Picnic by the River…

How about a ‘Picnic by the River’?! 😄💚 When I mentioned that my hooks have been super busy behind the scenes, they really have been, and over the last few months I’ve designed 3 very different crocheted blankets.

Of course the first one is my very own ‘Picnic on the Beach’ blanket which starts as a ‘crochet along’ in just three weeks time. All the details are here: Picnic on the Beach Blanket

But I can now let you all know about the second blanket that’s been on my hooks – it’s called ‘Picnic by the River’! This is a crochet along (CAL) blanket I have designed for ‘Little Box of Crochet’ and will be an 8 week CAL starting on 30th April, 2 weeks after mine is finished.

Let me tell you how the design came about because yes, there are two crocheted picnics to enjoy! 😁

When I was at the beginning stages of designing my own ‘Picnic on the Beach’ blanket last year, Amanda from Little Box of Crochet’ and I were chatting about designing a blanket CAL especially for Little Box of Crochet… we were talking about themes and Amanda suggested a picnic theme! I hadn’t told anyone about my Picnic on the Beach blanket… it really was uncanny… we had both separately thought of the very same picnic theme for our blankets!

How wonderful it was… great minds think alike and all that! 🥰💙 We decided to go ahead with the picnic theme for both blankets but of course make them different… my blanket inspired by a beachside picnic and then Amanda’s blanket inspired by a riverside picnic.

So it’s been an absolute pleasure for me to immerse myself in all things picnic and design two very different blankets with a common theme.

Amanda lives near some spectacular rivers in North Yorkshire. Due to Covid I’ve sadly been unable to visit but we did manage a trip to Cornwall last summer and I was able to take some wonderful river inspiration photos…

I absolutely loved working with a colour palette inspired by beautiful rivers and chose 11 colours of Stylecraft Special DK for the blanket…

‘Picnic by the River’ with ‘Little Box of Crochet’ will start on 30th April and you’ll need to order the box directly from ‘Little Box of Crochet’ to join in…. all the details are on their website, just click on the link below. The pattern won’t be available anywhere else.

Of course with Little Box of Crochet it’s a very special experience indeed and as well as the yarns there are gorgeous extras and wonderful treats all presented beautifully in a box… it’s more than just a blanket! And the pattern is included. There’s so much more to the experience and of course this is reflected in the price.

Click here for all the details: Picnic by the River with Little Box of Crochet

We have some beautiful rivers near us here on the south east coast but many are tidal rivers which do give them a very different feel and they’re dangerous for swimming. Here’s the Ouse running through Lewes which was a beautiful backdrop for this crocheted cactus…

And here’s a view of the ‘Cuckmere Meanders’ which are wide, shallow, oxbow lakes cut off from the main Cuckmere stream. You can see the sea beyond and that’s where the famous ‘Seven Sisters’ chalk cliffs are… 🙂

The BIG reveal photo for my ‘Picnic by the River’ blanket was shared by ‘Little Box of Crochet’ yesterday and as you can see the blanket is a colourful celebration of a colourful day spent by the river!

I hope you like it! I’m now embarking on the video tutorials for my own ‘Picnic on the Beach’ CAL so there will be less crochet for me over the next few weeks but lots of behind the scenes preparations! 🙂

And here are a few photos from my coastal walks this week… living close to the sea means fresh air is easy to find and being outdoors is so needed at this difficult time… we’re still in a lockdown here in the UK.

Take care and Happy Crocheting Everyone… 🙂 🙂