The Dragonfly River Make-Along is Here!

Posted in Crochet by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

Happy MAL day folks!

It’s the 31 July which means it’s the official start of the Dragonfly River Make Along in collaboration with the lovely Kitey (aka the Yarn Whisperer). We are super excited to share this summer’s project with you!

All the folks that ordered the exclusive Dragonfly River MAL kit should have already received the gorgeous Yarn Whisperer yarn (plus fab extras), and the pattern went out to everyone a few days ago (from Kitey – so maybe check your junk mail if the pattern doesn’t seem to have appeared). So we should be all ready to begin!

The exclusive colourway that Kitey has come up with this summer was inspired by sparkling rivers and the iridescent beauty of dragonflies. It contains fabulously rich greens and teals combined with beautiful tonal soft blue shades – plus that little bit of stelina sparkle (I LOVE IT). This has been married up with a hank of natural slub yarn because that’s beautiful in it’s own right – especially along side the hand dyed version as the colours really pop! And the slub yarn has the most fantastic texture – it’s my new yarn crush!

And in amongst the kit there is THE MOST FABULOUS stitch marker from Mrs G! It’s the cutest teeny tiny (river) stones alongside a beautiful silver dragonfly! I know I say it every time, but these are my new favourites – and they are just the perfect compliment to the yarn and the design for our cowl.

For the full information about this particular MAL you can find all the details here (or find via the top menu of this blog under the tab ‘CALS AND MALS’). But generally the idea is that the MAL is a relaxed event designed to be a lovely summer project – this time round we are making a cowl.

The Make Along will run from today (Sunday 31 July 2022) until Thursday 15 September 2022 giving everyone plenty of time, during busy summer holiday season, for you to make the pattern. You can of course start the pattern at anytime you wish, this deadline is just there for those that like to have one.

There will be support for the pattern as usual in my Facebook group; the KCACO-UK Crochet Community Group and in Kitey’s Virtual Stitch-n-B*tch zoom sessions – see full details on Kitey’s Insta page

SHARING WITH THE #DRAGONFLYRIVERMAL MAKEALONG COMMUNITY

We hope you’ll share your photos with us on social media (facebook, twitter or instagram) or as a project on Ravelry – we’d love to see what you make! We will be sharing our progress with the hashtags #dragonflyrivermal #kcacouk #yarnwhisperer. If you’re blogging, feel free to leave links to your post(s) in the comments here.

You also may wish to make sure you are signed up to blog (below) and / or my mailing list to get a reminder when new blog posts, discounts or new pattern releases are available – I’ll just say that Kitey and I have already planned projects for well into 2023!

We do hope that you enjoy this fun make-along; Kitey and I can’t wait to see your wonderful new cowls come to life!

Until next time folks! Happy hooking, keep calm and crochet on my friends xx

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21May2022

Happily Hooked Magazine | Pastel Pop Shawl

Posted in Crochet, Inspiration, Magazine, Pattern Release, Tah-Dah, Yarn by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

Ahhh May! It’s a month of UK bank holidays and getting that summer feeling as the weather (hopefully) gets sunnier! I don’t know about you but the months seem to be zooming by, and I’ve not even had chance to tell you yet about my new design called the ‘Pastel Pop Shawl’ which is available in Issue 98 of Happily Hooked Magazine.

Pastels are the perfect hues to compliment summer neutrals, and are classic enough to wear year after year, now you can claim your pastel powers with the Pastel Pop wrap. Both in-style and with beautiful drape, the bright and summery pastel shades are combined with interesting texture to create a beautiful modern wrap.

The Pastel Pop wrap is a fun one to make, it’s a large rectangular wrap featuring interspersed panels of popcorn stitch, so it’s got some lovely texture, and then I’ve combined it with some crossed stitches, and with the colour changing in too it makes for a rhythmic pattern with enough to keep you interested.

Now I wouldn’t call myself much of a pastel kind of person, I do so love a bright rainbow, that said, every now and then, I do get a bit of a hankering for some softer tones. I’d recently used some King Cole Cotton Soft DK in a project and as I was impressed with how soft and flexible it was for cotton. They have a nice range of pastels colours and it made me wonder how it would work if it was used for a wrap.

