Attic24

Winter Moorland

I confess I do find this time of year a challenge, and I swear I can feel my body and soul actually droop as the days shorten. It's as if someone invisible (and a little bit mean) decides to gently wrap me head to toe in thick cotton wool so that general everyday thinking/doing feels way harder than usual. If all I needed to do each day was flollop around on the sofa then this cotton woolliness wouldn't be a problem at all, it would be very cosy in fact. But that's not my life, so I continue to plod my way through these cold, grey woolly days doing all the things that a mum of three school age children needs to do.

One thing I find helps with the woollies is fresh air and gentle exercise, and if that can be taken somewhere with far reaching scenic views then the positive effects are even better. J and I try to take ourselves out into the nearby countryside whenever we can, sometimes just the two of us and sometimes with the Little People trailing along. The weather is often questionable but we venture out regardless and I always feel happier and (slightly more) energised afterwards.

These photos were taken one afternoon last week, a spontaneous decision to head up onto the moors for a quick blast of scenery and fresh air. We ended up walking further than we'd planned, tramping along undulating pathways around the two reservoirs that nestle among the heather, moss and grasses of the high moorland. It was quite brown (oh, how I longed for the purple hues of the summer heather!), but I did really delight in all the rampant moss which was looking very vibrant and fetching. I do so love to see a mossy hillock glowing in the afternoon light. I love moss, I do.

Six miles later, we made it back to the car as the light began to fade. We had to power walk the last mile and a half (it's not easy to power walk over soggy moorland terrain) and only just made it back into town in time for the school pick up. Phew. It was a bit worrisome for a while, but I was so happy that we had gotten out there, to breathe in lungfuls of cold fresh air and stride about a bit. Definitely good for the soul.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

Twelve Days of Christmas Felt Ornaments

Two weeks ago on a very bright and sunny Thursday afternoon I had a couple of very special visitors arrive at the Studio. It wasn't a surprise as I had been expecting them, and oh it was so good to see them looking all smiley-happy and ready for some serious colour therapy and crafty time. Well, that's to say one of the visitors came carrying a bag of craft supplies - the other one came with muddy paws and a lolling tongue, but seemed happy to nose about my studio emptying out my bin and generally sniffing out every nook and cranny. Would you like to know who it was?

Some of you may very well be familiar with her, especially if you are on Instagram and know of a certain Little Box of Crochet - yes, it was none other than Amanda Bloom and her beautiful canine companion Honey. Amanda and I have been friends for a good few years and it's always a pleasure to get together and chat about all things colour and crochet. But two weeks ago, we had hatched a crafty plan and it didn't involve yarn or crochet - gasp!!!! What on earth???!!!

I'd invited Amanda to come and join me in a little bit of a felt fest, and oh boy, did she deliver on the felt front - just LOOOOOOOK at that delicious stack of gorgeous felty lovliness that came out of her bag!!!! We'd decided to have a little bit of a SAL (stitch-a-long) and Amanda had certainly come prepared. The above stack was all part of a truly scrumptious kit of supplies that she'd bought, especially designed to make and stitch these beautiful Christmas decorations.........

photo credit : Larissa Holland : mmmcrafts

...........these are the Twelve Days of Christmas Ornaments designed by Larissa Holland who writes on her blog mmmcrafts. I can tell you it was absolutely love at first sight when I saw these on Instagram a few months ago, oh I fell hard and fast. Aren't they utterly charming????

Larissa sells the patterns as downloadable PDF files via her Etsy shop - you can buy them individually, or in bundles of three, six or twelve (I think, I'll need to check that). They are quite expensive, but they are amazingly well written patterns. Each decoration comes as a twelve page document with detailed instructions and lots of pictures, including a full scale pattern page which you can print off onto a special sticky interface thingy - I'll explain more about that in a bit.

You have an option to purchase complete felt/thread kits to make all of these ornaments but this wasn't something I really needed. You see, I already have the above stack of beautiful wool blend felt which I bought a few years ago from the fabulous Paper and String.

Sarah's felt is a 40/60% wool-viscose blend and comes in sixty lush colours. It's very reasonably priced and I can highly recommend it if you fancy a bit of making and stitching.

You can also purchase a set of swatch cards from Paper and String, and if you are into colour then these in themselves are a pure hit of happiness. I love them so much, and confess I've spent rather a lot of time gazing at them. If you want to have a go a making the 12 days of Christmas ornaments with your own felt and threads, it's perfectly possible to use the many photos on mmmcrafts listing for the patterns to guide you in your colour choices.

You will probably know that I have also spent this year building up a fair collection of embroidery threads, thanks to my cross stitch obsession.

So with felt and threads to hand and the patterns printed out and prepared, I was all ready to get busy stitching with Amanda.

Now I want to tell you about the sticky printable interface stuff - it's from the US and I was able to order it on Amazon. It's got a ridiculously over complicated name - it's called "PRINTABLE Sulky Sticky Fabri-Solvy Stablizer", don't try and say that in a hurry! Basically, its a sheet of thin sticky interface that will dissolve in water - the sticky stuff is on a backing and comes as an A4 sheet, meaning (and this is the magic) that you can put it in an inkjet printer and print a design right onto the surface. No tracing! And it's sticky, meaning you can simply cut out the shape, peel off the backing paper, stick it straight onto your felt and stitch right through it. How about that? It really speeds up the whole process and you can be ready to stitch very quickly.......

....this was Amanda and me on a Friday at Coopers Cafe bar, joining in with my knitty and crochet friends who were very curious to see me stitching instead of hooking for a change.

The embroidery stitches that Larissa uses in these ornaments are very simple (back stitch, running stitch and french knots) and the charm is in the colours she uses and the beautiful folk-inspired designs. 

I am an absolute sucker for french knots, I pretty much think I could sit and stitch them all day long. Using the sticky stuff with the pattern printed on it makes the embroidery a doddle, as every stitch is marked for you so you know exactly what you are doing. The only downside is that it's quite tough pulling the needle in and out of the sticky - the needle certainly doesn't glide in and out of the felt and you have to "work" the stitches quite hard. But on the upside, the felt is kept taught and the stitches come out even and neat, so I guess the ups outweigh the downs.

Mid afternoon and essential refreshments were delivered to our table to keep us going with the *arduous* task of stitching.

 This is Amanda and me both embroidering our partridge wings, me ooooohing over the french knots (again) on the left, and Amanda stitching neat pink back stitches on the right. We had such a lovely chatty time of it - a whole day of stitching to our hearts content, interspersed with coffee, lunch, afternoon tea and cake. I can totally recommend partnering up with a crafty buddy, it's so much fun! We weren't able to finish our partridge and pear in the time that we had, but we each continued to stitch later on in the evening, sending photos to each other via text message.

It's a lovely moment when you get to soak away the sticky-solvy. It's very easy to do - just immerse the felt pieces into some tepid water for a few minutes and you'll see the solvy stuff almost immediately begin to dissolve and lift away. You can use your fingers to gently rub away any bits that stay stuck around the stitches, but honestly it's all very easy and trouble free. I so enjoyed seeing my colourful embroidery revealed against the colours of the felt - stitching onto the white solvy stuff you don't get to appreciate all the colour combo's until after it's all done.

The only thing you have to note is this :: WOOL FELT MUST BE PRE-WASHED BEFORE YOU STITCH!!! This is very important as it surprised me how much shrinkage there was. It doesn't take much to do - a quick soak in some tepid water in the basin, then roll up in a towel to absorb excess water and leave to air dry. But please do not be tempted to skip this step.

