The year 2022 is kicking off in style with a host of fabulous mosaic CALs! We are just 2 weeks into the Dream Blanket 6.0 CAL, and already the next mosaic CAL is on our doorstep: the On Track CAL by Maud Akkermans. Over the course of this crochet-along, you will crochet an XL throw blanket with exciting colors and motifs. In this blog post, we—along with the designer—tell you all about the On Track CAL.
All it takes is a brief glance at Maud Akkermans’ Instagram account, (@maud__akkermans) , and you can already guess her passion. Or passions plural, we should say, as she clearly loves both crochet and playing with color. And how better to combine these two loves than a mosaic blanket? These are Maud’s favorite projects, and just like her previous mosaic blankets, the On Track Blanket is a true masterpiece.
Order your yarn kit for the On Track CAL
We are proud to be able to offer you the Stylecraft yarn kits for the On Track Blanket by Maud Akkermans exclusively at Yarnplaza. The kits are available in two different colorways, both carefully selected by Maud. With each yarn kit, you will receive a free color scheme. Additionally, you will benefit from a great introductory price.
Choose your own colors for the On Track Blanket
Want to mix & match your own colors or pick shades that better suit the rest of your home décor? Then put together your own yarn kit. Yarnplaza is a Stylecraft Stardealer, and we offer a huge range of colors of the popular yarn, Stylecraft Special DK. To take part in Maud’s On Track CAL, you need:- 10 balls of Stylecraft Special DK in the main color - 1 ball of Stylecraft Special DK in 9 contrasting colors- Crochet hook 3,5 mm & 4,5 mm- Wool needle
Order the On Track CAL pattern and let the countdown begin
From Friday 21 January 2022, the On Track CAL pattern will be available to purchase from Maud Akkermans’ Ravelry or Etsy stores . You pay for the pattern just once, then all the subsequent weekly updates will be sent to you free of charge. Part 1 will be released on 18 February.
Interview with the designer
1. Could you introduce yourself and tell us where most people would know you from?
My name is Maud Akkermans and I have been designing crochet patterns for two years now. I live close to the Yarnplaza Inspiration Center (lucky me!), along the Waal River in the south of the Netherlands. I live with my husband, Patrick, and my two cats, Shakti and Singa. After working as a relationship therapist and mediator, I now design crochet patterns fulltime. Even when I take a week off, I’m still crocheting! You may know me from my earlier patterns, or my Instagram account, @maud__akkermans and Facebook group, Maud’s Crochet Club.
2. How long have you been crocheting?
I was lucky enough to learn how to crochet in primary school. My mother also crocheted, so I remember making clothes for my Sindy dolls (I didn’t have any Barbies) together. As a teenager, I once designed and crocheted a sweater for myself. For many years after that, I didn’t crochet at all. It was when I spotted more and more beautiful blankets on social media that I was once again inspired to pick up my hook.
3. What do you crochet the most and why?
I absolutely love crocheting blankets. I thoroughly enjoy spending a long time working on a project, being able to use new colors, or add new sections of the pattern. My patterns can also be used to make all sorts of things, other than blankets. Occasionally, I will crochet a laptop cover or a bag. Often, a new design starts life as a cushion cover; it’s a good size to test whether or not a pattern works.
4. Who or what is your greatest source of inspiration?
My love for crochet was rekindled by Lucy of Attic24’s Moorland Blanket, Frida’s Flowers by Jane Crowfoot, and especially Havana by Tinna Thórudóttir Thorvaldsdóttir. In all three of these blankets, I saw how wonderfully you could play with color and that you could use crochet to create such beautiful, contemporary items. And since then, I crochet almost every day.Anything can inspire me; I see patterns everywhere! I live in a beautiful green area along the Waal that inspires me a lot, but I also frequently draw inspiration from something I see in a movie, on Pinterest, or in a book too. I also like to play with white space in my work, so not everywhere is filled with ‘designs’. This is something you will see reflected in the On Track CAL.
5. Which crochet technique do you love the most and why?
My favorite technique is mosaic crochet because it’s so varied. Plus, it’s incredible what beautiful things you can create with just single and double crochets and only one color per row. If you still doubt whether you can master it, know this: if you can do single and double crochets, you can do mosaic crochet!
6. How did you start designing the blanket for the CAL?
As always, it all began with a drawing in my grid-paper notebook. As I was drawing a motif with a nice diagonal line, my husband Patrick—who is also very creative, playing music and weaving, for example—saw it and asked if I planned to leave the space next to it blank. That gave me the idea of creating diagonal lines with ‘empty’ spaces between them. I then began drawing six more motifs. What’s special about all the motifs in this blanket is that the pattern in one color is repeated in the other color. So, the effect is slightly Escheresque.
7. When does the On Track CAL begin?
The Introduction is available to buy from Friday 21 January. In this Introduction, I explain all you need to know about the blanket, what yarn you need, and it also has instructions for making a gauge swatch. From that date onwards, you will be able to order two yarn kits from Yarnplaza—the purple and the brown versions.
Along with the Introduction, you will also receive a separate document with all basic information about mosaic crochet: the stitches, how to read the charts, an easy method for working the foundation, use of color, and a very easy way to attach the double border.
You buy the whole pattern in one go, then all the weekly updates will be sent to you for free. Part 1 will be released on 18 February. 
Instagram
Facebookgroep
