Memories from the Coast and North Sea Mandala

I am sorry for being a little bit away from you and crochet last week. I had a vacation by the sea coast and was totally blown away by the wind and waves. How often do you travel? And how often do you have vacations? For me it was the first real vacation in probably 7 years. With my husband only and with no dog and kid… I was feeling not very well last years, depressed sometimes, becoming weak and sleepy, losing the sense of everything. Very often life reminds a magic circle (not a crochet one :) - with the same duties every day. You know pretty well how to manage your life, you automatically do the same operations and early or late you lose the taste of life. This is what was happening to me. But the sea gives so much energy and inspiration. So I am back on track, with new ideas and a small present for you.

Maybe the North Sea is not the best choice to spend summer vacations at, but I couldn't dream about anything better. As I can't swim, it was enough for me just to walk by the sea line and to listen to the music of wind and waves. Actually winds are very strong in this part of the world and I was amazed how very small children were running naked and jumped into the water again and again. How were they not freezing?.. I don't know.

The sun light is very special here. It is not brightly yellow, and it's not hot (though you can easily burn just in two hours). The sun is pale and the color of the water is silver gray. All the landscapes are pale – sand, dunes, flowers…

Was I just lying at the beach and wondering in dunes at the Belgian coast all days long? NO! I was also working hard and am almost ready with a new mandala design! I took the pictures and just need to write the pattern down. So hopefully it will be ready very soon. (Update: North Sea Mandala pattern is published and can be found HERE)

I used two skeins of Larra cotton yarn by Scheepjes. Have you heard about this yarn brand? I guess those of you who made Sophie Universe CAL 2015 has even tried it. This yarn is not sold in Czech Republic and I was very curious to try it. And when I came to Belgium my point number one was to find a yarn shop and to have a look at this yarn.

I was very lucky to get acquainted with Amarice, the owner of yarn shop in Gent. I really liked Stone Washed cotton by Scheepjes in real life – it is very soft and colors are nice. But I chose two skein of Larra, they were on sale as Amarice said they lied in the sun for a while and faded, but for me these skeins looked just perfect – just reflecting my mood at that moment. I've always liked the combination of pale peach and turquoise, but all my cotton yarns are too bright. So when I saw these skeins, I didn't hesitate for a single second. It would be clever of me to take the picture of yarn first but I was so excited to start crocheting at once that I made a picture when the skeins became twice smaller…

Amarice’s shop is participating in a Ravelry In-Store program and is selling hard copies of patterns by crochet designers to non-Ravelry users. I’ve known about this program for a while but didn’t dare to try it. And when I got acquainted with Amarice, she inspired me to give it a try. So in coming days I plan to activate this program on Ravelry. If you are a Ravelry user who runs a local yarn shop and is interested in selling my patterns off-line to customers who don’t use Ravelry – please, contact me and we will discuss the possibilities.

Actually, how often do you fly with a crochet hook with your hand luggage? I was afraid I will not be allowed to bring my hooks on board, so I had to leave them at home (with very hard heart). But in Belgium I felt I cannot stay without a crochet for a single day (yes, it’s drug! And you probably know it), so I also bought a new hook in Gent. I normally use Clover Soft Touch, but this time I decided to try Knit Pro Soft Grip. I chose 2.5mm for Larra yarn, as I am a very tight hooker. And I should say I am very pleased with it. Its surface is very smooth and stitches are easily sliding. I also like the design very much with elegant black handle. I have been crocheting for 5 hours in total on the plane (while flying back home) and on the train and my wrist didn’t get tired. So I am quite happy with it. Well, now I have two hooks of the same size, but as you also probably know from your own crochet experience – hooks (as well as yarn) can never be enough.

My North Sea Mandala design is very simple, I used only two colors. Its size is ideal to be used as a potholder (you can also crochet a back part). And you can also make small matching coasters with this pattern. Two skeins were enough (for me) to make 2 mandalas and 4 coasters. The pattern (free!) is coming soon…

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Happy crocheting,