Attic24

Harbour Blanket CAL :: Part 7

I think this year more than any other year, my crochet-along seems to have moved very swiftly and I can't quite get my head around the fact that the Harbour Blanket CAL is over. Wah!!!! I'm NoT ready!!!!!! I don't want to let go of our weekly ripply get togethers just yet - I've loved sharing my thoughts with you every Friday and in turn I've really enjoyed seeing all the photos and commentary that you've shared in our online community. Thank you, thank you, to everyone who has joined me making a blanket, and to those of you who've been here and simply enjoyed the colourfest, it's been a good eight weeks. A fantastic eight weeks actually, and here we are now with the last instalment.

I really hope you've enjoyed making your colourful ripples during the past couple months, and for those of you who've only recently joined in, well then you've a lot to look forward to! Just to reassure you, my CAL posts stay accessible for whenever you need them, and Harbour yarn packs will still be available in my shop at Wool Warehouse if you decide this blanket is calling your name at a later date. You can always find the CAL posts in future by clicking on the Harbour Blanket CAL page (listed in alphabetical order in my list of patterns and tutorials) - all the links to patterns and posts will be there in one place to make it easy to find what you're looking for.

HARBOUR BLANKET CAL  PAGE

So today is all about giving a beautiful finishing edge to these vibrant ripples and taking your blanket from a work-in-progress to a finished object. Yes, your own personal Ta-dah moment is in sight, how thrilling is that?!!

As is often the case for me, I had a clear idea in my mind about what I wanted the border to look like, but I still spent many hours trying out different ideas just to be sure. I sampled many, many variations of wavy edges, scalloped edges and picot-pointy edges and in the end I came to the conclusion that keeping it simple was the way to go with this one. I had in mind something boldly stripy, kind of a nod to the coastal theme (think old fashioned British seaside windbreaks and deckchair stripes), and I'm really happy with how the Harbour border turned out.

The first round of the border flattens out the rippled top and bottom edges to create a good foundation for the simple stripy rounds to follow. If you are choosing your own colours for the border, it's a good idea to select a mid-tone shade for this round, something that will blend with the stripes and not stand out too much.

The stripes of the border are double crochet rounds (that's sc for those of you in the US), it's as simple as that. The beauty of this design is that you can make it as narrow or wide as you like - if you have enough yarn left over, you could make a wide band using all the colours if you wish.

As a rough guide, I used 18-20g of each colour, so you can weigh your own yarn balls and make sure you have enough.

For me personally, I prefer narrow borders around ripple and wave designs. I find that the visual movement created by ripples needs something simple to contain it, and that big fancy borders tend to fight a bit with the body of the blanket. It's a personal choice though, so please do feel free to make the border design your own.

I chose five colours for my Harbour border, and they are worked in the following order :

Harbour MIXED STRIPE (shown above)

1. Cornish Blue
2. Denim
3. Tomato
4. Dandelion
5. Cloud Blue 

Harbour COLOURWASH (shown above)

1. Cornish Blue
2.  Lapis
3. Turquoise
4. Apple
5. Spearmint 

As mentioned above, you will need approx. 20g of each colour.

Please feel free to have a play and change the colours if you wish. Remember that the first round should ideally be a mid-tone, blending type of shade (nothing too dark, light, or bright). You can then choose any colours that you like to build up your stripes - harmonise them into a mini colourwash, or pop them to create a bolder striped look.

I created a photo tutorial to help those of you who are visual readers, and to help beginners too.

You can find it in my list of patterns and tutorials, or click the following link >>

EASY EYELET RIPPLE BORDER

There is also a  PDF pattern which you can download/print if you wish, click on the following link >>

DOWNLOAD HARBOUR BORDER PATTERN

I hope that you enjoy sitting and work your way around the edge of your Harbour blanket, it's always a bitter-sweet time when you are coming to the end of an enjoyable blanket journey. I have absolutely LOVED making my two blankets, it's taken a lot of crochet time to make two blankets back to back but it has given me so much peace and satisfaction. Not to mention the fact that I am seriously in love with these coastal colours and jaunty ripples. The blankets look amazing on my sofa and are already being very well used by the family (Little B in particular is in love with the Harbour blanket, he says it's his favourite blanket out of all the ones I've ever made).

It might please you to know that I'm planning a proper-proper scenic ta-dah moment for my blankets, I mean, it was just too tempting an idea to resist! I've booked a few days away at the coast in late March when I hope the weather and the light will play nicely and I can take some good photos. I am ridiculously excited about it, of course I am, and I hope you won't mind waiting another month or so to see me jigging around with my stripes by the sea and ta-dah-ing all over the place. In the meantime, I would love love love to see your finished blankets - do please keep sharing on social media, either in the Facebook groups, or on Instagram (please tag with #harbourblanketcal on insta). And if you get to take your own blankets to the coast, please do take some photos to show me, I'd love that very much.

So, another huge THANK YOU for helping make this such an enjoyable CAL, I'm so grateful for your most excellent company as always. Thank you, thank you.

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Here is the link again for the printable border pattern so that you can download/print if you wish >>

DOWNLOAD HARBOUR BORDER PATTERN

If you need to find any of the other parts of the Harbour blanket CAL, I'll list all the links below for you.

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♥ HARBOUR YARN PACK 

♥ EASY EYELET RIPPLE TUTORIAL

♥ HARBOUR PRINTABLE PATTERN

♥ BORDER TUTORIAL

♥ 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

♥ HARBOUR CAL PART 6 - stripes 76-84

 

 

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

 

 

 

Harbour Blanket CAL :: Part 5

We've landed in February this week and here in Atticland we continue to live under an almost permanent heavy grey sky. It's not been especially cold, but the lack of sunlight is always the hardest part of winter for me and I have to dig deep to find the feel-good when the damp clouds are sitting just above my head all day. Having said that, I'm managing to feel pretty good this year but I really do miss seeing blue sky - we get it from time to time of course and it feels like the biggest treat when it does show up. 

I was looking through my album of Harbour photos from last Spring and found myself drawn to those wide, clear blue seascapes, oh how they make my heart sing! There is nothing I love more than a shoreline stroll on a bright  sunny day with the sounds of the waves filling my ears. So good for the soul.

These photos were taken in Whitby which is a lovely town to visit in all seasons, although it does get very crowded in summer. I've been coming here with J since before our children were born and we have so many good memories stacked up over the years. It's one of the things I really love about designing and making (and using) blankets with colours inspired by a particular place - every single stitch and row becomes a guardian of memories and a reminder of good times.

I hope that if you're making the Harbour blanket along with me that the colours are reminding you of happy times too.

As you probably know, this is my 8th annual crochet-a-long and I absolutely love love love the friendships and sharing that accompany each blanket. Our online Attic24 community is absolutely thriving and it's such a joy for me to see all your photos and comments in the Facebook groups and on Instagram. Thank you so much for taking the time to participate and join in, it really does make these winter weeks feel extra special.

In recent years I've followed something of a pattern each week of the CAL, and week five has become the week when we bring in the cuteness! I'm sure many of us have furry members of the family that share our love of crochet blankets, and I really enjoy seeing photographic evidence - shall we have a look?

↑↑ Monique's kitty knows first hand just how cosy a basket of yarn is, and yes of course it was put there just for her!

↑↑ This gorgeous chap belongs to Tracey and his name is Socks. Believe it or not he is 17 years old, and obviously knows from experience that crochet blankets are far superior to any other sort, well of course they are!

↑↑ Louise's pretty kitty is testing out her Harbour blanket and carrying out essential quality control...

↑↑...and Maxine's handsome cat really wants to learnt to crochet I think?! Bravo Pepe!

↑↑ Ohhhhhhhh, just look at the cuteness!!!! This little fella totally melted my heart, I mean, just look at the sheer contentment all over his weeny face!!! Thank you Natalie for sharing him with us, he's adorable.

I saw so many beautiful cats enjoying their snuggles with the Harbour blanket, it was really difficult to pick out just a few. Of course there are also a lot of very special dogs keeping you company while you hook up your ripples too......

↑↑ This is Betty, and we are actually friends in real life. Yes, it's true, Betty comes to knit and natter on Fridays and is a much loved member of our group. Thank you Sarah for bringing her to hang out with us, she looks very at home with your Harbour blanket.

↑↑ This pretty little face belongs to Luna, she looks very cosy indeed with those colourful ripples keeping her warm.

↑↑ Rochelle shares her blanket with this  little cutie, and to be honest I think it would be impossible to get any crochet done with that face begging for attention.

↑↑ Oh, just look at you Wilbur, you cheeky chap!!! No, that yarn basket isn't for you!

