Nature's Walk Crochet Along

#NaturesWalkCAL

It was a scarily long time ago that I was walking along under a blue sky, following the edge of the fields on my usual dog walking path, beginning to mull over ideas for an exciting new project.  That project, of course, was this lovely new blanket which I'm calling Nature's Walk and that will be soon be released as a crochet along.

I'm working together with my lovely friends at Black Sheep Wools again to bring you this blanket.  Crochet along patterns are epic undertakings (for me at least) and it just wouldn't be possible without their help and unwavering support.  Thank you ladies!

Inspiration...

This is our third CAL together.  We previously worked on two blankets, the Spice of Life and it's follow up,  A Spicier Life, and this time around we wanted to bring you something a little different.  The process of designing it came together naturally and I think it has quite a different feel than the others, so I hope we succeeded.



I wanted to go for a more modular design this time, I always find it so satisfying to complete each square, it feels like a mini finish each time!  I also wanted to give the colours more space to shine and at the same time, create designs using just stitches so there was a balanced feel overall.  I had lots of fun playing with ideas and coming up with different square designs, although there was an awful lot of sampling needed to work out the kinks and narrow it down to the ones I liked best.

One of my absolute favourite elements of the blanket is the border.  In a rare twist for me, I could see how it should be from the start.  I knew I wanted something open and lacy, almost delicate, to really frame the rest of the blanket.  It turned out to be a little trickier than that to pull together, but I'm so happy with the results.

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Colours

 We decided to go with three different colour packs this time, each one of those is again directly inspired by my surroundings on those walking trips...

 Wild Hedgerow

The original blanket that I created is in the Wild Hedgerow colours in Scheepjes Stonewashed.  I wanted to capture a little of an autumnal feel, when the leaves are starting to turn a little golden, the blackberries are grow fat and ripening, the breeze is a little fresher and the sun is getting a little lower in the sky.  The whole blanket is framed with a soft oatmeal which remains me of the faded, dry grasses at the end of summer.

Open Fields

Then there is Open Fields, using Scheepjes Stonewashed too.  This one is really captures the essence of colours I see most on my walks each day.  To begin, we walk through woodlands, but for the most part I can see a patchwork of green fields, lined with hedgerows, basking under a blue sky dotted with puffy white clouds.  Sometimes the sky isn't so kind of course, so a subtle grey has crept into the border to compliment this one.

Sweet Meadow

Last of all is Sweet Meadow in Stylecraft Belissima (and Bambino).  This one was inspired by one of the favourite parts of my walk, along the meadow.  It's a farmer's field that has been left fallow for quite a few years now, and it's so lovely to see the delicate wildflowers returning to the long grasses.  I've been watching so see how many different flowers and colours I find as I stroll though and I was surprised by the variety, so some brighter shades have made their way into this selection.

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The main thing I want to bring to you while making this blanket is that sense of peace and relaxation that I get while I'm on those walks.  Sometimes my days can seem to get rather hectic and full of 'things to do', so I find that time spent outside strolling along with Bertie just gives me a small breathing space in the day, a little moment of calm.  

I'm hoping that working these squares and putting this blanket together will help you find a soothing rhythm to your crochet and will be a similar little oasis in your days too.

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Introduction PDF

As always with CAL, there's lots of information to try to share, so I've created an Introduction pdf for the CAL, so that you have a summery of all the information you need and help decide if you'd like to join in and make your own blanket.  You can download that here:

Nature's Walk - Introduction

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Crochet Along Page

I've also made a dedicated page here on the website.  This one will be a good one to book mark as it's where'll you'll find CAL updates, yarn pack links and of course the pattern parts as they are released:

Nature's Walk CAL Page

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Yarn Packs

Yarn Packs are already available to pre-order now:

Black Sheep Wools Yarn Packs

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I hope you'll enjoy it!

S x

♥

#CherryHeart

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