If you’re not familiar with King Cole Cotton Soft it’s a 100% cotton DK (8ply / Light Worsted) yarn that comes in 100g balls (210m / 229yds). It’s available in 21 different colours which include a lot of pastels, with a few bright shades, and it’s often used for baby makes and summer clothes. The recommended hook size for the yarn is a 4mm and that’s what I used for my wrap.

The finished wrap is heavier than a acrylic shawl might be, but there is that wonderful drape and the stitch definition is just marvellous (it always seems to be with cotton!).

Pastels are certainly optimistic colours I think, these bring pastels are sure to lift your mood all year round! But I do also wonder how this wrap might look in other colour combinations; think dark greys or black with neon’s, or a neutral maybe with hand dyed popcorn sections – oooo, the possibilities!

💗 SAVE PASTEL POP WRAP ON RAVELRY 💗

The pattern is available now! Happily Hooked & Pattern Pack Pro Are TWO monthly US digital magazine assembled by makers for makers and you can find out more details about it on the Happily Hooked Magazine website.

With it being a US publication patterns are written using US crochet terminology – if you are not sure how that differs you may find my post British vs. American Crochet Terms: What’s the difference? of use.

I hope you’ll share your WIP or finished project photos with me on social media (facebook, twitter or instagram) or as a project on Ravelry – I love to see what you make! And finally you may wish to make sure you are signed up to blog (below) and / or my mailing list to get a reminder when new blog posts, discounts or new pattern releases are available.

Until next time folks! Happy hooking and keep calm and crochet on my friends xx

Please note that some of the links in my blog are affiliate links. I may earn a small commission if you purchase via these links, but the price you pay is not affected. You can read more about my affiliate links here.

7May2022

Dragonfly River MAL Announcement

Posted in Crochet by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

Banner image featuring the details for the Dragonfly River summer crochet makealong, running from 31 July until 15 September 2022.

I’m super excited to be joining forces again this winter with talented yarn dyer Kitey, aka The Yarn Whisperer, to bring you a brand new seasonal make-along.

Imagine, you are on a day out; it’s a fine sunny day and you have taken a delicious picnic, and of course a brand new crochet project, to enjoy in the relative peace and quiet of the countryside.

It’s nice and warm and you are feeling lovely and relaxed! The river is flowing gracefully by your side, there’s a hint of a refreshing breeze, birds are singing in the trees and there are blue skies and fluffy clouds above you. It’s then that you hear the zip of a dragonfly flying past, and your eyes follow the iridescent glimmer of its body, as it goes on a hunt on the sparkling rippling river.

Join us on its journey as we take part in the Dragonfly River Make Along!

Collage of images featuring a river bank, a dragonfly and an image of the exclusive colourway for the Dragonfly River MAL

If you are not sure what a MAL is, you can read more on the MAL landing page here, but Kitey and I have actually had this planned since last years Christmas collab (and we may have already planned more projects into 2024 – we do get a bit over excited when we start talking!)

This time around we are going to be making a cowl, which I’m not going to show you yet, and I’m not going to giveaway too much about the project, but what I will say is that I really, really love everything about it and can’t wait to share it with you!

An exclusive pattern and kit have been created for this extra special MAL. Kitey has worked his magic, as usual, to put together an amazingly special colourway and each kit will include:

1x 100g / 400m skein of Sparkle Sock yarn, in an exclusive hand-dyed colourway
1x 100g / 400m skein of natural 4ply Slub Yarn yarn
A digital copy of the exclusive MAL pattern
a few extra treats, including some EXCLUSIVE @mrsgmakes stitch markers, just for good measure!

Pin this project for later:

Pinterest image featuring a river bank, a dragonfly sitting on a hand, and an image of the exclusive colourway for the Dragonfly River MAL

Pre-ordered kits will be available for £44 + postage, and can be ordered on The Yarn Whisperer website from 10 am on 9th May.

AND if you order your kit in the first 24 hours you can enjoy a 10% Early Bird discount.

Kits will be dyed to order over the coming weeks, with generally a 1 week turn-around from order to shipping. But get in quick to ensure you get yours in plenty of time to crochet along with us!

Last International orders will be shipped by 25^th June if ordered by the end of May. UK orders will continue to be shipped after this date but ordering early ensures your kit arrives in plenty of time to join us on 31st July.

The Make Along will run from 31^st July to 15^th September for a nice relaxed project with plenty of time for you to make the pattern. You can of course start the pattern at anytime you wish, this deadline is just there for those that like to have one.

