Flights of Fancy CAL

Thursday 31st August 2023

Tags: Blogstars, Fun, Crochet, MAL/CAL/KAL

We are always super-excited when  Polly Plum tells us she has a new Crochet Along in the offing and her latest design is going to make you swoon.

Flights of Fancy is a daydream made of yarn and the blanket comes in three suggested colourways put together by Polly using our Special DK in six shades.  The pattern includes instructions for a host of different sizes from a very small baby blanket to a huge bedspread. There are 10 parts to the CAL published weekly. Part 1 will be available from 15th September on Ravelry and Etsy. 

We wanted to find out more about this truly gorgeous design and managed to grab some time with Polly.

“Flights of Fancy was about me letting my imagination run wild, which is why I named it Flights of Fancy. I’d created the main medallion motif and it sat around for quite a while before I decided what to do with it. When I picked it back up, I knew I wanted to make something unusual with it, but more importantly something FUN and a little bit over the top. Essentially, I wanted to put my personality in a blanket,” she told us.

“The medallions have these lovely flowing lines, and I wanted something to contrast that while still complementing it and that’s where the polka dots come in. I mean... What’s more fun than polka dots? Then it all had to wrapped in a very wide, very fancy border (again, over the top). It’s all a bit much, but, you know... in a good way. Pretty much exactly how I think of myself.”

Do you start your process with colour first or motif?

I almost exclusively begin with the motif and then choose colours for it. I like to build the lines and shapes first and then let them tell me what colours they’d like to be. Whatever I think I’m aiming for when I begin a design almost inevitably becomes something completely different along the way. I can’t predict it at all. So, I let it happen and then apply more appropriate colours to it later.

Why is playing with colour important to you?

Colour is so powerful. It can stir up emotions. It can sooth and calm. It can excite and invigorate. Colour can be its own form of self-expression. I find it really challenging to crochet with colours that I don’t like or that don’t make me feel anything. If I’m going to be looking at my hands that long, I want to enjoy what I’m looking at. And, especially when I’m using multiple colours in a project, I want them to make me feel something. 


We are also running a special competition judged by Polly, where you could win the yarn to make a medium sized blanket.  We all have our own favourites shades, and we know how much you enjoy putting colours together, so we have created a template for you to choose your own which you can download here.

Polly has some advice for you when choosing colours and what she will be looking for when she judges the contest: “I’m looking for something I never expected. Something unusual and exciting. I like to be surprised and I like colour combinations that evoke a lot of emotion.”

So over to you. Simply take a picture of your Flights of Fancy palette and upload it to social media between 1st and 8th September using the hashtag # 

You can find out more about Polly's work here.
 

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