At the weekend we drove 150 miles north to camp for a couple of nights in a place called Crick. Why? Because there was an Inland Waterways Festival taking place – the Crick Boat Show – and my husband has a soft spot for Narrowboats… 🙂
I’m happy for any excuse to have a weekend away camping but my husband sold this to me anyway by telling me there’s bound to be lots of crochet around… and he was right! 🙂 So in this blog post I’ll write a bit about our weekend and share some of the crochet that I came across…
It really was like a festival and many people chose to camp… we arrived late on the Friday evening and you can see our little campervan and trailer caravan at the bottom right of this photo…
So on our first morning after starting with the obligatory cup of tea, we set off into the festival and started the day with a little trip on a narrow boat. These trips lasted about 20 minutes and were being offered throughout the weekend – it was great to sit back and be taken a little way up the Grand Union Canal…
It is such a tranquil and lovely way to travel…
There were lots of opportunities to set foot on new boats – of course the companies were showcasing their boats and hoping for buyers and there was a distinct lack of crochet in these, with companies tending to show modern and minimalistic living spaces. It took an old historic boat built in 1958 for me to spot my first crochet…
This boat was amazing to see and a very friendly man told us all about the history of the boat and its restoration Friends of Raymond – yes there was the traditional granny square blanket inside but just look at this filet crochet… 🙂 🙂
And as we walked along the canal and passed numerous privately owned boats, it wasn’t long before I spotted some more crochet… and it was lovely that the sun had come out too! 🙂
This was crocheted bunting that someone had decorated their boat with…
And then we spotted this display of rubber ducks on one boat… no it’s not crochet but certainly worth sharing… 🙂
And then I spotted some crochet in progress inside a boat as we walked by…
Crochet is obviously a craft that goes well on a narrowboat! I then saw the most amazing crocheted doily covering a porthole…
I’ve since tried to find out a little more about crochet and narrowboats and found an interesting booklet by the Dudley Canal Trust about ‘Supporting Life on a Working Boat‘. This is an extract…
“Many boatwomen would crochet pretty doilies and trimmings to decorate their cabins with. The aprons and bonnets worn by the boatman’s wife and the shawls used to wrap their babies would also have been edged with home-made crochet work. Crochet patterns were often passed down through families, from mother to daughter”.
Isn’t that wonderful! 🙂 🙂
A boat then went by and I spotted some more filet crochet- this time in the windows…
The colours and individual touches on each boat we saw were just such a joy to see… it really was a feast for the eyes with creative inspirations everywhere!
Back in the festival ground I spotted a crochet blanket on one of the stalls, I saw a lady from Rag Doll Rugs n Bags knitting a rag rug and then I saw another lady wearing a fantastic crocheted top…
Of course I was wearing a little crochet too with my hat trim…
…and yes, Salty came along too! 🙂
We spotted a knitted ‘Rosie and Jim’- these are characters from an English children’s television programme from the 1990’s about two rag dolls who lived aboard a narrowboat!
It was such a fabulous weekend… no we don’t have any plans to get a narrowboat – maybe we’ll try a holiday although that’s pretty pricey (I’ve looked already 😉 )! It was just lovely to visit the festival and see all the boats. I can see why the craft of crochet continues on these waterways…not only does it look so beautiful, but it also continues the historic traditions of crochet on the waterways and it must be such a lovely way to pass the time… You don’t get anywhere quick on a canal boat so what better way to make use of some of those hours then to crochet away!! 🙂 🙂
Thanks for reading and Happy Crocheting… 🙂 🙂
Wonderful! #covertheworldincrochet !
Awww, thanks as ever Sandra… it was so wonderful to go ‘crochet spotting’! 🙂 🙂
Thoroughly enjoyed reading your post. So much crochet, love the the doily in the porthole. I love canal work too, bet you could knock up something fabulous on that theme. The ducks made me smile. Thank you for this post.
Thank you so much Cathy… so happy you enjoyed it! It was fun for me to go ‘crochet spotting!’… yes it’s certainly a fantasy theme to combine with crochet! The ducks made us smile too… 😊😊❤️❤️
Beautiful photos – the one of Salty is divine. Looks like a really lovely weekend. From another mini schnauzer owner/crochet lover!
Awww, thank you so much Charlie! Salty had a great time too…it was nice to be able to take her along- dogs were certainly welcome! 🙂 🙂
I love the old narrow boats – I used to fantasise living in one and cruising the canals from time to time 🙂 It was the traditional boat art that first attracted me and then I saw the fillet crochet too and was in love….. What a wonderful way to spend your weekend, I’m just the teeniest bit green with envy 🙂
It was a wonderful weekend Pauline! So happy you enjoyed sharing a little of it through my blog post! Living on a narrow boat certainly has an appeal to it… and the crafts on board so many of the boats is amazing! It must be a very creative community on the canals! 😊❤️
Perfect way to spend a weekend! I really like the crochet decorated portholes. We would love to do a narrowboat holiday but you’re right, they are expensive. Double that to make Australian dollars – last time we came to UK we thought about it but after some research decided we could do a lot more with the money. We need to organise some friends to share with.
It was a lovely weekend… thank you! The crafts were really amazing to see. And yes… it’s so expensive to hire one for a holiday which is a shame… 😊❤️
Enjoyed your great post.I grew up in Rugby not far from Crick, , very close to locks on the Oxford Canal. Having lived in Australia for 49 years , your lovely photos brought back wonderful memories of English countryside .Thank you! (Also loving your cal just started so a long way behind .)
Hi Margaret… lovely to hear from you and thank you so much for such a nice comment! You were not far from Crick at all… we kept seeing signs to Rugby. So happy to have brought back some memories for you… it’s certainly a beautiful part of the world and so unique with those boats! 😊❤️❤️
ooh, how lovely! It’s long been a dream of mine to retire onto a narrowboat and travel all over the country on it! We spent a week on one on the Kennet and Avon canal last year and it was really lovely- completely slows down the pace of life. Saw lots of amazing wildlife and stopped at a lot of lovely pubs along the way! I changed my mind about living on one full time though – I think May to September would be best, with somewhere nice and warm to retraet to over the winter!!
Awww, thanks Jane… now that sounds like a plan! It certainly has an appeal to it doesn’t it… we’re thinking about hiring one too but it’s quite a pricey holiday! Sounds wonderful though! 😊❤️❤️
Hello, I really like the work that you do. I have some tatty crochet inner port hole curtains and I would dearly like to replace them with what I’ve seen. Would that be possible?
Yours Sincerely
Dale Fowler
Dale_fowler@ymail.com
Hello Dale… it’s certainly possible! Many new crocheted inserts can be made. I don’t usually crochet items to sell as being a designer, it’s the finished patterns I sell. However, this does sound interesting! Do email me with more details about what you have in mind and the size of the windows… and I’ll give it some thought! 😊😊
My email is eleonoratully@btinternet.com
Just catching up as doing the SSSBB – that’s my brothers Rosie and Jim on his Kinver Canopoes stall! They are great aren’t they?
Oh wow!! That’s really amazing… how lovely that you’re crocheting the blanket too… 🥰🥰🥰