#TheYarnAdvent progress

I’ve spoken about the yarn advent calendar from last December here before, and slowly I’ve been working to create my half and half squares, adding in two neutral colours - two because I couldn’t choose between them. This as always going to be a colourful throw, and in my mind’s eye it was always going to be random.

Last week I reached a momentous point.

I have now completed four squares of each of the twenty four days, so that’s 96 squares, and a jumble of colours. And now I have a decision ahead of me.

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But first blocking. And the first proper use of one of my Christmas presents.

The biggest decision

That comes next, and is all about the layout. Now remember that in my head this is a random creation, so why oh why, did my hands come up with this:

diamonds

It’s not that I dislike it, but it’s not what I intended.

My second attempt was much better, and fulfilled my ‘random’ requirement.

random

I thought it probably needed some tweaking and set to work.

The organised side of my head came to the fore again, this time ensuring all of the triangles have their long edge facing the same direction.

random the same way.jpeg

And then because I couldn’t resist, and because I wanted to try it out - the neutrals were put together. On one side the blue/green and the other the grey/pink.

neutrals together.jpeg

That’s not quite what I envisaged either.

Even though my hands keep trying to bring some order to the proceedings, it’s the completely random layout that makes my heart sing the most.

With bobbles on

I already know how I’ll finish this throw. Once I’ve settled on a final random layout, I’ll add a couple of rounds in the neutral colours. And then, my plan is to add a round of bobbles, or pompoms from the small lengths that remain. I’m sure though, that will bring my ordered head as many challenges.

PoCoLo

Post Comment Love 19-21 February

Welcome to this week’s #PoCoLo - a friendly linky which I co-host with Suzanne, where you can link any post published in the last week. We know you’ll find some great posts to read, and maybe some new-to-you blogs too, so do pop over and visit some of the posts linked and share some of that love. If you were here last week it was great to have you along, if you’re new here this week we’re pleased you’re here.

This week something momentous happened, and my picture this week is a very big clue. During the week we both got a text to book our jabs. Being the doubters we are, and because we weren’t expecting it yet, neither of us clicked the link. But typing it into a browser, sure enough it was the invitation to book our first appointment.

The surgery phoned too and asked if we needed to book through them, so I felt the need to politely point out that we’re in the over 50s group, not senile. We’d already booked in any case - but trying to book two appointments close together proved fun.

covid-vaccination-card.jpeg

It was very smooth and organised on the day though, and the worst of it was having to sit there for fifteen minutes afterwards. I suffered from complete itchy feet, especially as I had a meeting to get back to. I am turning into my dad though - driving straight out of the car park after spotting the pay and display requirements, to park around the corner for free. The weather was good so a less than five minute walk was also a bit of a bonus.

So a momentous day, and hopefully very much the beginning of the end.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Two footstools and a tassel

Today it’s all about the footstools and a tassel at Blickling - if you’ve visited you might recognise the flooring of the Long Gallery. And if you haven’t, the Long Gallery is just what it says. It’s original use was for exercise and it has the most amazing ceiling - which I’ll share another day - today we’re spending time looking down, rather than up. And admiring the needlework.

a needlework footstool.jpeg

The colour on both of the footstools were still pretty vivid, and both had a very polite note that they were too fragile for visitor use, though both looked very inviting. This one features birds and flowers, and what look like chillies. Maybe they are, maybe they’re not, but to me they could be.

detail of flowers and chillies.jpeg

And that bird definitely has its eye on them, so could be in for a surprise.

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The second is more floral, and in all of my photos I think it’s upside down. So you can either enjoy it as I did, or turn your neck to try and imagine it the right way up.

flowers and vases on this footstool.jpeg
close up of the flowers.jpeg

Aren’t they both great? I think on balance the first one would be my first choice, but aren’t they both fab?

tassel.jpeg

The tassel above also caught my eye, a relatively simple thing, but so much detail. And so, so pretty.

PoCoLo