Attic24

Autumn Still

I wanted to show you a few little festive crochet things I'm making at the moment, but as I was uploading the photos to my blog earlier I realised that they were really pretty terrible and not fit for show. It's the light you see, or rather the complete lack of it. During the past week I've been taking a few photos here and there as I've been playing with festive colours and hooking up some rounds, but unfortunately the camera made everything look really sickly. Candle light just doesn't cut it, as lovely as it is during these dull grey days.

I shall try again tomorrow when I'm hopeful things might be a bit lighter and brighter. To be honest, I'm in a state of mild shock over the fact that I actually have festive makings coming off my hook in November when really, it is still Autumn in my mind. I am still loving on my pumpkins and little acorns! However, the Little People have spoken with great authority this year and have declared this Sunday 1st December will be the day we Deck the Halls and the Autumn guff will be packed away. Never in my life have I decorated for Christmas this early - we usually wait until ten days before kind of thing, but not so this year. I fear that if I make them wait they will stage a chaotic intervention and I don't really have the energy to deal with the fallout. So Advent and The Tree will all happen both at once this weekend, I will do my best to make it a joyful occasion.

One of the things I've been making this week is a new festive garland for my mantel, to take over from the Autumn one. So far I have the grand total of 3 berries and 9 holly leaves so it's definitely a young WiP, but I'm hopeful that I'll have it finished in time for Winter Solstice which is on Sunday 22nd December this year. I'd love to know if you have anything festive on your hooks/needles at the moment? Anything Christmassy or Wintry?

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Dahlia Blanket CAL :: Introduction

Good morning! If you're here looking for the new Dahlia yarn pack, click on the following link to go straight there >>

❧🏵️DAHLIA YARN PACK 🏵️❧

If you'd like to read on and find out the inspiration behind the Dahlia blanket, I've got lots to show you.....

I've been so excited to share this creative journey with you, and to show you just a little of what I have been obsessing over during much of this year. My head has been so full of floral colour that there hasn't been a lot of room for anything else, but honestly I wouldn't have it any other way. My colour palettes and crochet blankets are always at the forefront of my creative thinking and I pour a huge amount of emotional energy and passion into them. Nobody could ever accuse me of being half hearted about my projects that's for sure - I'm always a 110% kind of person, all in and full to overflowing.

I have to tell you that pretty much as soon as we finished up with the Sweet Pea CAL back in February, I was already craving more floral inspiration. I adored making the Sweet Pea blankets and found myself pondering endlessly on the idea of creating another floral inspired blanket. I noodled over a few different flower options (tulips, zinnias) but very quickly settled on one of mt all time favourites - dahlias.

Photo Source : Sarah Raven

I've been a massive fan of Sarah Raven for many years, and her plant catalogues bring me a huge amount of visual joy. Her range of dahlias are absolutely breathtaking and if you've got a minute, I can highly recommend popping onto her page and scrolling through the collection just to breathe in the colours. Take a little look then hop back here to the Attic........

https://www.sarahraven.com/flowers/bulbs/dahlias 

.......wasn't that beautiful?

Now I did fantasize about turning our shabby little overgrown allotment plot into a full-blown Sarah inspired dahlia patch but in all honesty I am just not that good at growing things. I tried planting some tubers but forgot to protect them and they were mercilessly devoured by slugs and snails pretty much as soon as their delicate shoots appeared. So after much heart ache and deliberation I decided to abandon the idea of big flowers and grow some miniature dahlias in back yard pots where I could keep an eye on them and protect them with organic, wildlife friendly slug deterrent. I loved having them in my yard over the summer and picking a few small stems to have on my table was wonderful.

If you've been visiting the Attic over the years, you will be familiar with my enduring dahlia crush - market dahlias have kept me very happy for many years (just found this post from 2009). I love having fresh flowers in the house and the more colourful they are the better.

I am very lucky to have real life friends who are very much better at growing stuff than I am, and was thrilled one day at Coopers Café when I was gifted with some beautiful stems wrapped in newspaper. Oh, the joy! I can't put into words how fabulous it is to be given something like this, it was just the best feeling ever.

