Welcome to Week 1 of the new ‘Postcards with Love‘ blanket crochet-along – a blanket which I’ve designed exclusively for King Cole. 😄💙
The full pattern and video tutorials are available free over on the King Cole website (link below) but I’m also doing my own weekly blog posts and videos to celebrate all things postcards and share a little inspiration and crochet chit chat each week to enhance our crochet along experience together… so that’s what this blog post is all about. Scroll down for lots of photos and enjoy! 💙
FREE PATTERN IS HERE: https://www.kingcole.com/cal-postcards-with-love/
And many thanks to Iris from Een Mooi Gebaar who has translated the pattern into Dutch: https://eenmooigebaar.nl
So here’s my first ‘postcard’ video… this week featuring ‘Westward Ho!’ in North Devon which I visited with the family back in April. Maybe get yourself a cup of tea or coffee while you sit back and have a watch… I hope you enjoy it! 😁
It’s also that time of year again when nominating for the British Knitting and Crochet Awards 2022 is open!! I’m always uncomfortable asking, but it’s a way to get a little recognition for my design work and it’s all down to the public votes! Last year I was nominated in two categories which was truly wonderful (thanks to so many of you)… I’m extremely grateful to anyone who thinks they might like to nominate me again in two categories: ‘Most iconic crochet designer’ and ‘Social media superstar’. It feels strange asking people to nominate me for categories with those names but hey ho – I truly appreciate it!! 🤩😁 THANK YOU!! 💙🥰
VOTE HERE: https://www.letsknit.co.uk/awards
It’s been wonderful to think about postcards and I’ve sent a few in the post as well as received a few in recent weeks which has brought a smile to my face each time. I must mention a really good organisation called ‘Postcrossing‘ which allows you to send postcards and receive postcards back from random people all around the world. My Dad has done this for many years and really loves it… do have a look:
I’ve also designed some of my own postcards based on this blanket using RedBubble and you can order them here if you’re interested:
BUY A POSTCARD: https://www.redbubble.com/people/Coastal-Crochet/shop
In Week 1 we crochet the very centre of our blankets and it features sunshine and flowers!
“When writing a postcard it may be those sunny days we want to share with loved ones through the pictures we choose, and then the words we write are a little like sending someone flowers. Postcards with love…”
Here you can see my King Cole ‘Cottonsoft’ and ‘Big Value’ versions together. The Cottonsoft is on the right… I absolutely love how King Cole have colours going across their yarn ranges. It made designing this blanket using either cotton or acrylic very easy! 🙂
And in Week 1 we also crochet a couple of ‘postcards’ with a fabulous beach hut… I really want to encourage you to make this blanket as personal to you as you wish. You could add lots of beach huts, just one or two or none at all… it really is entirely up to you!
“With so many different postcards to choose from, the postcards that we send are all so very personal! We begin by choosing a beautiful picture to show what we want to share…. Maybe it’s a stunning landscape, a pretty painted scene or something funny. And then do we squeeze as much writing as we can on the back to share our thoughts and adventures or do we simply write a few words? Anything goes… and as we begin to crochet our postcards, these will all be personal too. We start with a simple beach scene. We can leave it plain and simple or add a beach hut. It’s entirely up to you as we crochet our first postcard!”
And oh how I’ve enjoyed seeking out some gorgeous Beach Huts on recent travels in the UK. My blanket came along with me when I realised there would be some good photo opportunities!
Here are a couple of Beach huts at Westward Ho! in North Devon. I couldn’t have wished for a better combination of colours in those beach huts to perfectly compliment my blanket! 😄
And here are Beach huts in Bournemouth in Dorset which we visited back in February… also beautifully colour coordinated! We really enjoyed some winter sunshine. 😄
Westward Ho! was a perfect place to send a postcard from… and there was a lovely selection to choose from in a local shop:
We did some body boarding in the sea with endless sands at low tide…
The beach further south provided a beautiful backdrop for my blanket with really wonderful rock formations…
By the time we headed back the tide had come in and the sands had disappeared!
We went to the visitor centre at the north end of the beach which was absolutely wonderful. Just look at the view from one of the windows. It looks just like a painting in this photo, but a photo it is, and the view really was so rich in reality… 😍
I learned lots about the local area and also bought a few beautiful art based postcards too.
This one is from an artist called Clare Willcocks and I love it so much. It’s simply called ‘Sand and Sea’… www.clarewillcocks.co.uk
Posting my own postcards in the town was a fabulous moment. The postbox even had a crocheted topper…😄
So there’s a Postcard from Westward Ho! I hope you enjoy crocheting your own postcards and maybe you’ll even send an actual postcard to someone this week.
