Harbour Blanket CAL :: Part 6

It's been a cosy, comforting sort of a week here and I'm really thankful for the ease of my days right now. February can be a tricky kind of a month to navigate, but thankfully this year I'm finding myself happy to simply enjoy being at home and let the days gently unfold. I keep reminding myself that this is a hibernation month and that it's a time to really embrace home comforts, and of course crochet definitely helps with this endeavour. I mean, how can there be any kind of discontent when there are colourful, ripply rows to keep us occupied and cosy?

I do still love to go out and about with my crochet though, and I would be truly lost without my yarny get togethers each week. I took the above photo as I was walking down the street on my way to Coopers Café to spend a few hours with my yarny tribe, doesn't my Harbour blanket look lush all rolled up in my coastal bag? The happy sight of it literally stopped me in my tracks and I had to photograph it to share with you.

Tell me, do you take your crochet out and about with you? Do you hook a row or two outside of the home, in a café, on a train, or on a bench? Or are you strictly a cosy at-home hookster?

I am very used to hooking out and about and have been making blankets in cafés ever since I moved to this town fourteen years ago and found my way into my very first knit and natter group. I am also partial to a bit of al fresco hooky too, especially if there is a view.....

.....ahhhhh, doesn't that look like a seriously good way to while away an hour or so? J took this photo of me rippling back in September when I was first starting out with my Harbour blanket. We were away for the weekend over on the east coast of Yorkshire and I really wanted to be able to photograph part 1 of the Harbour CAL in the place that inspired the colours.

I absolutely LOVE that I was able to see my newbie blanket out in the wild, it made me so happy! And it just so happened that the bench where I was sitting was right next to a small stack of lobster pots which had some of the exact same colours as my stripes. 

I don't know why it's so insanely satisfying to see a colourful crochet blanket outdoors, but there is something about it that makes me giddy with pleasure. I always take a small collection of my blankets on holidays with me and over the years I've often photographed them on the beach, beside the river, or up on the hills. I think the colours look stunning set against a natural backdrop, and it never fails to inspire me.

During the weeks that the Harbour CAL has been progressing I've come across some lovely photos on social media of your blankets enjoying the outdoor life. Oh, it makes me SO HAPPY to see them!!!!!!!!!!! I absolutely love love love that you feel inspired to head out with your stripy crochet and I totally get the appeal of it. It's fabulous!!

Would you like to see a little of what I'm talking about?

↑↑ Just look at these wonderful photos that Sheelagh shared, my heart literally skipped over itself when I first saw them. I especially love the blanket draped over the boat - those blue shades are coastal perfection!

↑↑ Philippa also felt inspired to take a jaunt to the coast in search of some uplifting colour and I can't explain how happy this makes me. I LOVE to inspire folks to take pleasure in their surroundings, and I encourage you to get out there and really look and see the beauty in the environment around where you live. There is colour inspiration everywhere, it's yours to enjoy.

↑↑ This beautiful, serene image was shared on Instagram at the start of the CAL in January and I couldn't love it more. Those tranquil, watery blues, ahhhhh, my soul loves them so much. Thank you Liz for this wonderful photo.

↑↑ Debbie was inspired to take her Harbour Colourwash on a jaunt to her local harbour, doesn't the blanket look lovely with it's boaty backdrop?

↑↑ This photo made my heart so happy - these beautiful harbour blankets are casually hanging out in my childhood place in Dorset, and it's just lovely to know that the yarny ladies there have been enjoying some sociable hooky time together. I wish I had been there with you - thank you so much Sandra for sharing with us.

↑↑ Further afield there are harbour blankets enjoying some amazing scenery in other parts of the world. If I remember correctly I think this photo was taken somewhere in the United States - isn't it wonderful? Thank you Lynette.

↑↑ Helen shared her Harbour blanket in progress while she was on holiday, and I'm glimpsing a little peek of a sea view there in sunny Western Australia. Lucky Helen!

↑↑ Stephanie is also in Australia and oh my gosh, just look at that view! This blanket was absolutely meant to be beside the sea, it looks so beautiful.

↑↑ Another gorgeous sea view for the harbour blanket, and I couldn't love it more. Thank you Charlien, this is picture perfect.

↑↑ And finally, feast your eyes on Amy's stunning sea view as she hooks up a few rows while on holiday in the Bahamas. The Bahamas!!! I'm not jealous at all. Honestly I'm not......sigh. Ok, yes I am really.

I so enjoyed seeing these gorgeous photos and seeing your beautiful views, thank you ever so much for sharing. 

↑↑ For most of us though, our blankets are staying cosy within the four walls of our homes, keeping us warm as we near the end of the Harbour journey. I hope that wherever you are sitting when you pick up your hook, that you are enjoying the summery seaside vibes and the bright colours no matter what the weather is doing outside the window.

