Canalboat Blanket :: Introduction

Good morning!! If you want to hop straight over to my shop to snag a Canalboat yarn pack before reading today's post, here is the link to Wool Warehouse >>

♥ CANALBOAT YARN PACKS ♥

I am fairly certain that this particular blanket doesn't need a huge amount of upfront explanation as you've no doubt heard me talk/obsess about canal boats for much of this year. In fact, I was thinking about this a few days ago - as far as I can remember, I don't think I've ever discussed the theme of my Crochet-along blanket with you so openly in advance before?! I usually prefer to keep my ideas pretty well wrapped up until I am absolutely sure of them. As I've spent more than a year collecting photographs of canal boats through all four seasons, I'm sure you can image how painful it would have been for me to keep it all under wraps, I just don't think I could've done it! So thank you for sharing my ideas with me as I've walked and photographed and written about the canalboats, I've loved being able to share with you.

In any case, I think it would be impossible for me to write my blog without sharing my walks along the canal as they've been a part of my daily life for many, many years. I walked with the Little People to school along the tow path for more than twelve years, and then once I no longer had that routine in my life, I still found myself walking that same route almost daily because it's the quickest (and most scenic) way to get to the town and the supermarket. 

I walk along this stretch of the Leeds-Liverpool canal in all weathers and all seasons, and absolutely love to see the narrowboats which come and go along the water. As I began to think about the colours and creating a design inspired by the boats, I really started to pay a lot more attention to the details.

Many boats are painted with brightly coloured diamonds, circles and stripes, and then of course there are the famous Roses and Castles....

These decorative motifs and scenes are very traditional and I absolutely love it when I see them adorning the boats. They played a big part in influencing my colour choices for this blanket (especially the roses), and it's been a lot of fun for me walking the canal every day and getting excited about new boats arriving that would inspire me with their colours and patterns.

During the past year I've collected over 150 images which have all helped shape and inspire the final colour palette and design for my Canalboat blanket....

....and as you can see, I decided to embrace the folk art influence and create a design that's bold and playful, and that all started with the colour selection....

....isn't it lovely?? It's exactly the kind of folksy look that I had in mind and I'm so happy with how these colours make me feel when I look at them. They are bursting with happy vibes!

This year I'm really excited that I can offer you a choice of yarn to make the Canalboat blanket. It's something I've been wanting to do for many years but there has never been a suitable (affordable) natural yarn that has the same broad colour range as my beloved Stylecraft Special DK. Yesterday I wrote a special blog post to introduce you to Yarnsmiths Merino DK which is the natural wool yarn I'm using for one of my Canalboat yarn packs. You can read that blog post ((here)).

I've been able to match the colours pretty closely across the two yarn brands amd I'll give you both sets of colours below for reference.

Stylecraft Special DK (premium acrylic, 100g balls) :

French Navy : Royal : Turquoise : Teal : Bottle : Green : Sage : Lime

Gold : Camel : Powder Pink : Fondant : Tomato : Lipstick : Claret

♥ STYLECRAFT YARN PACK ♥

Yarnsmiths Merino DK (superwash merino wool, 50g balls) :

Deep Ocean : Royal Blue : Light Turquoise :  Teal : Bottle Green : Clover :

Spearmint Green :Olive Green : Antique Gold : Vanilla Fudge : Peachy Pink 

Fondant Pink : Burnt Orange : Crimson : Claret Red

♥ YARNSMITHS YARN PACK ♥

↑↑ I think you'll agree that I managed to match the colours very well across the acrylic and merino, and both sets are beautifully vibrant and colourful.

↑↑ A few people on Facebook asked me if I thought the merino yarn was as vibrant as the acrylic yarn, and I can honestly say that yes, yes, yes it is!! Natural yarns take very well to the dyeing process and this gorgeous wool is in no way muted. If you are curious but unsure, you could maybe buy a couple of individual balls to see it in real life before committing to a whole yarn pack. Have a play with it, squish it and give it some love and then decide if you think it has a place in your hooky life. It most definitely has a place in mine, I adore it. The photos can't convey the utter squishy softness of it, it really is a delight.

Size-wise, my usual go-to blanket size is 120 x 175cm (roughly single bed size) and the Stylecraft Special yarn pack will easily be enough to make this size of blanket. The Yarnsmiths Merino has less yardage per ball, so a blanket made using this yarn will be a little bit smaller. When we come to work our sample and get ready to begin the blanket in January, I'll give you all the sizing and starting chain information then. Remember that if you want to make a bigger sized blanket (eg a double bed size) you can absolutely do that, but you'll need to purchase a second yarn pack.

I spent a long, loooooong time in the sampling stage for this blanket, partly because I had so many ideas it was hard to separate them all out at first. Eventually I settled on this very bold design which is a simple four-row repeat and showcases the folksy feel of the canalboat colours perfectly. It's a nod to the decorative paintwork on the canal boats - the stripes, diamonds and painterly flowers, beautifully bold and arty.

The pattern uses simple UK treble crochet and double crochet stitches and as with all my designs it's suitable for beginners. I'll be making my usual photo-heavy tutorial to help you along the way and I feel sure you're going to LOVE it. There is enough pattern interest to keep you absorbed, the quirky colour changes make it a lot of fun, but it's still a very relaxing and therapeutic crochet experience.

OK, lets talk about the CAL details now, just in case this is all new to you and it all seems a bit daunting. I promise you it's easy-peasy and crochet-alongs are a lot of fun.

