Placeholder for my course notes etc… pilot course by Sue Mercerie
Jan 17, 2024
First course materials released.
Jan 25, 2024
Catching up on previous material.
Jan 27, 2024
Would like to use Stylecraft Batik. Might be too ‘light’, so might need to intersperse with more saturated colours. Having talked with Sarah @melamine_fan on IG, might order a Scheepjes Scrumptious colour pack.
(Edit: didn’t order one in the end - need to make space in the house!!)
Feb 1, 2024
Managed to source some Violet and Plum from The Craft Cabin in Pontypool. Still looking for Olive.
Decided I might have to add some Graphite - will wait and see.
Feb 2, 2024
Made some more samples. Much happier with the blues and the silver one. Some colour combos I’m not keen on, but may look OK in a larger design. Very happy with the ombré versions :)
Also: found some Batik Elements (Iron, Krypton) on eBay and got a ball of Graphite to add to the bundle (same p&p).
Feb 3, 2024
Price reduced on a bundle of Batik on eBay. Quite a lot of cream in there, but I wanted some light areas.
Feb 4, 2024
Made a couple of pentagons with Silver as the final round - really love these ones! Quite restful and soothing colours.
Also found some Olive on eBay! Came in a bundle with Graphite and a King Cole Drifter, so might look to use some of that too.
Inspiration: paintings by Katie Allen, Swansea (@katie.allen.artist on IG).
Feb 11, 2024
Listened to Module 1 podcast: ‘Some final thoughts’.
Only shapes that MUST be included = pentagons, stars, diamonds & boats. Must remember!! Planning on including everything, but you never know if this will change.
Feb 13, 2024
Making pentagons using same wool for R2& R3:
Start R2 with {standing st plus 2ch (counts as tr +ch), tr } into same st … this allows a slst into ch-space at the end of R2, so R3 can start in a ch-space.
R3: {standing st plus 1 or 2 chs (counts as htr +ch), 2hdt } into same st
w/c Feb 19, 2024
Started making pentagon circles. Reused some of the pentagons I didn’t really like (red combos) and much prefer them how they are now.
March, 2024
I had inititally started working from an empty template and my inspiration photo - then doubted myself and started to work on more of a design, including crayons and digital work.
Seem to have spent so long trying to figure out the digital side and still ending up unhappy with it because there aren’t enough colours to create something my brain understands.
Not only has the digital side been challenging, but so has the sketch/colouring… my brain has struggled to create something with only a few ‘main’ colours. For me, it seems I need it to be either a really detailed design, or I need to just wing it and decide on the fly ;)
And now I’ve stalled because I’m second-guessing myself!! I feel that I need to go back to more of a “winging it” kind of working and just get crocheting again.
Mar 14, 2024
Started making my first 5-petal flower. Got as far as the spike stitch.
w/c Mar 18, 2024
Elongated the square image so it would fit the grid/template.
My daughter looked at the digital stuff I was struggling with and came up with a couple of options for combining the background inspo photo and the template. She confirmed that changing the opacity was the right thing to do - but she changed the opacity on the photo (I’d been doing it on the template). Not sure if it makes too much of a difference, but it was all doing my head in and I was just so grateful for her help.
She also managed to get the template lines a bit darker, by increasing contrast/opacity.
Printed off a couple of versions of the combined images. Opacity 90 was no use. Opacity 120 with original grey lines was a bit too faint. Opacity 120 with darker lines was OK, but I wanted the colour to be a bit darker. Opacity 150 seems fine - the darker lines have become a bit lighter, but it’s as good as it can be, I think.
Mar 23, 2024
Finished my 1st complete 5-petal flower - for the quiet corner top left. Love it :)
Mar 27, 2024
Took photo of 2nd 5-petal flower along with the 1st. All greens to go with the circle.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C5BqvBdrxi_/?igsh=Y2VzeXMzdzk...
.
.
