In the seven years that I've been crocheting, I've made three adult sized ripple blankets and two baby sized ripple blankets, oh and one ripple cushion too. I absolutely love the Neat Ripple pattern, it makes for an extremely soothing and pleasurable crochet experience, with a gentle rhythm and just the right amount of counting (even I can count to four, although admittedly it sometimes goes a bit wrong if wine is involved). And the resulting blankets are amazingly lovely to look at, with those rising and falling waves of glorious colour and a pleasing lack of holes.
I've made eye-wateringly expensive cashmere/merino ripples and I've made happy-smiley cheap acrylic ripples and both sorts have always turned out beautifully. The cashmere ones make the most delicious, luxurious winter snugglers (they are extremely warm and soft) and the acrylic ones can happily accompany the family on camping trips, picnics and beach barbecues (they are extremely forgiving). All my handmade blankets are incredibly well used by the whole family, which is probably why I love making them so much.
So this is the story of my latest ripple creation which I have named the Coast blanket. I selected the colours and purchased the yarn well over a year ago, and those fifteen balls sat patiently waiting for me to gather them up and make the idea become a reality. This blanket is inspired by my childhood home in Dorset, and the colours represent the beautiful coastline that I know so well and love with all my heart. I wanted the colours to remind me of the ever changing blues of sea and sky, the rich greens of the grassy clifftops, the golden yellows of the sandy cliffs and beaches and the greys and soft browns of smooth pebbles and silvery driftwood. These are the colours of my childhood, and of the many, many happy summer holidays of my adulthood.
Selecting these fifteen colours was easy-peasy. Oh so simple! I knew exactly how I wanted these ripples to work, and exactly the mood I was trying to create. I wanted to look at the colours and feel both energised and relaxed (my feelings when I'm beside the sea). I wanted the colours to transport me up over those sunny, grassy clifftops, down onto the pebbly beach, dip my toes in the blues of the sea and then lay me flat on my back to gaze at the summer sky. I wanted to look at those colours and be able to hear the sound of the waves and the seagulls squawking overhead and feel the fresh, salty sea breeze on my skin.
It sounds a bit fanciful perhaps, to try and ask all that to come from fifteen balls of reasonably priced acrylic yarn....but do you know what? I really think that I made it happen with these colours. I captured the essence of my coastal memories and translated them into a very pleasing colour palette.
So here they are, the Attic24 Coast Colours....
Top row, left to right ♥ Meadow ♥ Camel ♥ Parchment ♥ Silver ♥ Grey ♥
Middle row, left to right ♥ Aspen ♥ Turquoise ♥ Petrol ♥ Teal ♥ Khaki ♥
Bottom row, left to right ♥ Sherbet ♥ Cloud ♥ Aster ♥ Bluebell ♥ Denim ♥
This yarn is Stylecraft Special DK which is a 100% acrylic yarn in generous 100g balls. Now let me tell you, this is acrylic yarn of exceptional quality, and it is not in any way scratchy, plasticky or sticky. It is smooth, soft and warm, which are three very good blankety qualities if you ask me. For us hookers, it is a dream to work with. It doesn't split, it slips rather silkily on and off the hook and the colours, well....the colours are pretty hard to beat. And best of all, it is absolutely, completely, heart-skippingly cheap to buy. What's not to love?! In my bag above, there are my fifteen x 100g balls of yarn, and this is enough to make a single bed sized blanket (110 cm x 180 cm)
I began working these ripples at Easter, appropriately enough whilst I was on holiday in Dorset. These first fifteen rows are infused with salty seaside memories, and give you a good idea of how the palette of colours works up into a very pleasing set of ripply stripes.
As per usual, I chose to work my colours in a random order, playing with the blues (sea and sky), greens (grass), yellows (sand) and greys (pebbles), ordering them into a rhythmic story of the coast.
Blues and greens, turquoises and aquas are my true soul colours, the colours that sing the happiest song to me. I absolutely adore them, and have been drawn to them consistently for all of my artistic life. Greys, yellows and browns however, well they don't sit quite so well with me. And yet this palette really needed those colours to balance out the blues. They provide warmth and relief, shelter from the cold if you like. And actually, the Stylecraft greys are rather beautiful, especially this Silver grey which reminds me of the pebbles on Eype Beach....
