I’ve just returned from a family gathering to the Isle of Wight to celebrate my father in laws 80th birthday! Yes it was a weekend for family time and celebrations but there’s always time for a little crochet too… π
So in this blog post I’ll share the crochet related things I got up to and saw, as well as some coastal inspiration (of which there was plenty)!
I had never been to the Isle of Wight before which is a little surprising as it’s an island less than 60 miles from where we live right on the south coast of England and we can even see it from where we live on a very clear day.
My husband enjoyed family holidays there as a child which was one of the reasons we chose to celebrate his fathers 80th birthday there. They had a great time remembering childhood holidays…
It’s always nice to travel places by ferry and the short ferry crossing really adds to that holiday feeling. I brought my blanket for a photo opportunity…
But why did I bring my blanket? More about that later… π
Although it was a very grey day the arrival in Cowes was still very beautiful…
We were staying in Shanklin on the south east of the Island and after checking into our holiday accommodation we had a walk down to the seafront……and walked through the high street where I was happy to see my ‘Cat Card’ design on the front cover of Simply Crochet!
And then I saw these adorable needle felted guinea pigs and rabbits wrapped in crocheted blankets in the window of another shop…aren’t they sweet?! πWhen we woke on our first morning we were treated to a wonderful sunrise and as I looked out the window I saw these two crows perfectly perched…
Such a special start to the day! And it proved to be a beautiful sunny day… perfect for a walk around picturesque Godshill…
My crochet project at the time was crocheting flower samples for my ‘Crocheted Flowers’ workshops that I’m hosting locally soon… as always my crochet is with me in my bag and it was the perfect opportunity to photograph my daffodils with some daffodils!
The next day was a little grey again but those crows were there on the same branch. It’s obviously a favourite morning perch of theirs!
We visited Ventnor. A beach with such rich coloured tiny pebbles…
And we ended the day visiting the famous Alum Bay and Needles. Alum Bay is famous for its multi-coloured sand cliffs and the colours were particularly amazing in the late afternoon sunshine…
It’s so beautiful isn’t it… and we timed our stop at the Needles perfectly for a brilliant sunset!
On our last day I was keen to visit a local yarn shop and ‘Strictly Knitting’ in Shanklin was close to where we were staying. It’s a shop I can highly recommend… …it stocks a huge variety of yarns. I wanted something local and I was happy to discover that they stocked some locally dyed yarns… I couldn’t resist this colourway called ‘Sunshine’ that seemed the perfect souvenir for our sunny stay on the Isle of Wight and reminded me of those sunrise birds too!
This photo was taken on Yaverland Beach. Another photo opportunity for my blanket…
So why did I bring my blanket along with me? Well when I introduced my new Crochet Along a couple of weeks ago, a lovely lady called Sally from the Isle of Wight left a comment on my blog about crocheting blankets by the sea and we got into a conversation… I discovered that the crochet groups Sally organises are using my Seaside Stash Busting Blanket pattern as a project to work on so there are many in the making on the Isle of Wight!
And this conversation resulted in me visiting the ‘Crochet Cafe’ in Sandown which is just amazing! Here’s a link to their Facebook Page
There are pop up cafes on different days of the week all around the Island… we saw another advertised in Godshill…
…isn’t it a wonderful concept! π
So I visited the group in Sandown on Tuesday together with my daughter, sister in law and niece and we were made to feel so very welcome!
Here I am with Sally and her daughter… I love that everyone is welcome, regardless of age… and dogs are welcome too!
Von showed me some spinning in action which was great to see… have a look at this video clip.
And I finally met lovely Joy from @joyswoollybits who I’ve followed over on Instagram for sometime. It’s always great to finally meet people in person…It’s just so heart warming to see crochet in action in this way and this ‘Crochet Cafe’ is really bringing people together! The sense of community through crochet is something so special. And the fact that many were making my blanket was wonderful to see! This was definitely a highlight of our stay for me… π
Out in Sandown I saw this window display of knitted toys and look, there’s a little schnauzer!! Our Salty didn’t come with us on this trip and although she would have loved it, she actually had an amazing time staying with my parents…
Time was running out and there were still places we wanted to see so onwards to Whitecliff Beach where we did some seaglass hunting…
We enjoyed driving up to the viewpoint on the Brading Down Road for brilliant Island views…
And finally Steephill Cove…
Oh what a wonderful place the Isle of Wight is… we were of course visiting in low season and most of the tourist attractions were actually closed. But there’s so much of the islands own natural beauty to discover and enjoy that we didn’t mind that at all. It’s also a place where I saw so much creativity and community spirit… and lots of evidence of yarn lovers!
I felt inspired, refreshed and motivated after our visit and would absolutely love to return!
Happy Crocheting Everyone… πβ€οΈ
I love the idea of a crochet cafΓ©. We had our honeymoon on the Isle of Wight so I really enjoyed your post
Awww, thatβs lovely Cathy… itβs a beautiful island and yes, that crochet cafe is brilliant! πππ
This is just lovely! Thank you for sharing your Isle of Wight adventures with us. Crochet creates community – that’s for sure!
If does Sandra! Itβs so wonderful… happy you enjoyed my post! ππ xxx
Wonderful photos! And such an interesting post, thank you π
Youβre very welcome! Itβs a beautiful place and Iβm happy you enjoyed seeing a little more of it through my post… ππ
Oh this is lovely. Your writing and the pictures work so well together that I now have a desperate desire to visit the Isle of Wight. It looks inviting and the people seem it to. I guess I know where to spend my spring holidays now π
Thank you or that recommendation.