Week 6 is here, and with that we will be celebrating the final stripe, and I'm sure you'll agree it's a weird mix of satisfaction and loss. These soothing ripples have kept us company for six whole weeks, and I hope they've made you happy with every single stitch (yes, even that pesky first row).

I'm certain that the rhythm of this easy pattern has wheedled it's way into your soul and if you're anything like me then you will most certainly miss it once the blanket is complete. Hasn't it been a joy? I wonder if you're already thinking of other colour palettes to take on an Easy Eyelet Ripple journey? Ripples are addictive things, in case you didn't' already know, and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see this pattern taking on a life of it's own once the CAL comes to a gentle close. 

Shall we have a look at the whole of the blanket now? Not an easy thing to accomplish I might add - I have limited floor space in my house, and lots of precarious balancing on the furniture was needed to achieve this aerial shot........

...................ta-dah!!!!

By the end of week six, you will have 84 glorious ripples of coastal colour brightening up your life, and that means that you only have nine more stripes left to make.

I hope with all my heart that you've enjoyed the soothing, meditative quality of the pattern and that these colours have brought some brightness into your home.

Lets take a look at this week's colours, we'll be working on the final nine stripes 76-84.

Here is the colour info for Part 6 of the "MIXED STRIPE" Harbour Blanket.

Remember each stripe is made of two rows of crochet.

Click (( HERE )) for the printable worksheet.

76. Lapis

INSERT OPTIONAL STRIPE HERE - Cloud Blue (for double bed size blankets)

77. Apple

78. Lipstick

79. Clementine

80. Aspen

81. Aster

82. Spice

83. Spearmint

84. Turquoise

I have to say it's been a lot of work for me to make two blankets one after the other, but when I see the together like this I'm so happy to have twins! Haha, they really do play brilliantly together, each so different but with the same jaunty, happy-go-lucky, carefree personality. I love them so, so much - I'm a proud Blanket Mummy :)

The final part of the Harbour Colourwash blanket sees us gently gazing up into the sky as we round out all that bright colour with a little tranquillity.

You'll be using three colours to complete the final part of the colourwash this week...

Cloud Blue : Aspen : Spearmint

My camera didn't especially take to the paler shades at the top of the blanket and had a hard job picking up the contrast between the final colours. To be fair, the Aspen and Spearmint shades are very similar, but I do think they work well together. It's a gentle end to a very vibrant journey.

I've loved making this blanket in real time alongside you all, it's been great fun to be joining in with my own CAL. I'm not sure I know of any other designers who work this way, but I kind of like to be a little different! I know I'm going to miss these stripes, I'm already feeling a bit bereft although I'll be starting work on the border very soon so it's not over just yet.

Ok, lets climb up onto the sofa and see if we can balance on the very edge of the edge to have a look at the Harbour Colourwash in all it's stripy, ripply glory...........

......ta-dah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Absolutely wonderful, it looks even better in real life and I love it very much.

Most of the time, my blankets tend to look like this ↑↑ because they're in almost constant use here in the Attic. I love nothing more than to see my Little People enjoying my crochet (the kitty too), it gives me such a profound feeling of contentment. My blankets certainly do get a lot of love and appreciation.

Here is the colour info for Part 6 of the "COLOURWASH" Harbour Blanket.

Remember each stripe is made of two rows of crochet.

Click (( HERE )) for the printable worksheet (the Colourwash is on page 2 of the PDF)

76. Aspen

77. Cloud Blue

78. Aspen

79. Aspen

80. Spearmint

81. Aspen

82. Spearmint

83. Aspen

84. Spearmint

I took this photo yesterday, and honestly I think it's right up there as one of my most favourite blanket photos ever-ever-ever. I absolutely LOVE how unapologetically stripy the blankets look when they are rolled up like this, it gives me such a massive amount of visual pleasure. Love love love love love. I LOVE my blankets, just in case you hadn't got that by now!!!

Before we finish this week, I want to mention a couple things about the remainder of the Crochet-Along journey. Next week we'll be having what I call a "catch-up week" where you can continue with your stripes if you've fallen a little behind, or simply enjoy your blanket for a while before you begin working on the border. You will need to make sure that all your ends are neatly darned in so that your edges are nice and straight and ready for the final part of the CAL.

Part 7 of the CAL will be published here on Friday 25th February, and that will be all about the border. I've picked out five potential colours for the border - I haven't yet decided whether I'll use them all, but thought it might be useful to give you a heads up on what I'm thinking.

I've picked out Denim, Cornish Blue, Cloud Blue, Tomato and Dandelion - these five colours should have slightly more yarn left as they only have five stripes each in the main body of the blanket instead of six. If you're making the Colourwash version of the Harbour blanket, then you will have more of Lapis and Spearmint left over, so I think I'm going to use those two colours in the border for my own colourwash (it makes practical sense really).