↑↑ Elizabeth melted a good many hearts on Facebook when she shared this adorable photo with us, I mean, just look!!! Seven (yes SeVeN) little cockapoo puppies all enjoying the warmth and comfort of her Harbour blanket. So precious.

↑↑ I know this isn't the Harbour blanket but I just had to share this photo with you. Please say hello to Pablo the bearded dragon, who apparently loves to snuggle up with a crochet blanket (he has good taste, obvs). Janel said that he especially seems to be drawn to the Yuletide blanket and his colour lightens when he sits on or under the blanket which is a sign that he is happy/satisfied/warm! Love love love.

↑↑ And finally, I think my favourite photo of all is this one. I actually squealed out loud when I saw it on Instagram, I just adore piggies and this really made my day. Awwwww, so so cute!!

Ah, such a lot of furry feel-good, I hope you enjoyed seeing the photos as much as I have.

So here we are, already at week 5 of the Harbour CAL and it feels like the weeks have been speeding along. Have you been enjoying your stripes and loving the bright and breezy colours as much as me? 

I hope this jolly blanket has been keeping you warm and cosy, and that you're enjoying the comfort of it as it grows. Having said that, I do hear from many of you who live in the southern hemisphere and are hooking along in very hot temperatures with the aircon on full blast..... I just can't imagine how that must feel?! I know I moan about our winter weather, but really it does make for perfect blanket-making conditions.

When you reach the end of week five your blanket will be measuring just over 5ft in length with only one more short set of stripes to go. Next week we'll only be adding nine more colours, so really we don't have much further to go.

Shall we have a look and see what 75 stripes look like?

>> Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, isn't it looking fabulous????!!!

I have to say, the Harbour blanket is very photogenic - those bright, jaunty shades really do play nicely for the camera.

The Easy Eyelet ripple is such a satisfying pattern to crochet and creates the most delightful effect when you view the blanket as a whole. The way the little holes stack up to create such neat vertical lines is extremely pleasing (or is it just me, I mean I am easily pleased).

These stripes have been an utter pleasure to crochet and have given me so many hours of therapeutic relaxation....

.....as well as some top notch snuggle time! I don't tend to pack my blankets away when I'm making them - they're left on the sofa once I've come to the end of a row and they immediately get assimilated into family life. I absolutely love that this happy blanket is already a part of our home.

Lets take a look at this week's colours, we'll be working on stripes 61-75.

Here is the colour info for Part 5 of the "MIXED STRIPE" Harbour Blanket.

Remember each stripe is made of two rows of crochet.

Click (( HERE )) for the printable worksheet.

61. Lapis

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

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

62. Aspen

63. Clementine

64. Lipstick

65. Cornish Blue

66. Cloud Blue

67. Apple

68. Aster

69. Spearmint

70. Spice

71. Dandelion

72. Turquoise

73. Denim

74. Tomato

75. Storm Blue

From what I've seen on social media during the past month or so, the majority of you are following along with the mixed stripe version, but there are still plenty of you who've chosen to go the Colourwash route. As you know, I'm making the colourwash Harbour blanket myself at the moment, so I'm really enjoying the colour play first hand.

You'll be using four colours this week...

Turquoise : Apple : Cloud Blue : Aspen

The whole tone of the blanket really shifts in week five, especially with the introduction of Cloud Blue which brings in those clear sunny skies. 

WOW! Isn't it looking great?! The sweep of colour from the darker intense shades at the bottom, up to the lighter airy shades at the top is really beginning to take shape.

It's a dynamic use of colour, and I hope you're enjoying seeing each new shade added as we've progressed through the weeks.

Lets take a closer look at the stripes for this week...

Here is the colour info for Part 5 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)

61. Turquoise

62. Apple

63. Turquoise

64. Apple

65. Turquoise

66. Apple

67. Apple

68. Cloud Blue

69. Apple

70. Cloud Blue

71. Apple

72. Cloud Blue

73. Cloud Blue

74. Aspen

75. Cloud Blue

Well I hope you've enjoyed the colour fest this week, and that the coming days treat you kindly - wrap yourself up in some colourful stripes and enjoy the heck out of your blankets, I highly recommend it! :)

Here are some links you might need this week ::

♥ PART 5 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 Blanket CAL :: Part 4

I do love to see a pile of crochet blankets sitting pretty in the home and it really doesn't matter if they are finished items or works in progress. It's like they give me a profound sense of wellbeing just by sitting there, fulfilling something deep in my soul which I never knew was empty until I learnt to crochet. Quite simply, I cannot imagine my life without at least a dozen colourful crochet blankets at my disposal, and at least one under construction at all times. 

I'd love to hear from you in the comments how you feel about crochet blankets, do you feel the same as me? Do you love them with all your heart? Do you have stacks and piles of them made over the years or maybe you're just starting out and the Harbour blanket is your very first? Lets chat about it, I'd love to hear from you if you have time.

I've been reading some wonderful comments about the Harbour blanket during this past week in my wanders through the interwebs, so much positivity and enjoyment, it's made me feel very emotional to be honest. It makes me so happy when I read about how much these bright, cheery colours are helping you through the weeks, it really is the best kind of therapy in my opinion.

This past week I've found myself very drawn to the colour yellow which is unusual for me because normally I'm all about the blues. I think it must be my subconscious mind trying to recreate a sunny outlook for my poor light-deprived brain.....give me ALL the yellow things and let me pretend that the sun is shining!! 

When I visited the coast last May to gather together some visual inspiration for the Harbour blanket, I was exceptionally lucky with the weather. As you can see in the above photo there was plenty of sunshine and blue sky, and it was also the time of year when the surrounding countryside was swathed in bright yellow fields of rapeseed crops. This colour is extremely vivid and it really stuck in my mind when I was creating the colour palette back at home.

I spotted some self-seeded rapeseed plants growing right out of the harbour wall in Staithes, and of course I loved seeing that bright pop of colour against the cool coastal landscape.

There were a good number of yellow fishing boats that caught my eye too, so despite my usual hesitance with using yellows in my designs I felt I absolutely had to include it in the Harbour blanket.

Luckily, the latest shade of yellow introduced to the Stylecraft Special DK range is a truly beautiful colour and I am absolutely smitten with it. This is Dandelion, and is everything a good yellow should be. It's bright without being garish, it has a depth to it which makes it look very natural and it blends beautifully with so many of the other colours. It really is sunshine in yarn form, and any blanket that's inspired by the coast really deserves to have a bit of sunshine thrown in! 

I'll chat a bit more about the Harbour colours when we take a look at Part 4, but before we get into that, lets have a look at some blankets of yours that have caught my eye on social media. This week, it's all about squares....

⇞⇞ Judith is making a granny log cabin blanket which is a wonderfully simple but effective pattern.

⇞⇞ Martina is working on this stunning square harbour blanket and every time I see it pop up on instagram it immediately makes my heart leap. 

⇞⇞ Chris is making solid granny squares and will be following the design made by Kaz Hall for the Hooked on Attic24 facebook group. I think it's looking great already, even in its deconstructed state.

⇞⇞ Brenda has really powered along and made a fantastic Harbour blanket using the Yuletide square pattern. If you look closely you'll notice that she's crocheted the colours in a repeating sequence which gives the blanket a very harmonious feel. 

⇞⇞ Hannah has been following along with the ripple pattern, but felt inspired by seeing the Harbour Yuletide blankets shared online and decided to jump in and make a second square blanket. I'm all for doubling up!! 

Incidentally, this combination of colour palette and pattern (Harbour x Yuletide) has been named "Harbourtide" on Facebook and I absolutely love love love it. I wish I'd thought of it haha!!

⇞⇞ Another Harbourtide creation taking shape, and already looking stunning. Holly has decided to make four large squares which she'll then crochet together at the end - I'm really looking forward to seeing this.

⇞⇞ And here is one more beautiful Harbourtide work in progress, not a blanket this time but a poncho. Carol decided to make her own version of my Home Poncho (this one), by combining the Harbour colours with the Yuletide stitch pattern, and my goodness it really does look amazing. Her photo received so much interest on facebook and inspired a good many people, so Carol very kindly explained her pattern in case anyone else wanted to give it a try....

Here is the basic method, written in UK Terms :

Row 1: Ch 128. Join with a sl st to form a ring. Ch 1 and dc around. End with a sl st. [128 sts]

Row 2: Ch 3 (counts as 1 tr); (1 tr; ch 2; 2 tr) in the same st; 1 tr in each of the next 63 sts; (2 tr; ch 2; 2 tr) in the next st; tr in each of the next 63 sts; end with a sl st.

Row 3: Follow Yuletide pattern from the 2nd round which is the Sk 1 st; 2tr in next st; sk 1 st pattern round.