Cheers
Tamara
Awww, so happy you enjoyed this blog post Tamara! I hope you get there… it would be a wonderful place for a springtime holiday! ππ
How wonderful for you to see so many lovely Coast Blankets being made in one place! It is such a good learning set of patterns for any beginner to practice on. Beautiful photographs for an out-of-season trip. Loved the mini schnauzer and the sea glass. Gail Ball (Eastbourne)
Hi Gail…thank you so much! Yes, it was wonderful to see so many blankets in the making! The sea glass was amazing… such different colours to our local beach! ππ
What a fantastic post. Stunning photos and fabulous crochet. Who could ask for more? I love the thought of the pop up crochet cafes too. For over 30 years my husband has been promising to take me to the Isle of Wight. His family are from Southampton so the IOW was a favourite holiday haunt of theirs. Now I am truly resolved to get there the next time we are down……Just won’t mention the crochet cafes or wool shop till we finally land on the island!
Brilliant!! ππ€£ Yes, you should definitely try and get there… took me long enough! Iβm so happy you enjoyed this post…β€οΈ
It looks so pretty! Iβm up in the Midlands though so itβs quite a drive for us. Maybe Iβll get there some day π§Άπ.
It took me years to get there and Iβm a lot closer! Itβs lovely so hopefully one day you will… πβ€οΈ
Thank you for the beautiful photos and interesting blog. We live in the same area as you I think and my husband comes from Hayling Island so we are familiar with the 60 mile journey. We have a lot of special places in this country, who needs to go abroad! π
Absolutely Dee… yes there are many beautiful places to visit right on our doorstep! πππ
Just loved your blog and would love to be there myself. How great so many lovely ladies enjoy crochet like ourselves, all over the world which really makes me feel good. One of my groups meets tomorrow, in Hawkes Bay NZ. Thank you for the enjoyable travelogue. Carolyn.
Youβre very welcome Carolyn… happy you enjoyed the blog post! It is wonderful to come together to crochet… πππ
A fantastic adventure. Whish I were there!
Thank you so much Eerika… itβs a beautiful place! ππ
What a lovely adventure! I β€οΈ the ocean and loved looking at your photos!
Iβm very happy you enjoyed them Pamela… thank you for visiting! ππππ
Loved looking at the photos, brought back many childhood memories , we went for seven years on the trot! , until the last when it rained all week and we got stuck on the island as there was a travel strikeπ. It was the only going ‘abroad’ my father ever did.
I loved it so much took my family back ,many years later, and the hotel was still there, the local shop was too. Love that part of the island , Sandown ,shanklin, Gledhill etc. Makes me want to return now
Such happy memories Bev…. we were really lucky with the weather, especially for this time of year! My husbands family were remembering family holidays from the past too… πβ€οΈβ€οΈβ€οΈ
What a fantastic trip – the blanket was the perfect accessory for the photos – so it earned it’s place on the trip, not just for show and tell when visiting the crochet group. Next time the light is right when you see the Isle of Wight you can wave to new found friends and I dare say plan another trip to all those wonderful sites – including the yarn shop!
Awww…. thank you Tinaor… Iβm really glad I brought the blanket along for those extra photo opportunities…. πππ
What a great post about our beautiful island and you certainly found some of its hidden treasures. It was lovely to meet you and we will meet up again soon. Happy coastal crocheting – Joy xx
Awww…. Thank you so much! I loved meeting you too… πππ xx
What a wonderful time you had! I have only spent a day on the Isle of Wight. I think we could easily spend a week – must consider it when next we come to UK. How lovely to meet up with all those kindred spirits and visit such a pretty shop.
It was certainly a wonderful trip… itβs small enough to see a lot in a day but also has so much to see that we want to go back!! πππ
Lovely to read your blog and see your pictures, Eleanor, I think you have much in common with Lucy Attic24 as both provide an eloquent gentle look at our surroundings with a love of crochet. Iβm just finishing my Sweet Pea blanket and then want to start your Coastal stash buster. Iβm also having to fit in baby knitting as Iβm going to be a grandmother in August- yippee! Xx
Thank you so much… such kind and encouraging words! I love Lucyβs (Attic 24) style too… so itβs a huge compliment from you! And congratulations on being a grandmother-to-be!! πβ€οΈβ€οΈ
Thank you for a wonderful tour. Living in the States, I may never get a chance to visit the Isle of Wight and you have brought it to life. And a crochet cafe. What more could you ask for!… Thanks again, Kathleen McGraw
Youβre very welcome Kathleen… so lovely to hear you enjoyed the little tour through my blog! And yes, that crochet cafe is a wonderful thing… πππ
Thank you for your lovely blog Eleonora. We had a fabulous holiday on the IoW a couple of years ago, staying in Godshill and visiting most of the places you mention, including the wonderfully quirky Steephil Cove. Reading your blog has brought back happy memories π Next time we go I will look up the Crochet cafes and Stictly Knitting in Shanklin! x
Thank you so much Jo… itβs so lovely that my blog post brought back happy memories for you! Itβs certainly a fabulous place to visit isnβt it… Steephill Cove was amazing! And yes that yarn shop is definitely worth a visit next time…. ππππ
Found your post while I was looking at different blogs. Loved your blanket. I usually knit, but have wanted to crochet a blanket, thanks for the beautiful inspiration.
Youβre very welcome! Thank you for visiting my blog… ππ