And so I really began to enjoy the journey this blanket was taking me on, as I immersed myself in the colours and cherished the many happy memories that began to drift in as I worked.
As you know, I always suffer with withdrawal symptoms when I return from the coast. But after our Easter holiday this year, working on my coast blanket allowed me a very gentle re-entry back into my land-locked life in Yorkshire.
I confess I became more than a little addicted to working these ripples, they made me really, really, really happy!
I just couldn't get enough of those colours.....
....and I worked on my blanket at every opportunity.
Towards the end (which was sometime in late June) I began to feel a sadness creep in. I realised that I simply didn't want this creative journey to end.
But end it did, and after 84 beautiful ripplesome stripes, I embarked on a simple border to finish the whole thing off.
Borders are bitter sweet things really, don't you think? In some ways they can feel like the biggest chore, and yet in other ways they are also insanely satisfying. The border says "this blanket is complete", and is like a final closure on all those minutes and hours that you spent working the rows, all those hundredss upon hundredss of stitches.
The thing with my crochet blankets is that they are most definitely made to be used. Yes, they do become colourful, decorative accessories in our home, but they are useful objects too. It's been the most fun watching this blanket become instantly integrated into our family life. To see it used for it's true blankety purpose, both at home and recently whilst we were on holiday, makes me very happy indeed.
The Little People seem to love this particular creation, and I wonder if it's because they also get the seaside memory-inducing thing from it? Probably not, but hey ho. Maybe it's simply because it is different to the rest of my blankets in that it's not a riot of multi-coloured hues for once. Being heavily loaded with blue does make it appeal to boys too I guess, and it could easily pass the test for a Man Blanket. But for me, it is most definitely, without doubt a Coast blanket.
Shall I spread it out for you to see now?
Ok........................................
.............Ta-dah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There it is, in all it's ripply glory, showing off it's Coastal credentials.
Oh my, I love it so much. It is so so so much like my vision when I chose those balls of yarn 18 months ago, I feel a weeny bit proud I think.
So you can see how the random colours work here....the idea when working "random" is to create a harmonious whole, which is possibly harder than it looks. I try to vary the way I put the colours together, whilst making sure that nothing is too harsh or repetitive. As in most things, I am generally aiming for balance and harmony when I work colours randomly.
I also had to make sure that this blanket could indeed be made out of the 15 balls of yarn, so the number of stripes and the number of colour repeats is actually very carefully worked out, but in a randomised way, if that makes sense! For example, the border colours have to be selected in advance to make sure that there is enough of those left after the ripples have been made.
Now then, I hope that you won't mind indulging me whilst I bombard you with a series of photographs? You see, I had this idea that I would love more than anything to take my completed blanket on holiday with me, revisiting the seasidey places that had so inspired it's creation. So it came down to Dorset with us in July and I had a ridiculous amount of fun pratting about doing little amateur photo shoots here, there and everywhere, haaha! I can laugh at myself really, I am such a nutter sometimes!!!!!!
At Eype beach....
....and in the garden at Lady B's. Well I was actually using the blanket to wrap myself up in here as it was evening time and slightly chilly in the shade and....
....wine o'clock to be more precise!! I adore this photo, the way the ripples are right there inside my wine glass!!! Perfect.
Here I am, at it again early one sunny morning, striding out along the promenade at West Bay with my blanket and my camera....
....it was the most glorious morning, around about 8.30am, with a slight sea breeze as you can see.
But I loved the way the blues of the sea so clearly matched the blues in my blanket, the sandy shore too. Isn't colour great?!!
I took Blanket down onto the beach, draped it artily down the steps, but it was a bit too shady here to get the colours to look right.
And here is Blanket with me looking down on it from above...I like this picture cos you can get the measure of the whole rhythm going on with the colours and the ripples. It's quite mesmerising, don't you think?
