Coast to Coast

 We have had the most glorious week of good weather here this week (much to the dismay of friends who booked a week in Spain and have had seven days of solid rain and wind) so it seemed a bit ironic to be spending my time continuing my latest crochet project of a wooly blanket.  Hey, if it keeps the sun shining I may just keep crocheting from now until autumn!

With a view to decluttering a box of leftover wool from previous blankets I have started a pattern which I can mix and match colours and stop when I run out of wool as it is worked in a square rather than stripes.  I aim to just use leftovers for this and not buy any more wool.  Please remind me I said that as the blanket gets bigger.

The pattern is from the amazing Coastal Crochet blog.  Eleonora is the most talented designer of crochet projects and honestly, before last January I had never crocheted yet now I am the owner of three handmade blankets.  Her patterns are not only written on the blog, but when a new stitch comes up there is a brilliant youtube video to accompany it.  It makes it so easy to crochet along with her - with a lot of pausing while I make sure I am doing it correctly!  The pattern I am doing this time is called Changing Tides and the first rows represent the changing blues of the sea, with the white frilly one being the froth of the surf as the waves hit the shore revealing patches of yellow sand.

Next comes the pebbles that get washed up onto the sand

I love the texture of this stitch!

Then we have a green row which represents the plants which get washed up onto the shore, see how the long stitches look like the long strands of seaweed?

Then there is a row of white foam bringing the seaweed to shore, followed by a couple of rows of waves out to sea.

I am really enjoying this project.  It's a bit of a challenge to be making something new without having to actually buy anything, plus I just love the texture and designs of the pattern.  If you've ever considered trying a new hobby but thought crochet wasn't for you, please do give it a go and head over to Coastal Crochet.  You don't have to go crazy and buy enough wool for a blanket; one hook and one ball of wool will be enough to make a little sample and then you'll know if you're going to be 'hooked' like I was!