The Secret is out.

Life's irritation number 3 -

Don't you just hate it when you have a secret that you want to tell everyone but you can't!

After four weeks of pattern writing, knitting and sewing the giant blood drop is finally in place hanging from the 'tree' inside Kings Cross Station. Forming a focal point for today's recruitment stall it will remain there watching over the station's users for one week. This unusual sight attracted a fair bit of attention while I was there this morning resulting in over 100 registrations by lunch time and hopefully even more by 7 pm tonight when the bright red gazebo was packed away.

It was joined by many of the other 400 or so blood drops knitted by individuals and groups from this region which had been hung from the real trees in front of Kings Cross and those too were a source of interest to the many commuters and passers by who stopped to look at them.

Hanging high up there it is difficult to gauge the actual size of that giant so here is another photo of the finished object with a chair to provide scale. Seeing it in place made all the hard work worth while for such a good cause that effects almost everyone at some time in their life.

We are so lucky in this country when being admitted to hospital needing blood but if it wasn't for those who donate freely that vital resource would not be available.

I gave blood a few times back in the late 1980's after my father needed to receive blood but for various reasons I had to stop and didn't think to start again. My 88 year old mother, in the summer of 2012 was so anaemic that she needed 2 units of blood before she could undergo surgery to remove a tumour in her colon, now fully recovered she knitted a quarter of the giant blood drop. So today I registered to give blood again and I know that it is not possible for everyone to but if you can I would urge you to consider doing so.

I will give you an insight into the making of the giant blood drop in next week's blog.

And what's on my needles right now?

Well not actually on my needles but recently off is this version of the Cadence Shawlette by Emily Straw (it is actually double size) knitted in Valkyrie Aran by The Natural Dye Studio. I love this colour which is called Kings Hedge and reminds me of Rainbow Chard.