 

I've so enjoyed my time spent on social media this week, there is a lot of feel-good around this year's CAL (well there always is every year) and it's really heart warming to be a part of it.

So this week we're moving into the second half of the Harbour blanket with another fifteen stripes being added. I was crocheting this part of the blanket on my long train journey home from Dorset last autumn, and it was a very enjoyable way to pass the time as the miles flew by. Oooo, see, there's that glorious yellow again, bringing in the sunshine!

As you crochet part 4 you'll find that the extra length really makes your blanket feel extremely blankety. It'll be getting to that perfect size where you can have a snuggle underneath it as you work, and you should be so familiar with the pattern by now that you can really allow your mind to relax as the ripple rhythm flows.

I hope that you're enjoying these colours as much as I am, they really do bring some much needed summer sunshine at this time of year.

I always get a jolt of pure joy each week when I lay my blanket out to take the progress photograph and I get to see how it's looking. When you're immersed in crocheting those ripples you don't often view the blanket in it's entirety, so there is always that little element of surprise when you lay it out and take a long look.

I don't mind telling that this is quite a challenging colour palette to work with in terms of balance, and creating random stripes that have a harmonious feel is much harder than you would think. I'm actually pretty proud of it :)

I had to show you the above photo which was completely unplanned and unstyled - I'd left my blanket in a heap on the chair after I'd been photographing, and Tilly decided that it was obviously there for her comfort. I love love love it when cats curl themselves into a ball and turn their little heads upside down to sleep, it's so cute!

Ok, lets have a look at this week's colours, we'll be working on stripes 46-60.

Here is the colour info for Part 4 of the "MIXED STRIPE" Harbour Blanket.

Remember each stripe is made of two rows of crochet.

Click (( HERE )) for the printable worksheet.

46. Lipstick

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

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

47. Aspen

48. Lapis

49. Cloud Blue

50. Storm Blue

51. Clementine

52. Spearmint

53. Denim

54. Turquoise

55. Apple

56. Dandelion

57. Tomato

58. Aster 

59. Spice

60. Cornish Blue

Stripy blankets are just soooooooooo good for you!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Haha!!

Lets look at this week's colourwash blanket now........

As you know, I'm working on the harbour colourwash myself at the moment, so I know first hand how uplifting these brightly coloured stripes are. It's been chilly here in Atticland during the past week - you can see in the above photo that I'm stretched out on the sofa wrapped up in the mixed stripe harbour while I work on the colourwash version - double therapy!!

You can also see that this week there'll be some sunshine streaming into your blanket because we have Dandelion incoming - yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You'll be using four colours this week...

Cornish Blue : Clementine : Dandelion : Turquoise

As we leave the oranges and reds behind, we'll be lightening the balance now as we add in yellow. It's a lovely, uplifting part of the blanket and I really hope you enjoy seeing the sun rising........

......ahhhhhhhhhhhh, so good!! 

Here is the colour info for Part 4 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)

46. Cornish Blue

47. Clementine

48. Cornish Blue

49. Cornish Blue

50. Dandelion (here comes the sun!)

51. Cornish Blue

52. Dandelion

53. Cornish Blue

54. Dandelion

55. Dandelion

56. Turquoise

57. Dandelion

58. Turquoise

59. Dandelion

60. Turquoise (hint - don't fasten off, there will be another stripe of Turquoise next!)

Oh, hi Tilly.....!

I think that's about all for now, I hope this week goes well for you all - isn't it strange to think that next week we'll be stepping into February? Time flies when you're having fun.....enjoy your ripply stripes and soak up those glorious colours!

Here are some links you might need this week ::

♥ PART 4 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 Blanket CAL :: Part 3

Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside....oh, I do like to be beside the sea.....la la la! Yes, I've been daydreaming again with that song in my head, it's unavoidable during January and February when I am living and breathing my crochet-a-long blankets and finding myself transported to another (warmer) place and time. You may have noticed that many of my CAL designs have something of a summer theme (Meadow, Dahlia, Sweet Pea, Sunny), it's my favourite season by far and I find it endlessly inspiring. As we crochet along together through the cold winter months I think it's wonderful to have colours which lift our spirits and bring a little sunshine into our homes - bright summery colour palettes are so good at doing just that.

I've been daydreaming about this place today ↑↑, this is the beautiful little fishing village of Staithes on the North Yorkshire coast, and it's rooted itself deep in my heart. I love spending time here, especially in the early mornings when the narrow streets are sunny and quiet and there is such a relaxing sleepiness about the place. Of course it has the most picturesque little harbour, with colourful boats that directly inspired my blanket - you can see more photos of it online ((here)). I'm hoping to be walking down that little street again in March, so I'll be sure to take you along with me and show you around a bit.

Daydreaming of summer holidays while I warm myself beside the fire in the midst of winter is actually a pretty lovely way to pass the time. I love the way that crocheting blankets allows my mind to wander in and out of my memories as I quietly sit and hook each stitch. It's such a pleasure! I deliberately design easy, rhythmic, repetitive stripes for this very reason, well I do also very much like to encourage beginners to jump in and find the joy in making blankets - two very good reasons why I keep my designs simple. I really, really hope you're enjoying these colourful ripply stripes, whether you are an accomplished daydreamer like me or a newbie hooker just starting out.

As you know, when I create these weekly CAL instalments I love to celebrate our online crochet community by sharing photos that have caught my eye on Facebook and Instagram. This week I'm sharing some fabulous blankets which are using the Easy Eyelet Ripple pattern but with alternative colour palettes. 

Lets take a look.......

↑↑ @calamitycrochet on Instagram shared this photo of her nautical ripple blanket - I love the bright pops of red amongst the cool, calm blues.

↑↑ Elaine is working on a Harbour Harmony blanket (you can see the beginnings of her squares all neatly arranged in a box), but she is also using the Eyelet Ripple pattern to crochet a super sweet blanket in pastel shades.

↑↑ Fran is stash busting for her blanket and I love the mix of colours she's using.

↑↑ Another stash buster, Lisa's summery colour palette is looking delightful.

↑↑ Orla has chosen a stunning colour palette of purples, pinks, blues and greens and is making a gorgeous colourwash blanket - I'm really looking forward to seeing this one grow.

↑↑ Michelle has added white ripples in between her bright shades to create a really eye catching design.

↑↑ B has chosen to use Stylecraft Highland Heathers yarn, and I think it's looking absolutely beautiful. The subtly blended colours in this heathered yarn is very appealing, and I wouldn't mind having a play with it myself.

↑↑ You might remember that I shared this Harbour Yuletide last week, it's had a lot of love on Facebook I can tell you! Denise has added a lot more rows since last week so I thought you'd like to see progress - isn't it fabulous?

Thank you to everyone who's shared photos on Facebook or Instagram this week ( #harbourblanketcal ), our online communities are absolutely thriving and buzzing with hooky excitement, I couldn't love them more.

So here we are at week 3, and this week we'll pass the half way mark (stripe 42). When I was crocheting my own Harbour Blanket last year, I was actually down in Dorset at the time I was working on part 3. This is the harbour at West Bay where I grew up - the colours of the sea and the fishing boats have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.

It's always a very nostalgic experience when I return to Dorset for a visit, especially coming down to "the Bay". I have so many precious memories tied up here, layer upon layer of happy times spent with family and friends. 

On the day that I finished the final stripe of part 3, I folded the blanket and popped it in my racksack so that I could take it on a little seaside jaunt. It was extremely windy on this day so I couldn't safely photograph it near the harbour (I had visions of it being blown straight into the water, oh, the horror!). Instead, I took it onto the pebbly beach and had the pleasure of seeing it with a sea view backdrop.....

....awwwww, my heart!! I absolutely love the above photo - the colours look so vibrant against the muted shades of the beach.

Forty Five stripes of bright seaside colours, don't they make you feel happy to look at them? Pure holiday vibes!

I asked Lady B to help me hold the blanket upright so that I could show you how cute the eyelets look with the light shining through - yeah, it really was a blustery day so it didn't go too well, but you get the idea. I'm sure that if you've already completed the first 30 stripes, you'll know first hand how lovely the eyelets are.

Ok, lets have a look at this week's colours, we'll be working on stripes 31-45.

Here is the colour info for Part 3 of the "MIXED STRIPE" Harbour Blanket.

Remember each stripe is made of two rows of crochet.

Click (( HERE )) for the printable worksheet.

31. Lipstick

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

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

32. Storm Blue

33. Lapis

34. Apple

35. Cornish Blue

36. Cloud Blue

37. Dandelion

38. Spearmint

39. Clementine

40. Tomato

41. Aspen

42. Denim

43. Spice

44. Aster

45. Turquoise

I've seen many of you enjoying your colourwash blankets during the past couple of weeks, and I'd like to say thank you for having faith in the design. The bottom section is full of very strong contrasts and is not for the fainthearted,  but remember that these bold colours will add visual weight to the blanket. It really is a wonderful exercise in colour play and I'm excited for you to see it play out.

