Attic24

Chat

Hello my Lovelies, thanks for dropping by. Shall we have a little catch up, a little chat about the goings on around here of late?

Let's start with the weather.....we've had some very welcome sunlight streaming in to number 24 the past few days. It made me really rather ludicrously happy to see my beloved BB so beautifully lit up yesterday morning. I am hoping with all my heart that May is going to perk up a bit and behave in a fitting Spring-like manner (unlike April). Yes, I think you could say my Hopes are High.

I try not to allow myself to be so affected by the weather, but I really do seem to be that way. Writing my blog and living in this house has made me so much more aware of the weather than I ever have been before, the seasons too. I am fascinated by it all, by the way the light changes depending on what is happening in the sky and the time of year.

Yesterday was a holiday day, and it was pretty relaxed here with a mixture of full on family time and some much appreciated quiet time too. J took the Little Peeps out early to go crag climbing, so I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast by myself. Ok, well not entirely, as I had Little B at home. He was certainly making his presence felt, determined to be in on my cosy moment. Sweet boy, I love him dearly, but on occasion I do find his persistent attention seeking rather testing. He also has a wickedly fast and startling grab and I tell you that croissant was whipped off my plate in an instant. I hardly saw it happen, it was all a speedy blur of little hand and flaky pastry.

In amongst the busy-ness of family yesterday, I did surprisingly manage to find a bit of time to sit quietly at my desk and do some serious crochet. I say "serious" because it was crochet of the most concentrated kind, the sort that involves trying to follow new patterns. I'm looking for a pattern to use for an idea I have, a new blankety idea. I'm wanting to make one-colour squares to assemble into a patchwork type blanket design, but I wanted something a bit different to ordinary granny squares or target squares. Something pretty but not too complex. Something light but not to lacey.

I did try working a bit on my own design, but I confess it was a complete failure. I am way too embarrassed to show you how badly my blocks turned out, trust me, they are appalling. And besides, once I started searching on Ravelry for afghan blocks, I realised there was already so much out there that the right thing will most certainly present itself. No need to bust the ol' brain making up my own.

I've not photographed the half dozen or so blocks that I've already tried out and abandoned (too complicated, too holey, too boring, too impossible to complete cos of silly gobbledeegook abbreviated pattern writing)...but this one above, well this one I was rather pleased with. I found it amidst a whole treasure trove of block patterns on a new-to-me website called Yarncrazy.com . The patterns are written by a talented lady called Chris Simon, and I really love her style. This is the central part of a larger block called Double-Framed Lace, you can download it for free here. I also love many of her other designs, in particular Butterfly Garden and Cygnus. Lovely, lovely. I'm going to try making them up to see which I prefer........can't quite believe I'm already planning my next blanket when my ripple is still a WiP, but hey, it's all good.

Today I also started another little hooky something, I think all that one-colour sampling yesterday (in soft grey no less) had me running for my colourful stash to whip up some groovy stripes.

I've had this polystyrene wreath sitting in my cupboard since last year, I originally bought it to deck with Jolly Holly at Christmas but ran out of time in the end. So now I've decided to have a go at making it a stripy jacket and smothering it in roses so that it can become a May Rose wreath. I did some googling this morning to see what other crochet wreaths are out there in the world, there are some beauties! Go have a look here and here, aren't they lovely?

Hey....did you by any chance spot my new fabric Project Bag?? Complete with beautifully inserted zip??

Here it is look, I made it one evening last week after Little B had gone to bed (loving these long, light evenings). It measures roughly 12" x 9", nice and big to hold a few balls of yarn and a project-in-progress.

I'm sooooooooooo hugely pleased with it, partly cos it's so useful and good to use (a hooky project is always packed and ready to Grab-and-Go), but mainly cos I managed to make it so successfully without hitch and without bad language. I tell you, me and zips, we are Best Buddies these days.

See what I mean?? See how artfully I inserted that zip? 

And check out the inside....it's fully lined, and even has a contrasting Inner Pocket. I followed a really great step-by-step tutorial that was recommended to me by one of my lovely readers (THANK YOU lovely reader, I'm so sorry I cannot find your comment/email, but please shout out to me so I can thank you properly). The tute can be found here, I think I will definitely be making more of these. I'd love to try making a patchwork one, kind of like my Homespun cushions but in zipper bag form.

Right, it's 9.19pm and I'm going to have a little go at hooking up a Cygnus square now. I fancy a little bit of creative brain-strain before bed. See you soon ♥

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 Edit to add :: if you fancy having a go at Chris Simon's patterns, please note they are written in US terms. So where it says dc, this will translate to a Treble Crochet for us UK hookers. A bit of extra brain-strain, but worth it.

 

 

Beautiful Thirty Nine Minutes

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Hahaha, I confess I laughed to myself when I was looking at these photos earlier, I was really willing the time stamps to show 41 minutes between the first and last picture so that it would be the exact same as yesterday. But I was two minutes short today, darnit.