Firstly there is no need to sign up for this CAL - it's all very relaxed here in the Attic so all you need to do is gather your yarn together and join in when the free pattern is released on Friday 10th January.

♥ The Attic24 CANALBOAT CAL will will run for 8 weeks in total, beginning on Friday 10th January - that'll be the day when the pattern will be published here on my blog and I'll give you all the information you need to get started. I'll then give weekly updates every Friday throughout January and February 2025 so that we can make the most of weekend hooky time.

♥ There will be a full picture tutorial here on my blog for the new Canalboat stripe pattern. Weeks 1-6 I'll share the colour order for a set of stripes (around 8 sets of 4-row repeats each week). Week 7 will be a catch-up week (darn in those ends!), and the final week 8 will be all about the border.

♥ The CANALBOAT YARN PACK contains 15 x 100g balls of Stylecraft Special DK or 30 x 50g balls of Yarnsmiths Merino DK and is enough to make one blanket/throw. The blanket will measure approx. 120cm x 175cm (slightly smaller for the merino version). You will need two packs if you wish to make a larger/double bed size blanket. I'll give starting chain/pattern guidance for those of you wishing to make larger (or smaller) blankets. 

♥ There is no printed pattern included in this pack, all pattern info will be here on my blog, with updates every Friday throughout January and February 2025. 

♥ All CAL instalments (pattern and colour info) will remain FREE on my blog into the future so that it's there for you to access at a time that suits you. You don't have to squeeze your blanket journey into 8 weeks if you don't want to - take your time and work at your own pace.

♥ Something I often get asked - can you use your own colours, or use one of my other yarn packs and still join in with the CAL? The answer is YES, of course you can! I appreciate that many of you will probably already have yarn that you want to make use of, and I really look forward to seeing your creativity with stash busting. 

All in all, you've probably guessed that this is a relaxed crochet-along project and the main aim is for us all to enjoy crocheting together. It's such a lovely way to start the New Year, and I hope you'll look forward to it as much as I do. Any questions, please ask in the comments and I'll do my best to answer.

If you hadn't already guessed, I am really in love with the whole theme of the canalboat blanket and the folk arty colours, and I hope you love it just as much....thank you as always for your support and enthusiasm around my creative ideas, it really means the world to me.

Finally, before I sign off I just want to say how wonderful it is to be working with Wool Warehouse, we've been partnering together for over ten years and they truly are the nicest people who genuinely care about the yarn community. The whole team has been working ever so hard preparing my yarn packs, and they will  work even harder to get yarn orders out to you as soon as possible so that you have it in time for Christmas. The CAL begins in just under six weeks so there is time for it to get to you if you are far away from the UK. And for full transparency, I do earn a commission on all Attic24 yarn packs, so thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support.

And now finally, finally..........roll on January!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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♥ STYLECRAFT YARN PACK ♥

♥ YARNSMITHS YARN PACK ♥

 

Comments

[Debbie Wiltshire]

I have been looking forward to this, as up until 6 weeks ago we had our own narrowboat! I would so loved to have been crocheting this blanket while on our travels and draping versions of it on every piece of furniture.
I was wondering whether you would add a colour to represent the muddy murky colour we usually see of the water in the canal - and I think Camel and Lime make a good job of that! Well done Lucy - this is a beautiful blanket and I will look forward to starting in January.

[Brenda]

Just ordered my yarn pack for your Canalboat Blanket WHOOP WHOOP!! Another gorgeous blanket Lucy. Thank You x

[Elizabeth]

On yarn pack release days, I love to keep checking how quickly the packs are selling (as I'm sure you do, too!) Good for you, and good for Wool Warehouse! I really enjoy your designs and vibrant ranges of chosen colours but I do not love the feel of SSDK to work with, so I am very pleased to have the option of Yarnsmiths Merino, which I have gladly bought.

[Lauren]

I’m so excited ,Lucy. I’ve just ordered the merino pack for my birthday in January. I’m another one who will have the merino travelling back to Oz.
Thank you for yet another beautiful project 😍

[Gill]

Looking forward to this blanket to add to my collection, thank you so much Lucy x

[Norma]

Yeah, Christmas for me sorted! Merino is on it's way home to Oz!

It looks lovely, so thought I'd jump in!

Thanks Lucy, can't wait 😊

[Linda Pankhurst]

Have just ordered mine in Yarnsmiths Create Acryllic. (I added a ball of black merino (Yarnsmiths) to try it out by knitting some mitts with it. This took me over the £30 so I got free postage!)
And I thanked Lucy Attic with a coffee as she won’t be getting any commission on my pack.
Thanks Lucy!
Now we have to be very patient until Jan 11.
Hoping there are stitch counts for lap blankets. I like to make two of them rather than a single blanket.

[Carmel Preston]

I love this pattern so much I've ordered both packs. I can see you have put so much work into the design. up to now I have done about 12 of your blankets love them all.

[Sally]

How exciting! Off to order my pack to brighten my January! Thanks so much Lucy xxx

[Deb]

Yarn ordered and cannot wait for the 10th! Despite all the upheaval in my life at the moment I am determined to try and keep up this time and it will be a gorgeous distraction from the drama and sadness! Huge thanks for all your hard work, Lucy, and to all the Attic24 community who keep our spirits up through challenging times! X

[Veronica Howard]

So looking forward to doing this CAL although I have done about 8 of your delicious blankets I haven’t actually done a CAL before as it’s happening. I’ve ordered my pack so now looking forward to January. With all your beautiful colours to cheer January and February. Thank you thank you thank you Lucy