You'll be using four colours this week...

Spice : Storm Blue : Clementine : Cornish Blue

Putting blues and oranges together creates a really dynamic effect full of contrast - blue and orange are opposites on the colour wheel so they don't always like to play nicely together! But look how amazing they are when you see them with the deeper colours beneath......

....wow!!!!

This is such a fun colour journey, and I really hope you're enjoying it as much as I am. Every week I get so excited to see how the next set of colours will look, and how the overall look of the blanket keeps shifting and changing as it grows.

Ah, so, so good!!

Here is the colour info for Part 3 of the "COLOURWASH" Harbour Blanket.

Remember each stripe is made of two rows of crochet.

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

31. Spice

32. Storm Blue

33. Spice

34. Storm Blue

35. Spice

36. Storm Blue

37. Storm Blue

38.  Clementine

39.  Storm Blue

40.  Clementine

41. Storm Blue

42.  Clementine

43. Clementine

44. Cornish Blue

45. Clementine

I'm wishing you a week full of hooky pleasure and happy daydreams, I hope these bright colours make you happy right down to your toes!

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Here are some links you might need this week ::

♥ PART 3 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

↑↑ ps, yes, tis me, loitering about on a cold blustery beach with my blankie and looking very happy about the whole situation. Please ignore the windswept state of my appearance and focus on the stripes - don't they look amazing?! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

Harbour Blanket CAL :: Part 2

Hello, hello, I hope you're well and happy and finding lots of joy in your days as we step through the first month of the year. Here in Atticland I've been having a slow, restorative week for the most part, attempting to settle my days into some sort of routine which allows me to get things done while still having plenty of time to rest if I need it. I have to say, I'm finding myself daydreaming quite a bit at the moment, my mind wandering to sunnier, warmer times and I'm looking forward to the seasons shifting and changing to give us lighter, brighter days. 

These photos were taken in May last year when I spent a few days at the coast with a good friend. We rented a small apartment in Whitby on the North Yorkshire coast and our days were filled with walking the coast path, strolling on the beach and pottering around the harbour. The weather was glorious - bright and breezy and absolutely perfect for taking photographs. As soon as I got home I pulled out my yarn pegs and began working on the Harbour colour palette inspired by all that I had seen. 

The bustling holiday town of Whitby and the quiet little village of Staithes are some of my favourite places to visit when I need a sea fix, and never fail to uplift my spirits. It was this happy kind of feeling that I wanted to capture in my Harbour blanket - the carefree, uplifting joy that takes hold when you're on holiday and the days are filled with relaxation and pleasure seeking, and when every view makes you sigh with happiness.

I know from all the photos I've seen on social media since last Friday that there are a good many of you joining me on this blanket journey and I hope that you've enjoyed getting started with your stripes. I would like to thank you all so much for sharing your progress online too (the Facebook groups have been buzzing with excitement!) and for all the heart warming friendship and support you've freely given to our online groups, it's been absolutely wonderful to see.

If you aren't already a part of the Attic24 Facebook community, I can highly recommend it if you're looking for some friendly banter and to join up with hundreds of other hooksters all over the world. You can share photos of your blanket progress, pick up lots of handy hints and tips and chat to your hearts content. There are three groups on Facebook to look out for (there may well be more but these are the ones that I visit) :

Hooked on Attic24

Attic24 and Lots More - UK

Just Attic24 Friends

These groups are very active and friendly, and you'd be made so welcome if you wanted to join in. I'd like to say a massive heart-felt thank you to the fabulous folks who administrate these groups and take care of the day to day running of them, I am so grateful to them.

I also want to take this opportunity to mention that there are absolutely no time restrictions involved with my crochet-alongs, and it's perfectly acceptable for you to take it slowly if that suits you better. You probably already know this but I think it's worth mentioning again - my patterns stay free and accessible on my blog for always, so that you can jump in and use them whenever you like. I see people picking up the cosy stripe blanket all the time, and that was my first ever CAL in 2014!! This year more than in previous years, the Harbour yarn pack continues to fly out of the warehouse as we jaunt through January, so I know there will be hundreds of new blankets starting out every day. All I ask is that you enjoy your own personal hooky journey, no matter when you start or how fast or slow it is.

I've really enjoyed seeing you all fall in love with the Harbour colour palette as those stripes begin to grow....it really is a mood lifter that's for sure. Many of you have found your way to Veronica's online shop (Simply Shade Cards) and are using her wooden shade cards to keep a record of the Harbour colours. Thanks to Karen for the lovely photo above.

I thought it would be fun to share some more blanket beginnings that have caught my eye online this week. I know that the majority of you are following along with me and giving the Easy Eyelet Ripple pattern a try, and it's been fantastic for me to see how much you're enjoying it. It's an easy pattern to get to grips with once those first few rows are done and dusted and I know that you're already appreciating the top notch relaxation therapy that it's bringing to your days.

↑↑ Maria's cat Minty looks happy enough testing out the snuggle factor don't you think?!

↑↑ Awwww, just look at this little cutie!! Poppie shared this adorable photo on Instagram - her Little Man decided that he would like to wear his very own Harbour stripes, so Poppie decided to start her blanket all over again and let him stay cosy in his brand new Harbour Scarf.

Some of you have decided to use alternative Attic24 patterns for your Harbour stripes, and I always think it's inspirational to see....

↑↑ Allison is hooking up the Neat Ripple for her blanket

↑↑Amy decided that a simple Granny Stripe would be the way to go for some relaxing hooky time

↑↑ Christine has chosen the Hydrangea Stripe which looks super snuggly in these bright shades

↑↑ Gaye is making the Harbour Eyelet ripple, but at the same time is hooking up a smaller lap blanket using the Dahlia Spike stitch

↑↑ And Denise is crocheting her Harbour colours into a fabulous Yuletide square which already looks stunning. I'm really looking forward to seeing this one grow.

Thank you again for sharing your photos - do please keep posting on Facebook and Instagram ( #harbourblanketcal ) as I absolutely love to see them.

Right then, lets take a look at the second part of the CAL, and the stripes that will be flowing off your hook this week.

If you're making the Mixed Stripe version, then this week you'll be adding another fifteen jolly stripes to your blanket. The bigger it grows, the more happiness seems to radiate out from those ripples, don't you think? It's just such a JOYFUL thing!

You will no doubt have noticed that some of the colours are very bright (hello Clementine, I'm looking at you), but the predominance of cool blue tones allows the bright shades to pop out and sing without being too over powering. 

It's the pops of bright orange, yellow and green which give this blanket it's unique signature, and I hope they are making you happy. Do they remind you of being on holiday? Do you think of the seaside as you ripple up and down those rows? Oh, I really do hope so! I hope your daydreams are as sunny and happy as can be.

Ok, lets have a look at this week's colours, we'll be working on stripes 15-30.

Here is the colour info for Part 2 of the "MIXED STRIPE" Harbour Blanket.

Remember each stripe is made of two rows of crochet.

Click (( HERE )) for the printable worksheet.

16. Turquoise

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

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

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

17. Lipstick

18. Lapis

19. Cloud Blue

20. Storm Blue

21. Apple

22. Clementine

23. Aspen 

24. Aster 

25. Tomato 

26. Denim

27. Spice 

28. Dandelion

29. Spearmint

30. Cornish Blue

Part two of the Colourwash version brings a subtle progression to last week, with similar mid-blue tones dancing along with the orange shades. You'll be using four colours this week ::

Tomato, Denim, Aster and, Spice.

I'm currently working on this blanket myself so I am really, really enjoying the colour play first hand at the moment. I think to be honest, the Colourwash Harbour Blanket looks better in real life than it does in photos, so trust me when I tell you that it gets better and better the bigger it grows. 

Here is the colour info for Part 2 of the "COLOURWASH" Harbour Blanket.

Remember each stripe is made of two rows of crochet.

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

16. Tomato

17. Denim

18. Tomato

19. Tomato

20. Aster

21. Tomato

22. Aster

23. Tomato 

24. Aster 

25. Aster 

26. Spice

27. Aster 

28. Spice

29. Aster

30. Spice (hint - don't fasten off, there will be another stripe of Spice next!)

I hope this week passes by gently and harmoniously for you - January can be a tricky month to navigate but one thing I do know for sure is that bright colours and soothing yarny stripes really, really help. It's the best kind of therapy there is......enjoy every stitch!!