Apr 7, 2024
Decided to dismantle the variegated green pentagon circle, because, although I loved the analagous colours, it didn’t quite fit the area I put it into - I’ll reuse the pentagons & the flower elsewhere. I’ve redone that pentagon circle to include more browns. Also finished off my first complete ball of yarn 
Apr 8, 2024
Worked on more design stuff - writing out colours to use with pentagon circles, so it’s easier to work from at night in the lounge.
Apr 9, 2024
Finished pentagon circle 2 #11 (though I’m working it as circle 1). Will make circle 1 #16 into a circle 2 to compensate.
Apr ??, 2024
?? (Can’t remember what I did here!)
Apr 15, 2024
Did a fair amount more work on top left of design (the sea) - 2 extra circles - so now completed 3 in the area plus a couple of extra pentagons.
Also added the PC# to my poly pocket with mu design, so I can keep better track of what goes where.
April 16-17, 2024
Worked on the sky area top left of my design. Need to redo some of the silver pentagons, because there’s actually more darker greys that I can’t see on my copy of the design.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C522jCytDX1/?igsh=MXBmbHNtenU...==
April 18, 2024
Design work - trying to reuse the original pentagons in some way, meaning some undoing & rehashing.
April 20(?), 2024
Made a few infill pentagons (not part of a pentagon circle). Progress :)
April 21, 2024
Laid the majority of the pentagons out on the floor, so I could see if the colour was coming together. Killed my hip and knees! :( No idea how anyone does that on a regular basis!
April 22, 2024
Created a collage for the layout/template and the photo of the pieces on the floor.
April 27, 2024
A few more pentagons, then paused to concentrate on a couple of pattern tests on IG.
May 3, 2024
More infill pentagons and first boat! :)
May 4-10, 2024
Working on other projects including pattern tests, so no chance to do anything else :(
May 21, 2024
Restarted, managing to do a bit more. More pentagons, secret puff sts etc
.
.
.
August 23, 2024
After a 3 month long break, restarted with some pentagons for the sky (top left). I’ve completely forgotten how to make them, so I’ve gone back to my notes.
August 24, 2024
Did a few more pentagons (the sky, top left) - approx 10
August 25, 2024
Finished a ball of silver (eBay partial ball?). And a ball of Sage (eBaypartial ball?).
Note: ‘new’ sage (bought Sept 2023) is MUCH lighter in colour than the sage I got on eBay :(
August 26, 2024
More pentagons for the LHS, incl the first pink ‘secret puff’ ones.
August 27, 2024
Separated out 17g of darker ‘aqua’ colour from the Batik whirl. Hope it will make a tonal difference to the ocean area.
More secret puff pentagons.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C_NgfwyODyM/?igsh=MXB4czUwbXp...==
August 28-30, 2024
A few more pentagons per day. Some adjustment of pentagons v2, to reduce the treble clusters to 2tr sts from 3tr (sits flatter).
Also created my own pentagon, combining a multiple of elements… Very excited :)
.
.
.
October 11, 2024
Just over another month break and today I made approx 10 more pentagons
October 15, 2024
Handful more pentagons
October 16, 2024
Only a couple more today, as I visited my mum & had to alter trousers ;)
October 21, 2024
About to finish 2nd ball of silver (no more at home & it’s been discontinued). Emailed LittleWoolShop to see if they can get hold of any.
If not, Wool Warehouse still have some in stock.
November 8, 2024
Ordered some more yarn from Wool Warehouse - only 9 balls of Silver left.
Added in extras just in case:
…Silver x4
…Teal x2
…Raspberry x1
…Sage x1
…Pistachio x1
…Indigo x1
…Biscuit x1
Feb 12, 2025
Took a photo to get an idea of colour placement…
https://www.instagram.com/p/DF9zfGINe_s/?igsh=MWl3b2xxMWI...==
June 5, 2025
Laid it all out on the floor, so I could get an idea of where everything goes:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DKhHR3EshHE/?igsh=Zngwd2JxZ29...
SamMog notebook 
projects
handspun
stash
queue
favorites
friends
groups & events
needles & hooks
library
blog posts
Project
stashed