So this morning saw us head to Bolton Abbey to walk in Strid Wood. It's bluebell time, and I do love to indulge in a little Bluebell Appreciation at this time of year. Everything is looking very beautiful indeed in the woods, the wild garlic is just beginning to flower and the beech trees are tentatively starting to unfurl their incredible bright green leaves. It looks like it'll be another week or two before the canopy is really in full green swing, it seems a little later this year compared to last.

We had a lovely time, the Little People walked and ran and jumped and climbed. They played with sticks, they chased one another, they examined trees and flowers and leaves and insects and birds. J and I strolled along keeping an eye on Little B, but really he didn't need much taking care of. He has heaps of energy, loves being outdoors and is turning into a strong, confident little walker. He was completely blissed with the whole outing, the delight radiated out of him.

I have to say that it was all rather lovely and happy and familyish. It was a beautiful way to spend Sunday morning.

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Glorious Forty One Minutes

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I escaped out of the house alone this morning for a truly spectacular, glorious little solitary amble around my neighbourhood. It was bright and sunny but shockingly cold, with icy frost at ground level. I walked up through the cobbled back streets to the cherry trees at the top of the park. The morning sun was still low in the sky, the shadows were deliciously long and all was so heart achingly bright and beautiful.

It's a long weekend here in the UK as we celebrate the arrival of Spring. Here in my home town it's also the weekend when we celebrate the heritage of the local waterways. Our canal is chocka full of boats dressed up to the nines, with this years  theme being "Great Britain". So a plethora of Union Jack flags and red-white-and-blue. It stirred my heart strings I have to say, made me glad for the umpteenth time to live in this sweet, friendly, vibrant old Yorkshire market town.

On my way homewards, I marvelled at the old stone bridge, the towns sweet floral endeavours, the incredible watery reflections, the amazing blue of the cold spring sky, the silvery green of newly unfurled tree leaves, the light on the distant moorlands. And I arrived at the back street of my very own house and marvelled at the old Victorian cobbles, at the crazy weird old chimney pot that sits above our bathroom, and my own back yard windmills. I love it all so much, with such a squeeze of my heart. I love that I can step out of my back door on a chilly May morning and enjoy forty one minutes of absolute gloriousness.

Lucky ol' me.

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Rosy Crochet

Oooooooooooooh I've been in rosy Hooky Heaven this afternoon! Been meaning to try and get this little pattern sorted out for some time, and this afternoon I finally managed it. I tell you, I do get such a buzz from doing this sort of thing, I have a lot of fun with myself when I design and work up new patterns and bring my ideas into reality. I love doing it, so much!

It took quite a bit of trial and error to get the sweet, simple shape I was after. I wasn't after a big blowzy bloom, I wanted a neat, compact shape that would be very versatile.

There are a vast number of free rose patterns on the internet, if you google it you will see what I mean. I tried out a good many to get a feel for how they are worked up, but oh I do get so incredibly frustrated with written patterns, and so disheartened when things seem to be needlessly complicated. Personally, I strive for simplicity when I create my patterns, cos therein lies the pleasure. If the pattern is simple and straightforward, then the resulting crochet experience is generally satisfying and happy. Complex patterns just give me a headache.

The idea for this flower is simple. It involves just two rows of crochet, then a little bit of stitching.

I've photographed a tutorial for you, and am hoping to write it up in the morning. I'm going to write the pattern for both flowers and leaves (I've worked an improved leaf shape, better than the one I did some years ago here).

I've now got loads of ideas brewing for decorative rosy items and am quite giddy at the thought of it all. These sweet flowers make the perfect kind of portable project. A rose here, a rose there, a leaf or two when there are a few free minutes in the day.

I made myself a new little project bag yesterday (fabric, lined, with a zipper! Can't wait to show you that, but I forgot to photograph it). It's big enough to hold a few balls of rosy coloured yarn, a hook and some scissors, but small enough to stash in my handbag so that I'll always have it with me. I'll be ready to hook up some blooms in any spare moment. I am smiling at that thought :o)

Edit to add ::

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX ♥ THE PATTERN IS READY!! ♥ XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I've called it "May Roses" and you can find it in the usual place in my left hand sidebar, or click HERE.

Happy rosy hooky my lovelies!!! Have fun!!!!

 

 

 

 

April 2012

April has been such a mixed bag weather wise, we've had pretty much every type of weather imaginable. Lots of scudding clouds, high winds, many varieties of rain (misty drizzle, squally showers, torrential downpours), sleet, hail, and even snow. We had many, many cold wet days where the rain never let up for a moment. Then we had very mixed days which started out quite promising but were full of unpredictable bursts of rain. Sun-rain-sun-rain, with an occasional token rainbow somewhere in between. Sigh. April has been very cold and un-Springlike much to my disappointment.

The calendar image which I gazed at from my desk throughout April was this Ideal Homes one. Almost every day I wished that it wasn't so brown. I wished for sweet, pretty Spring colours and wondered why on earth someone would choose brown ribbon when so many other gorgeous colours of ribbon exist?

My organising calendar was much more satisfactory, and even included my most favourite cake of all time (carrot cake, in case you didn't know). These colours are perfect for Spring, and I approve of the brown being limited to bun, cake and chocolate. Happy sugary thoughts are flooding my brain now, gosh I do soooo love cake. Such pleasure!

In amongst all the grim weather of April, there were little pockets of loveliness. The above photo was taken early one Sunday morning in the middle of the month. It was one of those glorious bright, clear mornings, the sort that makes it impossible to stay indoors. I recall that we were out in the exact same spot at almost the exact same time four years ago, and yet again I marvel at the repetitive rhythm of my life.

The morning jaunt was short and sweet, cos despite the sunshine it was really cold. We walked the familiar river path as far as our favourite little pebble beach and proceeded to spend the next half hour throwing stones into the water. Little B, oh Little B loves to plop-splash pebbles into water, he was so incredibly happy with it all. Me, I was freeeeeezing. Even a flask of hot coffee and some easter eggs did not hit the spot, but I was glad we ventured out, glad to see my Littlies have so much simple outdoor fun. Little Man gave me this lovely heart shaped stone that he found, it was a super sweet moment.

My brave little seedlings have thankfully survived the soggy conditions that April provided. They are a bit mud splattered, but not doing too bad all things considered. At least the resident slug/snail population hasn't discovered them (yet), hoping it stays that way.

I took some advice and made a cosy little bubble-wrap enclosure for my newly planted passion flower, protecting it's sweet tendrils from the chill. I keep having a little peek in to make sure all is well (it's looking beautifully healthy so far) and am really looking forward to seeing this plant make it's way up, up, up outside my kitchen door.

I thought April would see much more outdoor action after Spring arrived so warmly and sweetly in March. But no, it wasn't to be. April did not turn out to be a warm, sweet outdoor month at all. We kind of took a step backwards and fell into winter again, but it wasn't all bad. It made the business of draping super warm blankets-in-progress over one's knees rather appealing. I'm continuing my lovely pleasure ride with the ripples, coming into the home stretch now I guess. I'm a bit stuck now though as I've run out of yarn. Well that's to say I've got lots of small balls left but not enough of any one colour to make the four rows required, so am waiting for a chance to go yarn shopping. I'm savouring the gorgeous feeling of anticipation that builds prior to a yarn-buying mission, makes my heart go all fluttery just thinking about it.

The ripple may be on temporary hold but the circles have been a marvelous diversion throughout April. I've been really enjoying this yarn and these colours I have to say, and I'm already dreaming up more things to do with it (a new bag is in early sampling stages, something pretty and floral and easy to whip up). But.........must finish the ripple and this sweet round cushion first, must not get too ahead of myself. Cos I know that it does me no good to have too many fingers in too many creative pies all at once, I get all tangled if too much tries to happen at once.

April is always a sweet month for us here in the Attic cos it contains a birthday. Little Lady turned eight years old at the end of the month, and we celebrated with a shopping trip (a much longed for new desk for her bedroom, plus some much needed new clothes), a meal out and a girly sleepover with two of her school BFF's coming to spend the night here. The latter was lots of fun, despite the sleep deprivation. Eight year old girls, what can I say? It's such a tender age, the fashion, the hair styling, the tentative experiments with lip gloss and eye shadow, awww I find myself half fascinated and half horrified by it all. The speed at which they begin to hurtle out of childhood is quite scary. Cripes. It goes so fast. So fast.

April seemed like a long month to me, it didn't go fast at all. The days dragged by, long and wet and cold. It now seems like an incredible long age since Easter, yet that was less than three weeks ago? Doesn't seem possible, does it?

Less than three weeks ago we were in Dorset enjoying sunshine and sea breezes. Sigh. I miss it. That particular bit of April was such a lovely, enjoyable, fun, happy, relaxing bit for sure. And the pictures prove it.

I didn't take all that many snaps of the Attic view in April cos for much of the time it really didn't exist. The hills were blanked out by low rain clouds, and what we could see of the landscape looked bleak, washed out and grey.

This was during the first week of April when we had some freakish winter weather land on the hills...

....this was a mediocre cloud filled day....

...and this was an afternoon of after-rain brightness.

But this was what we mostly became accustomed to.... rain, rain and more rain. April, you will be remembered as being the month of Wet. April showers on a grand scale.

Which is one of the reasons I love to make my monthly mosaics. Cos it reminds me that despite the grim weather there was still creative colour, fun and happiness, that indoors remained cosy and bright, and that we made the very most of the few sunny days we had. The weather can only dampen our spirits if we let it.

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