Meet Nancy - Designer of 'The Joy of Christmas' CAL Blanket

Nancy Hall (@craftingisourjazz) is the designer of this year's wonderful CAL blanket. She has always had a passion for crafting, and began crocheting in 2019. After people began to notice her talent and admire her creations (understandably so!), she soon became a pattern designer.

What inspired you to start crocheting?

I had always crafted as a child. Knitting was good, but I always got my stitches too tight which caused frustration and resulted in me giving up! I had dabbled with crochet but just didn’t really ’get it’.

Time passed into adulthood and when my daughter was taken ill in 2019 at 9 years old with a chronic illness (ME/CFS) crafting became a source of solace and relaxation for her. 

Seeing her find comfort in crafting inspired me to pick up my needles and hooks and return to my hobby as well. I soon discovered that it provided a much-needed escape from the stress and challenges of living with an illness that affects not only the patient but the entire family.  

Initially, I started knitting again but found it too restrictive to pick up and put down when my daughter needed me so I thought I would give crochet another go and it just clicked. Right then and there as the saying goes…I was hooked! 

What’s the best thing about crochet?

The thing I enjoy most about crochet is that it gives me an opportunity to sit down and relax. You can have really complex patterns that require focused attention but you can also have easy, repetitive, mindful ones that just calm you and give you time to reset. My favourite quote is “Crocheting so I don’t unravel!”

What inspired you the most when creating the Joy of Christmas blanket?

Oh gosh where to start? I love all things Christmas! I enjoy all the traditional Christmas elements, the Christmas tree, the stockings, Christmas presents etc and this was an opportunity to put them all together into one blanket using pinks And purples as well as the more traditional reds, greens and golds.  I was also into mosaic work at the time and I really wanted to bring that in as it gives a lovely comforting weight to a blanket. 

Did you come across any challenges when making the blanket? How did you overcome them?

Yes I did! I originally had an idea of how I wanted the blanket to be and what order it would be in. The challenge I realised (pretty quickly, luckily) was that whilst I might have that idea, I also had to work out what order the yarns were going to come out in the calendar! Cue a bit of design and reordering and then I was away putting it all together! 

What's your favourite detail in the pattern?

I think my favourite detail is the bows on the presents as I worked these separately and added them on to give a little texture to the blanket. 

What do you love the most about Christmas?

Quite honestly… Everything. I love the build up, I love the magical feeling, I love the colours, the fact it brings people together. I still get excited and frankly I’m old enough not to, but why not?

What’s your go-to Christmas movie/song, while you crochet?

Well, I’m not shy of stating that I love the Hallmark Christmas Movies! They are perfect for crocheting festive makes on the run up to Christmas to get me in the mood. I love the colours and the big bows that they use to decorate etc, which is where the inspiration for my Perfect Poinsettia pattern came from!

As it gets closer to Christmas, ‘Deck The Halls’ is a family favourite. Something in the name I guess!

Do you have a top-tip for crocheters who want to give your festive project a try?

I would say don’t be put off by using mosaic. Mosaic works really well for this type of blanket and the instructions will help. Also, I interchanged with regular crochet to give people a break from the mosaic from time to time.

We'd like to thank Nancy for the beautiful blanket design, which is exclusively available in our 2025 Advent Calendar!

Don't forget to follow her on Instagram!

This year’s Crochet Society Advent CALendar is not one to miss and we hope that you’re just as excited as we are about it! Don’t miss out and pre-order yours today.