I’ve put together all the details for this particular MAL on a landing page which you can find here, or find via the top menu of this blog under the tab ‘CALS AND MALS’.

There will be support for the pattern as usual in my Facebook group; the KCACO-UK Crochet Community Group. And you can also pop in and join in with the Virtual Stitch-n-B*tch sessions hosted by Kitey – Tuesday’s from 1-3 pm, Friday’s from 5.20pm (see full details on Kitey’s Insta page). These sessions are a bit like going to a virtual knit and natter group, and everyone there is really lovely and helpful.

If you want to share your yarn arrivals and WIP shots on socials we will be using hashtags #DragonflyRiverMAL #kcacouk and #yarnwhisperer. We hope you will tag us as we absolutely seeing your photos.

We do hope that you will join both Kitey and I for this fun make-along – we can’t wait to see your wonderful new projects come to life!

Until next time folks! Happy hooking, keep calm and crochet on my friends xx

P.S. You may wish to sign up to the blog (or my newsletter) if you haven’t already, and The Yarn Whisperer newsletter so you’ll be the first to know any new collab updates!

Please note that some of the links in my blog are affiliate links. I may earn a small commission if you purchase via these links, but the price you pay is not affected, thank you for your support.

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8Apr2022

Crochet Now Magazine | Flora Filet Wrap

Posted in Crochet, Magazine by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

If you’ve been following me for a while, then you’ll know that I have a bit of a thing about filet crochet – I just think it’s such a fun crochet technique, and it just so happens I’ve got a brand new filet crochet wrap design in the latest issue of Crochet Now magazine.

© Practical Publishing 2022 (Crochet Now Issue 80)

The Flora Filet wrap is a one ball shawl that creates a wearable bouquet! Worked in the filet crochet technique the wrap features create a large stylised flower pattern in a long light shawl that is easy to style.

With regards to filet crochet I love to try and think of designs that are perhaps a bit different from the idea that filet crochet is great for doily’s or mats with tiny thread and a tiny hook. For this latest wrap I wanted to go big and bold with a vibrant oversized flower motif – and I love how it turned out.

For this wrap I used a Scheepjes Whirl in Pink to Wink (Shade 552) with a 3.25mm (US D/3) hook. I used pretty much all of the 215g (1000m) of the yarn cake, which is a 4ply (Fingering / Sock Weight) yarn with a blend of 60% Cotton, 40% Acrylic, to make this lovely lightweight wrap.

It’s a perfect pattern to use with your favourite gradient yarn cake; for this version, though you could of course make it with any 4ply (or light DK / sport weight yarn).

The Flora Filet wrap would make a lovely addition to your spring / summer wardrobe to lift any outfit and make you the pick of the bunch!

If you are new to filet, you might find my post Top Tips for Filet Crochet useful to look at first, but this wrap has a lovely repetition of easy stitches that any level of crocheter could tackle.

🌸 SAVE FLORA FILET WRAP ON RAVELRY 🌸

This month’s 84 page issue of Crochet Now gives you plenty of tips, tricks, ideas and inspiration from loads of fab designers like Bella Coco Crochet, TOFT’s Kerry Lord, Esther Dijkstra from It’s All in A Nutshell Crochet, amongst others. This particular issue also comes with an exclusive Bright Spark 6mm Tunisian Crochet Hook and Tunisian Crochet – Step up your Skills A4 pattern book.

Issue 80 is available to buy from most supermarkets or you can grab a digital version from www.craftstash.co.uk/books-magazines

If you make up the Flora Filet Wrap I hope you’ll share any finished photos with me on social media (facebook, twitter or instagram) or as a project on Ravelry – I love to see what you make! And finally you may wish to make sure you are signed up to blog (below) and / or my mailing list to get a reminder when new blog posts, discounts or new pattern releases are available.

Until next time folks! Happy hooking and keep calm and crochet on my friends xx

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26Dec2021

The Mellow Mallow Make-Along is Here!

Posted in Crochet by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

Happy Boxing Day, also known as Mellow Mallow Make-Along Day!

Kitey (aka the Yarn Whisperer) and I have been impatiently waiting for this day to get here so we could share with you the design we’ve matched to this years exclusive yarn!

