Looking ahead

Sorry, I meant to post this a few days ago but, dammit, actual work got in the way. So a little later than planned, but still entirely relevant, what has 2014 got in store for me?

January is looking rather frantic. As soon as the children go back to school it is go go go!

We start off with Knit Camp over on Kat's blog where I am playing camp counsellor and writing some of the posts. Its a free online course to get you knitting or to improve your rusty skills. Its going to be a lot of fun. If you'd like to join in simply check the posts on Kat's blog each day and if you are on facebook then you can join the Knit Camp facebook group here. There are still a few camp kits available if you would like to indulge in a little self gifting or spending of your Christmas money.

Next up is The Knit Project, from the same team (and some of the same designers and some new) as The Crochet Project we will launch our first knitted collection - its theme is Ice Queen and its a beautiful collection I can't wait to share it with you!

I am teaching a lot this year. Not only have I got all the usual classes and some fantastic new ones at my usual haunt, The Sheep Shop, (including THREE FULLY BOOKED beginners' classes early in the year! - get your name on a waiting list if you'd like to learn and we'll set up some more) but I will be teaching Top Down Design at Yarn on the Square in Ely on Saturday 5th April and travelling down to Needham Market to teach a few classes at Halfpenny Home this spring.

This Wednesday sees the start of another group arts project that I am leading in association with the charity Squeaky Gate to design screens for display in their Chelsea Flower Show garden. To say I am excited about this project is an understatement - I am amazed I haven't exploded with it!

As if May wasn't exciting enough with the Chelsea Flower Show I will also be attending Blogtacular - I've really enjoyed and learnt a lot from the twitter chats in the run up to the conference and I am so excited by the range of speakers. I hope to learn loads and use it to lick this blog of mine into better shape next year.

As part of the blog redesign I plan to move off blogspot onto my own domain and set up a shop on it which means going through my magazine designs and deciding which to release as well as creating new content.

One thing I plan to continue this year on the blog is my popular Things I Didn't Know posts - I still have quite a few ideas in mind but if there is something you have always wanted to know about knitting, crochet or designing then drop me a line and I'll try and answer it in a blog post.

photo by Andy Sutton

By the end of this year I hope to have completed and published the Suffolk Collection too. At the moment I am at the yarn selection phase and next up will be swatching - I will be sure to take you along on the process with me.

I also need to get going on some of the 40by40 challenges this year, the clock is ticking... I hope you'll enjoy reading about them as much as I enjoy completing them.

This year my husband gets a sabbatical from work so I am planning to take a month off work too, in August, for a complete break, time with the children and a chance to recharge my batteries and maybe a little adventure (passports have been ordered!)

I am sure this year will throw even more at me as it progresses and I say "BRING IT ON!!" I feel happy and excited by the prospect of the year to come.

What have you got lined up?