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Intro

This week I very warmly, if somewhat gruffly, welcome Amanda on to the show for an interview. Having previously enabled you to her new collection I was delighted to see more of her work on the front cover on Knit Now magazine. Enjoy some slight sidelines and finding out more about Amanda, her Fiat and lots of dodgy eyelash yarn chat.

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Interview

We start as we mean to go on with a mildly comedic journey through needle felt, crochet blanket magazines, to Amanda’s discovery of Ravelry and her subsequent adventures with spinning wheels before her hobby becoming a business. The release of her first pattern, and it’s popularity on Ravelry, spurred her on and gave her the encouragement she needed to keep going…mostly in orange. Although it’s not a full time profession for Amanda, it is certainly a big part of her life and slots in at the end of her hard working days as a Doctor.

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Amanda talks us through her design process. It mainly involves pinterest boards and a quick swatch, though she is not set in one particular method and enjoys taking a more relaxed and ‘haphazard’ approach. That keeps it from feeling a chore for her and keeps things different. No journey is ever a smooth one but there have been no major lessons or terrible experiences for Amanda, just the usual ‘too much yarn, too little time’ and some problems with the space/time continuum. Perhaps some errors and some questionable taste in hot water bottles, tea cosies and cheap yarn…by both of us…

As Autumn Falls, copyright OwlPrintPanda

Amanda’s highlight is the meeting of the lovely yarny community at the Edinburgh Yarn Festival. The realisation that she is a big part of the community and the opportunity to meet some of you lovely lot face to face really pleased her greatly. Amanda also talked honestly about the tremendous excitement at having your first submission accepted and the validation of your work. She is also a lover of Ravelry (who isn’t?) and joins the rest of us in wondering how anyone ever got by in the pre-Ravelry world and serious envy of those who discovered it before. The most valuable lesson – Remember that you do this because you love it, keep loving it.

Fearlas Mor, Copyright OwlPrintPanda

Some controversy – socks in bed? Discuss.

Wrap-Up

That’s all from me this week. As always, thank you for listening. Feedback is always appreciated, and you can email me or message me via Ravelry or social media. If you enjoyed listening today, please consider leaving an iTunes review, to help others find the podcast too. Happy crafting!