#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.

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:

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.

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.

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.

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.

Leather and yarn, a dangerous discovery

The nicer weather is one of the things that encourages me out of the office at lunchtime, the other is of course not bringing lunch from home. I’ve a simple need, which includes food at lunchtime, but that’s probably a whole other post. Although I will say, bringing lunch from home has quite quickly become habit and one that’s easy to do, and obviously much more cost effective.

After having my nails done the other week, I’ve set myself a new promise to get myself out more at lunchtime. There’s plenty of shops to mooch around in Greenwich town centre, and my plan was to head to the bag shop to have a browse and replace a bag I bought from there many years ago, which has sadly now stained. But before I got there, I got distracted. I’m not sure what caught my attention but I soon found myself in Coco Barclay, a shop I don’t think I’ve been in before.

It’s main purpose is for handmade leather bags and purses, but there’s plenty more. And it was the plenty more that caught my eye. The bags were lovely, but there was so much more. The leather tassel nearly came home with me, and now I know where to go when I need a bag to go with almost any outfit. In fact I think that should be any outfit, as I think if they don’t have what you want, they’d relatively quickly be able to find it and no doubt do exactly what you want.

These caught my eye, the multi-coloured one especially. But as I was on my way around the corner to the bag shop I resisted…

There were cards too, which is always useful to know for those card emergencies. There is a great card shop in Greenwich, but sometimes having something a little different works well, and these hexies on a card blank are just that. It’s also a great idea, which I’d never thought of before.

It was they type of shop that had something to see everywhere you looked, especially for me the lover of colour and patterns. Patterned eye mask anyone?

Or a pile of wraps or shawls?

And remember that tassel from earlier, there was more. Leather tasselled jewellery. I do like a long necklace, and these were gorgeous.

MOH has just asked what I would like for my birthday, I didn’t know - but maybe now I do. I also remember what caught my eye and enticed me in. There was a small sign that said there was wool, so of course I was going in.

The small basement was full of wool and shawls, and that’s why this shop was a dangerous discovery. So close to work, and so much loveliness.

But on the plus side, it should get me out of the office more!

Truly awesome creations

Just next door to Smug is Loop, and if I thought Smug was a dangerous enough shop, then Loop takes that and doubles it. Its website tagline of “Gorgeous knitting supplies” does not lie. And their shop window is one that intrigues, delights and draws you in through the peculiarly small double shop doors.

EXQUISITE CREATIONS IN THE SHOP WINDOW, I HAD TO GO IN

Having spent the day at the Garden Media event and collecting goodies along the way, I arrived in the shop through the original half size doors none too elegantly. I’m sure I’m not the only one that makes such an arrival!

Once in the shop I was mesmerised. So many lovely colours, so much gorgeous wool. It was hard to know where to start. And once I’d worked that out, I learnt there was an upstairs too, and I really was smitten.

Throughout the shop there were the most exquisite and awesome creations, which inspired and wowed as well as slightly scaring me at the same time. The level of work is stunning, and the throws were the perfect way to show off what’s possible.

Just like their neighbour they are masters of the display, I mean a rainbow of ribbons by the till. It seems almost criminal for anyone to buy anything quite so pretty.

But this was the shop I cracked in, I knew that I would leave with some wool. It was just a matter of which, and how much. And if I’d manage to get out of those doors again. You might remember that gorgeous wool I wound a few weeks back, yes it was here that it came from. If you’re wondering what’s happening with that, then I’m currently in a bit of a dilemma, but more on that another day.

In the meantime here’s a reminder of how gorgeous it was.

Sigh. So much gorgeousness. Let’s hope I can do justice to my own piece of gorgeousness.