All the folks signed up to do the Mellow Mallow MAL should have already received the stunning Yarn Whisperer yarn, if you ordered a kit, and the pattern went out to everyone on 23rd December (from Kitey – so maybe check your junk mail if the pattern doesn’t seem to have appeared). So we should be all ready to begin!

The exclusive colourway that Kitey has come up with this year was inspired by mulled wine and marshmallows. It contains fabulously rich maroons, burgundy and plum hues combined with beautiful mid to light pink shades. This has been married up with a hank of natural yarn because that’s beautiful in it’s own right – especially along side the hand dyed version as the colours really pop!

And in amongst the kit there was THE MOST FABULOUS stitch marker from Mrs G! It’s a cutest teeny tiny snowflake mug with marshmallows on top! Then there are some little frosted pink and white beads to match in with the colours of the MAL. Honestly I always say that her latest stitch marker is my favourite, and then she goes and trumps it every time!

For the full information about this particular MAL you can find all the details here (or find via the top menu of this blog under the tab ‘CALS AND MALS’). But generally the idea is that the MAL is a cosy event designed to be a a lovely winter treat – this time round we are making a triangular scarf.

The Make Along will run from today (Sunday 26 December 2021) until Wednesday 26 January 2022 for a a nice relaxed project with plenty of time for you to make the pattern. You can of course start the pattern at anytime you wish, this deadline is just there for those that like to have one.

There will be support for the pattern as usual in my Facebook group; the KCACO-UK Crochet Community Group and in the new year Kitey’s Virtual Stitch-n-B*tch zoom sessions will be starting again – see full details on Kitey’s Insta page

SHARING WITH THE #MELLOWMALLOWMAL MAKEALONG COMMUNITY

We hope you’ll share your photos with us on social media (facebook, twitter or instagram) or as a project on Ravelry – we’d love to see what you make! We will be sharing our progress with the hashtags #mellowmallowmal #kcacouk #yarnwhisperer. If you’re blogging, feel free to leave links to your post(s) in the comments here.

We do hope that you enjoy this fun make-along; Kitey and I can’t wait to see your wonderful new scarves come to life!

Until next time folks! Happy hooking, keep calm and crochet on my friends xx

4Nov2021

Mellow Mallow MAL Announcement

Posted in Crochet by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

I’m super excited to be joining forces again this winter with talented yarn dyer Kitey, aka The Yarn Whisperer, to bring you a brand new seasonal make-along.

Imagine, it’s Boxing Day evening, all the main festivities are over, you are feeling nice and relaxed and are ready for a cosy evening, snuggled up warm by the fire, with a nice new crochet project, and some lovely new yarn, to work on.

So toast those marshmallows, roast some chestnuts and sip some mulled wine as we dive in together with the Mellow Mallow MAL!

If you are not sure what a MAL is, you can read more on the MAL landing page here, but Kitey and I have been working hard to bring together the best bits of a traditional Christmas along with a modern twist creating a lovely winter treat for you!

This time around we are going to be making a triangular scarf, which I’m not going to show you yet, but I will say, for this design, Kitey and I have been digging into ideas of all the cosy things – and I love how it’s turned out!

Kitey has worked his magic to put together an amazingly special colourway for this MAL and the pre-order’s for MAL kits are available The Yarn Whisperer website NOW (4 November 2021) at the cost of £37 + postage.

An exclusive pattern and kit have been created for this extra special MAL. Each kit will include:

2x 100g / 400m skeins of skeins of Corriedale Sock 80/20 yarn, in an exclusive hand-dyed colourway.
A digital copy of the pattern (which will be sent to you 22nd – 23rd December)
a few extra treats, including an EXCLUSIVE @mrsgmakes stitch marker, just for good measure!

Pin this project for later:

AND if you order your kit in the first 24 hours you can enjoy a 10% Early Bird discount.

Kits will be dyed to order over the coming weeks, with generally a 1 week turn-around from order to shipping. But get in quick to ensure you get yours in plenty of time to crochet along with us!

Last International orders will be shipped by 21 November if ordered by 15 November. UK orders will continue to be shipped after this date, but ordering early ensures yours arrives in plenty of time to join us on 26 December 2021.

The MAL will start on 26 December 2021 and will run until 26 January 2022 when everyone can have a ta-dah moment and show off their scarves. We have put together a long make along period because we wanted it to be a project you can pick up when you want to and enjoy the making without feeling rushed to finish.