The printed pattern includes very detailed instructions for assembling the pieces and stitching it all up. I thought this bit might be tedious (lots of weeny whip stitching) but actually it was very soothing to work all those small, neat stitches.

I stitched and stuffed my pear first and was hugely pleased with how it turned out. 

The partridge was a little more complex as it required a pipe cleaner inserted into the plume. This meant I had to venture into the Cupboards of Doom to try and locate a suitable pipe cleaner, and that was all rather time consuming and stressy. But eventually all was stuffed and stitched and I could admire my handiwork...............

...........................ta dah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm really rather ridiculously pleased with my efforts!!

I still need to find some silver thread to hang them (more exploration into the Doom-filled Cupboards), but essentially that's the First Day of Christmas all wrapped up.

On a roll, I immediately selected colours to make the second ornament in the series which is the Turtle Dove. I chose pinky purples and blues, and a handful of vibrant threads to decorate.

I relished my quiet stitching time, a rare Saturday morning when everyone else was occupied doing their own thing and I was free to sit and indulge in the gentle rhythm of needle and thread.

This is how my turtle dove looks now the sticky solvy has been washed away - I love the colours I chose and am really looking forward to seeing it come together.

During this past week I've been insanely busy with all things Sweet Pea, and so my ornaments are sitting waiting patiently for me to come back to them. After I've stitched up the Turtle Dove I've got the French Hen to make (I bought a bundle of three patterns), and I can't wait to see them all finished and hung on the Christmas tree. I knew when I started that this would be a long term project - it might take me years to complete the set, but isn't that just the nicest thing? I'll have lots of memories stitched into them, and hopefully the Little People will have memories of them too.

You see, the loveliest thing happened at the weekend. While I was sat finishing up my stitching, Little B and Little Lady began to hover around the table watching me, asking questions, taking an interest in my felt, my threads, my stitching. And that lead to them both embarking on some felt stitching themselves, oh it was soooooooooooo good!!! I loved every single nano-second of that together stitching time with the three of us sat around the table. I'll show you very soon what they made (need to encourage Little B to finish!). I will forever remember that time.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Here are the links/info for you all in one place, should you find your fingers itching to get stitching!

⭐Mmmcrafts (ornament info and resources)

⭐Mmmcrafts ornament patterns on Etsy (lots of lovely images/colour inspiration)

⭐Mmmcrafts on Instagram (you can also search the hashtag #twelvedaysornaments for lots of inspiration)

⭐Paper and String (for wool felt supplies and LOTS of gorgeous stitchy goodies. Ribbon and buttons, just saying)

⭐Printable sticky solvy stuff on Amazon (you can make the ornaments without this, but it is bloomin' great stuff).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sweet Pea Blanket CAL :: Introduction

If you've been visiting with me over the years then you will be very familiar with my love for home grown summer flowers, and you will know that I love love love having a small posy in a little jug on my table. It's such a joyful, cherished part of my summertime and I never get over the happiness that home grown flowers bring.

I don't always manage to have sweet peas every year as I'm ridiculously disorganized and very rarely manage to plant seeds at the right time. This year I predictably missed the seed sowing, so I splashed out and bought ready grown sweet pea seedlings which were delivered through the post. Honestly, you wouldn't think it possible to send a parcel containing baby plants through the post would you? But it is miraculous and the plants arrive beautifully wrapped in tissue paper so that both the precious roots and the delicate shoots are perfectly protected, super healthy and ready to grow, grow, grow. 

Due to the very, very hot summer weather, my allotment sweet peas didn't really grow in glorious abundance. However, there were enough flowers to give me a small posy every week through the summer months. In fact, I picked the very last bunch on 22nd October, so they lasted really well and oh, I did enjoy them! So so much.  

I decided early on in the year that I'd like to make a blanket inspired by the colours of sweet peas. So In the middle of July, I persuaded the family to accompany me to the Royal Horticultural gardens at Harlow Carr (near Harrogate) in search of some floral inspiration. The gardens are an absolute delight, and I loved seeing the abundance of sweet peas growing in the flower beds. However, there was an extra special reason for me to visit on that hot, sunny Saturday in mid July - I was there to view the National Sweet Pea Show. Yes, these showy floral events do exist, and they are very, very strange!! By strange, I mean they are super-formal and highly competitive and totally not what I expected.........let me show you.......................

See what I mean? Formality, with a capital F. Hugely competitive too, crikey, you could fair feel the tension in the air as so may top sweet pea growers from all over the UK fought to win with their blooms.

I somehow expected the flower colours to be mixed and I found the rigid segregation very uneasy on the eye. It was all rather prim and proper, and I found myself feeling rather sorry for the sweet peas, forced to stand to attention in their competition-grade green vases. I wanted to hug them all together and put them into some roomy jugs so that they could mingle with their different coloured neighbours, breathe out and relax!

Despite the formality, the flowers themselves were really spectacular. I spent a long time admiring them, sticking my nose into the blooms and inhaling (I was the only person there who did this - nobody else seemed to be bothered), and gazing at the huge variety of colour.

I love that even the soft pastel colours of sweet peas seem to look bold somehow, like they are shouting their gladness for the summer season.

I came out of the show feeling very inspired, and although it wasn't quite my style (give me a mixed posy in a jug any day) I certainly felt uplifted by all the glorious floral colour.

The very, very, very best thing about the sweet pea show was the fact that you could buy mixed bunches to take home. They were displayed in big buckets outside, and the ladies who were selling them for £2 a bunch were extremely lovely. They chatted to me about all the names of each different variety, and were obviously so passionate about their flowers, it made my heart swell. 

I bought three big bunches to bring home, and oh my giddy aunt, they were utterly, utterly beautiful. I just couldn't stop looking at them, playing with them, sniffing them and photographing them. It was a sensory summer overload!

I love sweet peas for their scent most of all, but this year I began to pay special attention to the huge variety of colour found in those fragrant petals. I'm not especially a lover of pale pastels, but the vibrancy of these sweet peas totally amazed me. Yes there were creamy white flowers and the palest of soft pinks, but there were also stunningly bright magenta and hot pink shades, and the most beautiful deep bluey-violet colours  too. 

When the pastels are mixed with the brights, something magical happens - the resulting medley of colour is like a pure hit of nostalgic summertime. It's warm sunny days and happy childhood memories, lazy afternoons in the garden and bare toes in cool grass. It's sweet and slow, warm and delightful. Total summer feel-good in those colours!

My ideas for a sweet pea blanket began to spin and twirl once I started playing with the flowers. I am endlessly inspired by the seasons and sweet peas are the epitome of Summer. They also hold many layers of childhood memories for me as my Mum adored sweet peas and grew them every year. 

It was hugely satisfying having real living flowers to guide me in my colour choices - there are thousands of sweet pea photos on the internet and I already had seeds packets and plant catalogues to refer to. But in my experience, nothing beats getting up close and personal with the essence of ones inspiration! 

In the end, the floral colours came together very easily as the range of Stylecraft Special DK contains lots of really beautiful pinks and purples to choose from. My biggest deliberation was over the greens and I faffed with them for ages. I ended up going up to the allotment and cutting some stems and leaves to bring home so that I could see the variation of greens in real life. I also tried very hard to get the overall balance of the colour palette right - by that I mean the balance between the greenery and the petals, and also the balance between the very pale colours and the deeper tones.