Speaking of yarn quantities, you will need to allow roughly 20g of each colour for the border, so if at all possible, please do weigh your balls and make sure you'll have enough. I've got 25-30g of the above colours left after working five stripes, so hopefully you will have similar.

I'll be sharing a full tutorial for the border as we'll be filling in those ripple valleys so that we have a super-neat, straight edging to work with. It's going to be fun, and I'm really looking forward to seeing all of our Harbour blankets complete.

Well, I think that's about all for now - I really hope you enjoy the final ripply rows and that this week brings you oodles of contentment as you come to the end of your blankets. Have fun!!

Here are some links you might need this week ::

♥ PART 6 COLOUR WORK SHEETS

♥ HARBOUR YARN PACK 

♥ EASY EYELET RIPPLE TUTORIAL

♥ HARBOUR PRINTABLE PATTERN

♥ HARBOUR BLANKET INTRODUCTION

♥ HARBOUR CAL PART 1 - stripes 1-15

♥ HARBOUR CAL PART 2 - stripes 16-30

♥ HARBOUR CAL PART 3 - stripes 31-45

♥ HARBOUR CAL PART 4 - stripes 46-60

♥ HARBOUR CAL PART 5 - stripes 61-75

 

 

 

Comments

[Jo]

Hi Lucy I have introduced a newbie to crochet to your lovely patterns and she is doing amazingly. The only hiccup was she thought the colour pattern finished on CAL 1 and was just going to repeat those colours . I’ve been through and sent her screen shots of the other weeks including the border but wondered if you had prepared a single page with all the rows like you did with Sweet Pea and Dune … being the two I have made?
Many thanks x

[Beverley]

Your harbour blanket is stunning Lucy and it looks even more vibrant outside. All of the blankets are inspiring that you make,I can't make up my mind which is my favourite.
Kitty looks very comfortable on the blanket too :)

[Trisha]

I just darned in my final end! Thrilled to have kept up (that’s a first for me), and looking forward to adding the border when the time comes. Thanks for sharing your creativity with us!

[Ruth Plowman]

It is a small world! Today I was at a sew/stitch/quilt day when I noticed the crochet project B was making; I thought it looked like your harbour blanket. Much to my delight, it is! It was fun to discover another follower of Attic 24 in the sunny state of Arizona, USA! Yes, our stitching does unite us!😁

[Simon]

All those colours look lovely in the sunshine! We don't seem to be having much of that at the moment:( I've never taken my crochet anywhere to do some, I've not even sat outside with it. Is that naff? You have floor space?!! Crikey, I haven't seen floor space for... hmmm, moving on!

[Susan]

Loved the photos beside the seaside, your own & those abroad & I even guessed where 2 of those were & I was right......here in Oz. I always knitted/crocheted on the train as a teenager going to work & still do in the car as a passenger these days if it is reasonable simple & not too large. I also love taking photos of my quilts in the outdoors as well crochet rugs. I used up many of my scraps from Attic 24 packs to make a rather colourful rug & when finished draped it over a stone gateway locally for a blogpost this January. Thanks for cheering my day with this colourful post. Take care & hugs.

[Patty B]

Loved seeing the photos at the shore in all the warm sunny places! For me and my blanket, we are tucked up inside looking out at all the snow. It's long enough to cover up while crocheting, however I'm behind but will catch up in the next week or so.

[Marylin Ollivier]

Hi Lucy Beautiful photos...stunning actually. I really luv seeing the blankets outdoors as well. I am about a week behind in my crochet, but that's okay cos I get to drag out the experience a bit. LOL Yes, I always feel at odds when a blanket is finished, but I can see myself doing this eyelet ripple again using a different colour scheme. Thank you so much for this CAL. Look forward to seeing what the border will be...I luv putting borders on all my blankets, gives them such a finished professional look.
Take Care, Hugs, MO

[Michele]

Hello from Sicily,I have really enjoyed the harbour CAL and it's been so easy and it's as if I haven't been actually crocheting It because It seemed to grow so quickly ,if you know what I mean 😀.thank you for such a lovely project and all your Wonderful blogs ♥️have a great weekend ,all the best from Sicily xx

[sandra]

Wow! Looking at all those photos near the sea is like going on a mini-holiday! Thanks for sharing Lucy.
Of course you are always with us in our thoughts in our Dorset, West Bay get togethers. If there are any members of our group who are not on Facebook reading this. Please contact me by email for information of our next meeting of "Friends of Attic24:Dorset".
If there is anyone who lives in Dorset, UK who would like to join our group, have a look for the group on Facebook - you are very welcome to join.
Thank you Lucy for bringing us together! <3

[CJ]

I absolutely loved seeing everyone's blankets out and about. Especially in Australia and the Bahamas! Oh to spend a day crocheting on the beach in the Bahamas. The season is turning though I think. There is so much bird song now and the frogs in the pond are on the move. Also tight green buds to be seen. CJ xx