I’ve put together all the details for this particular MAL on a landing page which you can find to save the details here, or find via the top menu of this blog under the tab ‘CALS AND MALS’.

There will be support for the pattern as usual in my Facebook group; the KCACO-UK Crochet Community Group.

You can also pop in and join in with the Virtual Stitch-n-B*tch sessions hosted by Kitey – Wednesday evenings from 7pm, Friday’s from 5.20pm and Sunday’s from 5pm (see full details on Kitey’s Insta page). These sessions are a bit like going to a virtual knit and natter group, and everyone there is really lovely and helpful.

Make sure you are signed up to the blog (or my newsletter) and / or The Yarn Whisperer newsletter to make sure you are the first to know when the new collaboration project is revealed!

We do hope that you will join both Kitey and I for this fun make-along – we can’t wait to see your wonderful new projects come to life!

Until next time folks! Happy hooking, keep calm and crochet on my friends xx

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1Aug2021

Lammas Day CAL Planning

Posted in Crochet, Crochet Along, Free Patterns by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

Happy Lammas Day to you! The wheel of the year is turning once more with the beginning of, hopefully, sunny days of August. Farmers, thoughts will be turning to gathering up the first harvests of grain, wheat, oats and more – and so ours thoughts are turning to our mini-crochet-along where, over the course of 4 weeks, we will crochet a seasonal shawl together that celebrates this time of year.

As promised I’m going to share with you some more information so you can get planning your Lammas Day Shawl including yarn amounts, hook size, the colours I used on the wrap – and even a little sneaky peep of the finished shawl for anyone that wanted to know what it looked like!

I did mention some of the details in my first announcement about the CAL (here) but this post will have all the information you need to get ready to start on 13 August 2021.

Yarn Colours and Amounts:

I’ve crocheted the wrap using five earthy, harvest themed shades of Anchor Organic Cotton; Natural, Sunflower, Rocky Orange, Earthy Brown and Red Dunes – such a lovely autumnal pallet!

Anchor Organic Cotton is an un-mercerised 100% cotton 4-ply yarn resulting in a natural soft touch and matt finish.

The amounts I used for my shawl are below;

Anchor Organic Cotton	Balls	Grams	Metres
Natural (00105)	5	250g	623m
Sunflower	1	50g	125m
Rocky Orange	2	70g	150m
Red Dunes	2	60g	137.5m
Earthy Brown	1	50g	125m

Yarn Stockists:

The following stockists in the U.K have the yarn available to buy;

These next retailers also stock the yarn in UK, but it does not appear on their websites, so would need to be a phone call or in store visit for those who live nearby:

For overseas there are the following companies – though they do also ship to the UK;

Hook:

You will need a 3.75mm (US size F/5) for this shawl. I have hooks, and other useful crochet tools, linked in my Amazon Store if this is something you need.

Finished Shawl Size:

The finished shawl finishes up at roughly 165cm / 65″ long by 54cm / 21″ wide (at the widest point) using the yarn specified and at my gauge. Obtaining the correct gauge is not critical to this project but if your gauge does not match the gauge stated then your finished item may be a different size and potentially use more yarn than stated.

The schematic for the shawl can be seen below.

Pattern:

The pattern will be available for free here on the blog and, after the CAL has finished, as a free PDF, sponsored by Anchor Crafts, on their website. As well as the written pattern and charts of each section there will also be helpful video tutorials. Links to each part will be given on the relevant section of the shawl as per the schedule.

The Schedule, Updates and Support:

If you need a reminder of the schedule then you can find all the details on the CAL landing page (here) and you can keep up to date with the details via the following links:

The Facebook group is a lovely place of support, there are crocheters there of all experiences and it’s likely that someone will be able to help you with any questions you might have. You can of course always contact me too here on the blog.

And finally the moment many of you have been waiting for – a photo of what we will be making!

Links:

The hashtag for this CAL is are #LammasDayCAL #proud2craft #anchorcrafting and #kcacouk for Twitter and Instagram. Though you you can join in with any progress photos by linking your projects on your favourite social media sites: Ravelry, Facebook page or Facebook group and Pinterest.

Part 1 will be released on 13 August – I can’t wait to start working on a beautiful wrap together.