I think I've managed to create a very harmonious colour palette which will work really well when translated into a striped blanket design. And it's so impossibly pretty to look at, don't you think?

This palette of colours is certainly very easy on the eye and very uplifting (like a bright, warm summers day) and I'm certain that as these yarn colours begin to transition into crochet stripes, those summer vibes will be flowing. I can't wait!!

As is usual for my blankets, I've chose fifteen shades of Stylecraft Special DK for my Sweet Pea blanket

Top row, left to right...

🌸 violet 🌸 cypress 🌸 candyfloss 🌸 magenta 🌸 plum 🌸 

Middle row, left to right...

🌸 lavender 🌸 meadow 🌸 soft peach 🌸 blush 🌸 fuchsia purple 🌸

Bottom row, left to right...

🌸 wisteria 🌸 pistachio 🌸 cream 🌸 clematis 🌸 pomegranate 🌸 

You can find the Sweet Pea yarn pack in my shop at Wool Warehouse...

❧🌸SWEET PEA YARN PACK🌸❧

 

When it came to designing the pattern for my Sweet Pea blanket, I knew that I wanted stripes. I love love love making stripy blankets, they are so rhythmic and soothing to work on, and the way that you can play with colours in a stripe order is irresistible for the likes of me. I sampled all sorts of different types of shell patterns (I was thinking about the shape of the flower petals) before settling on something remarkably simple......

....this is my new pattern called the Trellis Stripe, and is a very simple combination of small stacked shells (representing the climbing sweet pea flowers) and neat lines of trebles (representing the trellis). The pattern was inspired by my allotment sweet peas (in the photo below), which I grew up a rather rustic, cobbled together trellis made out of bamboo canes and string. 

My home made trellis looked a bit messy and rather flimsy, but it worked a treat and managed to last through the whole of the summer until a storm swept through in October and blew the whole lot to the ground.

This stitch pattern is a doddle to work, and I've designed it especially with beginner crocheters in mind. Once you've worked the first two set-up rows, every row is the same and uses only one stitch (a UK treble crochet / US double crochet), making the pattern easy to memorise and hook. These breezy treble rows are relaxing, fast and highly addictive, and the resulting crochet fabric is soft and lightly textured. It also has the advantage of looking the same on both sides (so there isn't really a right and wrong side) and having straight edges (no lumps or bumps to try and hide). I'm so happy with it!

I'll be sharing the pattern here on my blog at the start of the CAL on Friday 4th January. I'll also be making my usual photo-heavy tutorial to give you step by step guidance for working the Trellis Stripe. I hope you like it as much as I do.

During the past few months I've spent a long time working with the sweet pea colours and playing with different stripe variations. I've made sooooooooo many samples (including a third of a whole blanket which I had to abandon when it just didn't feel right), and after much deliberation I've come up with two different stripe options. I'll be telling you more about this when the CAL begins in January - they are both extremely lovely, and I can't wait to show you more.

Sadly, sweet pea season is over now in the Northern hemisphere, and I admit to being rather jealous when I hear about those of you on the other side of the world just beginning to look forward to your flowers blooming. I've got oodles of photos to refer to though, and of course my bag of yarn which is like sweet pea summer heaven. 

I'm so excited to begin on the Sweet Pea blanket journey - it'll be like having a soft wave of summer to carry us through the cold grey months of winter, oh I can't wait!!!!

❧🌸SWEET PEA YARN PACK🌸❧

Those of you who've joined in with my Crochet-A-Longs in previous years will know that alongside my yarn colours, there is often something sticky to share with you too.......................

............I'm talking about planner stickers!!!!!!!! Yippeeeee for pretty sticky things!!!! My lovely friend Rachel of EllieBethDesignsUK has designed the most beautiful sticker sheet to help you plan and celebrate the Sweet Pea CAL. There are countdown stickers and stickers for the weekly installments as well as lots of crochet and floral pretties.

Even the stripes down the left hand side are a big long sticker too (like beautiful washi tape), and oh the colours are just perfect and totally sweet-pea-ish. If you don't have a planner, you can use these stickers on a calendar or in a diary.

You can find this lovely sheet of Sweet Pea stickers online {here}

Rachel is also a crocheter herself, and is part of a fabulous online community who are known as #plannerswhohook !! To celebrate this, Rachel has created a special edition "Big Book of Stickerating" dedicated to crochet and yarn - trust me when I say it is FABuLouS!!!! The book contains six sheets of colourful stickers - you can see lots more pictures online {here}

If you fancy treating yourself or buying as gifts for hooky sticker-loving friends, you can use the code SWEETPEA at the checkout and receive 15% discount off all planner stickers. All planner stickers can be found at ElliebethDeisgnsUK. 

*discount code is one use per person.

❧🌸SWEET PEA YARN PACK🌸❧

I am absolutely smitten with these yarn colours and the way they look all together, and I'm so so excited for the blanket to begin. Just a reminder that there is no need to sign up for this CAL - it's all very relaxed here in the Attic so all you need to do is gather your yarn together and join in when the pattern is released in the New Year.

I'll be writing more about the CAL a little closer to the time (just over five weeks until the CAL starts), but here is a quick round-up of information for you :

♥ The Attic24 SWEET PEA CAL will will run for 8 weeks in total, beginning on Friday 4th January - that'll be the day when the pattern will be published here on my blog and I'll give you all the information you need to get started. I'll then give weekly updates every Friday throughout January and February 2019 so that we can make the most of weekend hooky time.

♥ There will be a full picture tutorial here on my blog for the new Trellis Stripe pattern. Each week I'll share the colour stripe order for the two different versions of the Sweet Pea blanket I'm making.

♥ The SWEET PEA YARN PACK contains 15 x 100g balls of Stylecraft Special DK and is enough to make one blanket/throw. There is no printed pattern included in this pack, all pattern info will be here on my blog, with updates every Friday throughout January and February 2019. 

♥ The Sweet Pea blanket will measure approx. 120cm x 175cm. You will need two packs if you wish to make a larger/double bed size blanket. I'll give starting chain/pattern guidance for those of you wishing to make larger (or smaller) blankets.

 I really hope these colours inspire you to create a beautiful blanket for your home or to give to someone special. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

ps a note about my yarn packs - I am thrilled to be working with Wool Warehouse who do an absolutely amazing job of enabling crocheters all over the world to join me in my ongoing colourful blanket making. I earn a commission on all the Attic24 yarn packs sold through Wool Warehouse, and I am truly grateful to everyone who supports me in this way. Thank you so much. xxx

EDIT TO ADD >> Wednesday >> Thank you so so much to everyone who bought a Sweet Pea yarn pack yesterday, I am so happy to have you join me on this colourful blanket journey in January.
Yarn packs all sold out within 6 hours yesterday which was a total surprise and unprecedented. More yarn is on its way and will be in the shop again by Friday. You can sign up on the Wool Warehouse website (on the sweet pea yarn page) for an email notification and as soon as the new packs are available you'll know. Thank you so much xxx

 

Winter is Near

I really don't think we have very much Autumn left here now as nearly all the leaves have gone from the trees and the temperature has suddenly plummeted. Today I've been cold right down to my bones and it definitely feels like winter is near.  

Our days continue to shorten and often we are walking home from school as the sun dips down below the horizon. It's just over four weeks until the Winter Solstice - I can't help but count down the days until this turning point in our seasonal calendar which I love to celebrate.....bring on all the greenery, candles and extra minutes of daylight!