I am with Little lady here on this morning, the boys refused to have anything to do with me and stayed in the car, they think I am really pretty odd I fear.
There were a few people dog walking at this time in the morning, giving me some odd sidewards looks, but I didn't care. I was in the moment!
I just love this last photo so much. Just wonderful, such lovely memories.
While I was up on the promenade doing my thing, Little Lady was down on the beach doing her thing. She made a pebble fish while I was pratting about with Blanket, she was so proud of it too.
Eventually I packed the blanket into my bag and went down onto the beach to join her. I had rolled up the remains of my yarn into neat little balls and had fun giving them their own little photo shoot.....
....I like this photo very much, I think it might make a nice postcard actually?
Now I wonder......would any of you like to make your very own Coast blanket? Would you like to hook up some beautiful ripples to remind you of happy holidays and salty sea breezes? I have been very busy during the past few weeks working on a full pattern and tutorial for making this blanket, including a step-by-step working of the edging. So if you've ever wanted to know how to Fill In that Ripply Edge, I can help you with that.
♥ You can find the blanket pattern/tutorial right here on my blog, I've called it RIPPLE BLANKET KNOW-HOW.
♥ I thought it would also be useful to list the exact colour sequence I used to make my Coast blanket, for those of you who prefer someone else to do the Random Thinking! Remember that each stripe is made up of two crochet rows.....
|
1.Denim |
22. Parchment |
43. Teal |
64. Aster |
|
2. Aspen |
23. Turquoise |
44. Aster |
65. Cloud |
|
3. Petrol |
24. Petrol |
45. Denim |
66. Meadow |
|
4. Silver |
25. Meadow |
46. Meadow |
67. Parchment |
|
5. Cloud |
26. Camel |
47. Khaki |
68. Khaki |
|
6. Meadow |
27. Khaki |
48. Silver |
69. Camel |
|
7. Parchment |
28. Aspen |
49. Sherbet |
70. Grey |
|
8. Camel |
29. Sherbet |
50. Turquoise |
71. Bluebell |
|
9. Khaki |
30. Aster |
51. Bluebell |
72. Denim |
|
10. Grey |
31. Grey |
52. Teal |
73. Turquoise |
|
11. Teal |
32. Parchment |
53. Aspen |
74. Aspen |
|
12. Aster |
33. Khaki |
54. Camel |
75. Silver |
|
13. Turquoise |
34. Petrol |
55. Parchment |
76. Meadow |
|
14. Sherbet |
35. Bluebell |
56. Cloud |
77. Teal |
|
15. Bluebell |
36. Turquoise |
57. Aster |
78. Sherbet |
|
16. Grey |
37. Sherbet |
58. Grey |
79. Bluebell |
|
17. Denim |
38. Meadow |
59. Petrol |
80. Khaki |
|
18. Teal |
39. Camel |
60. Silver |
81. Camel |
|
19. Bluebell |
40. Silver |
61. Sherbet |
82. Parchment |
|
20. Cloud |
41. Cloud |
62. Aspen |
83. Cloud |
|
21. Silver |
42. Aspen |
63. Teal |
84. Denim |
Border colours
1. Denim (tr’s worked along the sides only, to match the first and last colour stripes)
2. Petrol (dc’s worked on the sides, and ripple in-fill worked along top and bottom)
3. Aster (dc’s worked all round)
♥ I am also continuing to work with the fantastic team at Wool Warehouse, they are such lovely people and it's pure pleasure working with them I have to say. Now that I have my cosy on-line shop inside their warehouse, I am thrilled to announce that my Coast Yarn Pack is ready and waiting on the shelves and can be shipped out all around the world!!!!! Gosh, that makes me SO HAPPY!!!!!!!!!!!
♥ You can go grab a Coast Yarn Pack from my shop at Wool Warehouse (HERE), and I very much hope you will love working those colours as much as I have. The pack contains 15 x 100g balls of Stylecraft Special DK (100% acrylic), in the colours shown above. And as a special extra ((thank you)), each pack will also contain a full colour printed pattern for making the Coast Ripple, which I hope you'll find useful. All the information you need to make the blanket is still provided for free on my blog (HERE), but there is something lovely about having a printed version to tuck into your project bag, don't you think?
