The time has finally come to start with a very special crochet project; Last Dance on the Beach CAL hosted by Scheepjes. With this CAL the crochet community pays homage to one of its own that was lost too soon.

This first week of the project Esther from Happy in Red looks back on her walk with Wink and her design for Last Dance on the Beach. She designed a square that reflects the beach theme perfectly. Interpretation is of course something personal and for me her square reminds me of mussels stuck together on a rock close to the sea edge. Those little shells can be a delight on your plate but a bother when you step on them without your shoes on. Trust me, I know!

Resources

• Add the Free Pattern to your Ravelry Library
• My color chart for Last Dance on the Beach

• Written pattern in English (UK Terms)
• All RIGHT HANDED English video tutorials in one YouTube playlist
• All LEFT HANDED English video tutorials in one YouTube playlist

• Written pattern in Dutch
• Garenpakketten bij Caro’s Atelier
• Alle RECHTSHANDIGE Nederlandse video tutorials in één YouTube playlist
• Alle LINKSHANDIGE Nederlandse video tutorials in één YouTube playlist

Colors used

If you are following the CAL you will be making the squares using one color each week. I am however very bad at following color instructions; I always like to play with color and this project is no different.

I have two yarn kits, the Merino Soft Dancing in the Sea and the Color Crafter Dancing in the Sea. For the Color Crafter I will be making each square according to the color instructions because I am using this yarn to make the video tutorials for you. But with the Merino Soft kit I am playing with color.

For this week I have made the popcorns which represent the mussels a different color than the rest of the square. I have also not made all the squares the same color way. If you want to play with color like I do, please realize that you do this at your own risk. There is a bit of extra yarn in the kits, but there is no guarantee that there is enough yarn if you use multiple colors in one square. I have no idea if I will have enough yarn in my kit to complete my blanket. If I run out of a color I may have to buy extra.

These are the colors that I used from my Merino Soft Dancing in the Sea kit and arranged according to the photograph above from left to right. I used a 4.5mm hook for my Merino Soft kit and a 4mm hook for my Color Crafter kit. Be sure to check your squares with your gauge swatch to determine the right hook for your personal way of working.

square	background	popcorn
1	606 – Da Vinci	615 – Soutine
2	630 – Lautrec	606 – Da Vinci
3	606 – Da Vinci	630 – Lautrec
4	606 – Da Vinci	606 – Da Vinci

Also,  if you combine colors like this, pay extra attention to the fact that colors can run into one-another when blocking. If you see my first square you will notice that the blue has run into the cream. This is because I spray blocked; wet blocking is better in this case.

Video tutorials

As announced before, I will be making video tutorials for the entire CAL. All videos for Last Dance on the Beach are available through my YouTube channel.

For this week I have the first video in the series showing how to make the popcorn square. I have a video available in English and Dutch. Please note that I use UK crochet terms in the English video. If you are more familiar with US terms, this conversion chart will help you with the most common terms.

NEW: Left handed tutorials!

I have had many requests in the past for left handed tutorials, but I simply can’t crochet left handed. However, technology has made it possible for me to offer you left handed tutorials. The video editing software I use has the possibility to flip the video, so by mirroring the video it looks like I am crocheting left handed even if it’s still right handed. I hope this helps some of you lefties a bit that are always forced to look at my right handed videos.

I have the video for week 1 available in English and Dutch. Again, please note that the English videos use UK crochet terminology.

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Yarn kits

If you still want to join the CAL, there are kits available in two yarns and in three color ways. You can choose a base kit with Color Crafter yarn or a luxury kit with Merino Soft yarn. The three color ways are Dance in the Sea, Dance in the Rain and Dancing under the stars. Both kits have yarn and a special edition label to add to your afghan. If you choose for the luxury kit you will also get lots of other goodies. And maybe the best part of this project is that 2 euro of each kit sold goes to a charity aimed at helping people with mental health difficulties. Kits are available from Wool Warehouse (UK/International), or your local Scheepjes stockist.

Participating in the CAL

To join the CAL, please join the International (English speaking) or Dutch (Nederlands) Facebook groups. You can post all your photo’s of your squares here and there are lots of people to help you if you get stuck somewhere. The patterns will be posted each week in the Facebook groups and on the Scheepjes website.

I hope to see you next week for part 2.

With love,

Esther

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