It's not often that I'm out and about after dark, but every so often there is a need to make an evening dash to the supermarket for something or another (we'd run out of bread on this occasion, and the Little People had put in a plea for some ice cream while I was at it). I love seeing the old mill building all lit up, casting golden, glowing reflections into the canal as I dash across the bridge.

Winter must be near because the potted hyacinth bulbs have arrived in the supermarket, making me very happy indeed. I decided last year that Festive Bulbs would be a feature of my Christmas mantel, and I'm so looking forward to the flowers arriving during the next month or so. These small, seasonal pleasures are so important to me, they guide me gently through the year bringing about a soothing sort of daily rhythm and oodles of comfort and joy.

I've had hyacinths indoors every November since moving to this house (my first bloggy hyacinths in 2008) and they always bring a whiff of winter with them when they first arrive. Incidentally, I'm sorry about the weird angle of the above photo, it looks as if everything is about to tip forward and crash onto the hearth, but I promise you all is safe and stable here in the Attic. I think I just had a lean on myself yesterday afternoon, gosh yesterday was a super tiring day for some reason. 

We continue to worship our fireplace - another seasonal pleasure which delivers untold hours of comfort. I'm in charge of the fire here, always. I relish the job, even the messy cleaning out of the ash and burnt out debri makes me happy because I know a new fire will be happening again very soon. J is rubbish at making the fire (seriously, he is just far too stingy with the kindling - lighting a good fire needs a precise and generous arrangement of fuel I tell you). I love having an open fire so so much.

Last week I had the absolute toe curling pleasure of playing with the above pile of felty gorgeousness. This is my beloved stack of wool-blend felt (40% wool content, it's really rather lovely and can be found here and here), and I'll be showing you what I was up to very soon. If you are veeeeeeeeeeeeery curious as to what I was up to and cannot possibly wait for me to spill the creative beans, you might like to go and peek here for a clue).............oh yeah, I know you are going to go peek and gasp and understand instantly how I was powerless to resist. More soon.

Behind the scenes, I'm working hard (I use the word working very loosely here) on my Sweet Pea blanket which I will be running as a CAL (crochet-a-long) at the start of 2019. I've been thinking back over my previous CAL's as this will be the fifth year for me doing my annual winter blanket. Do you remember them all?

Shown above there is Woodland (2018), and Moorland (2017). Before that there was the Sunny Log Cabin (2015) and the Cosy Stripe (2014). I can truly say that I love each and every blanket of mine - they all hold so many precious memories of time and place, and each colour palette is special to me for so many different reasons. I design my blankets with a great deal of emotion, and there is always a story/memory that is real and heart felt behind each one. I hope you feel it too.

Yesterday I shared the above sneaky peek on social media......oh there is so much excitement brewing for these pretty Sweet Pea colours! I'm just waiting to finalise things with my friends at Wool Warehouse but we are almost there....I'm giddy with it all, honestly, I am pretty much bouncing off the walls at the prospect of setting off on a new colour-filled crochet journey. This time of year is made for crochet blankets in gorgeous colours, such a huge amount of welcome winter feel-good. I can't wait!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

 

 

Autumn Decorating

I'm sat here thinking how long and slow my days seem to feel at the moment and I'm also sat here thinking that I don't mind this slowness one little bit. Slow seems to be exactly the right pace for late Autumn as our daylight hours get smaller and smaller and we instinctively begin to hibernate just a little bit. 

On Saturday I decided that I was in the mood to get gluey again and it was time to make some progress on a second paper mushroom sculpture. Seems a bit odd to publicly acknowledge the weirdness that is my life sometimes, but I'm trusting that you know me well enough by now to accept my quirks. When the Creative Urge strikes, it must not be ignored! I did really enjoy the process of making the first mushroom (shown above - you can read about it {here}), even with the complete fiddlyness of it.

The second one I made from the off cut bits left over from the first one, and it's about half the size. I didn't have another pipe cleaner so I simply rolled up a piece of paper to form a tube shape and glued layers of tissue paper over that to make the stem.

My best favourite bit of doing these mushroom comes right at the end when you brew up a very strong cup of tea and paint it over the mushroom cap. It's bizarrely satisfying and really does make the paper look like it isn't actually paper at all. It's a little bit of hocus pocus magic I think, and the end results are subtle but rather extraordinary. And it's all made from paper! And glue (lots of glue) and tea. Amazing.

I think I mentioned in my last post that I had an idea to hand make a little garden for my 'shrooms to live in. Inspired by the work of paper sculptor Kate Kato, I decided to incorporate some butterflies with a bit of moss to create something of a miniature Autumn diorama for my mantel. 

I went in search on Amazon for "paper butterflies" and settled on these vintage-inspired beauties.........what do you think? Aren't they gorgeous?

I really like how they are already mostly cut out so there is minimal labour involved in freeing up the ones you need.

I chose two smallish ones in Autumn colours and used a hot glue gun to stick them to some very thin copper wire.

I had an idea that the wire would allow the butterflies to flutter around the mushrooms somehow.

I used a plastic jar lid (from an empty jar of Nutella) which I covered in little bits of glued newspaper painted with green watercolour. I was able to hot-glue my mushrooms and copper wired butterflies to the base of the lid, then fill in the spaces with some dried moss, a couple of tiny dried leaves and a very small pheasants feather from my treasured collection of found feathers.

It all sounds a bit ridiculous when I write it down, but all in all the whole thing came together in quite a pleasing way to say how modest the materials are........

 ......ta-dah!!! I am quietly, secretly happy with my efforts, although you are the first to see them. I didn't feel confident in showing my creation to the family (they are used to my strange ways, but this is a slightly elevated level of strangeness I think) so I waited until nobody was looking and placed it quietly on the mantel amongst the rest of the Autumnal goings on. They remain un-noticed as far as I can tell, and I'm quite OK with that. I notice them every day and they do make me absurdly happy. Paper and glue!! And tea. And wire. And moss. Hooray for making things out of simple every day materials.

Last week I unpacked my "Autumn Decoration Bag" and was so pleased to be reunited with last year's makes. The delightful stitched toadstool hoop was part of last year's Autumn Craftpod box, and became the inspiration behind my Making The Seasons year.

As well as some pretty Autumnal postcards and a collection of motley looking pine cones, my Autumn Decoration bag contained the crochet pumpkins and garland that I made last year. Oh, it was so GOOD to see these again, better than unpacking Christmas decorations!! If you missed these last year, or fancy making your own Autumn collection of hooky goodness, you can find free patterns and colour info on my blog >>

{CROCHET PUMPKINS}

{AUTUMN GARLAND}

The Autumn Garland was made using oddments of yarn from my Woodland yarn pack - it was such a lovely way for me to play with the colours and celebrate Autumn in the months before my Woodland Crochet-A-Long began last year.

I'm really loving my Autumn mantel - I know it's only a month before Christmas will take over this surface, but I'm going to thoroughly enjoy every day of it.  

Awww.......paper mushrooms and butterflies, soooooooo  good for the soul!

Before I go and sit by the fireside, here are a few photos from our Long Walk Home from town this morning. Instead of cutting through the cobbled alleyway and heading home by the quickest route possible, we strolled to the top of town and walked around the bottom of the castle instead. I often used to do this when Little B was very little, to give him some extra fresh air and exercise on the way home from nursery.

After a day of damp grey cloud and rain yesterday, it was delightful to take in the low mellow sunlight dancing in the leaves.

