Postcards with Love…

And so it nearly begins… another crochet-along blanket journey approaches. I’m soooo looking forward to this one! 😄

This blog post gives you all a little more information about the new blanket which I’ve designed for fabulous yarn company ‘King Cole’ who are a joy to work with. And this blanket is oh so very special to me…💙

The blanket is called ‘Postcards with Love…’ and the construction and stitches used in this new blanket design are fully inspired by the sending of postcards. How wonderful is that?! 😄

This morning the team at King Cole gave an announcement in their Facebook Group…

The Crochet-Along is not starting until 23rd May but this gives you all plenty of time to get your yarns at the ready and plan ahead. The pattern will be published in weekly instalments over on the King Cole website here:

www.kingcole.com/cal-postcards-with-love

I’ll be posting blog posts here on my website too, directly linking to King Cole, so you won’t miss anything.

Yarn Packs are now available from many stockists including the Knitting Network. I earn a small amount of commission for yarn purchased from the Knitting Network through the links below at no extra cost to you…

Cottonsoft Packs: www.theknittingnetwork.co.uk/postcards-with-love-cal-colour-pack-cottonsoft-dk

Big Value Packs:

www.theknittingnetwork.co.uk/postcards-with-love-cal-colour-pack-big-value-dk-50g.ly/

Inspiration for my blankets can come from so many places. Of course there are the direct sights and sounds of the sea which I so often use, but the idea for this postcard inspired blanket came whilst I was simply walking along the beach.

As I was contemplating themes for a new blanket for King Cole I found myself reflecting on the last couple of years and times when due to Covid we were not able to see family and friends who live further afield – I myself have not been to The Netherlands to see family and friends for over 2 years now…

And I found myself thinking about how we keep in touch with loved ones, despite the distance. Yes we have phones and all kinds of social media to keep connected, but somehow the sending of a physical postcard gives a little extra tangible connection with loved ones far away and it’s always such a nice surprise to have a postcard pop through the letterbox! 🥰

So ‘Postcards with Love’ is the theme I chose and how I’ve absolutely loved embracing this heartfelt theme and crocheting postcards! 💙

Even the choosing of a postcard can be a fun process and here are a few postcard filled stands on Brighton Beach, just along the coast from me…

So many postcards to choose from! 😄😍💙

As usual I do find myself drawn to the coastal themes…

But of course there are plenty of others to choose from too… especially when sent from places around the world!

And at the centre of them all is a message we write to simply say….

This is a good time to share a quintessential Salty photo isn’t it… She has to make an appearance next to my blankets doesn’t she?! And there’s a message on a crocheted postcard… 😃🥰😍

Choosing the colours for this blanket was joyous. There had to be some red for hearts and flowers, there had to be some blue for the sea and sky and of course there had to be a little navy for the ink to write our cards with!

I hope you love them as much as I do. Here’s the shopping list of yarns you’ll need:

I used 9 colours of King Cole yarns to create my blanket. My original design was crocheted using King Cole ‘Cottonsoft DK’ which has been an absolute joy to crochet with. I do so love a cotton blanket. But I’ve also crocheted an acrylic version too using King Cole ‘Big Value DK’.

I used a 4mm hook with the Cottonsoft DK and a 4.5mm with the Big Value DK. But you might need to use a different size depending on your tension.

Tension

Here’s my tension for the yarns used:
Using Cottonsoft DK: 18 standard treble stitches across and 11 rows measures 10cm x 10cm using a 4.0mm hook.
Using Big Value DK: 17 standard treble stitches across and 10 rows measures 10cm x 10cm using a 4.5mm hook.

Measurements
The finished blanket measures approximately 122cm x 122cm (48in x 48in) using King Cole Cottonsoft DK and 127cm x 127cm (50in x 50in) using Big Value DK.

For now that’s all you need to start getting ready to crochet this blanket alongside others from all over the globe on 23rd May. That’s such an exciting thought…💙

I had this blanket on my hooks throughout the winter months and I have so many photos to share with you all… I’ll be doing that over on my Facebook and Instagram to build a little excitement over the coming weeks. Do spread the word if you can – the more the merrier and if you haven’t already, do join the Facebook groups:

King Cole Craft Along #CAL and

Coastal Crochet

They’re great places to start connecting with others who might be crocheting along. And over on Instagram use the hashtags: #postcardswithloveblanket #kingcolecal and #coastalcrochetcal

I’m soooo looking forward to sharing more about this blanket with you all in the coming weeks…. in the meantime, Happy Crocheting! 🙂