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Here are some links you might need this week ::

♥ PART 2 COLOUR WORK SHEETS

♥ HARBOUR YARN PACK 

♥ EASY EYELET RIPPLE TUTORIAL

♥ HARBOUR PRINTABLE PATTERN

♥ HARBOUR BLANKET INTRODUCTION

♥ HARBOUR CAL PART 1 - stripes 1-15

 

 

Harbour Blanket CAL :: Part 1

YAY, it's CAL DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good morning, a belated Happy New Year to you all and welcome to the start of what I hope is a very happy two month jolly along with these glorious coastal-inspired colours. This is the sixth time that I've shared a blanket journey at the start of the year and I can tell you from experience that it makes a huuuuuuuge difference to the feel of these tricky months. My hope is that you feel it too, and that you enjoy belonging to our vibrant online crochet community as we make a blanket together. I don't think you can beat the joy and satisfaction of immersing yourself in the gentle art of yarning along with a palette of uplifting colours through the darkest months of the year. If you don't crochet, I really hope that my weekly CAL posts will still make you feel good with a little bit of colour therapy, and I'll try my best to chat to you midweek about normal every day life kind of stuff too.

It's been two months since I introduced you to the Harbour blanket, and maybe some of you are new to the Attic and aren't sure what I'm talking about (a warm welcome to you if you're new here!). You can read the introduction post I wrote about the Harbour blanket by clicking on the following link >>

HARBOUR BLANKET INTRODUCTION

These colours are inspired by my childhood growing up by the sea in Dorset, as well the many wonderful holidays I've had at the Yorkshire coast. Harbours and fishing boats have always been a source of happiness for me and hold many memories of much loved places and times spent with special people. 

As is usual for my blankets, I've chose fifteen shades of Stylecraft Special DK for my Harbour blanket.

From left to right :

♥ Lipstick ♥  Tomato ♥  Spice ♥  Clementine ♥  Dandelion ♥

♥ Apple ♥ Aspen ♥ Spearmint ♥ Cloud Blue ♥ Turquoise ♥

♥ Aster ♥ Cornish Blue ♥  Storm Blue ♥ Denim ♥ Lapis ♥

You can find the Harbour yarn pack in my shop at Wool Warehouse, click on the following link...

HARBOUR YARN PACK

I really wanted this blanket to have a joyful, holiday-ish feel to it, and for it to bring forth memories of happy times spent beside the sea. It's an easy pattern (I promise), so easy in fact that I've named it the Easy Eyelet Ripple. I very much wanted to design a ripple pattern that would be perfect for beginners, and I really think this is it so don't be afraid to jump in and give it a go even if you are a complete newbie with the hook. 

For those of you who have made CAL blankets with me before then you will be familiar with the schedule. If this is your first time, here is a quick rundown of the weeks....

Today you have access to the pattern which remains free and accessible here on my blog for ever so that you can use it whenever you like. Each week I'll be giving you a list of stripes so that you can work on a portion of the blanket, and we aim to make 15 stripes a week. Don't worry if this isn't do-able for you, you can absolutely work at your own pace and take ten years to do it if you need to! 

Today - Part 1 (stripes 1 - 15)

14th January - Part 2 (stripes 16 - 30)

21st January - Part 3 (stripes 31 - 45)

28th January - Part 4 (stripes 46 - 60)

4th February - Part 5 (stripes 61 - 75)

11th February - Part 6 (stripes 76 - 84)

18th February - catch up week (darn in those ends!)

25th February - Part 7 - the Border

As always, I've created my usual photo-heavy tutorial to help you crochet your tension sample and learn how to work the Easy Eyelet Ripple. You can find it by clicking on the following link >>

EASY EYELET RIPPLE TUTORIAL

I've also made a simple written pattern that you can download/print if you don't need the step by step help and prefer to have a traditional printed pattern to pop in your bag. You can find it by clicking on the following link >>

DOWNLOAD HARBOUR BLANKET PATTERN

Even if you are an experienced crocheter, I would strongly advise you to crochet a small tension sample before beginning your blanket. This is just 31 chains, then 4 rows of the pattern which is enough for you to familiarise yourself with the way the rows work, as well as giving you reassurance that your hook size/tension is correct. It doesn't take long, and is worth the extra bit of effort I think. You don't have to change colours with the sample if you don't want to - just work up 4 rows in one colour, measure it, then frog it and re-use the yarn.

The Easy Eyelet Ripple uses just one stitch - a UK treble (this is the same as a double crochet in the US) and it's a very intuitive and easy-to-see visual pattern with simple rhythmic counting. It's an absolute joy to crochet, and once you've got that pesky first row out of the way you'll be jollying along with no trouble. I know the first row can be tough - crocheting stitches into a foundation chain can be hard going, especially for new hooksters. Here are my top tips for making this as stress-free as possible:

1. use a bigger hook size to make your chain, then switch down again to work your first row. You can go up two half-sizes to open up the chains a little (eg if you're going to use a 4mm hook for the blanket, make the chain using a 5mm).
2. take your time, and plan to make this first row when you can sit quietly and be completely undisturbed as you count and concentrate on the pattern.
3. make sure you have good light (the first stripe uses Lapis which is a dark blue, so you will need good light to see the chains clearly).
4. use stitch markers. You will need to have an accurate chain count for this to work, there is no room for errors. Make your chains slowly, evenly, and place stitch markers at regular intervals, say every 25 chains. This way, if your mind suddenly goes blank (it happens), or the cat distracts you and you lose count (also a distinct possibility in my house), you only have to go back as far as your last stitch marker.
5. when you work your first row, get into the habit of checking back over your stitches after every single ripple repeat (8 stitches). That way, if you've accidentally gone wrong and made too many or two few stitches, you can easily trouble shoot straight away. The eyelets really help with this - you will know straight away if you come to an eyelet space and you've mis-counted the previous stitches.

After that first row, you will probably need a coffee, or maybe a hefty glass of wine, but you will know that from here on out those rows will be flying off your hook. This is a repetitive, meditative pattern with uber-easy repeats so you will very quickly be able to ditch the written pattern and hook along to your heart's content. 

When I was crocheting the first part of the Harbour Ripple, I actually happened to be taking a short break by the sea at one of the places that inspired these colours. I really wanted to photograph the blanket beginning by the sea, and so I planned this trip to make it happen. It was back at the end of September, and the weather was mild enough for me to sit quietly on a bench overlooking the beach as I completed stripe number fifteen. Sitting and hooking outdoors with a sea view is one of my greatest pleasures, so of course I was in absolute heaven!

I mean, just look at it!!!! How wonderful this blanket looks already, after only 15 stripes!

In case you were wondering, this charming little harbour is in the enchanting village of Staithes on the North Yorkshire coast. I've been visiting here for decades and it holds some very special memories from when the Little People were small - you can see more of it in this post. 

So here we are back at home, and this is what Part 1 looks like. Fifteen ripply stripes of gloriously vibrant colour.

In the above photo you can clearly see how wonderful those little eyelets are, they add a lovely extra dimension to the look and feel of the blanket, but also they serve to really help when you are crocheting those rows. As they stack very neatly on top of each other they act like a full stop/pause after every eight stitches which will help to keep you on track with the pattern. Tis very clever!

I have a feeling that you are really going to enjoy this pattern, whether you are using the Harbour colour palette or going your own way with your own colours. 

OK.....shall we take a look at the colour order now, so that you can get cracking with it?

Here is the colour info for Part 1 of the "MIXED STRIPE" Harbour Blanket.

Click (( HERE )) for the printable worksheet.

1. Lapis (Foundation chain & rows 1 & 2)

2. Turquoise (rows 3 & 4)

3. Lipstick (rows 5 & 6)

4. Clementine (rows 7 & 8)

5. Cornish Blue (rows 9 & 10)

6. Dandelion (rows 11 & 12)

7. Spearmint (rows 13 & 14)

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

8. Storm Blue (rows 15 & 16)

9. Apple (rows 17 & 18)

10. Tomato (rows 19 & 20)

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

11. Aster (rows 21 & 22)

12. Cloud Blue (rows 23 & 24)

13. Spice (rows 25 & 26)

14. Aspen (rows 27 & 28)

15. Denim (rows 29 & 30)

I always intended for these ripple stripes to be mixed in a jolly random way, to give something of a carefree holiday-ish feel to the overall design. But at the same time I know that many of you prefer your blankets to have more order and harmony, so I've also created a second "Colourwash" version which you might prefer. 

As you can see in the above image, both blankets will use the same set of colours but the order of them changes the look dramatically. The colourwash version is arranged so that the blues sweep upwards in a wash from dark to light, with the bright boaty-inspired shades popping up in between.

Lets take a closer look......

What do you think? I really love it, although I think my heart still prefers the mixed stripe.

