Free knitting pattern - knit a sheep - knit a flock of sheep...

 

Sheep - they're in danger of taking over...

This week I posted my sheep knitting pattern freeon my website, then twittered about it, it generated a lot of new followers, seems sheep inspire people to follow...

Not many people have linked through to the website for the pattern though, so maybe they just want to follow like sheep, but not overrun themselves with woolly sheep... 

#sheep #LostinaBook #knittedsheep 

Plenty of noise in the library...

Coffee morning

 

I had a lovely morning at the coffee morning and story time at Clifton Library in York. I remember when libraries were very quiet places, but this morning there was plenty of noise from a new generation of book lovers, getting involved in books and stories.

This is my view from the back of my table, enjoying a coffee and biscuits... :)

And what of the sheep crisis I hear you asking...? Well, I managed to get 2 made last night - with a bit of help from my daughter who did the stuffing.

 

If you missed all the fun this morning, I'll be back at Clifton Library on the first Tuesday in October.

lavender sheep... whatever next?

OK this is what happens when I let my imagination run away with itself... but what secret is inside these mini sheep...? 

Sheep...!

New in my etsy shop - and - my online bookshop

But I'm Not Sleepy gift pack

What is it about sheep...? 

These cute little characters have been a great addition to my table at book signings, and now due to the attention my knitted sheep have been getting in my etsy shop I've added this brand new gift pack:

All my books at a glance - oh and some sheep to...

All my books at a glance - oh and a sheep too... can you guess from the covers where the sheep come into it...?

 

 

My intention is to grab unsuspecting surfers off the net - kicking and screaming, dripping wet if necessary - oh no wait... they're not that sort of surfers...

...and persuade them that they need a book:

.............................................................................

I have picture books to share with the little ones in your life: 

   

 

.......................................................... 

I have the Doodle series  - chapter books, with black and white drawings, ideal for early readers, or just to read aloud. 

   

.........................................................

And my latest book, one for the adults, or more competent readers; a must for all the cat lovers out there - I think the title speaks for itself. It's a true story, illustrated with colour photos of cats and kittens. 

 

............................................................. 

New, and each one unique - cloth busy books for babies. A riot of colour, texture and things to pull and grab.

  

Book Stockists:

website online shop

Sheep - Promotion or Distraction...?

Wool shopping done, future sheep emergency averted..

So what's with all the sheep...?

Well, they started as a fun thing to put on my tables at book signings, and soon became a talking point. From the small child in a buggy who pointed and said "Baa" to the lady who bought one to put in her crib scene at Christmas - they certainly get noticed.

But where did they come from...?

They're the unruly characters from But I'm not Sleepy - who'd have thought that counting sheep to try and get to sleep could have led to this? So this morning instead of doing what you'd expect an author to be doing, I've been sourcing some more wool to build up my flock.

Well I really couldn't have predicted what happened next...

 Well I really couldn't have predicted what happened next...

In the middle of my promotion for A Face Full of Snow... sheep started selling...!

That's right, so I ended up doing some emergency sheep knitting, to ship off to Devon. Then another order came in, but don't panic, this one was for a knitting pattern for someone to knit their own sheep... phew...

Anyway the upshot is, I'm getting a little flock of sheep knitted up to avert more sheep emergencies, whilst really hoping that a few more people will buy patterns...

So what is it about sheep that people can't resist...?

...and should I really be doing another book about sheep...?

Or maybe I should just keep knitting... 

 

New sheep - wool crisis averted

The emergency wool trip turned up a new wool  - and here is the resulting sheep, slightly different, but different is good in handcrafted...  

So here is the first of the new flock:

So now all I have to do is turn the rest of this ball of wool into a flock of sheep in time for Saturday when I'm booked in at the Guildhall in York's city centre for a Christmas craft and gift fair.

Christmas fairs in York

A very successful day for Lost in a Book at my book signing in York at the weekend in Belfrey Hall on Stonegate in York's city centre.

Lost in a Book in York

The Christmas lights were twinkling in Stonegate and Christmas shoppers were out in force looking for something special, and York never disappoints, with a wealth of independent traders and festive fairs.

It's nice to know that among all the high tech presents getting wrapped up this Christmas, there'll be lots of my books - and yes a quite a few sheep... The sheep all went to new homes at the weekend, so now I need to go on an emergency wool shopping trip in order not to disappoint at my next book signing.