I hope that you are enjoying the season you're in, whether it's Autumn or Spring where you are.....I hope your days are mellow and golden and that you are finding plenty of little seasonal pleasures to celebrate.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

Ticking Along

❉ It was our half term week last week and we spent our days being as slow, lazy and uneventful as possible, which was rather blissful following the last few weeks of underlying stress. We pottered and pootled, idled and lounged, and occasionally we got dressed and ventured out into the cool damp Autumn.

❉ We walked a little in our local neighbourhood, visiting the shops for food supplies and stopping in at our favourite cafes for the comfort of a hot milky drink.

❉ The farm shop is especially good at celebrating the seasons throughout the year with it's plants, flowers, produce and decorations, and there is always a lovely display of some sorts in the front entrance. Last week it was all about the pumpkins as we prepared to celebrate Halloween. 

❉ I love the flower section of the farm shop best of all (although the bakery also makes me swoon) - at one time when I was much younger I had dreams of becoming a florist, well, that's to say I loved the idea of faffing with flowers and calling it a job. I occasionally buy single stems from here when something especially appeals (eucalyptus stems are a favourite), but it's quite a pricey way to acquire flowers for the home. Pretty though, isn't it?

❉ On Friday I sat for a few hours in the cafe with my yarny friends and finished attaching my latest mandala to it's hoop. I really really love the serene colours in this mandala, they came together quite by accident and remind me a little of my Harmony blanket colours (blues and purples with a dash of pink and green). I followed the Bougainvillea Doily pattern by Zelna Olivier using around a dozen colours of Stylecraft Cotton Classique DK. I added two additional rounds to make it the right size for attaching to a 45cm hoop and I'm really happy with how it turned out. I've got it hanging against the blue/grey wall in my studio at the moment and it looks especially lovely against that colour.

❉ Sampling for my Sweet Pea blanket continues, and I've been working on the colour order for the stripes during the past few weeks. It takes slow, consistent time and effort to work through this part of the design process, but I absolutely love love love doing it. I spend hours and hours (literally) crocheting up a series of thin stripes to represent the whole blanket, getting a feel for how the colours like to play with each other and how my floral colour story is choosing to tell itself. The above photo is the result of the first sample being all wrong - sometimes I keep the wrong ones as a reference and sometimes I decide to pull it all apart and start again from scratch.

Yesterday I finished sample number four and it made my heart skip a beat, so I think I'm pretty much there with it - so happy about that! I've been doing the nitty gritty sampling too  - weighing out yarn and working tension samples so that I can gauge how many stitches, how many pattern repeats, how many rows etc. It's all good fun and makes me ridiculously excited for the blanket journey to actually begin. Sweet Pea yarn packs will be available in about four weeks I think, the week commencing 3rd December. Bring it on, I can't WAIT!

❉ On Monday the Little People returned to school and J and I went to have a leisurely, unhurried coffee followed by a trip to purchase a modest box of fireworks for the evenings entertainment (for those not in the UK, we light fireworks for Guy Fawkes Night on the 5th November). It was the usual fun - as you know we don't actually have a garden so we make do by using a flower pot filled with earth on the wall of our back yard. Fortunately the fireworks were just the right level of noise and crackle to entertain the Little Peeps without being too scary dangerous - there were only a few which made us run for cover!

❉ The sparklers were a hit, ahhh, so nostalgic! I love the smell of them, they instantly transport me way back in time to my own childhood. We had fun prancing about in the back street with our neighbours, the Little People dancing and twirling and lighting up the night.

❉ It's been very stormy today, wet, grey and howling. The trees are clinging on to their leaves but I feel sure there will be bare branches before long. It's that strange time when the seasons are merging - still Autumn but with the edge of Winter making itself felt. I don't mind it too much, but the low light levels are hard going I have to say.

❉  I bought a new candle on Monday, oh it smells soooooo good! It's Orange & Star Anise and just right for these cold, dark Autumn evenings - warm, fruity and comforting without being too Christmassy. I'm not mad keen on the gold patterned glass jar, but I'm loving the scent so much that I'm willing to overlook the glitz.

In other news, I've started making a smaller companion paper toadstool to go with the one above that I made last week. I've gathered some moss (real moss which I'm air drying), some thin copper wire and some gorgeous paper butterflies to create something of a mini Autumn sculpture thingy. I am stalling with the sticking of all the little toadstool gills though, I need to really be in the mood to get all gummed up with glue.

❉ And so the days are ticking along, a sweet combination of creative energy and slow, nothing-much days, of gentle parenting and the juggling of yarn and time and responsibilities. It's all good, more than good actually, and I am so grateful that I can say that and feel it too.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

Making the Seasons :: October

Helloooooo!!! Welcome to the twelth and final installment of Making The Seasons! I cannot quite believe that a whole year has passed since I first discovered Craftpod, inspiring me to embark on a monthly mission to make something inspired by the seasons. It's been a hugely enjoyable year long project, made even more special by the fact that I've been joined each month by my friend Gillian at Tales from a Happy House. There is something undeniably appealing about sharing the creative urge with a like minded soul who thinks along very similar lines, and I have love love loved creating my monthly makes with Gillian. Our styles are very different, but it's been delightful to see what each month has brought forth for us both and I have truly loved every single project.

For this month {October} I decided to make one of the projects from the Autumn Craftpod box, as these delightful subscription boxes are still making my heart beat as fast as ever, a whole year after I first set eyes on them. The projects are so beautiful, and the whole box is always an absolute treat to receive through the post. This season there is a beautiful Autumn sampler to stitch, a paper mushroom sculpture to make and ooooo some gorgeous toadstoool washi tape which made me squeal!!!

Jo always pops a really lovely seasonal card into the box and the Autumn offering is just wonderful. It's an illustration by Brie Harrison who's work I fell in love with this year on Instagram, I just love the simplicity of her style and the emotions they evoke. 

Sticky tape and stitching aside, I decided I'd have a go at making the Mushroom Sculpture, designed by artist Kate Kato of Kasasagi Design. I've been a huge fan of Kate's work ever since reading all about her in Country Homes and Interiors (April issue) and then stalking her on Instagram......

image credit : Kasasagi Design

....oh her images make my toes curl with happiness!!!! She is so so so talented - you would never believe the things she manages to do with paper. Yes, paper!!! It's such a simple medium, but Kate manages to make it do magical things and her carefully constructed natural still life studies (made from JUST PAPER!!) are things of rare beauty.

image credit : kasasagi design

I love pretty much every single thing she makes (her butterflies and flowers are utterly delightful), but her Autumn studies are particularly stunning. 

So I was curious as to how she would translate her unique art into something that the masses could have a go at - would it actually be possible to make a paper sculpture that resembled a real living thing?

The essence of this project was very simple - there were a whole load of pre-printed shapes that needed to be folded in half and cut out, and then there was glue,  a single pipe cleaner and some tissue paper. Simple materials that promised to deliver great results if you followed the instructions and allowed plenty of time and patience.

There were 72 shapes to cut out to form the mushroom gills, and these shapes then had to all be methodically glued together. It trod a fine line between being meditative and tedious, but I did enjoy the simplicity of applying glue and sticking, knowing that by following some precise instructions, something beautiful would (hopefully) come about.

Once the gills had been assembled, it was time to create a mighty fine mushroom stalk, using nothing but a humble pipe cleaner and some ripped up pieces of tissue paper. 

This was good fun, if a little messy....

.... and honestly? I was a little bit proud of how my 'shroom stalk turned out! 