Until next time; keep calm and crochet on my friends xx

16Jul2021

Lammas Day Mini Crochet Along Announcement

Posted in Crochet, Crochet Along by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

I’m delighted to announce a free mini summer crochet along, sponsored by the lovely people from Anchor Crafts, for a brand new design called the ‘Lammas Day Shawl’

Lammas is a festival, which falls on August 1, that traditionally celebrates the start of the harvest. Inspired by this festival, and to celebrate the launch of Anchor Crafts newest yarn; Anchor Organic Cotton, I’ve worked on a design with a head full of the images of ploughed fields, ripened grain, growth and the coming together to harvest the crops.

Over the space of a four week period we will crochet a triangular shawl which will be a perfect wrap for autumn evenings – I’m hoping you’ll picture warm late-summer sunsets over wheat fields every time you see it!

I’ve crocheted the wrap using five earthy, harvest themed shades of Anchor Organic Cotton; Natural, Sunflower, Rocky Orange, Earthy Brown and Red Dunes – aren’t they lovely! Yellow shades of the sun and harvest; orange and reds as things ripen, and a rich brown for for prosperity and gathering.

Anchor Organic Cotton is spun into an un-mercerised 4-ply yarn resulting a natural soft touch and matt finish. The colours are inspired by nature and created with vegetable bases dyes from 100% cotton GOTS certified fibres, created for conscious crafters who care for the environment. I’ve loved having the opportunity to create something special for you with this yarn.

CAL Details:

There is no charge to join the CAL; anyone can join in as long as they have some yarn and a hook.
You can favourite / add this project to your Ravelry library here.
All featured pattern elements in the CAL will be FREE of charge pattern on this blog and a FREE PDF sponsored by Anchor Yarns will be available on their website.
As I release a new part of the pattern each week I will show you exactly how to tackle every stage of the design. The crochet along is supported by video tutorials, as well as step by step written instructions and charts.
There are four parts in total to this wrap; one section will be released each week. For those that like a deadline I will be adding new details every week on a Friday – see below for the dates of the schedule. For those that want to hook when they have the time then that’s fine too; there’s no pressure to this CAL it’s all about having fun!
The pattern will be available in UK Crochet terminology (a handy conversion chart is available here). I will also always include any helpful information about each element including links about special stitches with the release of each new section.

The Schedule:

The landing page for the CAL is available from the CALS AND MALS drop down at the top of the page (here), where I will link all the details in one place but you can also see the dates for the CAL below;

Lammas Day 1 August 2021	CAL Planning – Yarn amounts and hook size and details on support for the CAL
13 August 2021	Part 1 – Ploughing and Sprigs
20 August 2021	Part 2 – Shoots and Growth
27 August 2021	Part 3 – Bringing in the Wheat
3 September 2021	Part 4 – Abundance and Heritage

If you’ve never joined a CAL, but fancied giving it a go, this four part pattern might be the perfect time to try. CALs are a great way to learn new skills and techniques as well as enjoying creating a beautiful finished piece alongside other crafters.

Updates and Support:

Keep up to date with the details via the following links:

Lammas is a great time of year to work on honing your own talents, to learn a new craft, or get better at an old one! So set August 1 as the day we’ll start working on a beautiful wrap together.

I can’t wait to share this new crochet along with you!

Until next time; keep calm and crochet on my friends xx

5Jul2021

The Whispers of the Sea Make-Along is Here!

Posted in Crochet by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

Happy 5 July, also known as Whispers of the Sea Make-Along Day! Kitey (aka the Yarn Whisperer) and I have been really impatient for it to get here so we could share with you the design we’ve matched to the yarn!

If you were one of our early bird shoppers then you should have already received your yarn – and the pattern went out to everyone yesterday (from Kitey) so we could be ready for the start today (so maybe check your junk mail if the pattern doesn’t seem to have appeared).

RECAP AND CLARIFICATIONS

This make along is designed as a slow, and relaxing summer project – putting those extra daylight hours to good use. We have put together a long make along period because we know that the summer can be a busy time for everyone and we didn’t want anyone to feel rushed with their project.

There is no specific schedule to the make along, you have over 2 months in theory, until the official end of our MAL on 10 September – but you can share your finished makes before or after this date as you complete your wrap.

