Thursday, May 8, 2014

Big News: I wrote a Crochet Book!



Well well, dear blog readers of creJJtion. 
Last week I told you I would make an announcement, and today is the day. I have been blogging for over 3 year now, and the biggest news I released so far mostly included my private life; getting married and moving to Canada. But todays' news is different. It involves crochet, lots of crochet, and you. I kept a secret from you for the past 10 months or so, and I am happy, excited, relieved and nervous, to tell you:

I wrote my first crochet book

A book! This Summer PUUR haken will be printed, and as of early August it will be available to you in Dutch stores and online. I proudly present the cover:


From the first rough ideas I exchanged with the publisher shortly after we moved back from Canada, to the project ideas, yarn selection, hours and miles of crochet, styling of the items, till when it came all together on the day of the photo shoot recently… I had to hold myself back very tightly not to share every exciting and boring detail with you. But as of now I can, and will share bits and pieces with you, as the publisher and I are in the final stages of putting PUUR haken together. 
In no less than three months it will be printed and available to you. I am beyond excited!

What will it look like? What patterns are included? Will it be printed in English? I hear you thinking. Well, I can share a few things. The book is called PUUR haken, which literally translates to PURE crochet. It will be printed in Dutch and includes diagrams, charts and some close up images of stitches, for non-Dutch readers. The book contains over 20 crochet designs, covering different techniques and styles. The pure aspect of the book relates to the use of mostly 100% natural materials such as cotton and wool, it relates to suggestions for upcycling and yarn scrap projects, the pure aspect relates to every project being a crochet project with one exception for a fun crochet-paper combination, and it relates to the colour schemes with lots of naturals. There are patterns for beginner, intermediate and advanced crocheters. To finish it off there will be lots of pictures, and some illustrations done by me as you can already see on the cover.

beautiful cupcakes made by my friend Taertske, they will be featured in the book…!

In the coming weeks I am still very busy working on the final details. I will give you little sneak peeks into the process to keep you updated. PUUR haken will be available for pre-order in my web shop in a few weeks, and I will let you know when and where there will be a little book-launch event. You are all invited!

I feel very thankful and honoured to be given the chance to write this book. It is a big relief to share this news with you today, and have it 'out there'. Now, I'd better get back to work…

xo

40 comments:

  1. Amazing news Maaike! But not at all surprising - your designs and colour choices are so fun and fresh it was only a matter of time before they found their way into a book. Wishing you every success with it! x x x x

    ReplyDelete
  2. YAAAAY! Fabulous news!!! It looks absolutely so CreJJtion-tastic! Can't wait to lay my hand on this. How on earth can you keep a secret safe for such a long time I wonder.... I my Gosh, that must have been almost the greatest challenge of all. Ha ha ha! Well done - CONGRATULATIONS. You really rock the crochet world.
    Xxx
    Annette
    My Rose Valley

    ReplyDelete
  3. That's so cool! I love the cover already :) Keep us posted!

    ReplyDelete
  4. The big secret is out! Yeay, that's amazing, your own book!! Congratulations!
    I love the cover, can't wait to see the rest of it ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Parabéns.
    Espero ansiosamente para poder comprá-lo.

    Um Beijo

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow! Geweldig, kan niet wachten, heb hem dus meteen in bestelling gezet! ;-) Heerlijk...
    Lieve groet Lisanne
    draad en praat...

    ReplyDelete
  7. YAY!!!!!!!!! Congrats to you 1000x over! What an accomplishment! I am excited for this next step for you. The cover is so wonderful! Love it!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Looking forward to see it!!!!!!
    So many crochet bloggers are releasing books nowdays, what a bliss :)

    All the best,
    Catarina

    ReplyDelete
  9. Proficiat !!!
    De cover ziet er in elk geval al heel mooi uit, ik ben benieuwd !

    ReplyDelete
  10. Such wonderful news sweet Maaike! I love that it has your own illustrations on the front, it gives it a very 'you' style, which is what is going to make it perfect. Can't wait to see what's in those pages that's for sure, PURE Crochet will be PURE Goodness, I reckon! ;)

    S x

    ReplyDelete
  11. Ben benieuwd naar je boek!