One of the things i love about Craftpod is the absolute attention to detail. For example, Jo had included the most teensy tiny cute wooden pegs in her box, simply for you to be able to hold the paper gills together whilst they dried. It was such a thoughtful touch, and one that I very much appreciated when I was flapping around with very gluey fingers, trying to hold everything together and make it stick.

The part where you have to glue the gills to the stalk was much harder than it sounded, and it's one of those things where you wish you had six hands. I somehow managed to make it all stick together, although I confess I got impatient and a bit antsy at this point and went in search of the hairdryer in order to speed up the drying process. A good blast with some hot air and I was satisfied that enough drying had happened, meaning I could safely proceed to the next part of the making process.....creating the mushroom top.

This was more fiddly, messy fun (note my fingers absolutely covered in glue), and involved ripping and sticking layers of tissue paper over the top of the paper gills. It was very faffy as it involved trying to spread the gills out evenly whilst sticking the tissue paper in place, made extra challenging by the fact that my fingers were sticking to absolutely everything, including the table.

I kept going, aided by Little B encouraging me along and telling me that I was doing great. I think he was really very impressed that I was attempting to make a lifelike mushroom - gawd I seriously love that my children do not ever, ever question my weirdness. I mean, doesn't every mother spend hours creating fungi out of glue and paper, purely for pleasure??!!

The very last step involved brewing up a very strong concoction of tea, and painting it around the bottom edges of the mushroom. I was doubtful about this (I thought my mushroom already looked fab), but the difference it made was astonishing. It somehow transformed my paper 'shroom cap into something that looked very un-paper like, and honestly I just couldn't quite believe what I was holding in my hand.

Ta-dah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wish, wish, wish that I hadn't been in a major rush to get out the door and deliver Little B to his friends house for a Halloween sleep over, cos I would have loved to style this project to death. The mushroom was just begging to be beautifully photographed with all manor of natural Autumn finds, but I simply didn't have time to faff. So a few feathers from my feather stash (yes, of course I have a handy feather stash) and a few leaves fallen from the tree at number 28, and that had to do.

I am so so pleased with this make - it is so humble (paper and glue!)....

....but so oddly fascinating and beautiful at the same time.

I have a new found respect for all paper/glue artists, it's not the light breeze that you would think and requires a huge amount of attention to detail and painstaking patience.

I was thinking that I would quite like a proper home for my paper mushroom - maybe a small pot full of moss, with a critter or two crawling about....wouldn't that be lovely?

But for now it's resting quietly on the mantel, looking all natural and eye catching. I rather like it.

Please do go and see what Gillian has been making this month, her seasonal posts are always beautifully photographed and a real inspiration. You can find all of my previous MTS posts {here}

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

ps my September project is finished and I'll be taking some photographs of it to share with you very soon xx

pps..................couldn't resist taking one more photo................

ppps.....I've just found a wonderful video showing Kate Kato at work - please do take a look, it's just wonderful xx

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

 

 

 

Woodland Reflections

I know, I know, I'm having a bit of a Woodland obsession right now, but honestly, can you blame me when it all looks so very utterly gorgeous out there????? It was absolutely freezing this morning, literally freezing, but the sort of glorious day that forbids you to remain inside no matter how low the temperature might be. It was crisp and bright with a definite bite in the air when we set out to walk up the steep, steep hill, along the farm track and into the top of the woods this morning.

We found the second willow sculpture which looked glorious in the sunshine - it's called "The Stalking Horse", a reference to the olden days when the Lord of the Castle would hide behind grazing horses in order to stalk and shoot deer in the woods. I found Anna and the Willow on Instagram (which is how I know all about the horse), and have enjoyed seeing these willow works in progress. 

The little beck that meanders slowly through the woods captured my eyes this morning, I just couldn't stop gazing at the reflections held on it's surface. Even though the beck is flowing, the water moves very slowly so there is an illusion of stillness which makes the reflections very striking. In some places there were overflow pipes draining water into the beck, causing the most incredible rhythmic, pulsing ripples - it was mesmerising to watch, almost like an optical illusion of some sorts.

We stopped for a while beside the small waterfall, perched on a log in the morning sunshine, eating juicy satsumas and a little bit of chocolate too. It was the best kind of morning snack and even Little B was happy with the arrangement. We did lots of leaf kicking and larking about, eventually tiring ourselves out before beginning the short walk back to the warmth of home. Not a bad way to spend a Monday morning, that's for sure.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

 

 

A Week of Taking it Slow

So this has been the sloooooooow week following on from the rollercoaster week, and to be completely honest I am very glad it's over. There has been underlying stress to our days as J took the week off work to recover, which in itself has felt rather strange. He is very rarely unwell and the concept of time off work with enforced rest and recovery didn't especially come naturally to him. Luckily I was able to gently help him ease through the days as he took some necessary time out, and I think we managed pretty well all things considered.  

One of the things we did last week was make sure that we took a walk every day - nothing too strenuous, just some gentle strolling around our neighbourhood. We would drop Little B at school, then off we would go to stretch our legs and breathe in the Autumn air.

I know I talk often about the woods in our town as it's one of our favourite go-to places when we don't want to take the car out. It's absolutely wonderful to have this place so close by as you can literally access it just a minute or two from the high street, gosh I do so appreciate it!

The Woodland Trust do a great job maintaining it and creating some wonderful additions too (I love this beautiful carved poem bench which is fairly new). Just recently a couple of amazing willow sculptures have arrived, created by a North Yorkshire willow artist. This one is right by the main entrance and is called "Willow Hunter". It's a crazy-beautiful thing, so much energy, movement and feeling created by a collection of twigs. 

It's been cold and dry this week, and so we've had the pleasure of kicking through the fallen leaves as we've walked. No, you are never too old for this activity, not ever!

The colours in the woodland are really reminding me of my Woodland blanket, and I think that this week I might take it out on location for a little bit of a photo shoot. I get a bit nervous about doing this sort of thing, but I need to not care what anyone else thinks because, well......it'll be worth it, right? I think I'd very much like to see my Woodland stripes in situ, so I'll muster up some braveness and make it happen.

I went up to the allotment this week to have a poke around, it's all looking a bit forlorn and in need of an end of season tidy up. I keep thinking that the sweet peas are over as the plants themselves are looking rather bedraggled and my bamboo and string trellis collapsed in the last storm that whipped through here a few weeks ago. But when I was there this week, miraculously there were indeed more flowers to be picked, which made me insanely happy.

The colours are so beautiful - I don't edit my photos at all (too lazy for that), so the brightness and contrast in the above image is naturally how these flowers are in real life. Ah, I LOVE them!!! So much!!!

I've had the pleasure of this teensy little posy on my table all week, making my happiness levels rise with every sniff of those petals. The scent isn't quite as strong as it was with flowers picked in the height of summer, but nevertheless it is still blooming lovely.

As you can see in the above photo, I've been inspired by these sweet floral colours, and I've been sampling up some colours ready for my next CAL (Crochet-A-Long) blanket. YES!!! Consider this a sneak-peek!!!!!

Yarn packs will be available at the beginning of December and the CAL will begin on Friday 4th January 2019, and run for 8 weeks in total.
I've designed a new stitch/stripe which is perfect for beginners, or for people like me who need some therapeutic, soothing rows of colour to start the New Year off beautifully. Just to reassure you, the sneak peek in the above photo is part of my colour sequence sampling and NOT the actual blanket pattern. The pattern for the Sweet Pea blanket is new, and will be worked with two rows per stripe, as is usual for my blanket designs. I'll be able to show you a little more of the pattern closer to the time. I am very (very very very) excited about this blanket, it makes me want to squeal just a little.

