Three Blankets, One Beach. The winter wind, white sky. There were once three blankets: the purple one, the green one and the pastel rainbow. They were all similar yet very different. They were for different people, marking different life events. They were brought to a beautiful beach at Rhos on Sea and displayed in space to give them time and space to breathe before leaving my house to be united with their respective rightful owners.
And then, as it often happens, something unexpectedly beautiful had occurred. As we tried to photograph me presenting the blankets, nature had other ideas. Wind had different plans. There was no way what we presumed and perhaps planned was going to present… So, we went with the wind. We did not fight; we rode the waves (figuratively, of course; it was still February, and ZERO chance of going into the actual sea). We played and moved as nature suggested, snapping some shots along the way. A unique opportunity, and I am pleased to say, it had worked perfectly. Thanks to my people who were there, as this was not going to be a mousie-style opportunity, like in the previous visit HERE.
Wind in the Willows
The purple one was a present to me. For I have been making these stars for others as presents for a while, as recorded in the previous post HERE, and a few other posts linked below. Each time, a different take on the same pattern, each time working out different things, different twists and turns, and different knots of my own head. I recently joined a Facebook community for 6-day star crochet projects by Betty Mc Knit, which inspired the yarn choice. Someone else had used it, and those were exactly the colours I was after… Purple and mint green. I looked and found it on a UK marketplace. Pleased, I got going.
I did not know I would keep it when I started. Then, as the blanket grew, I could not imagine parting with it. I learned a new edging, and as I was slowly getting to the end of my degree, I justified my selfish thoughts of keeping this one for ME, as a present for all my hard work, and a little bit of unnecessary suffering these last few years. I still stand by that decision.
Purple is for completion and transformation, winds of change woven into these photos and of the significance of the things I learned making the purple royalty star blanket.
Wings in the Winds
The green is for my sister. The colours she chose, the combinations I weaved into it, the trials and tribulations of: How often do I change colour? How many ends would I need to weave in? Which looks better, the blocks or the lines? And how do I make this work with only three colours chosen? Managed it, I DID indeed. Even though I felt a little out of control and against my usual process that I use to make these superstars.
I started with enthusiasm, then ran out of colour options, took a break and got well excited, but having a lot fewer decisions to make on the above purple whilst employing more chance choices already predetermined by the fact that the yarn itself was multi-coloured. Then I seem to remember I actually started the pastel rainbow before I finished the green gorgeousness… I mean, I started it as a superstar and finished it as a supernova!
I appeared to have reached the end of the modifications I could use, and finally became both aware and brave enough to try other styles of the 6-day crochet star blankets that Betty Mc Knit so generously offers in many variations of her amazing pattern! So, maybe, in a way, the time and space needed to finish this here green glimmer were exactly what was necessary to shape it into its final form. As I often say: ‘If you don’t know the answer, sit with the question,’ and it usually helps to distract, go do something else, and wait for the answer to present itself, and for the next steps to feel right. The green, I did not think to hold as wings, maybe I was a bit too keen on seeing the movement first hand, maybe, I dunno.
Mouse in the House
Has nothing to do with wings or winds, and for some strange reason, it rhymes just the same, and seems to fit here. By the time I picked up this pastel princess, We had the distance right, we had the winds in our favour and I was holding the blanket with entire faith in this process. And I feel it shows. The photos are the reward for going with nature, rather than fighting against it – and failing miserably, as would have most likely been the case.
Now. This blanket was a total surprise to the owner. I spied her colours, as she is a visual artist and we talk about things like this often. Obsessions with colours, patterns, outfits, choices, anything you can think of, we have most likely discussed this, my friend and I. I managed to keep it a secret. How – I have no idea. Somehow, I did. I am sure she stayed over when the blanket was hidden in a basket near the couch where she slept. I nearly did this with another one of the 40th Birthday presents, also. Anyhow, the forces were with me, I realised and made steps to keep the secret/s safe.
There were some crossover greens between this and my sister’s blanket, which, poetically, makes them interlinked, which I like. We planned the trip; my plan was that we would take the pictures and, as I pack them away, I would present her with the gift. It worked. I was so excited; I am sure I nearly jumped the gun, yet I still managed to deliver it as planned. I am glad because it was also a 40th birthday present, so I am pleased to have stuck with the theme and delivered. I would usually get bored somewhere along the way, the plan would become too much pressure, and I might have aborted the mission…
Luckily, I have not!
So yeah, to summarise, a lot of new learning occurred during making the above blankets and during photographing them outside, which I felt warranted a separate posts to Juxtaposed Junction where I last mention of them…. Do you agree?
I slightly got the idea that blossomed into the whole above post during my last solo trip to another beach, with another triple of starry shimmering stunners, and so, because everything appears to be interconnected and each step leads to the next step, let’s have the acknowledgement of this process below, because – well, because it is important. Read about the stars in Magnetar Mastery – a previous blog post.
Thanks for reading!