This photo was taken by Little Lady, and I have to say I look pretty happy with blue sky overhead, my ripple in hand and the sea at my back. This blanket has created a whole lot of happiness!
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I want to purchase the coastal blanket kit for my mother. Im in US and a newbie to Attic 24. I need feedback on where to go to place order. Your help would be appeciated.
Posted by: Gabriela Reeved | November 07, 2015 at 01:05 PM
Hi Lucy
I love your work, I've made a Granny Stripe blanket (delicious colours) i was sad to finish it. I am currently making the Harmony, i wasn't going to do this one because it didn't look as bright but then i read your blog and changed my mind. I am just about to order the coast pack, I want to make it approximately 30 cm wider so will i need 2 packs?
Thanks Tracy
Posted by: Tracy Bailey | September 04, 2015 at 04:34 PM
i am almost done with my coast ripple yarn blanket. i love the yarn and the colors. I can no longer use most of the yarn that i find in the states too hard on my hands. i love this yarn and it only takes 7 days to get her. awesome. keep up the good work.
Posted by: Pam | August 24, 2015 at 02:40 AM
Lucy, ever since I laid eyes on this blanket last year I have been dreaming about making it! I have finally received all my lovely Stylecraft colors and have begun. I absolutely LOVE this pattern/project. Very easy. Very relaxing. Thank you, thank you!!
Posted by: Joy | August 20, 2015 at 03:05 PM
This blanket is lovely! I will be using birthday money to order the kit ASAP. As it reminds you of your beautiful coast, it takes me back to our family vacations to Cape Cod and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. (Also, I used your Granny Stripe pattern to make my 11-year-old daughter a blanket for her bed, in colors that she chose. It turned out wonderfully and she loves it.)
Posted by: Kendra Sleppy | August 03, 2015 at 03:49 PM
Would love to do a coast ripple blanket. As we are going to NewEngland this year thought I would like to do those type of colours as not struck on the dark green and mustardy yello. Scared to pick though what do you suggest?
Posted by: Rosemary | July 05, 2015 at 07:40 PM
Dear Lucy,
I found your blog beginning of June and was enchanted. I ordered the cosy CAL pack, received it last week, started and ... the first 30 colours (60 rows) are finished!
Now I think about ordering the coast pack for my next project.
So many lovely things to crochet... don't know what to start first.
Greetings from Lübeck / North of Germany
Posted by: Iris | June 17, 2015 at 12:44 PM
Absolutely love your blanket so very clever to mix those beautiul colours together they are my favourite also, I was wondering if I could ask advise from you, I would dearly love to crochet a ripple blanket but being disabled my hands cannot a lot of stitches, I manage granny squares ok but not to much larger could you please advise me if it is at all possible to make ripple pattern in like granny squares and join them together, I so love your blanket and would really like to be able to do a ripple pattern, I am sorry to worry you with this request but if you have any thoughts at all I would very much appropriate them. Thanking you kindly, Diana Curan
Posted by: Diana Curan | May 22, 2015 at 04:56 AM
So fantastic Lucy, what a great way to use holiday memories as a colour palette. My house is full to bursting with blankets already, but I need to do this with some of my own holiday colours!
Posted by: Elsie Pop | May 11, 2015 at 04:53 PM
I love you and your blankets! Thank you so much for sharing - especially your colour work! I have been wanting to make a ripple blanket for ages, and never dared to start. You gave me courage!
Posted by: Yvonne | May 01, 2015 at 10:28 AM
It's taken 4 attempts but finally got my first row done with the right number of stitches and onto the second colour, so excited about this blanket.
Posted by: Annabel | April 29, 2015 at 11:20 PM
Hi Lucy,
this blanket is so beautiful, thank you for the inspiration and sharing it with us, love the colours like ocean waves. I really have to start to work on a blanket soon.
Have a lovely day,
Renata.
