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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Just finished the coast blanket. Thank you for the pattern.
Posted by: Gerie van der Meer | September 09, 2014 at 08:31 PM
Hello, Lucy!
My name is Caroline,28, and I live in Germany. I really do love love love your homepage and your beautiful works and patterns! I owe it to you, that I'm crocheting my very first ripple blanket at this moment in blue tones and I'm really happy because it looks good, even though it yet just has 22 rows.
Thank you for being a very inspirating woman!
kind regards, Caro
Posted by: Caroline | September 09, 2014 at 01:53 PM
I love the blanket and really enjoy your blog. You are so inspiring -- every time I pop-in, it puts a smile on my face! I sincerely appreciate all the information and helpful tips - I just completed my first crocheted afghan and it is completely because of your blog. I am so happy for you, with the Attic 24 store - it is well deserved! I wish you every success!
Posted by: Julie | September 08, 2014 at 11:40 PM
I feel very happy because it has reached your wool Barcelona. In my blog I show pictures of my package. Congratulations on your blog.
Posted by: Cristina | September 07, 2014 at 11:32 AM
That's beautiful Lucy - those colors are so coastal!
Love seeing all the different ways you have chosen to photograph it.
I'v got a ripple on my hook at the moment - in mint choc chip colors - I'm a bit apprehensive about the border but now I have seen how a simple border works on yours I think I will go with that option too.
Hope you are enjoying a warm september, here in the alps ours is much warmer than our August was.
Kindest regards from Chamonix
Posted by: emma | September 07, 2014 at 07:56 AM
Beautiful Lucy, the blanket is gorgeous. Still working my way through my own ripple blanket for Doris caravan. Karen x
Posted by: karen@mixture43 | September 06, 2014 at 06:40 PM
Hi Lucy, I would like to say how much I love your blog and patterns, I hope it is ok that I have mentioned you on my Facebook page www.facebook.com/awibblyworld along with a link to this beautiful blanket. xx
Posted by: Ammy | September 06, 2014 at 01:02 PM
Hi Lucy. Wow! What a beautiful blanket... Perfect for memories of Dorset! Very jealous of your holidays, every place you photographed holds very special memories for me, lovely family camping holidays in Highlends End campsite when our children were small. Happy days, I'm from Yorkshire too, so lovely memories there as well. I've just re learned to crochet and so going to start on something for Autumn with inspiration from you. Thank you.
Have a great day. Jane
Posted by: Jane | September 05, 2014 at 10:35 AM
Hello!
The kit has arrived at Murcia, Spain! It's very hot here (40ºC), but I can't wait to begin with the blanket... I love this colours! Congratulations!
Posted by: Maruja | September 05, 2014 at 08:57 AM
Wow...I really love the blanket...It's so beautiful..
Posted by: Rhea from Crafty Guild | September 04, 2014 at 11:18 PM
Pack arrived yesterday. Now 4th colour in. Really enjoying it. Yup, I'm a bloke!
Posted by: Alistair | September 04, 2014 at 09:02 PM
Dear Lucy! while searching something for my new project I found (randomly) your brilliant blog! I LOOOOOOVE it! so much fun in here! so I thought that I do NOT need to search, all are here! what a lovely works you ve done!
I wish I could dring coffee with you but instead of I will send a small amount to your moneybag, so you can dring a coffee for me too:)
On the other hand I wanted to put my email adress that I can inform when ever you post in your blog BUT YOUR SUBSCRIPTION button DOESN"T work!
here is my email: oya.mearns@gmail.com, any how when you've get my donation pls let me know!
THANK YOU SO MUCH for the brilliant work from you!
Have a GREAT Day !
Oya
Posted by: oya mearns | September 04, 2014 at 12:36 PM
Just ordered a pack, Lucy, so hopefully there will be a coast ripple blanket in New Zealand for our summer!! Can't wait!! Many thanks for all the inspiration. :)
Posted by: Angela Cameron | September 04, 2014 at 07:58 AM
Oh it was wonderful to discover this post ! My god daughter just got a new big girl bed and I promised her a blanket. And here comes this beautiful pattern ! I ordered the yarn with more girly colors and I was so happy to find it here in the Netherlands !
Posted by: Gris fleur | September 03, 2014 at 07:36 PM
My Coastal Ripple pack arrived yesterday! It's my first ever attempt at a ripple (only mastered the granny square earlier this year) and I'm very nervous. But mostly excited! Thank you for sharing your patterns and being such an inspiration.
Posted by: Tonia | September 03, 2014 at 06:59 PM
Hello Lucy,
Have you by any chance mapped out the color scheme of the bottom blanket in your first photo? I am a knitter who is now teaching myself to crochet so that I can make this blanket (amoung other things)
Please, if you have this information, I would be very grateful!
I love reading your blog!
Kind regards,
Wendy
Posted by: Wendy | September 03, 2014 at 05:01 PM
Sue Pinner3 September 2014 06:40
Hi Lucy, yes I thought you might be going, mix up with the rail tickets and they were all sent to me, gut feeling lol.
Look forward to meeting you too. Thanks these two patterns were favourites of mine too....all the others will be released some time later I think....lots more to come.
See you at the show then. X
Posted by: Sue | September 03, 2014 at 06:45 AM
A gorgeous blanket and your photos along the beach and sea walls are lovely! Very Kaffe Fasset, I think!
Posted by: Kelly Marszycki | September 03, 2014 at 12:26 AM
Dear Lucy,
Oh I do like this blanket very much. The colors are so soothing, I think I just found my Christmas present! My crochet has been put on hold while I finish knitting socks, but it will resume soon. My birthday is tomorrow and I already ordered the Attic 24 color pack for the granny stripe blanket, so I really can't quite justify two in one month.
Little Lady did a wonderful job of taking your photo.
hugs
KimW
Posted by: Kim W | September 02, 2014 at 11:47 PM
Missing your posts and pictures and hoping all is well with you x
Posted by: Jo | September 02, 2014 at 10:36 PM
Gorgeous pictures! I just finished my first ripple blanket a few days ago.
Thank you for the inspiration.
Posted by: Francoise | September 02, 2014 at 08:36 PM
THANK YOU for posting the color sequence you used. Wonderful. Gorgeous, as always.
Posted by: Ashley | September 02, 2014 at 08:26 PM
You really do have the most amazing way with color. This blanket is utterly gorgeous. :)
Posted by: Kristen | September 02, 2014 at 08:12 PM
Well. I have just recieved your coastal pack ofyarn with an additional eight colours. I am in awe of the yarn. Your are so correct about it being so yummy and smooshy. I love it and cannot wait to get working with it. I have not found anything quite as nice here in Australia that is acrylic. Maybe in city yarn shops but I live in country town. By the way it took just eight days to arrive on my doorstep...I will be getting some more for sure. Many thanks for your yarn information. Happy hooking. Lee
Posted by: Lee | September 02, 2014 at 12:12 PM
Adore this! do you have a sneaky quick way of turning your yarn into balls? I so prefer it to yarn cakes! Thanks! Zoë
Posted by: Zoë | September 01, 2014 at 09:26 PM