Coming to this at least a week late so will need to get knitting furiously to catch up. Also planning to use stash wool, as many odds and ends as possible. Hoping that the border will tie it together as a project of random colours. Right, off to knit…

Going a little off piste. The first squares are in earth tones, but planning to do one square in each set with black stripes and one with cream, then will use black, or maybe black and cream, to edge the blanket to pull all the colours together. Am bored knitting in brown, only half a square to go then it’s into sea-blue for the second pattern.

OK, so sea tones have to wait, have done the second set of squares in green instead. Also abandoned the idea of black stripes for this set, looked too much like one of those lime and chocolate sweets we used to get so went for grey stripes instead on the basis that it’s still a stripe. So far going well on reducing the stash, have been combining thinner yarns to get broadly an aran weight.

19th May: continuing to knit off-piste, but loving the colours and getting through some of the odds and ends in my stash. I keep having new favourite squares, at the moment it’s the yellow and cream ones, perfect poached egg colours. Becasue I’m not doing all the squares in pattern, I’m ahead of the game with 33 done so far, 15 to go! Time for blues I think.

11th June: only 2 squares to knit, and have decided that I want to edge everything in black crochet to help even out the size of my squares (all in different yarn weights). This has worked, and the overall effect is a wee bit like stained glass. I’ve left long tails on my crochet edges for sewing up, really looking forward to deciding the layout and hoping to be sewing by the weekend. Can’t wait to see everyone’s photos!

13th June - day off work today so I finished the crochet edgings (at the hairdressers!) and then home to decide layout. My dog was very entertained. Have started sewing. Think if I’m lucky I might be finished by 2017…

…and later on 13th June: finished! Great how much you can get done when you’re not watching Holland beat Spain in the world cup. Very glad I did the black crochet, love love love my stash blanket!

Taking photos with my daughter and Archie the spaniel today, already regretting doing the lacy squares… can you see why?