instructions in everyone’s parcels. This makes the packing of the parcels easier to do with less chance of making any errors. However, if anyone would like the patterns to be emailed to them, then I am quite happy to do this. You will still get your patterns included in your monthly parcels, but you will also receive them by email. Just get in touch and let me know: debbie@da-handknits.demon.co.uk

AND FINALLY FOR THIS POSTING, THE SECOND MYSTERY BLANKET CLUB PRIZE DRAW FOR 2010!


MYSTERY BLANKET CLUB 2010 — PRIZE DRAW 2 (February)
This month's winner is Member 477 Sue Stewart from Port Pirie, South Australia.

Well done Sue. Please choose a prize from the following selection:
   - A Debbie Abrahams book: Blankets & Throws To Knit / 25 Cushions To Knit / More Blankets & Throws / 25 Beaded Knits / Design Your Own Knits (signed, if desired)
   - A Debbie Abrahams dvd: More Blankets & Throws/A Professional Finish 1
   - A Debbie Abrahams kit from the selection on my website
   - A set of 12 handmade ceramic buttons from the selection on my website (can be mixed)
   - 4 packs of Debbie Abrahams beads from the selection on my website

I will contact you directly to discuss your choice and delivery.

And that is it for this month! Happy knitting to everyone in the Club and remember to keep in touch with me (and each other!)

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POST 1 FROM DEBBIE on 7th January 2010

WELCOME TO THE 2010 MYSTERY BLANKET CLUB and thank you to everyone that has signed up and joined the Club. This year I am thrilled to have half of the members from last year re-join plus many new members. And like last year there are members from all over the world including USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Greece, Germany, France, Norway, Austria, The Netherlands, Spain, Ireland and the UK. So welcome everyone to a unique project that will keep you busy until the end of the year! And I hope that you have lots of fun with the project.

THERE ARE STILL SOME PLACES LEFT IN THE CLUB but new members are signing up daily. I have increased the number of places from 380 to 500 this year, and I am very close to filling all of the places. But if you have not signed up yet and wish to, please download the correct form from the three below (UK, Europe and rest of the World) and get in touch with me: debbie@da-handknits.demon.co.uk

AS EXPECTED THE DELIVERIES OF THE FIRST MAIL-OUT have been a little bit disrupted by the Christmas and New Year post, plus we had a Bank Holiday after Boxing Day here in the UK. We now have the added problem of snow across the UK which is not helping things. I know that some of you received your parcels before New Year and some of you are still waiting for your first parcel to arrive. All of the parcels were posted between the 29th and the 31st December. It is impossible to plan it so that everyone gets their parcel on the same day, but you should all receive your parcels within the first week of each new month. If your parcel doesn’t arrive then please email me to let me know and I will chase it with the Post Office. If your parcel cannot be traced then a new parcel will be posted to you. And if the original parcel turns up later on, I would ask you if you would kindly return it to me and I will refund your postage costs.

YOU HAVE A COLOUR CODER IN YOUR FIRST PACK and it is important that you use it to identify the colours in the blanket. The shade numbers on the ball-bands correspond to those written on the mail-out letter, beside which I have written a generic name for each colour. If you do not use the correct colour for the correct square then you may run out of some of the yarns, so please take some time to set up your colour coder to avoid getting the colours mixed up.

YOU HAVE ALL BEEN GIVEN A UNIQUE MEMBERSHIP NUMBER which I would ask you to use in all your correspondence to me. Most of you have already done this with your emails and monthly payments — so thank you! This is extremely helpful for me when I am trying to find your files to update them.

EVERYONE HAS BEEN SENT A MEMBERSHIP CARD AND A WELCOME LETTER and this would have been sent to you either separately or it was included in your first parcel. If you have not received this please could you let me know and I will re-send it to you.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE THAT IS PAYING BY INSTALMENTS as most of you have paid on time, which is a great help to me. Those of you that are paying by Paypal will receive a Paypal request from me around the 21st of the month, and those of you that are paying by cheque will be either reminded to send me a cheque, or I will remind you that your post-dated cheque is about to be paid in. The payments are bi-monthly so the next payment is not due until 25th February. Details of the payment dates are on your welcome letter.

THE THEME OF THE MYSTERY BLANKET CLUB this year has already had a couple of guesses, but no-one has guessed the correct name of it yet. You have only seen four of the squares so far, and remember that there is a lot more to come, both in pattern and colour. So here is a little bit of help!

—   —   N   —   —   —   —   /   —   —   —   /   —   —   —


If you think you know the answer then please get in touch with me and I will let you know if you have guessed correctly. There is no prize for the correct answer and it is simply a bit of fun! So get guessing! …

EVERYONE WILL BE SENT PATTERNS FOR BOTH OPTIONS this year as I thought that this would give the project more flexibility. Most of the squares are the same in the design, but you will be told when there is a choice to make. And to keep the design balanced, you will be told when you will need to knit the same option again. For example, there is a choice this month on square 22, and when you get the pattern for square 28 it will say that you need to knit the same option again. I hope that this makes sense to everyone, but if you need clarification, please get in touch with me.

THERE ARE TWO MYSTERY BLANKET CLUB WORKSHOPS taking place this year. The first one on the 17th/18th April at Lana Pura in Devon that was mentioned in your welcome letter has sold out, but Alison will still take down names for a waiting list in case of any cancellations. You can contact Alison at alison@lanapura.com. Alternatively, Sarah Lewis in Oxfordshire has organised a one-day workshop on Thursday 13th May for Mystery Blanket Club members. It will be held in Faringdon, which is on the Oxfordshire/Wiltshire border and it will run from 10.30am – 4.30pm. Included in the price of £45.00 is your tutoring by me for the day and morning coffee, afternoon tea and a lovely lunch, all provided by the local farm shop. There is a maximum of 15 students, so early booking is recommended. You can book through www.addicted2knitting.com (tel: 01865 820808) or contact Sarah on 07968 765289. It will be a fun day in which you can iron out any Mystery Blanket problems and get to meet other members too. So it would be great to see you there!

SOME OF YOU HAVE REQUESTED TO BE PUT IN TOUCH WITH OTHER MEMBERS in your area, and I am in the process of doing that at the moment. Those of you that have asked, I will be in contact with you soon. I am just working out the best way to do this, without breaking any data protection laws! So thank you for being patient and soon you will hear from me.

There are two groups that have already been organised that you might want to join. The first one has been organised by Gillian Hanhart, and will be held at Westminster Reference Library, 35 St Martins Street, London WC2H 7HP. Gillian says that the group will be open to any knitters that want to come along (including non Mystery Blanket Club members), and she has arranged alternate daytime and evening meetings on the following Mondays:

January 11th: 10.00am – 12 noon
February 8th: 5.30pm – 7.30pm
March 8th: 10.00am – 12 noon
April 12th: 5.30pm – 7.30pm
May 10th: 10.00am – 12 noon
June 14th: 5.30pm – 7.30pm
July 12th: 10.00am – 12 noon
August 9th: 5.30pm – 7.30pm
September 13th: 10.00am – 12 noon
October 11th: 5.30pm – 7.30pm
November 8th: 10.00am – 12 noon
December 13th: 5.30pm – 7.30pm

If you would like to contact Gillian about joining the group then you can email her on: gillfhart@yahoo.co.uk

The second group has been organised by Emma Richardson in Rushden, Northants, and will be held at her lovely knitting shop, Manfield Crafts. The meetings have been scheduled on the third Thursday of the month from 7.00pm – 9.00pm on the following dates:

January 21st
February 18th
March 18th
April 15th
May 20th
June 17th
July 15th
No meeting in August
September 16th
October 21st
November 18th

If you are interested in joining this group then you can contact Emma at: enquiries@manfieldcrafts.com

A NEW DEBBIE ABRAHAMS WEBSITE IS ON THE CARDS, however, it is still under construction, so it will not be ready to launch for a while. Things always seem to take a lot longer than expected to sort out, so I just wanted to let you know that it is still going to happen, but not quite yet! I will keep you posted …

AND FINALLY FOR THIS POSTING, THE FIRST MYSTERY BLANKET CLUB PRIZE DRAW FOR 2010!


MYSTERY BLANKET CLUB 2010 — PRIZE DRAW 1 (January)
This month's winner is Member 11 Pat Blain from Northumberland.

Well done Pat. Please choose a prize from the following selection:
   - A Debbie Abrahams book: Blankets & Throws To Knit / 25 Cushions To Knit / More Blankets & Throws / 25 Beaded Knits / Design Your Own Knits (signed, if desired)
   - A Debbie Abrahams dvd: More Blankets & Throws/A Professional Finish 1
   - A Debbie Abrahams kit from the selection on my website
   - A set of 12 handmade ceramic buttons from the selection on my website (can be mixed)
   - 4 packs of Debbie Abrahams beads from the selection on my website

I will contact you directly to discuss your choice and delivery.

Happy knitting everyone this month, and remember that if you have a query you can always get in contact with me: debbie@da-handknits.demon.co.uk or you can join a knitting group and talk to each other. And keep those Mystery Blanket guesses coming in!

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Email your comments to – Debbie Abrahams
DA–Handknits, 30 Bannerman Road, Nottingham NG6 9HZ
Tel: +44 (0)115 916 1524

All Rights Reserved Copyright © 1997–2010 DA–Handknits, Debbie Abrahams.
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