Yarn Review: King Cole Big Value DK

Bought from The Knitting Network for the Coastal Crochet "Postcards With Love" CAL, I got behind on the blanket after life took a nasty turn. However, I realised the colours were very similar to the new "Petals Patchwork Blanket" CAL, so I decided to repurpose it.

This was a mistake. This is the worst yarn I've used since Robin DK. It's thick for DK yarn, stiff and scratchy, and it splits for the heck of it. I'll be glad to use it up (for a good purpose!) and have it out of my stash.

Definitely not buying it again, no matter how good the deal.

Amanda Bloom

I'm not sure what to write for this blog. My heart is breaking and I'm beyond furious.

I learned to crochet back in 2017 after opening a yarn shop, so I could teach people the craft alongside knitting (though most customers already knew this). I fell in love very quickly and started buying magazines and finding designers on Instagram. There is a lovely community there, and it's where I "met" Amanda Bloom.

She was such a warm and friendly person. No question was too stupid for her to answer, no beginner too dreadful that she wouldn't come alongside to help. She loved yarn and craft, and crochet above all else, and that love shone through in every post.

You'll notice that I'm using past tense. Amanda has chosen to travel to Switzerland and to end her life via assisted suicide. It was a decision she made a while ago, having planned on the end of the year. As a mother, I completely understand why she wanted to be with her beloved Jenny. I cannot imagine the grief at losing an only child. While my heart aches for her suffering, I accepted her choice.

What I don't accept - what is making me so damn angry - are the awful women who behaved shockingly towards Amanda, to the point that she moved her plans up, unable to live any longer.

Just read that again. There is no one who deserves to be tormented, abused, attacked and belittled to the point that they feel death is their only escape. No one. And this is what breaks my heart more. All Amanda wanted was a place to hold her so she could stand a chance at healing. Time and again, she was denied it.

I cannot fathom such cruelty. I really can't. I hate that Amanda's final days were full of hopelessness and despair, with the only light being joining Jenny in death. I cannot allow that negativity to win. I have to do something positive. To turn this grief and fury into something beautiful.

Because Amanda was all about beauty. She was, inside and out.

I'm not sure what, except it'll be a blanket and it'll be auctioned off for a charity. I need to research as to which would be best.

Goodbye, Amanda, and good night. May angels give you the rest you've sought for so long. xx

Teddy Deacon

Teddy Deacon

If you watch the TV version of 12 Monkeys long enough, you get introduced to one Theodore Deacon. Going by Deacon, he hates being called Teddy. Now the actor who plays Deacon is Todd Stashwick, who I was set to meet at EM-Con and there's me, able to crochet. Can you see where this is going?

Todd and I met back in 2024, where I gifted him a dragon he named "Brummie", so I'd kind of established the giving of a crocheted gift as a Thing. After he was announced for EM-Con - and being in the UK for filming a certain Marvel show - I broke out several balls to make a blanket.

Then, about two weeks before the con, I was awake at stupid o'clock just pondering 12 Monkeys and Deacon when I had the epiphany that I could make a bear. A Teddy bear.

The next morning saw me hunt through stash yarns and locate two browns. The darker was perfect for Deacon's jacket, but I needed a dark red that could work as his t-shirt and then something for his jeans. This then resulted in several DMs as I tried to figure out if the jeans were blue or black, and then finding that colour in yarn.

Yes, an awful lot of thought went into what is basically a crocheted pun. Shut up.

Me, Todd, and Teddy

OTT? Maybe, but honestly, Todd's reaction made the effort so worthwhile. He immediately recognised the bear as being Deacon - commenting on the "hyena burger" shirt - which delighted me because there is nothing on the top, it's just pretty much the exact colour.

He took the above photo. It's on his Instagram and Facebook. It's also somewhere on Terry Matalas's (12 Monkey's showrunner) phone as Todd sent it to him.

Talking of Instagram, if you check mine out, one of the pinned posts is Todd showing Teddy off during a live. I just about died of glee.

I knew Teddy was going to hit. I just hadn't realised how well. Todd's clear delight made me grin until my face hurt.

Worth. The. Effort.