Advent Day 9…. Grand Canyon, USA

The Grand Canyon facts!

1. JESS HAS BEEN HERE. The first one 😆😆 and I can tell you, it was amazing! It was part of Mike and my 2 month tour of USA in 2014. Loved it.

1. (The real 1…) It’s a chasm 277 miles long and up to 18 miles wide!

2. The Canyon took 3-6 million years to form; erosion continues to alter its contours.

3. It was formed by the Colorado River, which flows west through the canyon and averages about 300 feet width, 100 feet in depth, and flows at an average speed of four miles per hour!

For this colourway I wanted a real contrast between the colours. I really wanted the pop of orange to be electric!

Isn’t the dye pan yummy? The inspiration pic is epic and the colourway needed to embody that.

Looooove how it turned out and how it looks twisted. Bright, loud and totally nevada.

Look how the set is coming together!! You can now see this is not a fade (not in the conventional way)

They all work well together and have crossover colours so that they work as a unit, but we are not about bland on this platform! It’s packing a punch and a half!

Fave crochet square yet! The mini pools of blue, yum!! Until tomorrow….

Xxx Jess

Advent Day 8…. The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China need to know…

1. Several walls were built from as early as the 7th century BC

2. Ready for some numbers… big ones… there are 10,051 wall sections, 1,764 ramparts or trenches, 29,510 individual buildings, and 2,211 fortifications or passes that make up the whole wall. The walls and trenches span a total length of 21,196.18 km (13,170.70 mi)

3. Contrary to myth, sadly you can’t see the wall from space… sorry.

Can we take a moment top take in the dye bath! The colourway uses stripes of blue into greige (gray beige) to emulate the sky and mist. Then the pan merges into the greens on on to deeper greige for the wall.

The result is the most perfect little mini (but I am bias! 😆) I think it looks fresh and gives early spring vibes before the flowers have taken hold and filled the world with colour… anyway, I digress!

I’m so in love with the amazing world we live in! I can’t believe how many places I still have on my list to visit!! 😅 Anywho, don’t miss the granny square at the end to see this colourway in all is crochet glory!

So here’s day 8 with the rest of the collection… aren’t they beautiful 😍

Xxx Jess

Advent Day 7…. Nachi Falls, Japan

Nachi Falls facts!

1. The tallest waterfall in Japan is the stunning 133 meter high Nachi no Taki (Nachi Falls), and next to it the Nachi Taisha Grand Shrine (the beautiful orangey red Pagoda).

2. Early each morning the Shinto priest make offerings to the waterfall in a ritual.

3. In 1918, a mound was excavated at the base of the waterfall where they found many important archaeological artifacts, including statues, mirrors, altar fittings and Sutra cylinders. These are now displayed in the Ryuhoden (“Treasure Hall”), located next to the shrine.

The jarring contrast between the red and oranges of the shrine against the natural greens of the scenery around the falls was easy inspiration for this colourway and the dyebath makes me so happy.

This one works up beautifully with areas of the reg and orange, some greys, browns and a multilayered green. Scroll to see the crochet granny square!

We are racing through these aren’t we! I think we will be at Christmas day before we know it!!

Where do you think we will be travelling to next?!

Xxx Jess

Advent Day 6…. Easter Island, Chile

Easter Island facts!

1. There are some 1000 heads/statues dotted around the island. Their true name is Moai.

2. Initially europeans couldn’t work out how the moai had been moved from the quarries to their current locations as the island were mostly treeless by the time they arrived. Recent studies and theories believe huge groups of people were used to painstakingly roll each one slowly on logs. (Mystery sort of solved… ish)

3. Moai were carved from compressed, solidified volcanic ash or tuff, found on the side of the extinct volcano Rano Raraku. It took teams of about 5 around a year to create one! Amazing!

What an absolute joy of a colourway this is! Using the warm tones of the sunset and the rich tones of the earth, and then greens for the grass land with hints of the vivid sky blue! I mix of grey whites for the waters and you have one pretty epic skein.

It’s just the most intensely lush colourway that I am a huge fan of! And I’m not a massive yellow fan normally, but this one… 👌

The collection is growing! What an amazing trip this has been so far! Scroll for the granny as per usual!

Six in! Are we a quarter of the way, seriously!? How’s the jetlag?! 🤣

Where do you think we may end up tomorrow?

Xxx Jess

Advent Day 5…. St. Basil’s Cathedral, Russia

St Basil’s Cathedral facts

1. Ivan Vasilyevich, the first Tsar of Russia, ordered the construction of the cathedral in 1555.

2. Today, Saint Basil’s Cathedral is recognized for its vibrant palette. This was however not its original colour; the beautiful colours were added about 200 years after the building was completed. Originally the cathedral was whit with gold domes!

3. The cathedral was turned into a museum in 1928 after a soviet union antireligion movement.

A casual jaunt to Russia then, to view the most stunning St. Basil’s cathedral. Undeniably beautiful architecture in rainbow colours. The tops look like christmas sweets 😋 yum.

It’s said that Ivan the terrible actually blinded the architects so that they couldn’t make a bigger or more beautiful construction after it had been erected!

Gorgeous rainbow for this colourway drawing on the sunrise sky and the colours of the cathedral. I debated not including this one in the advent, but ultimately I decided that I can appreciate the building whilst disagreeing with Russia’s politics.

I can’t get enough of this colourway. The granny square is… phwoar. That pooling!

Where oh where will we head tomorrow!?

Xxx Jess