I've also been shopping for bags - and after getting carried away looking at polka dot bags, stripey bags, bags with Christmas trees on... I got a reality check at the checkout, and bought some less expensive ones instead. As an independent author and publisher I have to spend my money wisely, and the place for quality is in my products, not in fancy packaging that's only going to get thrown away...

Sheep shipped...

Not your average thing to do on a Monday morning, but then I like to be different...

I got an order late last night, for one sheep, which I have now shipped - well it hasn't actually gone on a ship, although given this morning's weather I could have done with a ship to sail down to the post office.

... anyway I got to thinking - I wonder why the name sheep is the same for a single sheep as a flock of sheep... maybe it's because sheep are so rarely on their own, that no one saw the need to think up a separate name for a sheep on its own.

Books, book signings and sheep...?

Here's a little excerpt from my home page, where you'll find a little bit of cyberspace which is dedicated to books - good old fashioned print on paper books that you can hold and read with no worries about batteries running out... but you will need a light to read by as it gets dark...

  

There's also a bit of a sheep theme running around this month, as woolly escapees from my bestseller But I'm Not Sleepy vie for attention among the books...

For a limited time I am offering my sheep knitting pattern absolutely free... 

Free knitting pattern now you can knit your own sheep, or knit a flock and then you can really count sheep...

 

My little bookshop in cyberspace is always open. It's a book signing that's always there waiting for you. There's even some first editions and a special short print run...

So have a rummage in the bookshop - there's my new true cat story: Outnumbered by Cats for adults. There are picture books to share and read aloud, and the Doodle series to read aloud or to encourage early readers to discover the joy of reading alone.  

Priceless: being told that a copy of The Monster Under The Bed has been read until it's shabby - it's been a loved book, just like a favourite teddy.  

For the rest of my ramblings pop along to my website. 

Knitted sheep pattern... diversification or just procrastination?

Why is it harder to write a knitting pattern than it was to design the pattern...?

As I knitted the first sheep, and admittedly there were a few false starts, I scrawled down the pattern in note form on a ball band, knowing that I would know what I meant. But to write a pattern for others to follow I feel I should put in a bit more effort, not to mention details...

But am I diversifying or just procrastination...? Do people really want to go around knitting sheep, or is it just me?

Comments would nice, to allay my suspicions that I'm just rambling into an abyss,  or add a comment on my facebook page if that's easier...

Knitting pattern to follow...

The Great Yorkshire Show, gentle giants, storms and all things woolly...

 It's a busy time in Yorkshire, with the Great Yorkshire Show in full swing. I was there on Tuesday, sat on the grass banks waiting for the heavy horses to come into the main arena, as heavy clouds gathered overhead... The storm clouds went wild, sending everyone rushing for cover and purchasing anything waterproof - my daughter and I totally carried off the kiddies rain ponchos in fetching doggy print.

Luckily the heavy horses were calmer than the weather, they're such gentle giants.

The shopping was good too, so much more fun than chain store shopping, from kitchen knives and an olive wood chopping board, to some beautiful artwork they had it all covered.

So my hands were pretty full of shopping by the time I made my way to the sheep pens, trying to find some sheep who looked like my characters from But I'm Not Sleepy. There were some funky looking sheep, and I think the ones most like mine were tucked away in the sheep shearing pen, but I did find these:

I wonder what this sheep is trying to say...?
"A up Pearl, sit up, we're having our photo taken..."

Knitted sheep, adding a woolly dimension to story time... 

“We’re not trouble makers are we Pearl?”

“No Hilda, certainly not.”

“It’s just that we’ve been rounded up so many times our heads are spinning.”

“Yes spinning.”

“Spinning into wool?” asked Lucy.

“No… spinning into a flock of dizzy sheep,” said Downboy.

(from But I'm Not Sleepy)

Knitting a cat... how hard can it be?

So... the sheep have gone down so well at book signings, that for my next challenge I'm going to knit Basil from Basil and the Flappy Thing...

I've got the wool, the knitting needles are raring to go, so what's missing? Well a pattern would be nice, and once I've knitted the first one, I'll have a pattern for any future Basils, but for now, I'm doing what I do best... winging it!