On the days when we didn't walk in the woods, we walked along the canal, through the park and up to the farm shop instead. The bonus of walking that way is that it involves not just a nice walk but the possibility of some refreshment too, which does hold a certain appeal I have to admit.

We walked up one afternoon after J had been at the hospital to see a consultant and we both instinctively needed to be out in the sunshine to take the edge off.

Rather than sit in the farm shop cafe, we picked up a couple of take out lattés and some chocolate, then came back into the park to sit a while on a wooden bench. It was so nice to feel the sun on my face, I really love it when you close your eyes to the sun, and it's all pinky-orange inside your eyelids. That glowing warmth is so comforting somehow.

I picked up the above leaf for no reason other than the colours called to me, aren't they beautiful? Autumn right there in my fingertips.

The drop in temperature this week has drawn us to light the fire in the late afternoon, as much for the comfort factor as the warmth. This will be our eleventh autumn/winter with an open fire (there was a horrid electric fire shoved into the brick fireplace when we first moved in), and I wouldn't trade it for anything. We have central heating radiators so our house is generally very warm and cosy in winter, but the open fire adds such a lot of feel good - it's warmth for the heart and soul. 

Whilst I faff with my sweet pea colours and ponder on the stripes for my next blanket, I have needed a crochet project to keep my creative self occupied. As is often the case for me when I'm in between blankets, I find that mandala therapy delivers just the right amount of creative satisfaction. I found a lovely free pattern called the "Bougainvillea Doily" by Zelna Olivier, it's a beauty! I was working on the first version at the cafe and went a bit wrong in the light blue rounds (I didn't read the pattern properly and mis-counted the clusters), so I ended up having to wing it a bit after that. I'm hoping that my second attempt will work out better as it's such a beautiful design - please note that the pattern is written in US crochet terms, so UK hooksters will need to translate. I'm planning on crocheting these to metal hoops to add to my collection - I might crochet some additional rounds and make them bigger, I haven't decided just yet.

This weekend I've deliberately tried to take some care to relax and fully recharge my batteries after a rather draining week. I took myself back to bed yesterday morning following an early start, and ended up sleeping until 10am - I guess I must have needed those extra hours more than I realised.

Yesterday I unearthed a small pile of magazines that had remained unopened since Yarndale took over my life - this is the September issue of Country Living UK which has some beautiful floral inspiration in it's pages. Ahh, beautiful hydrangeas, still not my most favourite flowers, but I do so love the blanket that they inspired.

I've spent a fair few hours nesting on the sofa this weekend, sometimes on my own, sometimes with Little B snuggled up....

....and sometimes with the kitty. She likes to flollop down on my legs in a big long, heavy heap, which I'm not complaining about as she is super cosy and warm when she sleeps like that. She's like a living hot water bottle. 

 

I lit my jar candles earlier on today, and thought to myself that I'd like to crochet some more jar covers in Autumn colours, perhaps decorated with an acorn and oak leaf or two.

Tomorrow.......tomorrow yes I think I will conduct some seasonal mantel faffery. I'll dig out my pumpkins and hang my garland from last year. And yes, maybe I'll pick up my hook and crochet some lacy lime, orange and gold and bring a little bit more Autumn colour into my home.

The Little People are off school now as it's our half term break - it's a week later than it usually is, so I've had three rather tired and grumpy offspring to deal with this past week. We've absolutely no plans whatsoever  - we shall drift through the days as the mood takes us, perhaps going out locally, perhaps just staying close to home. I predict that we shall spend rather a lot of time enjoying fireside treats and really that is absolutely fine by me. 

Have a good week, whether you are venturing out or staying close to home. I hope your days are full of slow, cosy, happy.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

 

 

London Celebrations

I'm playing a bit of catch-up here on my blog as October has turned out to be quite a busy month and I haven't quite managed to get my blog posts to keep up with my feet! I was looking at these photos earlier today and couldn't believe it's already two weeks since they were taken. 

I always enjoy a brisk walk along the canal when I know I'm headed for the train station, because as much as I adore my rural home town and my quiet, rather simple life, I do quite like a dose of Big City spirit every now and again. Heading to London in October has become something of an annual ritual and this was the third time that I've traveled to the city to attend the Knitting and Stitching show at Alexandra Palace. This year was to be an extra special celebration as I had an extra day to enjoy the very last smidge of my forties, kind of a pre-Birthday treat from me to myself.

Arriving on a gloriously bright sunny Wednesday afternoon, I met up with my lovely friend Christine and we hopped on the underground to journey a short way to the River Thames. This wasn't a spontaneous thing by any means, because for once in my chaotic, unplanned life I had actually planned in advance and  PRE-BOOKED something!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Holy smokes, are you shocked????!!!!!!! I think I was a little dazed myself, I had to keep checking the tickets and making sure that the whole thing wasn't just a figment of my crazy imagination. 

Luckily for me, Christine is a very accommodating friend and when I told her that I would really like to be a London tourist and take a boat trip on the River Thames, she instantly agreed. I don't know why this appealed to me so much as I'm not a massive fan of boats (I much prefer to be on dry land), but there is something very appealing about the idea of gliding along a river to take in the landmarks of a city. Add in the notion that you set sail at 3.15 pm in time to partake in a spot of afternoon tea whilst gliding along, with the possibility of a glass of fizz to accompany the aforementioned refreshments, and yeah, you can maybe see the appeal.

And so that was how we found ourselves sailing along underneath the great Tower Bridge, oohing and aahing at how very huge and enormous it looked from down below at river level. The boat we were on was a sight seeing boat, sitting low and wide on the water, with huge windows all along the outside (see here for pictures). The river was surprisingly choppy, but I'm happy to report that we didn't really feel much movement while we were sat comfy on the boat.

Maybe that was because we were easily distracted........

.............ooooooooooooo, afternoon tea has arrived! To accompany our actual cups of tea (which were pretty much kept filled by the lovely waiting staff), we had the above three tiers of deliciousness to nibble on while we sailed the river. It was really yummy, especially the very generous scone which we slathered in clotted cream and strawberry jam....mmmmmmm!!

A glass of prosecco seemed appropriate for the occasion too, and for a little while I did feel like I might possibly be leading someone else's life......it was all very decadent for an average Wednesday afternoon.

I have to say I really enjoyed just looking out the window and taking in all the amazing buildings that line the river. We passed by some ancient historical buildings and ships (the Tower of London, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, HMS Belfast), but it was the modern buildings that I loved the most. Some of them are so tall and striking, you just can't help but be in awe of them. I didn't know the name of the above building, but thanks to the marvel that is Google, I can tell you that this is One Blackfriars (also known as "the vase") and was only completed this year. It is full of luxury apartments, and you have to be seriously loaded to live here - prices start from £1.15 million for a one-bedroom studio. Imagine that?!!! I absolutely cannot imagine for the life of me what it might feel like to call that place home, it's so far removed from my humble, rather shabby but well loved old terraced Victorian home. 

We couldn't have asked for better weather for our trip, it was unexpectedly warm with clear blue sky and bright sunshine, a late blast of summertime lighting up the city.

Ah did I mention the fabulous scones? No English afternoon tea is complete without them, and these ones were delicious.

As you can see, the boat was pretty full of afternoon tea-ers and the atmosphere was happy and celebratory. With the golden sunshine pouring in through the windows and music playing, it was a very relaxing way to spend a few hours in the city. 

