Crochet plans for 2023…

Hello and welcome to my first blog post of 2023…🥰 I hope you are all well and enjoying some crochet or creativity as the new year gets underway.

I felt it was about time I popped in here, not only to wish you all a positive 2023, but also to keep you lovely people updated on my crochet plans for the year ahead… it’s going to be another crochet filled one!

But let’s also look back… 😍 Reflecting on my crochet achievements in 2022, as well as looking forward to what’s in store for 2023, has been a pleasure.

Sometimes, when one project finishes I’m moving straight onto the next one without even a moment’s pause. When leaping from one project to the next in this way, it’s so easy to forget to look back. But New Year was the perfect opportunity for this and I was pretty impressed at how much I’d designed and been involved with in 2022… it really was a creative and crochet filled year!

In 2022 I visited four yarn festivals, contributing to them in different ways, from doing talks to hosting workshops or contributing a piece of crochet art. There was Yarndale, Spinning Yarns in Northern Ireland, the International Yarn Bombing Festival in Milan, Italy and Carry on Crafting much nearer to home. They were all joyous occasions and it’s always so lovely to get involved and to gather together with like minded people at these events…

And 2023 kicks off with another Yarn Show very very soon! I’ve been invited to open the 10th Waltham Abbey Wool Show on Sunday 15th January 2023. That’s exciting and I can’t quite believe it’s only a week away. It would be lovely to see some of you there if you’re in the area.

And there’s a fun competition which I’ll be judging on the day. Anyone is welcome to enter and there’s more about it here:

I’ve also been invited to contribute a piece of crochet to the very first International Yarn Bombing Festival in Germany at the end of March!

https://www.woolinale.de

Whether I’ll get to Germany myself or not is unknown at this point but my crochet will certainly be there, even if I’m not! 😄

2022 saw 5 new blanket designs including the ‘Postcards with Love’ crochet along which I designed for King Cole and my own ‘Down by the Sea’ crochet along. They were both absolutely wonderful and I adored seeing so many of you crochet along!

A ‘Postcards with Love’ Blanket, crocheted by Jacqueline Angel, even made its way onto the TV screens here in the UK back in October for the 50 year anniversary editions of the long-standing soap Emmerdale. That was quite something when so many of you messaged me to say you’d seen it on the TV and even sent me photos and screenshots…

And yes, there will of course be more crochet alongs from me in 2023! 😄 In fact one new blanket design has just come off my hooks and is finished, ready to be sent off to who I designed it for. I’m incredibly pleased with it and I can’t wait to share more, probably around April time.

A second blanket design for 2023 is now already in full swing on my hooks behind the scenes. I adore the design stages which I find so exciting as I immerse myself into all the new colours and stitches. This one’s for King Cole – yes, 2023 will see my third blanket design for them and it will probably launch around May time.

In 2022 I designed four crocheted garments, including my daughter’s prom dress which was a definite highlight of my crochet year. I released the pattern for the dress just before Christmas and it’s available in my Ravelry and Etsy stores but the dress deserves a blog post all of its own so look out for that very soon…

In 2023 there will be more garments from me because I’ve just finished a commission for King Cole to design some baby sets including a garment but it’s a very little one! 😄 But even with small garments there’s a lot involved in grading the pattern for different sizes. Watch this space for more on these in the coming months.

I’ve continued to host regular workshops locally at Made and Making and also Yak in Brighton, as well as hosting a workshop at the Sarah Brangwyn (from Made and Making) Crochet Retreat back in October. I always enjoy these very much, being able to share crochet skills up close and meet some of you in person.

New dates have been added for 2023 so do look at their websites…

Made and Making: https://madeandmaking.co.uk/explore-by-category/crochet

YAK: https://yarnandknitting.com/product-category/classes/

Sarah Brangwyn Retreats: https://sarahbrangwynretreats.co.uk/events/crochet-weekend-retreat-2023/

I was a Granny Square Day Ambassador for Simply Crochet Magazine back in August which was an honour, and there have been plenty of little crochet projects for the magazine in between too…

Wow! 😍 That was a lot of crochet in 2022!

I lost my dear Daddy in August but despite the sadness and turmoil within, I found that ‘Coastal Crochet’ continued to thrive – this must be partly because like so many of you, crochet provides me with such a welcome distraction and focus. It’s really helped me with my grief at times. ❤️

So thank goodness for crochet and thank goodness for the crochet community to share it with… 🥰

I’ve contributed a written journal piece for the next issue of Simply Crochet Magazine, issue 132 which is on sale 24th January. One thing I’ll be talking about is what these balls of yarn modelled next to little Salty will be turned into!!

That’s a project which probably won’t find its way onto my hooks until the Spring time but I’m soooo looking forward to it… in the meantime there’s plenty to keep my hooks busy! 😄

It’s been a pretty dreary start to 2023 weather wise here on the south east coast. Plenty of rain and oh aren’t the mornings dark?! But when the sun came out on 2nd January we enjoyed a beach stroll…

And I even managed a little beachcombing…

There haven’t been too many sunsets to enjoy either but this one on Boxing Day was lovely…

Yes, I continue to be grateful on a daily basis to live so close to the sea…

Thanks as ever for reading and Happy Crocheting Everyone! 🥰❤️