Yarn Festival Season…

Hello Everyone,

How are you all?

Autumn is arriving here in the northern hemisphere and yarn festival season is upon us. I’ve noticed the seasons change in nature. These photos were all taken during a recent lunchtime walk…

But we’ve still had some warm days which even felt a little spring like! These were taken earlier in the week…

I’m writing this blog post whilst travelling (I’m a passenger in a car 😆) the nearly 300 miles from my home on the south east coast to Skipton in North Yorkshire… I’m off to Yarndale with my husband, daughter and niece in tow!

It’s been 3 years since I last visited this yarn filled festival. A wonderful event to celebrate all things yarny – a feast for the eyes with stalls galore and a great place to meet and chat with fellow yarn lovers. For a crochet designer like me, it’s such an exciting event because I get to meet many of you!

My visit in 2018: https://coastalcrochet.com/2018/10/04/yarndale-adventures/

My visit in 2019: https://coastalcrochet.com/2019/10/02/yarndale-2019/

If you’re heading to Yarndale this weekend please do come and say “Hi” if you see me around. I’m part of the workforce this year and am doing a couple of talks as well as hosting a couple of workshops so I’ll be there on both Saturday and Sunday.

My talk on Saturday has sold out which is just incredible… I wasn’t expecting that! Thankyou so much to all who have booked to come and hear me talk about one of my very favourite things… crochet!

There’s still availability for my talk on Sunday if any of you are planning on going: https://yarndale.co.uk/talks-2022/

My 16 year old daughter and 18 year old niece have both crocheted cardigans to wear! How fabulous is that?! My daughter’s is our own version for the famous ‘Harry Styles Cardigan’ originally designed by JW Anderson: https://www.jwanderson.com/gb/cardigan-pattern

She’s still weaving in ends on this car journey!!

It’s been a little while since I posted here on my blog. Those of you who follow me on Instagram or Facebook might know that I lost my dear Dad back in August. It was sudden and unexpected, and it’s been emotional to say the least… ❤️😢

But I’m starting to feel stronger. I’ve always known the benefits of crochet, knitting and other creative crafts for our wellbeing. I’ve written about it before quite a while ago. This is a blog post from 5 years ago: https://coastalcrochet.com/2017/05/05/crochet-your-way-to-wellbeing/

I now have first hand experience of this. Crochet for me has predominantly been my happy place and although I’m well aware it’s kept me calm and focussed on many an occasion, I haven’t needed it too much for it’s more intense therapeutic benefits. But that’s changed… after we lost my beloved Dad I felt so sad and was a little worried that I wouldn’t be able to keep designing. I had a couple of commissions lined up which of course I could have stepped away from. People have been so kind and I had the option to postpone them. But I carried on and certainly felt the soothing comfort, focus as well as distraction all those stitches provided me during those difficult first few weeks.

And the designs have turned out great… I know my Dad would love them… ❤️

I’ll share more about those in the coming weeks and months.

Next weekend I’m off to the Spinning Yarns Festival in Northern Ireland. I went last year and felt really honoured to be invited to return in 2022. I’ll be doing talks there too and am so looking forward to returning to this beautiful part of the world.

My visit in 2021: https://coastalcrochet.com/2021/10/05/spinning-yarns-festival-part-2/

And just a reminder that voting in the British Knitting and Crochet Awards 2022 is closing next week: https://acevillepublications.typeform.com/to/BOjJ6rJh

I’ve been nominated for the ‘Social Media Superstar’ award!! Thank you to everyone who nominated me (and Salty!)

It’s a funny award; ‘social media superstar’ is not how I’d choose to describe myself. But it’s got me thinking about social media and I’d like to share some thoughts…

Social media (for me that’s Instagram, Facebook YouTube and my Blog) is fundamental to my work as ‘Coastal Crochet’. Without social media I wouldn’t be able to share my designs and connect with so many of you. I adore seeing my patterns brought to life through photos shared on social media. How else would I be able to see a design of mine being made by someone else on the other side of the world?! That’s joyful!
Social media has enabled me to build relationships with other designers, businesses and organisations that have led to some incredible opportunities which I’m eternally thankful for! I wouldn’t have been able to achieve so many of the things I’m proud of…💙
Through the Facebook Group I’ve managed to create a friendly online community of over 26K ‘Coastal Crocheter’s’! I’m in awe of that…do join us! 🥰🌎🌍🌏
Of course social media also has a dark side – it’s not always used in positive ways. For us creatives it can also be frustrating at times, with baffling algorithms and unexpected changes to the platforms. It’s good to take a break once in a while.
I keep doing what I do and I’m still here after 7 years on social media as ‘Coastal Crochet’. That’s 7 years of social media use which has changed my life in a good way…💙
So yes, I’ll gratefully accept the nomination of ‘Social Media Superstar’! 🤩
The winner of the award is chosen through a public vote. I’m nominated amongst wonderful fellow creatives, some with a much bigger social media following than me. But I’d still appreciate your vote if you feel inclined! 😁 THANK YOU so much for all your support… I wouldn’t do what I do if you weren’t here to share it with!

VOTE HERE: https://www.letsknit.co.uk/awards

So I hope I might see some of you during this Yarn Festival Season. And for those of you further afield, I’ll share photos here soon. Do follow me on Instagram or Facebook for regular updates over the weekend if you want to follow along virtually.

Happy Crocheting Everyone… 😄❤️