As you can see from the above photo, Judi's home grown newspaper wrapped dahlias were absolutely gorgeous and I adored having them in the house. I also had a jolly good play with them when I was teetering on the edge of choosing a dahlia inspired colour palette - you just can't beat having real life inspiration at the tips of your fingers.

As well as feeding my brain with real life flowers and a tonne of images on the internet, I took plenty of inspiration from this fabulous book too.

{ "Dalias" by Naomi Slade }

This book is really beautiful with the most eye catching photography...

....there is also lots of practical advice about growing dahlias, as well as page after page showcasing all the different varieties of dahlia that you can get your hands on.

However, the best inspiration can always be found where there are experts involved, so I spent some time surfing the web trying to find out where I could go to see how the professionals do their dahlia growing.

I discovered a small nursery up in Northumberland where they have been growing and breeding prize winning dahlias for almost one hundred years. Imagine that?!!! Established in 1921, Halls of Heddon is a small family run business, specialising in dahlias and chrysanthemums. During August and September you can visit the nursery in Heddon-on-the-Wall to see their growing field in full bloom, oh yeah......what a trip that would be!!!! Can you just picture me in such a place????

So on a sunny Friday in mid September, J and I made the one hundred mile journey north to see what we could find.

Oh.

My.

Goodness.

Nothing prepared me for the dizzy reality of seeing more than 10,000 dahlia plants growing in one place.

After parking the car we started out exploring the covered areas first. These were like huge open sided sheds with clear plastic roofing, designed to allow the air to circulate but protect the floral blooms from the wind and rain. 

This is where they grow all the big blowsy flowers, the ones that take your breath away with their size and flamboyance.

Many of the blooms were bigger than I had ever seen in my life.....

...look......

...!!!!!!!!!! Bigger than my HEAD!!!!!

These are known as Dinner Plate dahlias and honestly they absolutely blew my mind. 

The outside field was filled with hundreds of different varieties and hybrids in every dahlia-ish colour you can imagine. 

Row upon row of the most stunning flowers....

....it was quite overwhelming (in the best possible way).

I just love the sheer joy of dahlias, they are so vibrant and charming and never fail to make me smile.

I don't know how long we spent wandering up and down the rows in the early afternoon sunshine....

...but it was one of the happiest and most inspirational days I can remember in a long while.

J snapped the above photo on his phone, of me crouching down amongst the flowers taking photographs. I was pretty giddy I have to say, barely holding it together.

I took soooooooooooooooooo many photos, I just couldn't seem to stop myself.

238 images to be precise.

I am trying hard not to bombard you with a humongous amount of dahlia overload right away, so here is just a teensy-weensy sample of what found its way onto my camera....

Ahhhh, so much floral colour and beauty, quite overwhelming really. I'll show you a lot more in the coming weeks as we get ready for the Dahlia CAL....you've been warned - flower spam will be hitting the Attic!

Once we'd finished in the field, I decided to try and see if I could purchase some cut flower stems to take home with me.

I didn't have to look very far as there were already a good number of stems freshly cut that morning, waiting for me to do a crazy happy dance around them. 

I think I had real hearts in my eyes when I saw this little lot!

I tried hard to think about my yarn choices right there on the spot, and how the flower colours would translate to Stylecraft Special shades (oh, you know I'm pretty accomplished at doing that). I picked out the stems one at a time, placing them in a bucket to make a real life floral colour palette. It was such good fun and I think I did pretty well!

My precious cargo was tucked safely in the back seat of the car ready to travel one hundred miles south. We had such a beautiful drive home, coming off the main A1 and driving over the top of the Pennines instead. Let me show you...

...it was such a lovely, memorable day, better than I could ever have hoped for.

But of course, the end of the day trip wasn't the end of the dahlias for me.
Do you want to see what came home with me?

OK............here you go......

................WOWSERS!!!! Aren't they just STUNNING? 

I was so so so so happy to have these flowers to play with...

...oh my heart. Aren't they delicious?!

By the time I had these flowers at my disposal, I had already chosen the colours I wanted to include in my Dahlia blanket. I still had a huge amount of fun playing around though, arranging the flowers into something of a colourwheel.....