All too soon we arrived back at Tower Pier and our round trip was complete. We had a really lovely time being boaty tourists and I wondered whether the Little People would have enjoyed it, or whether it was too sedate for them? Little B doesn't always do well when he is cooped up, he is still a bit like a puppy dog who needs space and freedom to burn off energy.

Tower Pier is right next to the Tower of London, and this isn't an area of London that I've visited before. We decided that as it was such beautiful weather that we would simply wander around for a while and see where our feet took us. I couldn't really get any sense of where exactly we were in the city (other than knowing we were near the river!), but we soon found out that we were slap bang in the midst of The City - the square mile of London that is the heart of the financial and business district.

I did recognise the above building though, honestly it's hard to miss if you are anywhere in this area. This is 20 Fenchurch Street, also known as the "walkie-talkie" building, and the scale of it is breathtaking when you are up close......

....it made me want to gasp out loud, it was just so impossibly monstrous!!! We called in to the reception area to ask about visiting the Sky Garden at the top of this building which I'd heard is fabulous, but much like the cruise boats this is something you have to plan and book in advance. I would so love to go up there! I think next year when I visit London, I shall definitely book a sky-high treat instead of a watery one, I absolutely can't wait.

Wandering around this area of London was fascinating as so many commuters were on the move at the end of the working day. It was fast paced and business like and so very urban, and I was once again struck by the contrast to my own picturesque commute along the side of the canal at the start and end of my week days. I am so grateful for my lifestyle, for the place (and pace) that is mine.

The above monument is called.......The Monument. It commemorates the Great Fire of London which raged through this part of the city in 1666, and I've just discovered that you can climb up inside it, via three hundred and eleven steps. Oh, I would so do that! In fact, I am thinking that I would quite fancy doing a tour of all the high-up viewing places in London, just to take in a whole load of panoramic views. I do really love love love a good, scenic long distance view from high up.

I loved the side view of the modern building next to the monument, which was mesmerising to look at with it's twirly silver bits spinning down over the windows (just found out ((thank you Google)) that this is called the Monument Building).  London does often surprise me with how beautiful it is, especially when you least expect it.

When Christine and I venture to London together we stay in the same hotel each time, so it has begun to feel comfortingly familiar. It's a small, quirky hotel right in the heart of Kings Cross St Pancras, set back from the hustle and bustle along a quiet side street. It's part of a row of tall London terraced houses which have been knocked together, so inside it's all multiple staircases and uneven floors and different levels. It's rather lovely and has great character, and we always enjoy a fun and relaxing stay there.

The following morning we had hours stretching ahead of us to fill with more city delights. As with any capital city in the world, London is a humongous place and there are endless things to do with your time there. Over breakfast we noodled on all the possibilities - art galleries? museums? shopping? yarn-related things? but neither of us were really in the mood for those things. I suddenly realised that all those activities involved being inside buildings, and more than anything I felt like I wanted to be outside. I love walking, and given the choice I would very much rather be outdoors than indoors, so we set off in search of London's famous Royal Parks.

Oh, it was such a lovely morning! We ambled through Hyde Park, strolling around the edge of the Serpentine in the morning sunshine - it was such a treat to be walking without a coat at this time of year. There are plenty of small refreshment points around the park, so we bought ourselves a coffee/hot chocolate and found a bench with a lovely blue watery view, to sit a while in the sun and chat. And chat some more, with lots of laughing, discussion, sharing of ideas and more chat. We are very good friends, Christine and I, and our chat is a mixture of personal friendship and work-ish blog/design talk. Its super-useful to have somebody to talk to who understands the uniqueness of blogging and designing, because so much of what we do is solitary and involves only our own thought processes. Having someone else's outside view point on ideas/concepts/projects is invaluable, and it works especially well when taken al fresco. Best of all, it works both ways, and I think we both felt lighter, happier and more energised after our "session". It was great - like therapy,  counselling, time management and mentoring all rolled into one!

It was so great in fact that we completely lost track of time and only realised it was past lunch time when we had gotten stiff from sitting for so long. 

We walked out of Hyde Park and into Green Park, eventually making our way back under ground and traveling north to our next destination........

......yes, this was our annual trip to the Knitting and Stitching show at Alexandra Palace which was in full swing by the time we made it there at 3pm. I do enjoy being able to visit a show as an actual visitor, with no other agenda other than to enjoy what's on offer.

It was lovely to see the work of friends (above are beautiful blankets by Jane Crowfoot)....

....and to admire the work of artists too. In fact, I really enjoyed the textile galleries this year, they were very inspirational and diverse, and displayed such a huge amount of artistic talent.

However, the main reason for visiting the show was so that I could attend the British Knitting and Crochet Awards. These annual awards are very highly regarded, especially as the nominations and votes come directly from the public (over 28,000 this year, which is incredible). The awards are organised by Let's Knit and Let's Get Crafting magazines - Let’s Knit editor, Sarah Neal, says: “These awards are an opportunity for the nation’s knitters and crocheters to honour their favourite brands, and they’ve done so in their thousands. That’s such a fantastic accolade for all the winners and runners-up and true recognition for all their hard work.”

And that does make me feel very honoured indeed, and hugely thankful for the support and enthusiasm that I experience every day here on my blog and via my Facebook and Instagram pages too. 

The awards ceremony itself is fun, most especially because over the years I've gotten to know quite a number of people so it's a lovely chance to socialise and catch up. There are yarn shop owners, yarn makers, designers, bloggers and authors, and it's a really super friendly atmosphere. We drink glasses of fizz, listen to inspirational speakers, then collect our awards and pose for the camera...............SMILE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That camera bit I find tricky, but the rest is a breeze - I'm pretty good at drinking fizz and socialising!

Sadly we couldn't stay until the very end as we had trains to catch, so it was a bit of a crazy whirlwind as we journeyed back down the hill away from the beautiful palace. It made for a very long day as I didn't get home until around 12.40am.......which was actually the very early start of my Birthday, and I had a day at the coast to look forward to, yippeee!!!! From busy city to calming sea, the complete contrast was not lost on me. 

Oh, I almost forgot to mention..........my awards!!!! Haha!!! SO busy telling you all about the jollity and I totally forgot the important bit!! I am so happy to tell you that I won "Favourite Crochet Designer" and "Favourite Crochet Blog". It was made even more special as this was the third year running for me and these awards, and I am so very, very grateful to everyone who took the time and trouble to cast a vote or two. It was also fabulous for me with my festival hat on too as Yarndale won "Best Knitting Event" for the third year running. We are so blinkin' chuffed about this!!! Thank you, thank you, to everyone who makes Yarndale so amazing. My lovely friends at Wool Warehouse also won multiple awards too, well they are wonderful aren't they?

So I've had lots to celebrate this month, and I am beyond grateful. Awards and a golden birthday....oh, and one more thing too. I've got one last post to share in my catch-up mission, as J and I celebrated twenty five years (half our lifetime) together. We remained true to ourselves and took off for 2 days up in Wensleydale at the start of October - nothing glamorous, but oh, it was so very lovely! I'll show you some photos from there very soon - lots of green greenery, and as far removed from city bustle as you could get. Just perfect for the likes of us.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

ps if you'd like to see all the awards results, I think you can access them ((here))

pps I feel like I would like to give you all a big ((((HUG)))), as I'm feeling quite emotional all of a sudden. Consider yourself squeezed with my thanks!!! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx