The pattern is big -- at 9' by 12', it's so big that it needs its own Rubbermaid! The size, the emormous amount of wool it will need, the many months it will take to hook, and the knowledge that I will need to LOVE it for the rest of my life have all been barriers to getting started on actually hooking it. Enter the Matrix Mat method.....
I've decided that I'm going to flip the pattern over and make up my own design on the back. Yes, it will still be large (and I will have to move when it's finished, just so that I have room to spread it out), it will still use up a lot of wool (but I will have more flexibility with colours and matching won't be so important... plus I have a lot of wool that needs to be used), and it will still take a lot of time (but my guess is the straight line hooking will cut the time in half).
In fact, if I am able to maintain the productivity I realized on my previous AMMs, the math says that it will only take 180 days of hooking. That means that if I hook 5 days a week, I could be done in 9 months....just like a real baby!
I've spent a lot of time thinking about my design and colour ideas, and a lot of time playing around with charts, etc. on the computer to (hopefully) get the scale and layout right and avoid any unnecessary ripping out. But all of this planning and sketching is a poor substitute for actually seeing the real work, so I am finally ready to start pulling my first loops today.
Naturally I'll be blogging about my progress as I go.....so you'll be able to follow along and I'll be motivated to keep on hookin'.