Oh, I need to mention one important thing - this blanket is designed to have 84 stripes which will give a finished length of approx 175cm. The colourwash version is therefore not suitable for making shorter or longer blankets (you will need to follow the "Mixed Stripe" for smaller/longer blankets). 

If the colourwash has stolen your heart and you'd like to take your Harbour colours on this soothing journey, lets take a look at part 1.....

This week you will be using four colours : Lapis, Denim, Lipstick and Tomato.

This is the darkest part of the colourwash, and it's also beautifully vibrant - the combination of red and dark blue is very striking. As the blanket grows you'll see that this section very successfully balances out the lighter shades in the second half, and the whole effect will be stunning.

As you can see in the above photo, there are some parts of the colourwash where you crochet a double stripe (4 rows of the same colour), so there is no need to fasten off and restart your yarn in between these stripes.

Here is the colour info for Part 1 of the "COLOURWASH" Harbour Blanket.

Click (( HERE )) for the printable worksheet (the colourwash is listed on page 2).

1. Lapis (Foundation chain & rows 1 & 2)

2. Lipstick  (rows 3 & 4)

3. Lapis (rows 5 & 6)

4. Lipstick (rows 7 & 8)

5. Lapis (rows 9 & 10)

6. Lipstick (rows 11 & 12)

7. Lipstick (rows 13 & 14)

8. Denim (rows 15 & 16)

9. Lipstick (rows 17 & 18)

10. Denim (rows 19 & 20)

11. Lipstick (rows 21 & 22)

12. Denim (rows 23 & 24)

13. Denim (rows 25 & 26)

14. Tomato (rows 27 & 28)

15. Denim (rows 29 & 30)

I want to gently remind you that if you haven't already done so, you will need to find some way of identifying the yarn colours once you've removed the paper ball band. You can do this by simply sticking some strands of yarn to a piece of paper and writing the colour names next to them, or wrapping yarn pegs like I do. Or you can employ any other clever way that tickles your fancy.......which includes creating an actual shade card for your blanket project.

My friend Veronica has been making and selling these wooden shade cards for a little while now and they've become incredibly popular. She makes them for all of my current blanket designs and you can find them in her Etsy shop - the Harbour shade card is HERE.

I'm also thrilled to share with you these beautiful Harbour Harmony blankets designed by Kaz Hall who is one of the amazing admins in the "Hooked on Attic24" Facebook group. Kaz took my harbour colours and created these stunning versions of my Summer Harmony blanket. 

The Harbour Harmony blanket is being run as a mini CAL within the Hooked on Attic24 Facebook group. Kaz is organising this herself with my blessing, so if you would like to use your yarn pack to create your own Harbour Harmony, head on over to the Facebook group to join in.

There is also a rectangular version which I think is especially stunning - the wash of blues from dark to light makes me feel like I'm looking out to sea....isn't it beautiful?

I would like to say a huge thank you to Kaz for coming up with the idea and organising it all, and also to Sue and Catherine who crocheted the above stunning blankets to show us. Isn't our online crochet community the most amazing and inspirational place? I absolutely love love love being a part of it.

Well, I think that's about all for this week - remember you can share photos or questions on my Facebook page, in the "Hooked on Attic24" Facebook group, or an Instagram (please use the hashtag #harbourcal so I can find your posts).

I really hope you get your blankets off to a great start, have a fabulous, happy hooky week my lovelies!!!!!!!!!

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♥ HARBOUR YARN PACK 

♥ EASY EYELET RIPPLE TUTORIAL

♥ HARBOUR PRINTABLE PATTERN

♥ HARBOUR BLANKET INTRODUCTION

♥ PART 1 COLOUR WORK SHEETS

 

 

Harbour Blanket :: Introduction

Good morning, good morning! If you're here looking for the new Harbour yarn pack, click on the following link to go straight there >>

♥ HARBOUR YARN PACK ♥

I hope you'll also enjoy reading today's post where I'm sharing a bit more of the inspiration behind this blanket. I promise that I'll try not to go overboard with all my millions of coastal photos, I'll save some for the CAL :)

Earlier in the year I was lucky enough to take a late Spring jaunt over to the Yorkshire coast with a friend of mine, partly because we both felt in need of a little holiday and partly because I knew I wanted to gather in some visual inspiration. It was mid May and we were exceptionally lucky with the weather - May here in Yorkshire wasn't that great, but on the two days that we spent by the sea we were treated to (mostly) blue skies and some very welcome sunshine.

We stayed in one of my favourite places on the coast, a place that I've visited many, many times during the three decades that J and I have been together. This is Whitby, a picturesque little seaside town with a busy fishing harbour which is deservedly popular with tourists who come to enjoy the beach and the friendly atmosphere. There is a distinct holiday vibe here which I absolutely love and it always makes me happy to spend time around the harbour and in the very old part of the town which is steeped in history. 

I've been thinking about creating a blanket inspired by the colours found at traditional seaside harbours for many years. This is often the way I work, and it's not unusual for me to ponder on creative design ideas and colour palettes for a really long time before it feels right to bring them to fruition. 

During the few days I spent at the coast I did a lot of walking - coastal walking is one of my favourite activities and I absolutely adore it, especially when the weather is playing nice. We walked for many miles, following the Cleveland Way as it ambled up and down the steep cliffs which hug this coastline. I took a LOT of photos, way too many to share with you today, so I'll save them for the CAL so that we can look forward to some coastal views as we make our ripply rows. What I mainly want to show you today is a little bit of the inspiration I found around the fishing harbours, not just in Whitby but also the charming village of Staithes. There aren't nearly so many boats at Staithes as the harbour is tiny compared to Whitby but oh my goodness, the colours are beautiful. 

I mean, just look how colourful and jaunty it all is!! I adore the jolly, carefree summer vibe that these colourful boats invoke, it makes me feel incredibly happy right down to my toes, especially on this grey, cold misty day in mid November when summer seems so far away. I love love love the way that the colours of the boats look so vibrant against the backdrop of coastal blues - those vibrant "pops" of colour light up my colour-loving soul and I can't get enough of them.

It's not just the boats that bring colour to the harbour - vibrant colour is all around once you begin to look for it. These lobster pots really caught my eye with their bright turquoise, jade, mustard yellow and orange netting and I took a gazillion photos of them from every imaginable angle. I hope you appreciate that I'm showing enormous restraint by showing you just one!

May time is full of glorious colour in the countryside, and along the Yorkshire coastline you get to see the country and coast combined. I noticed lots of colour in the fields as it was the time of year when rapeseed crops were in full bloom, and I loved seeing some self seeded flowers right down at the edge of the harbour. These flowers were so gloriously bright that I knew I would have to include some yellow and fresh green in my Harbour colour palette. 

I love the cosy tumble of these Yorkshire seaside villages and everywhere we went I took note of the colours. The terracotta pan tiled rooftops are a very distinctive feature of the Yorkshire coast and look wonderful against a backdrop of cool blue sea and sky.

I also took lots (and lots) of photos of cute coastal cottages with brightly painted doors and colourful ceramic pots full of tumbling flowers - I'll show you more of those once the CAL starts. 

Of course, the overwhelming colour of the coast is blue, blue and more blue, and I couldn't be happier about that! I adore the cool part of the colour wheel and sea blues and greens are my most favourite colours in the whole wide world. Coastal walking is a real treat when the weather is good because sunny skies mean that there are soooooooooo many shades of blue to enjoy. The colours in the sea change minute by minute and I never tire of seeing it. I am quite obsessed by these coastal shades of water and sky, they just fill my soul with such a deep sense of calm and tranquillity. 

As I spent these wonderful hours and days beside the sea, I began to instinctively know how this blanket would look and feel. It would be dominated by blues, because, well....the endless expanse of sea and sky is hard to ignore. I wanted it to feel as peaceful as a wide open sea view - bright and breezy, but also calming and restorative.

And then at the same time I was excited to add in those gloriously vibrant pops of coastal colour that bring such energy and joy. Bright shades of red, orange and yellow which sing against a backdrop of cool blues. This is how I imagined the Harbour blanket would be......

....and I began to actually see the brightly coloured ripples dancing in front of my eyes long before I picked up my crochet hook. I just knew it would be a truly happy blanket - bright and breezy, jaunty and jolly, and full of summer feel good.

It was a huge amount of fun playing with the colours when I returned from my trip - this is the part of the design process which gives me the most happiness and satisfaction. Fortunately for me, Stylecraft has a really beautiful palette of blues and blue-greens to choose from and I had absolutely no trouble at all selecting my sea and sky shades. My biggest challenge was deciding on the overall balance of the colour palette. In other words, how to take the very bright colours of the harbour boats and balance them out with exactly the right amount of sea and sky. How much blue is enough??!!