    Groet, Corine

    ReplyDelete
  12. It`s a great news!! Congratulations!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. That's so exciting - congratulations ! Looking forward to seeing it,
    Kate x
    justpootling.blogspot.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
  14. Wauw wat een prestatie! Super leuk! Van harte gefeliciteerd en vergeet niet volop te genieten tussen alle drukte!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Congratulations! So many things have been going on in your life.....wishing you the best with this new adventure.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Congratulations! The cover looks really tempting and can´t wait to see more about it.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Maaike, I am so thrilled for you. I've only been following you for a year or so, but I am such a fan and you deserve every success.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Congratulations! And well done...I know how hard it can be working to deadline and sometimes it sucks all the joy out of crocheting. But wow it looks like a beautiful book! It's going straight to my wishlist...

    ReplyDelete
  19. Gefeliciteerd, dat is ontzettend leuk nieuws! De cover ziet er absoluut ge-wel-dig uit; heel erg mooi en heel onderscheidend.
    Krijgt zeker een mooi plekje in mijn boekenkast. :-)
    Succes met alle drukte!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Congratulations that so wonderful, I will def buy your book when its available
    Karenx

    ReplyDelete
  21. Wat geweldig! Gefeliciteerd met je boek! Niet actief meer op blogger lees ik je berichtjes zo nu en dan nog wel. En dit nieuws vind ik erg leuk!
    Liefs Suus

    ReplyDelete
  22. WOW!!! Congratulations to you, I hope that it does really really well and that the publishers will then be persuaded to print it in English too!! You have done so well to have been working on this for so long and not uttered a single peep about it, I sure look forward to hearing more about it now that you can share! Well done! xx

    ReplyDelete
  23. How exciting indeed, congratulations!
    I am sure it will be a great success and look forward to pre-ordering my copy :)

    Best wishes, Heike (Made with Loops)

    ReplyDelete
  24. Congratulations!!! That is wonderful news, and you certainly deserve to have your work bound in a book for all to have! I look forward to getting a copy, I love crochet diagrams! Chrissie x

    ReplyDelete
  25. I feel excited for you! Congratulations :)

    ReplyDelete
  26. Gefeliciteerd Maaike!!! Wat ontzettend gaaf!! Ben heelll nieuwsgierig! De voorkant ziet er veelbelovend uit! Succes en geniet ervan!

    Liefs, Heidi

    ReplyDelete
  27. I love your blog, beautiful picture, atmosphere... <3

    ReplyDelete
  28. exciting, well done! Heather x

    ReplyDelete
  29. Congratulations, Maaike - what great news and how exciting to be able to announce it on your blog! Well done, you sound so happy. I'm looking forward to seeing the book.
    Have a great day!
    xoxo Ingrid

    ReplyDelete
  30. Wow Maaike, that is extremely exciting! Your work is so beautiful and I am sure your book will be really popular. Congratulations to you. I hope you are going out to celebrate? With love, Linda x

    ReplyDelete
  31. I feel happy for you! Congratulation dear..
    xoxo Intantya

    ReplyDelete
  32. Fantastisch! En gefeliciteerd, wat ziet het er mooi uit zeg!!
    Ik ben heel benieuwd....

    ReplyDelete
  33. Ohh Maaike, wat gaaf! Ik wil zeker een exemplaar, liefst met handtekening haha
    Ben benieuwd, kan niet wachten. Succes met de laatste loodjes!

    Groetjes, Dani

    ReplyDelete
  34. Wauw, wat gaaf! Ga m op mijn verlanglijstje zetten!

    ReplyDelete
  35. Congratulations! The cover of the book looks wonderful! I love your illustrations! :)

    ReplyDelete
  36. Such exciting news Maaike, congratulations! I can't wait to see a copy.
    Jane x

    ReplyDelete
  37. Ik ben zo ontzettend benieuwd, morgen ga ik het boek ontvangen!
    Talitha

    ReplyDelete

~ sweet thank you for your lovely words ~