Hooloo,
It's been a month since Charlotte's Universe ended, and I am slowly finding my way forward after the CAL. I don't think I will ever get used to the amount of work involved in doing a crochet-along, but it is so worth every minute!
I LOVED watching people engage with each other as they made their Charlottes. I loved the buzz that always surrounds a large communal project, the joy, the sharing, the making-new-friends, the willingness to step up and help others in a kind and encouraging way. So much heady feel-good!!
If you have not participated, but would like to save the information for later, you can find everything you need to know (including links to each part, video tutorials, and translations) HERE. You can also see some gorgeous examples HERE on Ravelry and HERE on Instagram.
Here are just four of the very very many, each with its own story and place in my heart.
- My mom is making a Charlotte for me. I can't tell you how nice it is to be able to do something with my mom (across the world) that makes it feel like we are right there with each other - Minette Strydom
- My mom and her three sisters under my Tannie Danielle's Charlotte. To have my mum AND her sister making something I dreamt up... it makes me quite emotional - Aunty Danielle
- My gorgeous friend Loma made this stunning Pink Charlotte. I have met Loma only once 'in real life', but she is a shining light and I have loved her since I first encountered her online so many years ago - Loma Groenewald
- Michael Wassenaar kindly made a version in Chunky Monkey so that I could share it with you. He is standing on a ladder because it is HUGE!!! He also created a weekly VLOG (Dutch) of his journey - Michael Wassenaar
And here is the original in all her very-bad-photo-but-such-a-glorious-day GLORY! I took this photo at Whipsiderry beach (Cornwall) in the Summer. That's my favourite season. That's my favourite beach. That's my favourite human. That's my favourite dog :)
ps. I've seen people add the Whipsiderry Border to their Charlottes, and it looks AMAZING!
In other news, I have been sharing our Sue's Dream journey over the last four weeks. Sue's Dream is what happened when my friend Jenny took one of my very simple squares and ran with it. The result is SOOOO pretty. If you read the posts about it, you'll get super bored of hearing this, but: the layout is my very favourite part of it. Look!
You can find the four posts I wrote about it HERE:
One More Thing
Tatsiana from lillabjorncrochet.com has just released her first book: A Sea Story. It is available for pre-order at the moment, with worldwide shipping and an estimated shipping date of November 21 (this year). Every copy will be signed by Tatsiana.
"A Sea Story book is about the sea and friendship. And because my connection to Malmö (Sweden) is so strong, it will come as no surprise that I decided to take the photographs for this book here, at the beach line in the Ribersborg quarter of the city."
It is worth mentioning here that Tatsiana wrote all the patterns, edited the book, organised all the photography, and self-published. I cannot imagine the amount of work and love that has gone into this.
The book features 13 modern mosaic crochet patterns, and mosaic crochet being what it is, you can adapt those 13 patterns to create hundreds of different items. If you think outside the box, you can make squares and shawls, blankets and baskets, cushions and bags...
When I saw the patterns (I got to see a sneak peek of the book - perks of knowing the designer) my mind went crazy. The patterns are so pretty, and I have always wanted to learn to read mosaic crochet charts...
My favourite two are:
From Sea to Sea (LOVE)
And the gorgeous hexagonal blanket called Quiet Moments...
You can order your own copy via Patterns by Lilla Bjorn website HERE.
One More Thing #2
For the last year and a half (times being what they are), my yarn kits have been largely out of stock. Most of them are now back in stock, so if you've been trying to buy one, please have a look in my store and see if the one you want is available.
You can find my Shop on Wool Warehouse HERE.
Here are some favourites:
Coming Up
Over the next four weeks, I am going to share a pattern involving a dainty little Pansy flower. The pattern for the flower is already available on my website, but what I am doing with it...? That is a surprise.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
xxx Dedri
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
