4 shawls in a year...

A shawl each trimester (approximately)...

I need designers, NOW! 

I had already planned to work with Christelle Nihoul during my visit in France in July, so I immediately contacted her and she liked the idea (the pattern is the first one to be released, and I can only say it is magnificent!) 

Next, I called Maria Zilakou, she was hooked - which I was sure she would love to be a part of it, and loves a challenge.

As all people who loves their work, I want this adventure to be a success, not only for me but for the designers as well, so I tried to contact either designers that I had already worked in the past and where wonderful professionals (believe me or not there are designers that won't even promote their own work... which is frustrating). I am confident that all artists need their time to create and be free to play with their ideas, so I never tell them what to do and rarely see a sketch of the finished item to approve, so it might be risky for me if the designer doesn't really puts himself to the design. In the end it is my belief that someone must be allowed to create from his soul, it is the only way it will then speak to others.

So I am thinking all this... I need someone who is serious, friendly and that I like working with... No need to think a lot, Meiju is one of my favorite designers to collaborate. We had talked about doing something in the future, and here I was with a plan... she said yes! 

HURRAY! One more to go...

Who is gonna be lucky number 4? My mind traveled in Zug, Switzerland 2015 to the most friendly and smiling person.. Romi! So I wrote her an e-mail (hoping and praying)... and she said yes! YES!!!! I should dye her yarn now and send it to her :P 

So 4 shawls for 4 colorways for 4 sunflower paintings.

I am happy, but restless.

Color Is Power, and believe me those 4 (colorways) are POWERFUL but they can be LETHAL together.

A fifth shawl has to come, using all 4 colorways to create the final piece in this collection... a colorful masterpiece of Van Gogh's Sunflowers.

Who can come after Romi, that loves color as much as I do? Van Gogh was Dutch... maybe a dutch designer? or someone that lives in Holland? It was a start a few names came up: Stephen West (Overbooked of course but I had to try :P life is for those who dare lol), Nancy Marchant (sweetly declined to work on her other designs...love you Nancy) and others... so when Susanne Sommer aka Sosu said "That does sound like a very exciting project! Thank you for thinking of me.. I'm always up for a challenge, I'd love to be a part of it" I was over the moon!

Finally, I am satisfied 5 shawls over a year with 5 wonderful designers, KALs and prizes.

You have the opportunity to buy all 5 of them right NOW with a 15% discount and FREE shipment. You will get the yarn base that was originally (11 Zeus skeins, 2 Apollon skeins and 1 Poseidon skein) used for the pattern and you will be able to choose your colorways when the shawls will launch.

You can wait for each of the shawls to be released as pre-orders and sign-up then for the KALs.

I can not wait to for this new adventure to begin!

Van Gogh was at the top of my list to create a colorway, but who says Van Gogh says Sunflowers (which is also my favorite flower)... but which painting? 

Did you know there are 4 versions of "Sunflowers"? And I am only referring to the most famous set, the ones in a vase (4 earlier ones depict sunflowers lying on the ground, and 3 later ones called "repetitions"). The year is 1888, Van Gogh wants to impress Gaughin with those paintings as decorations for their shared studio in Arles.

Four Paintings - Sunflowers in a vase

1. Turquoise Backround

2. Royal blue Backround, destroyed by fire in WWII

3. Blue green Backround

4. Yellow Backround

I was intrigued and started researching and reading more about them. I was fascinated even more and couldn't choose one of them. It was like separating family... So why not make an colorway for each? "VAN" "GOGH" "VINCENT" "SUNFLOWERS". Yeah!

BUT, (told you there is always a but) I wanted them to be celebrated, and be honored in a way... and then a brilliant idea came to me, I wonder sometimes how my brain works but I got to say that sitting alone in a summer night with a long dress, cocktail at hand makes my grey cells make magic (well... not always lol)... Eureka moment, laughing and jumping up and down... friends looking at me like "oh who knows what she has in mind this time" lol

Let's do a shawl collection inspired by those four colorways inspired by those four paintings....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!