I've just started my little blog http://poppycreates.com/
Posted by: Poppycreates | April 26, 2015 at 12:48 PM
I am wanting to make another blanket with random stripes but am full of self doubt when doing this. Your explanation of how you choose the colours sounds similar to what I did with my sea and sand blanket and so gives me confidence. It is interesting to see the similarity and the differences in our choice of colours. (11 the same). I am also copying your idea with winding yarn round pegs though not having wooden pegs I bought some craft ‘lolly’ sticks.
Thank you for your ideas.
Posted by: Rainbow Junkie | April 02, 2015 at 11:28 AM
Thank you for sharing this. I love the blanket and the photos taken in my favourite county of Dorset.
Posted by: Sue | February 25, 2015 at 09:15 PM
Hi Lucy,
I just finished the Cottage Ripple and was sad when I came to the Grape. Now I need to do the border. I must loosen up while crocheting as I needed extra to finish. Most was just one row but did do a few with two. So have set it aside and chose colours for the Coast Ripple. (I have extra skeins) :) I really enjoy your blog! It keeps me smiling and is definitely one that is happy.
I tried your subscription for your blog but it isn't working. I sent you some coffee and sweets change. I donated to your site through Paypal. I don't know where to put my photo of my blanket.
Posted by: Sharon | February 18, 2015 at 09:37 AM
love it, i'm inspired xx
Posted by: jo | January 27, 2015 at 03:57 PM
Hi Lucy,
I admired you from a distance at Alexandra Palace last week! Delighted to have bought the yarn and your pattern. Patsy http://wildsherkin.wordpress.com/2014/10/19/twisted-threads/
Posted by: Patsy | October 19, 2014 at 10:32 PM
Hi.
Thank you for sharing those beautiful photos. I just started blogging. Ive been crocheting on and off and now on for a few years.
I really love how you tied in the ocean and your place of inspiration. You inspired me. I have beem so afraid ro start something new and different. I want to make my own pattwrns but im afraid of failing. But i started recently and although its not the most amazing thing I have made its mine.
I adore this blanket and would love to make it.
thank you again.
Posted by: wally | October 17, 2014 at 06:25 AM
Your blankets are beautiful. I love your pictures too.
Sheila@mykentuckyliving
Posted by: sheila @ MykentuckyLiving | October 15, 2014 at 02:28 AM
What a wonderful blanket..
Planing to make myself one of these after the Pixie Scoodie project is done!
Happy weekend to you Lucy..
Much Love ♥
May Green
Posted by: May Green | October 11, 2014 at 11:32 PM
oh dear what are you doing to me?? I'm right in the middle of a multi-coloured blanket and now I want to abandon it and start with this one. Glorious colours and makes me a bit homesick to Dorset.
Posted by: Ellen | September 18, 2014 at 07:57 PM
I would like to order the wool etc for this ripple blanket,but I am in perth Australia how do I go about it, hoping you post it overseas I love the look of it Margaret
Posted by: margaret | September 18, 2014 at 02:16 AM
Luv reading blog. I am nog crocheting but luv words and luv thd way you are sharing your journey. Saying that I want to crochet an easy 8 ply baby blanket for next family baby. Not got far but your site blog may inspire. Loving it. Pam.
Posted by: Pammie | September 17, 2014 at 09:02 AM
Lucy,
I've just begun my blanket and got the pattern right away thanks to your excellent instructions. The colours are gorgeous and I know I will so enjoy working on it.
I'm in Canada and received my order in five days
including a weekend! Amazing service! I'll be looking forward to more of your packs and detailed tutorials.
Thank you for being so generous with your knowledge you are helping hookies around the world!
Posted by: SusieQ | September 11, 2014 at 07:57 PM
Recent follower and loving your stuff! Just had to say I agree with how great this yarn is. I'm in the USA, but recently had a pack shipped to me. It's way better quality, especially for the cost, than anything I've found around here! I have a wool allergy, so acrylics are a must, and this is fabulous. I may have to start ordering all of my yarn from across the Atlantic! And I'll definitely be a regular blog reader!
Posted by: Kat | September 11, 2014 at 01:55 AM