I have an excuse I promise...

...For my absence that is. 

47 complete. 319 to go. 

6 behind schedule. 

I have returned to work 3 days a week for term 1 this year, plus my regular Wednesday at ABA, means that I'm now working 4 days a week and on my day 'off' there is kinder, swimming and cramming in everything else that needs to be done during the week. 

Ive been so busy that I actually left the baby blanket at craft night one week and didn't realise I had even left it until I arrived the next week and saw it sitting there. doh!

I also has to find the time to make Stella's 3rd birthday party dress, which can I just say was freaking amazing. 

We also received news last week that my poppy has passed away on Valentine's day after 92 amazing years on this earth. While it's sad that I now have no living grandparents, I also know just how lucky I was to even have any at my age, and even luckier that during my childhood I had the most amazing relationships with them all. If you so desire, you can read more about my awesome grandparents here.

I hadn't been to my Nan's grave since her burial, for 2 reasons, I feel her near me every day and I just didn't feel like emotionally I was up to it. I mean I lay in bed the night before Stella's birthday and sobbed for one more special day she wasn't going to be here for. 

In an attempt to make the day easier for me and to honour all my nan taught me and the love of craft she instilled in me, I decided that I would take time off from squares to create a very special yarn bomb for her. I was planning to do a crochet vase and a flower for myself and each of the kids. However, while searching for vase patterns, I came across a picture of crochet African Violets. My nan always had pots of African Violets on her window sill, so it seemed like the perfect project for her. 

In my mind my nan and pop were being buried separately and I would be able to take a quiet moment, away from everyone at the funeral to find her grave and drop and photograph my yarn bomb. When we arrived at the cemetery, I discovered they were being buried together, so the dropping of the yarn bomb had quite an audience and the photography of said bomb may have made me appear a little nuts. But alas, it wasn't about other people, it was about me, and my nan and I know she would have found the entire thing rather hilarious. 

As for the blanket, all the squares are finished. I need to weave in ends on about 6 more then join them together, then join to the rest of the blanket and complete the final edging.