Tree of Life block in progress

This pattern is from the Great American Aran Afghan (GAAA) book. I was finding fewer and fewer blocks in the Great American Afghan (GAA) which really excited me so I am making a few blocks from the GAAA to include in my afghan. When I showed this pattern to my son, I said I wanted to make it in green, brown, or lavender, and asked him which color he thought would be best. He's grown accustomed to some of my multi-color GAA blocks so he suggested making the background one color, the bobbles in a second color, and the cables in a third color. I explained that the the design did not actually lend itself to that, but I realized he might be onto something. He suggested the background in green and the bobbles in lavender. I was a little skeptical but I loved the notion he was excited to have some input. It occurred to me that this project is intended to be a family heirloom and I went on to tell my son that some day, this afghan will be his... so green background and lavender bobbles it is! I think the result is fantastic. I love how the bobbles are really noticeable. I showed my son and he said, "If the bobbles were green then they wouldn't stand out!" What a smart cookie he is... pretty dang smart for a 13-year-old. Definitely plan to consult with him on subsequent blocks.

First photo shows where I was at on this block Friday morning. Second photo shows where I am now... Saturday evening (Row 57 of 73 on the pattern chart). This is one of those blocks where I wonder how many hours I've spent on this block. It's getting easier as I go. I am exclusively following the chart on this block and it's going great. I am really catching on to the meaning of the symbols and this time around, I did not have to color code the multitude of cable stitches. Yipee... progress!