Menonday Art Vibe; Festive Fling

For the last of this little trio of 'Christmas stocking' posts, I round up all the images from the Andy Goldsworthy exhibition. I could go and dig out some blurb for each of these... but that would be going somewhat against the ethos of the art and the artist. Instead, simply enjoy each one for what it makes you feel and what it prompts you to think of doing or saying... perhaps this short video featuring Andy's thoughts on the work will help... a thought-provoking flourish to end 2025's art vibe! (Oh, there's one small exception when it comes to Red Flags...)

MenoSundays; Life Lived Lovingly

Let's round off 2025 with an affirmation to carry into the next year. This was offered by Kit, Kat, Rocky and Cali on Miss Cecilia's blog a few months back, and I took permission to pass on the message. It's something we all know and even remember to practice... but sometimes let it slip. Worth putting up on the sidebar, I think!

Menokreatikkul; The Rework - Take Two

You saw last week how a plan didn't quite come together. What I will tell you now is that this was all taking place during some very foul weather, the day as dark as night, so indoors requiring full use of lamps to light... I had nothing else to do but (watch the snooker and) crochet.

Having created that faulty swatch in the two hours between breakfast and the cues hitting the first balls, my decision was made to pull it all out and start over. The pattern I chose to replace the ruana idea was one you've seen here before. This is definitely one that can be adapted to all sorts of sizes and yarn types. Within the ninety minutes, I had worked up all the yarn that had just been frogged...

I worked through the first match (a little short of four hours), then worked in the interim before the evening match began (maybe ninety minutes, with music to accompany), and then on through that match (a bit over four hours) and completed within an hour of that.

Yes, you read that correctly. A full day of crochet, and the whole thing was done. A little under twelve hours. Much like the timings given to the Game of Wool contestants for their crazy tasks. Jus' sayin'...  

I had one cake of yarn left from this - I could have stretched to another eight rows/two pattern repeats, but it wouldn't necessarily have benefited the end product, and I wanted to use that remaining yarn for the obligatory matching item... (yes, that means there's a 'take three' to start the new year...)  Anyway, here's the larger version of Falling Leaves. I love, love, love it, and I'm so glad I made the quick decision about what was best for this particular yarn.