....what do you think? I didn't quite get the deep red right (my camera makes the dark red flower look very dark) but I absolutely love the sweep from dark to light and the way the colours all seem to belong to each other.

Building colour palettes is something that makes me so happy, it's feeds my creative soul in a way that often takes me by surprise. It's fun and exciting, and so very satisfying when after a lot of playtime (often over many months) it all comes together to create the most beautiful visual harmony. I love it so much!

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

Top row, left to right...

🏵️ magenta 🏵️ fuchsia purple 🏵️ shrimp 🏵️ apricot 🏵️ powder pink 🏵️

Middle row, left to right...

🏵️ boysenberry 🏵️ pomegranate 🏵️ spice 🏵️ lemon 🏵️ blush 🏵️

Bottom row, left to right...

🏵️ claret 🏵️ lipstick 🏵️ tomato 🏵️ saffron 🏵️ fondant 🏵️

You can find the Dahlia yarn pack in my shop at Wool Warehouse, click on the following link...

❧🏵️DAHLIA YARN PACK 🏵️❧

These colours are extremely harmonious together, mainly because they all sit very closely together on the hot side of the colour wheel. They blend and sing especially well when arranged in this particular order ↑↑ and I really love the way the colours instantly transport me back to that warm, sunny flower field. 

For my Dahlia blanket, I'm using an easy variation of a Spike Stitch which I think suits these colours perfectly. I wanted something that would echo the flower petals and I'm really super-happy with it.

This is a great stitch to crochet, a really clever construction which makes it very easy to see where your hook is going on each row. The counting is minimal (yay!) which makes it easy to keep on track, and I would definitely say this pattern is a good'n' for beginners, or for those looking for some soothing rows to sit on the sofa with.

I'll be sharing a full photo tutorial for this spike stitch on my blog at the start of the CAL in January. I'll also be creating some printable pattern sheets for those who don't need all the photos and prefer to have a traditional paper pattern tucked in your bag (or downloaded and saved to your tablet/phone).

Having these colours in my yarn bag has brought me so much pleasure over the past few months, the vibrancy of the shades has really lifted up my spirits. By the time we come into the start of the New Year, I'm sure that they are going to feel even more special, bringing sunny warmth into the grey of our winter months.

I want to let you know that I've been working really, really hard on trying to get a head start on my Dahlia blankets so that I could show you just how well the colours work together. Similar to the Sweet Pea, I've worked the fifteen Dahlia colours in two different ways - there is a Mixed Stripe (the colours worked in a "planned random" order like a big bunch of flowers) and a Colourwash (the colours ordered in a dark-light-dark sweep from top to bottom)

I haven't quite finished the mixed stripe blanket yet, but there is enough of it to give you a pretty good idea of how it'll look.

Both versions are stunning I have to say, the colours are just gloriously uplifting. If you are struggling to decide which blanket you like best, I've created a little sneeky peek for you. You don't need to look if you'd rather keep an element of surprise, but I know from last year that many of you prefer to have a look at the blankets before starting the CAL to see how the colours are playing.

CLICK HERE to download Dahlia blanket SNEEK PEEK!

Now, for those of you who are "Planners who Hook" (Or Hookers who Plan), I've got sticker news for you! My lovely friend Rachel who owns EllieBethDesigns has worked her magic with my Dahlia colours and designed a special sticker sheet for the Dahlia CAL. I'm sorry the above photo isn't the best (such low light levels here), but the colours really are lovely in real life.

The art work she's used is just beautiful as you can see, the dahlias look soo pretty! Rachel's shop is taking a weeny break right now but the good news is that next Friday 29th November her shop will reopen for her famous "Bright Friday" sale. This means a generous discount, yippeeee!!! I'll give you the direct link here on my blog and on social media closer to the time, but do bookmark her shop if you don't already know it >> {https://www.elliebethdesignsuk.com}

❧🏵️DAHLIA YARN PACK 🏵️❧

I really am obsessed 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 six weeks until the CAL starts), but here is a quick round-up of information for you :

♥ The Attic24 DAHLIA CAL will will run for 8 weeks in total, beginning on Friday 3rd 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 2020 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 Spike Stitch pattern. Each week I'll share the colour stripe order for the two different versions of the Dahlia blanket I'm making (Mixed Stripe and Colourwash)

♥ The DAHLIA 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 2020. 

