The monster afghan grows, and grows. We’ve achieved light green, with only dark green, a couple of blues, and purple still to go. It’s BIG.
So whilst I wiggle away with my crochet hook, allow me to present In Other News.
We’ve been out, the twinnage and I. We don’t get out as much as we should. The logistical demands of doing stuff with the stroppy twinnage make it tricky. And the stoic spouse firmly believes in parental efficiency, ie no more than one parent should be with the kids at any one time, leaving the other parent to do useful stuff, such as fix the leaky roof and walls and floor of this crazy old brewery. But sometimes, the twinnage and I have an overwhelming urge to go and explore the quirkier corners of Oxfordshire. So today, we did. And we found quirk a’plenty.
First, in a little south Oxfordshire village, was Maharajah’s Well, an unexpected corner of the Raj in rural England. It was built/dug in 1864 as a thank you from the Maharajah of Benares to some local Oxfordshire chap who’d sunk a half-decent well in India in 1831. Set amongst your typical villagey church, and shop, and school, it’s an unexpected sight. The twinnage was enchanted by its golden elephant:-
Here’s another view from further back, photobombed by a smidgen of twinnage.
And fairly nearby, we found this, a 17th/18th century brick kiln:-
There would have been several in the village, apparently, but only this one remains.
And in between the downpours (ie not often) we’ve had the occasional evening to go and meander beside the windbreak poplars:-
And again:-
I love the endless lines of them around our village. Here are some more, as I panic about the sun going down before I can persuade the twinnage home:-
I’d better stop posting and finish this ***************** afghan, hadn’t I?
The afghan looks fantastic, you have been busy. It’s amazing the things you can find in your local area.
Thank you!
Ooooo, afghan looks amazeballs. Glad you got away from it for a bit!
It’s calling me back, though. It’s slightly addictive…
The afghan looks amazing – I can’t wait to see it when it’s finished!
It’s almost as if the exploring you’ve been doing out of the house counts as scouting photo locations, so that you can capture the whole thing with a setting to provide a sense of scale 🙂
Yes I think you’re right about the scouting. It’s about scouting for colour as much as anything, although there wasn’t much colour around in today’s gloom.
Thank you for your lovely comment.
Beautiful pictures. Your afghan is really coming along.
Thank you. 🙂
The afghan is gorgeous! Cute twin too!
Thank you!
Love the quirky bits of Oxfordshire you found, & no wonder the twins loved the elephant! Those poplars really are something & great photos of them!
Thank you! (And I will reply to your text and email, I promise!)
Did you create this pattern yourself or did you find it elsewhere? It is amazing. Also, I love the photography. Oxfordshire looks like a great place to go exploring.
I can’t take any credit for the pattern. It’s Cathedral Rose Window Afghan by Julene Watson. I just changed the colours.
Still, it’s gorgeous! I can’t wait to see it when it’s completed.
Thank you.
It is liking amazing. Incredible what the black ‘lead’ does to the other colours. Really makes them pop out. Crocheting is faster than knitting!! 😉
You were less than a stones throw away from me when you visited the well today!!
Oh! Wish I’d known you were around. Would have loved to have said hello and admired your beautiful crocheted blanket, and picked your bloggy brain.
Let me know when you are next around, work odd hours, but you never know! would be good to meet up x
Love to. 🙂
Oxford , twinnage, fresh air, and a magnificent afghan life is good 🙂
Yeah, I’ve had worse days. 🙂
‘THE’ afgan is looking awesome! X
Wow, your afghan might turn out to be big enough to knit bomb the outside of your brewery! Just kidding, it looks amazing. Love the brick kiln you discovered in town.
You really shouldn’t suggest crazy ideas like that… or my next post will be about how I used my afghan to yarn-bomb the house. 🙂
Your blanket is beautiful – I’m so impressed at how quickly you’re working it up!
Thank you. Of course it’s getting slower as it’s getting wider….
How wonderful! You’re so lucky to have twins but I bet it’s hard work!! Love the afghan, you’ll be proud of that forever!
Thank you for such a lovely kind comment. Yes, twins are very hard work but I wouldn’t change them for anything!
Love the colours of the afghan, it’s really looking very cool. My friends have twin girls and up to the age of about 2 or so (they’re 7 now), they would do things in unison. The funniest always being the crying/screaming baby/toddler. One would start, perhaps for a very good reason like hunger or tiredness, and the other one would look at her sister and think if she’s screaming there must be a bloody good reason for it and she would join in too! Didn’t matter which twin started the crying either, the other one would always, and I do mean always, join in!
I have driven past the sign to the Maharajah’s Well many a time, but never been to see it, so it’s nice to see your pictures 🙂
Ditto. It took me years to get round to going there.