OMG OMG OMG

Shirley, the organizer of the Pratchgan, just received this e-mail!!!!

Dear Shirley,

I’m sorry not to have come back to you earlier, but there seemed no time at
all between Edinburgh and the
Discworld Convention from which I returned only yesterday.

I am amazingly touched by all the work that has gone into the Pratchgan and
in the fullness of time hope to get a letter out to every single
contributor. I must confess to you that we are having real problems
positioning it here in the property! As a throw it could cover several
chairs at once. As a wall hanging
it would have been fine except that we would have to move the built in
bookcases on those walls big enough
to accommodate its width. That’s the thing about flat walls - they grow
bookcases. Currently it is hanging in a doorway in my library and even then
(bookcases again) we can’t tease it out to its full width and depth. I
really am beginning to wonder whether it should be carefully rolled onto an
ornamental scroll and brought out to be demonstrated to special visitors -
you know, like the Tora or Magna Carta, although obviously more sacred. It
seems an awful shame and I think we’ll see what we can do with the doorway
version. We are also going to experiment hanging it from the ceiling in the
way of regimental banners you see in cathedrals. At the moment the doorway
is pretty good, although I am worried about the weight of the material
distorting the Pratchgan.

I really am sorry to tell you all this because I know it was a labour of
love and kindness and is accepted
as such. I do kind of like the idea of having a sacred scroll in my office
and will ensure that it gets a box of suitable dignity. Rob is going to put
your photos and, if you do not object, this letter on
www.terrypratchett.com. In the meantime Patch, the office cat, is asleep on
the Librarian, who she seems
to find quite attractive.

Again, many thanks and best wishes.

Terry Pratchett

..... ZOMG! I cannot put into words how I feel! I am excited, and pleased, and... just overwhelmed! ^_^ I know I was just a teeny tiny part of this project, but I'm very proud of what we made and that Terry was pleased with it.

~Kero

Pratchgan 2008 - Mission Accomplished!

I know that there is no way I can possibly do the Pratchgan justice with words, so I will instead link you to the post of its organizer, who handed the Pratchgan over to Terry in person!



(My square is the third from the left on the top row!)

Accompanying the Pratchgan was the following letter, along with many letters from the people who contributed squares.

Dear Mr Pratchett,

The Ankh-Morpork Knitter's Guild is a group on the fibre arts website ravelry.com where fans can come together to indulge our passion for all things crafty as well as all things Discworld.

At the end of last year we were trying to think of a way to show our support following the news of your Alzheimer’s diagnosis and being a bunch of knitters and crocheters (not to mention spinners, weavers and dyers) we decided a Discworld-inspired afghan blanket was the way to go.

Since 26th December 2007 ninety-nine people from all over Roundworld have contributed a square or two, causing my postman to start giving me some very strange looks. The project thread on ravelry has been a joy as people suggested themes, egged each other on or just had a rant when a brilliant idea turned out not to be so brilliant after all. Somewhere along the way the project became known as The Pratchgan 2008 and the name has now firmly stuck.

We send you this gift and the accompanying letters with all our love, to let you know that a bunch of strangers are thinking of you and also with our thanks for all the years of laughter that your books have brought us. If you ever manage to find the time to join ravelry (a wee birdie has told us that you spin and weave so it’s not entirely outwith the realms of possibility that you might feel the urge to join some day) we’d be honoured to have you as a member of the Guild.

We hope you enjoy The Pratchgan and that it brings you as much pleasure as we’ve had creating it.

Warmest wishes,

Shirley (ravelry name cherryred)
On behalf of the Ankh-Morpork Knitter’s Guild

For more on the project, you can check out the Ravelry thread or the flickr pool. Also, a Google search turns up a lot of results. =) One of my favorites is here.

~Kero