This is Quayside, a modern, contemporary crochet shawl that I designed last year.
Back in the summer there was a Call for Submissions from Wool on the Exe, a yarn shop in Exeter. Crocheters and knitters were asked to come up with designs that would be collated and turned into a book. The brief was to come up with concepts relating to all things Devon. I loved this, it immediately sparked lots of ideas and crochet inspiration!
My design was inspired by Exeter Quay. It’s a popular meeting place for noisy nights out, or a quiet stroll on a sunny Sunday morning. The solid striped sections of the shawl/wrap represent the paths alongside the grey waters of the river Exe. I added houndstooth stitches to reflect the movement of the water. When I was at uni I hung out at the Quay quite a lot. Mostly getting drunk and staggering around on a Saturday night (cobbles don’t make it easy to walk. Neither does knocking back too many beers). But then later it was more about strolling on a Sunday with a teeny baby in a pram. I don’t live in Exeter itself anymore but I’m still not that far away.
The book was released last year and is full of crochet, knitting and other yarn related projects. Proceeds went to Knit for Peace and local community projects.
Chosen Charities
Quayside is now available to purchase as an individual pattern on Ravelry and Etsy. It will also be on Lovecrafts in a day or two as well. As it was initially for a charity enterprise, it’s only fitting that it continues to raise money for causes that need support. Therefore, I have chosen two charities and will donate £2.00 to each, per sale of Quayside. I hadn’t worked out precise platform fees when I posted on Instagram this morning so originally stated £1.50. I needed to make sure I could cover those fees. Thankfully, I still can!
The two charities I’ve chosen are for very good reasons. The first charity is CALM (the campaign against living miserably). Last year my step sister’s son, Adam died by suicide. Very sadly, my step sister is not the only mother I know who lost a son to suicide last year. If we can help another young man, any man, any person from feeling like that that’s their only escape, well, that’s good! It is Mental Health Week this week, which feels like appropriate timing for the pattern’s release.
The second charity is the Disasters Emergency Committee. Covid 19 is devasting India right now and help is desperately needed. The decision for this choice was cemented when someone told me the other day that “they had brought it upon themsleves” Um, what?! I’m still stuck for words on this.
You can also donate directly to either charity. If you’ve got a few extra quid, I urge you to do so, please. Ta very much!
Let’s see how it goes. Certainly, I will stick to this plan throughout the summer and then see how it goes from there. Hope that sounds OK? Let me know what you think!
Let’s do a Crochet Along!
Also to continue across the summer, how about a CAL?! It has been a while since I ran a crochet along and this seems like a good reason! The Quayside CAL! If you would like to take part, all you need to do is purchase the pattern and get cracking!
The idea is that you’re making a fab crochet shawl at the same time as lots of other makers. You are helping to raise money, for not one, but two charities! There are no real CAL rules, just choose your favourite yarn and a matching hook. Use the hashtag #QuaysideCAL and I will share your crochet progress and projects whenever I can. I’ll definitely want to write a follow up post here, and I’ll post on Insta over the next few months. I’ll say a provisional end date of September 1st but flexibilty is fine by me. Crochet is supposed to be mindful, it actually helps with mental health, it’d be silly to have tight deadlines.
You can use pretty much any yarn but perhaps nothing heavier than a DK or it’ll be huuuge! My version is made using Gwlan Cambrain wool, a woolly 4 ply. You can also buy it from Wool on the Exe (I’d better mention that as they’re the team who chose the yarn for the project!).
Right, I think that’s it for now. If you have any questions, add them in the comments and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. Thanks ever so much. x
Lovely! 💗 🌿 🌸 🌿
Thank you ☺️
love it
Thanks 😊