I'll be posting the results as Basil emerges in wool - that is if I can keep my cats away from the wool long enough to knit it... nothing like a bit of pressure to get a project started!

Random thoughts about characters and where they come from

Characters - where do they come from?

Sheep - what is it about sheep that makes them so appealing in story books?

When I started writing But I'm Not Sleepy I can't remember having sheep in mind at all, I simply wanted to write a bedtime story. Then the idea of not being able to get to sleep started to take over my thoughts, and most of the plot of the story unraveled itself in a swimming pool, as I swam up and down doing some lunchtime lane swimming...  I never count lengths, I simply swim up and down and let my mind drift where it will...

The sheep soon became very real, and it was the obvious progression for a sheepdog to turn up in Lucy's bedroom. Then the sheep became quite rebellious and decided that they were tired of being rounded up...

This is a clear case of characters popping up in a story and making it their own. Next came the cardboard pop-up sheep on my table at book signings, which attracted people's attention - it seems sheep are very popular. Before long I found myself knitting sheep, and I used to say I'd never make characters to merchandise my books - never say never! The knitted sheep went down very well at Christmas fairs, and earned their place at the fairs: form the little tot who said "Baa", persuading her parents that they must buy a sheep, and then ended up buying the book too, to the lady who bought one for herself for her crib scene.  

I even have a spin off book planned which is sheep based - is it any wonder my nearest and dearest are now thinking of me when they see anything sheep related, and sending me all sorts of links to funny sheep stuff...

Christmas book signing... there'll be books, there'll be sheep...

While bedlam ensues on the high street  this Saturday I'll be enjoying the Christmas  party atmosphere at York Flea Market , so why not come along and buy a unique gift for someone for Christmas, and enjoy some festive food and drink.

There'll be books - there'll be sheep. one sheep free with every purchase of But I'm Not Sleepy while stocks last...

Sheep production line... and new colours on the way!

Sheep production has become a bit of a production line this week, after running out of black wool, I knitted 4 sheep bodies in one evening, but only one had a head and they were all legless ad earless - so last night I knitted the other 3 heads and attached them, and did a line a ears which are all still connected like a a line of spaced out punting... So that means tonight must be faces and legs night. I think I prefer knitting one sheep at a time...

Sheep production is about to branch out into other colours - I've just been knitting cream sheep with black faces and legs so far, but I now have some black wool and some grey wool ordered, and I might even branch out into rainbow sheep - if there is a demand - views anyone...?

Free gift

Everyone loves a free gift, and since my knitted sheep have been such a hit at Christmas fairs, I've let some of them lose in my website bookshop, where they're running a amok and getting into mischief.

So if you'd like to give a good home to one of these woolly characters, they're £3 each, or free with a copy of But I'm Not Sleepy

One hand knitted sheep

approx size:

nose to tail 12cm

width 7cm (some are fatter than others)

height 7cm (when on tip toes)

Each sheep is hand made and therefore slightly different. They were inspired by the characters in the book But I'm Not Sleepy, and can be purchased individually or free as a gift from me when you buy a copy of the book.

Lost in a Book, knitted sheep and book signings...

Well on Friday I got totally lost in a book, and all mundane jobs and worries went out of my head, in favour of editing ready to  get a print quote for my next book. There are a lot of photos despite my best efforts to edit some out, so I think I'll be taking a deep breath before opening the quote, and hope I don't have to edit out any more.

Meanwhile... sheep production is back in full swing to promote But I'm Not Sleepy at my Christmas book signings - the next one is in the beautiful Tithe Barn in Nether Poppleton near York on Saturday 7th Dec 10am - 4.30pm There'll be one free knitted sheep with every purchase of But I'm Not Sleepy, while stocks last.

Counting sheep

Counting sheep... it's the tried and tested way of getting to sleep - but what happens to all the sheep once you've finished counting them? I bet you didn't think about that...?

Here at Lost in a Book things are in danger of getting out of hand. 

It all started with a notion to merchandise my book But I'm Not Sleepy.  One sheep took shape and sprang from my knitting needles, then one sheep lead to another until it is fast becoming a flock of sheep...

And where are all these sheep heading? Well they'll be making an appearance at Christmas fairs around the York area. The first one is Huntington School this Friday - who knows how many they'll be by then...