Happy Crocheting Everyone! 😄💙
Thankyou , thankyou for this blog post , when it got to 11am I was slightly panicking as I couldn’t find how to access this weeks pattern , but I should have known you would be here for everyone , thankyou again
Awww… you’re more than welcome Joan! Thank you… and enjoy! 🥰🙏💙
Absolutely brilliant! Again you’ve made it so interesting. We regularly visit Westward Ho – may have just missed you when you were there. How I would have loved to have met you in person! Thank you.
Awww… that would have been lovely! It’s a wonderful place… 🥰💙💙
Lovely! The photos of Westward Ho remind me of happy holidays there as a child Neely 60 years ago. Looking forward to doing the Postcards With Love!
How wonderful! Thank you… 🥰💙
Many thanks once again Eleonora for another of your lovely patterns. I think you ought to visit some of the North Norfolk or Suffolk beaches at some time!!! There is some beautiful scenery which would make good subjects for yet another blanket – just a thought ha ha!!!
Thank you Mary! I’d love that! So many wonderful places to visit… 🥰💙💙
Eleonora, I thought I recognized Morgan’s music. So lovely. I am itching to start. Will go to download the pattern after I send this comment. Thanks you!
Thank to you Paula! Enjoy…. 🥰💙💙
Beautiful & good luck! I just submitted my votes for you!
Thank you so much! I truly appreciate it! 🥰💙
You have done it again Eleonora, the most beautiful design and your blogs surpass all others as do your Cals when you do them personally. Everything is so interesting and although I am not actually taking part in the CAL, I will follow the King Cole weekly video tutorials and your blog and download the pattern weekly. The yarn has been purchased for me as a birthday gift along with the shade card and discs and stitch markers in the tin. I will look forward to starting this blanket possibly by July 🙂
Awww… thank you so much Marilyn! That means a lot… enjoy it when you get to it in July… 🥰💙💙
Perfect timing for the release of your latest blanket – it will be a good stress-buster as our daughter is currently doing GCSEs. I know your daughter is too, so wishing you both all the best. Thank you for another beautiful design x
Thank you so much Anne!! Yes… good to have a few exams done and now a half term break! Good luck to your daughter!! May she get what she needs… 🥰💙💙💙💙
Thank you so much for sharing the link to the pattern. I’ve got my sunny center started and I’m so excited to make this in my first CAL! Love seeing you and the lovely North Devon scenery in the video, too!
Happy you like it! Thank you so much… 🥰💙
I’m going to love this! I love postcards, so, mix them with crochet and what joy! Thank you for sharing this blanket with us. I’m from Australia.
Thank you so much! Enjoy… 🇦🇺 💙
Just finished my Centre piece, it’s going to be beautiful. A bit more technical than I’m used to, but I’m loving the challenge. And the videos definitely helped. Thank you.
Good to hear you’re enjoying it! 😁💙
Absolutly loving this pattern, i would lile to make it for my daughters first baby and instead of one of the “with loves” i would really like to be able to put the year.
Is there a way of ising the mosaic stitch to crotchet 2022?
Hi Sara… yes, very easily. But you need to follow a chart rather than the written pattern. I use Stitch Fiddle to create charts. So long as you start with the same number of stitches across and rows, all kinds of different patterns or words can be created… good luck! https://www.stitchfiddle.com/en
Hi Sara, I used some old fashioned arithmetic paper!!! Draw your dates out. (Horizontally) Take up 3 squares for each number with 2 square between each number. (Vertically) Each square is equivalent to 2 rows of crochet. Therefore each number will take up 5 squares (10 rows of crochet). Then using 2 different colours start with the background colour you wish to use and continue as described below * for the numbers (2 rows of number colour, 2 rows of background colour). Just like the “words” you crocheted in the blanket. You then have to count your horizontal squares and centre it on your work. EG 2022 would take up 18 squares so if you have 49 stitches in your work you would have * 15 one end and 16 the other end of background colour then start your number colour and work in mosaic. You may have to use 2 balls of background colour. DO HOPE YOU CAN UNDERSTAND THIS. GOOD LUCK.
Amazing! Thank you Mary… 💙💙
Brillant thank you so much Ill take a look 🙂
Mary thank you so much
I did get out some squared paper and tried to write myself out a pattern before i posted but what you say makesnit clearer so thnk you. Ill take a look at the fiddle thing then tey to draw myself something then write it out. I might wven manage to get their names in it too if perhaps i replace one of the wish you were heres .
Thanks again 🙂