It took me many weeks to make this decision, honestly, I take my colour balancing very seriously and a humungous amount of pondering goes on before I settle on the final palette.

I really, really hope you love the Harbour colours as much as I do, because I am absolutely head over heels for them!

As is usual for my blankets, I've chose fifteen shades of Stylecraft Special DK for my Harbour blanket

From left to right :

♥ Lipstick ♥  Tomato ♥  Spice ♥  Clementine ♥  Dandelion ♥

♥ Apple ♥ Aspen ♥ Spearmint ♥ Cloud Blue ♥ Turquoise ♥

♥ Aster ♥ Cornish Blue ♥  Storm Blue ♥ Denim ♥ Lapis ♥

You can find the Harbour yarn pack in my shop at Wool Warehouse, click on the following link...

♥ HARBOUR YARN PACK ♥

In the above photo, you can see the fifteen colours I chose and get a better idea of how the balancing act worked out. You can see that the blues and blue-greens take up more than half the space, with the bright boaty colours occupying a little less than half. Getting this balance right is really important and not to be underestimated -  a bold, stripy blanket needs careful handling if it's to look happy and jaunty without looking garish.

I'm so, so happy with how these colours play together, and I can't wait for you to see for yourself. The baby ripples are fabulous and make the colours look so playful and full of life.

As well as the random mix of Harbour stripes shown here, there will also be a second option to create a "colourwash" Harbour blanket where all fifteen colours are ordered in a very particular way. Over the past few years I've enjoyed giving more than one option for my CAL blankets and it's always wonderful to see the excitement as everyone makes their decision as to which version they prefer. I'll be sharing some sneak peeks of the two versions of the Harbour blanket a little bit closer to the start of the CAL.

It's hard to think of a coastal blanket without conjuring up ripples or waves, so I did the decent thing and settled on a pretty little eyelet ripple stitch for my harbour blanket. This is a wonderfully simple but effective ripple design which is SUPER EASY to crochet. It's perfect for newbie crocheters or for those who have maybe attempted the ripple in the past but not quite been able to get it to work. I promise you, this ripple pattern is easy-peasy and I can't wait to talk you through it when I share the pattern at the start of the CAL in January. I feel sure you'll love it. 

Now if you've followed along with my CAL's in the past, you might remember that every year I work on a collaboration with my lovely friend Rachel of EllieBethDesigns who designs and sells stickers for planners, journals and notebooks. We started working together for my Moorland blanket in 2017 and Rachel has designed a sheet of stickers for every CAL blanket since then. It's always such a delight to see how she takes my colour palette and comes up with the most delicious stickers - isn't she clever?! I'm not sure if you can see in the above photo, but there are stickers to add to a planner or journal to mark each week of the CAL, along with some very sweet little harbour inspired decorative stickers (I especially love the rows of harbour cottages).

Rachel has very kindly created a discount code especially for you, and you can use this to get 20% off any of her stickers.

Use code A24HARBOUR at the checkout for 20% off any order (one use per customer), either on the EllieBethDesigns website or Etsy shop. Here are the links for you >>

https://www.elliebethdesignsuk.com/

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/EllieBethDesignsUK

It goes without saying that I'm incredibly excited for this crochet-a-long, it's such a lovely thing to look forward to in the New Year once the sparkle of Christmas is behind us. Just a reminder that 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 7th January.

I'll be writing more about the CAL a little closer to the time (just over seven weeks until the CAL starts), but here is a quick round-up of information for you :

♥ The Attic24 HARBOUR CAL will will run for 8 weeks in total, beginning on Friday 7th 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 2022 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 Harbour Ripple pattern. Each week I'll share the colour stripe order for the two different versions of the Harbour blanket I'm making (Mixed Stripe and Colourwash),

♥ The HARBOUR YARN PACK contains 15 x 100g balls of Stylecraft Special DK and is enough to make one blanket/throw. 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 2022. 

♥ The Harbour blanket will measure approx. 120cm x 175cm. 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. 

I'm extremely grateful to my friends at Stylecraft Yarns and Wool Warehouse for all the hard work they've done to make sure that this gorgeous collection of yarn is here for you, especially in these still-tricky times. The CAL begins in just over 7 weeks, so hopefully enough time for you to gather your yarn together.

As always thank you so so much for keeping my company as I jaunt along with another blanket project. I know many of you are still hooking away on your Yuletide blankets, so I do hope you're still enjoying those colours and that you'll be ready for a bright and breezy change of scene in January?!

Thank you for being such wonderful friends, I appreciate you very much ♥

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♥ HARBOUR ♥

 

 

 

 

Attic24 CAL Number Eight

Ever since I learnt to crochet my first wobbly granny square in the summer of 2007, I knew that I would be a blanket maker. I had my heart set on making a granny square blanket for my two Little People to snuggle under (they were aged 3 and 4 at the time) and I've been crocheting blankets ever since. I absolutely loved making blankets right from the start, and whenever a blanket was finished I would always feel a deep sense of loss followed by an immediate itch to start a new one. I quickly learnt that it was futile to ignore the lure of yet another blanket project and allowed myself to just do what my heart wanted, and my heart always wanted another blanket on my hook. I became addicted, and now here we are fourteen years later and that craving has never left me.

My first blanket Crochet-A-Long (CAL) came seven years later in the autumn of 2014. I had fallen in love with the wonderful colours of Stylecraft Special DK and decided to create a striped blanket that I would share on my blog in weekly instalments. It wasn't a new concept by any means, but I'd never actually followed a CAL myself and didn't really have much idea about running one either. I just thought that I could design and publish a free pattern, tell folks which colours they needed, then give out fifteen stripes per week until the blanket was complete. I'd already begun working with the wonderful people at Wool Warehouse, so it was a natural decision for us to create yarn packs which contained the fifteen colours I'd selected for my first CAL blanket.

What I hadn't bargained for at the time was the huge amount of excitement that would come my way from the world wide crocheting community, WOW, I remember being so, so thrilled when people actually started buying the yarn packs and following along to make their weekly stripes! It was an amazing feeling, knowing that I was inspiring people to find joy in making blankets in beautiful colours, and the wonderful sense of belonging that wraps around you like a warm hug when you create alongside so many other like minded souls. 

This year I'll be leading the way with my eighth blanket CAL, and it's safe to say I'm more than a little bit excited about it! Before I tell you all about the latest stripes on my hook, I thought it would be fun to look back at the previous seven blankets and the colour inspiration behind each one - I wonder if you will recognise them all?

♥ BLANKET CAL #1 {2014} COSY STRIPE ♥

This blanket was inspired by the colours of Autumn - leaves, seeds, berries and flowers. It was the first time that I'd created a colour palette with a definite "theme" and all my subsequent CAL projects have been inspired by the seasonal landscape or by nature.

You can read more about the inspiration behind the Cosy colour palette in this post ((here))

♥ BLANKET CAL #2 {2015} SUNNY LOG CABIN ♥

This colour palette was inspired by my love of the summer season and the colourful flowers I always have growing in my back yard pots. I designed a large square blanket for this CAL, made up of 16 colourful log cabin blocks - it's one of my all time favourite designs, and you can see more of it in this post ((here)).

As well as the large log cabin blanket, I also crocheted the same Sunny colours into a vibrant granny stripe blanket. You can read more about it ((here)).

♥ BLANKET CAL #3 {2017} MOORLAND ♥

For this CAL I changed the timing and moved it from the pre-Christmas period into the start of the New Year. I love the idea of having something to look forward to in the darkest of our winter months, and ever since then my annual CAL's have always run through January and February.

The Moorland blanket was inspired by the colours of the moors close to where I live in August when the heather is in full bloom. It was the first time I'd designed a blanket as a "colour story" where the stripes are ordered to mimic the colours seen when viewing the landscape. You can read more about the colour inspiration in this post ((here)).

♥ BLANKET CAL #4 {2018} WOODLAND ♥

Another autumn inspired colour palette, this time it was my woodland walks which provided a rich source of inspiration. I designed this blanket as a companion to the Moorland, so another colour story sequence which takes you on a walk through the trees.

Lots more photos about my inspiration ((here)).

♥ BLANKET CAL #5 {2019} SWEET PEA ♥

My fifth CAL blanket proved extremely popular, and I have to say this floral inspired colour palette really is incredibly pretty. You can see lots more photos in this post ((here))

As well as the mixed stripe Sweet Pea blanket, for the first time I created an alternative colour order. This is where the same fifteen shades were arranged to create a colourwash effect, and it's something that really sparked a lot of interest at the time. I've since created colourwash stripe orders for many of my blanket kits - there is something very pleasing about seeing a colour palette ordered in this way.

♥ BLANKET CAL #6 {2020} DAHLIA ♥

Similar to the Sweet Pea, I created two versions of the vibrant floral inspired Dahlia blanket - a mixed stripe and a colourwash.

You can see lots more inspiration photos ((here)) - dahlias are soooo photogenic!

♥ BLANKET CAL #7 {2021} MEADOW ♥

A very pretty summery colour palette inspired by the wild flower meadow very close to my home. The meadow became a very special place for me during the lockdown months in 2020, and I adore this colour palette. You can see more of the inspiration photos ((here)).

Actually this crochet along only finished eight months ago because it ran throughout January and February of this year, but I was working on the colour palette and design ideas way back in the summer of 2020. Generally speaking, by the time I'm chatting to you about a new CAL, I've already been obsessing over it for many, many months. And when I say obsessing I really do mean it - I put a tremendous amount of heart and soul into all my blankets as they are inspired by places or things that I have a deep emotional connection to. I take hundreds of photos which feed my initial ideas through a lengthy design process, and this means that my colour palettes are always the end result of a huge amount of pondering and creative faffery. Can you tell?!! I wouldn't have it any other way, I'm passionate about creating colour palettes that tell a story and bring joy into the finished blanket.

Anyhow - back to the present day, and being that we are now in November you may have guessed that it's almost time for my next CAL yarn pack to be released into the world.....oh, I may be just a teensy bit excited to share this with you.....!

Are you ready to see what has been floating my boat since May this year?

Some of you may have already guessed from the little peeks of the ripply blanket on my hook just lately, but let me tell you more.

My next blanket is inspired by the coast, specifically the gorgeous colours of fishing boats against the calming blues of sea and sky.....

........this is the HARBOUR blanket, and I'll be releasing the pattern and colour instalments at the start of 2022. All these photos were taken earlier this year in May when I took a short jolly to the North Yorkshire coast to photograph some of my favourite places. I've had the idea to make a harbour inspired blanket for a few years now, as I have so many happy memories of holidays spent in Whitby, Robin Hoods Bay and Staithes on the Yorkshire coast. And of course my childhood home in Dorset and the harbours at West Bay and Lyme Regis have often featured in my blog over the years so you know how much I love these places.

Boaty colours are bright aren't they?! I love the jaunty, jolly holiday feel of these colours, and when they are set against a palette of cool blues, they really do harmonise beautifully. As well as a mixed stripe I've also created a colourwash version and I'll be chatting more about this when the yarn packs launch in twelve days time.

As you can see I've designed a new ripple pattern to gently blend this colour palette into a really beautiful and joyful blanket. This is an incredibly soothing and easy ripple to work and is perfect for beginners, or for those of you who like to immerse yourself in some easy therapeutic hooky rows. I can't wait to share more with you in January.

As in previous years, yarn packs will be on sale in my shop at Wool Warehouse very soon so that there will be plenty of time for you to get your yarn sorted if you wish to join in with the CAL in the New Year. I'll also publish a list of the colours so that you can check your stash or shop local if you want to. The launch date for the Harbour yarn packs is Tuesday 16th November, and we usually aim to have everything go live at 8am - put the date in your diaries! The packs will contain 15 balls of Stylecraft Special DK (my usual thing) and Wool Warehouse will ship worldwide. Did you know that my yarn packs get sent out to more than a hundred countries around the world, isn't that amazing? We truly are a world wide community, and I'm so, so thankful for it.

Right, I think that's about all for now - on the 16th November I'll have a lot more photos to share when I introduce the Harbour blanket to you in all it's colourful glory. I can't wait!

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Meadow Blanket CAL :: Part 7

It's always a bitter sweet time when we come to the final part of a CAL blanket. On one hand I bet there are many of you who are like me and get ridiculously excited about creating a beautiful border to finish off all your glorious stripes to perfection. But on the other hand, we are facing the end of a truly wonderful few months of creativity and achievement and I know that personally I don't want it to end. It's been so much fun to share this blanket with you over the past 8 weeks, and I'd like to take the opportunity to thank you for being such fantastic meadow companions. I've loved having you with me for this summery jaunt amongst the flowers and grasses - thank you, thank you so much for your company.

I'm going to chat to you all about the border today, I'll keep it quite brief because honestly I'm a bit all over the place and words are not coming easy at the moment. However, at some point there will be a final Meadow hurrah as I'm working on a Ta-dah post to share with you. 

I had my usual long-winded deliberation over what exactly to do to the edge of the Meadow blanket, and to tell the truth I changed my mind many times along the way. At first I was going to simply repeat something like the narrow edging I made for the Moorland colour story blanket, a thin ribbon of colour to wind around the stripes. But in the end I felt that the floral element of the Meadow blanket called for something just a little bit more frilly, and so this Mini Bobble edging was born.

The first five rows are worked in the same way as a simple linen stitch, ie the double crochet stitches are worked into the gaps  between stitches creating a series of compact rows which work brilliantly to blend and merge the colours. The difference with this variation is that the double crochet stitches are worked in pairs, so it's a bit like a double-linen stitch if you like. There are no chain spaces between the stitches so the rows end up being very compact and neat without the usual stretch that linen stitch has. You might have noticed that the body of the Meadow blanket is very stretchy, so creating a compact border definitely helps the blanket to keep is shape.

But it's the final round that really gives this border it's character - oh, how I LOVE it!!! I didn't want anything too flouncy, but I most certainly wanted something pretty-pretty. The mini bobble edging looks complex, but trust me it is so simple, you won't believe it.

This stitch is made up of repeating treble crochet stitches and slip stitches, one after the other on repeat. Treble, slip stitch, treble, slip stitch. I know!!! How crazy easy is that??!!! The simplicity of it kills me because the resulting weeny bobbles are ridiculously lovely, honestly, I could not love this edging more.

When choosing colours for the border, I decided on the above combination. The first colour of any border should generally be a medium shade, something that will blend in and not stand out too much. The first round of a border can often be a little rough and ready as you work into the ends of the stripe rows, so it's best to use a colour that blends well.

The final round of the border should be a colour that you love, or that speaks well to the general body of the blanket. This outer round will be dominant when the blanket is complete, so it needs to be a colour that makes you feel good.

Creating six rounds, I used approximately 20g of each colour - the wider you go with your border, the more yarn you will need for subsequent rounds but you should certainly have enough left after making your stripes to complete the border of your choice.

I am more than happy for you to choose your own border colours if you wish - I love the ones I selected but you may well have your own preferences. It's also worth mentioning that you can vary the width of your border too - make it just a few rounds and keep it slimline and minimal, or maybe go all out and use all fifteen shades to create a wide colourwash border. It's up to you - this is a wonderful opportunity for some colour play. 

I had a little play with my yarn pegs and put together a few alternative colourways for you.....

Duck Egg, Lincoln, Pistachio, Buttermilk, Parchment, Pale Rose

Wisteria, Lavender, Cloud Blue, Lincoln, Duck Egg, Mushroom

Lavender, Cloud Blue, Lincoln, Meadow, Pistachio, Buttermilk

Duck Egg, Cloud Blue, Wisteria, Lavender, Grape, Pale Rose.

Remember you could reverse any of the above suggestions too, so for example in the photo above, you could start out round 1 with Pale Rose and make your mini bobbles with Duck Egg. 

I know the first row of any border can be a bit of a chore sometimes, especially as you go about working down those long sides. But it's also very therapeutic in a way, and once that first round is done and dusted, the following rounds will feel easier.

I made a full photo tutorial for the border - I named it "Mini Bobble Edging" and you can find it in the usual place in the left hand side bar. Click on the following link to go straight there >>

MINI BOBBLE EDGING TUTORIAL

I also made a simple written pattern that you can download/print if you don't need the step by step help and prefer to have a traditional printed pattern to pop in your bag. You can find it by clicking on the following link >>

DOWNLOAD MEADOW BORDER PATTERN

I hope you have fun creating your Meadow border, please do share photos on social media so I can see, either in one of the Attic24 facebook groups, or on Instagram using the #meadowcal hashtag. I'll be back next Friday to share my Meadow Ta-dah post with you all.....I can't wait!

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Here are the CAL links if you need them

🌸 MEADOW YARN PACK

🌸MEADOW STRIPE TUTORIAL

🌸MEADOW PRINTABLE PATTERN

🌸 MEADOW BORDER TUTORIAL

🌸MEADOW PRINTABLE BORDER PATTERN

🌸 BLANKET INTRODUCTION

🌸 CAL PART 1 - stripes 1-15

🌸 CAL PART 2 - stripes 16-30

🌸 CAL PART 3 - stripes 31-45

🌸 CAL PART 4 - stripes 46-60

🌸 CAL PART 5 - stripes 61-75

🌸 CAL PART 6 - stripes 76-90