Kitey has worked his magic to put together TWO amazing colourways for this MAL; there’s the gorgeous Laminariales (lam-in-are-i-arlez), which is inspired by kelp forests, and is just a gorgeous mixture of greens, teals and a hint of blue, and there is Zoantharia (Zo-anth-air-ria), inspired by soft corals, which is a beautiful mixture of pinks and orange tones.

Are you #teamlaminariales or #teamzoantharia? They are soooo pretty in real life, and the slub yarn in just simply gorgeous to work with. However if slub yarn is totally new to you you may find my recent post Tips for Crocheting with Slub Yarn of use.

If this is the first time you are hearing about the MAL there are still a handful of kits available on The Yarn Whisperer website at the cost of £44 + postage. Each kit will include 2 skeins of hand-dyed slub yarn, which you can choose in either of the colourways shown above, beautiful sea glass beads, a digital copy of the pattern and there will also be a few treats for good measure, including some fabulous Mrs G Stitch stitch markers.

For the full information about this particular MAL you can find all the details here (or find via the top menu of this blog under the tab ‘CALS AND MALS’).

SUPPORT AND HOLIDAY SNAPS

There will be support for the pattern as usual in my Facebook group, and you could also pop in the Virtual Stitch-n-B*tch zoom sessions hosted by Kitey every Tuesday and Sunday at 2pm or Friday at 5.20pm (please see meeting codes on The Yarn Whisperer feed on Instagram).

As this is a summer make-along we are really hoping you will share your photos with us of either your staycation or vacation view! We are hoping to put together a summer photo book of all your wonderful photos, that we will share in September at the end of the MAL.

Simply send or tag us in your perfect summery pictures – it could be your make in progress in a summery setting, or you working on it with a summer cocktail, or the finished make! All photos will be credited and shared online here on the blog and on the Yarn Whisperer website. Please just let us know how you’d like to be credited (e.g. first or Instagram name!)

SHARING WITH THE WOTSMAL MAKEALONG COMMUNITY

We will be sharing our progress with the hashtags #wotsmal #kcacouk #yarnwhisperer and you can add either #teamlaminariales or #teamzoantharia for the specific colourways! If you’re blogging, feel free to leave links to your post(s) in the comments here.

We do hope that you enjoy this fun make-along; Kitey and I can’t wait to see your wonderful new wraps come to life!

Until next time folks! Happy hooking, keep calm and crochet on my friends xx

1Jul2021

Crochet Now Magazine | Boardwalk Breeze Wrap

Posted in Crochet, Magazine, Pattern Release, Tah-Dah, Yarn by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

The Brighton Beach edition of Crochet Now magazine (Issue 70) has tried to capture the feeling of holidaying in a lovely seaside town. There are loads of wonderful projects for staycations or vacations – including a new wrap design by me.

The Boardwalk Breeze wrap is a colourful, cotton addition to anyone’s wardrobe, it’s light and bright for summer but will keep that evening breeze at bay as you take a stroll along the beach.

The wrap was inspired by a combination of stripy boardwalks and the seaside pastel colours you see on colourful beach huts.

I used Cygnet Cotton for this wrap which was a totally new yarn for me, though I have used other Cygnet yarns. It’s a DK weight 100% Cotton with a subtle twist for beautiful stitch definition and gives a perfect drape to lightweight crochet projects.

It’s also available in a spectrum of bright rainbow and summery pastels – I used 8 different colours with a 4mm hook, to create my wrap.

The finished shawl measures 180 cm in length and 45 cm in depth when blocked so it’s lovely big wrap and the cotton makes it a cool and comfortable accessory to wear. You’ll definitely be turning heads as you walk along the promenade with this lovely bright summer wrap!

The pattern is very beginner friendly with easy row repeats of the sections, making it a great mindful project – or a perfect easy pattern to take with you on holiday.

❤️ SAVE BOARDWALK BREEZE WRAP ON RAVELRY ❤️

Issue 70 of Crochet Now magazine is packed with 55 patterns and comes complete with a broomstick crochet pattern book, a Paddington Bear supplement book and a broomstick crochet stick and 3.5mm hook.

It’s available to buy from your local supermarket and some newsagents or you can grab a digital version from www.craftstash.co.uk/books-magazines

If you hook up the Boardwalk Breeze Wrap I hope you’ll share your photos with me on social media (facebook, twitter or instagram) or as a project on Ravelry – I love to see what you make!

Until next time folks! Happy hooking and keep calm and crochet on my friends xx