♥ The Dahlia 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.

Thank you so much as always for your friendship and encouragement for my blankets, both here on my blog and on social media too. I appreciate it deeply, right down to my toes.

Thank you, thank you xxxxxxxxxxxxx

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

 

 

 

With Hindsight

Hello!! So good to see you all, and I'm happy to be back here in my space after not quite feeling up to it in recent weeks. Today I've been pondering on my "re-entry" into Blogland, more specifically how to explain my absence or even whether there is any need to explain at all? There isn't a whole lot that I can tell you to be honest - I'm not sure exactly what has been happening inside my crazy brain, but something hasn't been quite right.  I hadn't actually made a conscious decision to take a break, I simply didn't feel like I had the mental and emotional energy to sit and create a decent blog post. Suffice to say, with hindsight perhaps I should have left you a little note here to let you know all this, rather than just disappearing. I am sorry that I didn't think to do that.

A dear lady commented on my blog yesterday asking "Is this blog dead?" - crikey, I was hit full force with a massive dose of guilt reading that, feeling like maybe I was unintentionally killing off my precious blog. No, no no! No deaths here in the Attic I promise you, just a necessary deep snooze period. It's needed every once in a while, a step back, a gentle decompression after a low or busy time. 

It's been three and a half weeks since my last post so not a huge amount of time in the overall scheme of things, especially not considering the eleven and a half years that I've been sharing my life here.

We had our half term week right at the every end of October and into early November. It was a wonderful, simple time I have to say, lots of easy days spent cosy at home with kids and pets snuggling up all over the place. I even found time to sit and read my magazines, the November issues which arrived shortly after Yarndale when I was in no way ready to think November-ish thoughts. I save my magazines to open when the appropriate month rolls around these days, and I find I enjoy them so much more.

Halloween and Bonfire night came and went, the usual child-orientated stuff taking place here. Little B and I carved a pumpkin each, and we had hoards of trick or treat children ringing our bell for a solid two hours. We had sparklers and a modest box of supermarket family fireworks for November the 5th - the Teens were both out with friends so it was just me, J and Little B oooohing and aaaahing over the sparkly, smoky pops and bangs. 

I finished a pair of socks which had been on my needles since the spring and I'm so happy with them! The yarn is West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4 ply and the colour is called "Seascape" which floats some major colour boats for me. Seascape is one of four colourways designed by my friend Christine the Sock Queen and this one is by far my favourite. It was inspired by the colours of seaglass, so of course I simply had to have my feet in those coastal stripes. I adore them and find myself craving a cold, breezy beach walk whilst wearing them. It's on my list.

We've been walking when the weather has allowed, taking Little B and sometimes Little Lady to wander our favourite countryside pathways. The woodland at Bolton Abbey was looking especially beautiful at the end of October, all glowing and golden and uplifting. 

Closer to home and I've been appreciating the colours of the season in the trees and hedgerows as I've walked to and from school and town. 

Our clocks went back an hour at the end of October and our days are rapidly shortening now (it's just under 5 weeks until the Winter Solstice). I've been struggling with the low light levels and long hours of darkness, my mood is definitely affected by it and I've noticed it more and more as I've gotten older. I light candles and use a daylight lamp (when I remember) but I find myself fantasizing about trips abroad where the sun is still shining and there is light and warmth to be found at this time of year. I hope one day.

Getting outdoors and walking is one of the best tonics, and I've loved it so so much when the sun has shone for us.

The combination of fresh, crisp cold walking with warm, cosy café refreshments is hard to beat in November, such pleasure to be found in our local area on days like this.

Last year I recall that November was mild, but not so this year. We've had many frosty mornings with below zero temperatures for the school run.

Mostly I walk at speed during the mornings, delivering Little B to school in time for the bell, whizzing around the supermarket  then power walking home in the chilly air ready to unpack the shopping and get on with chores and work. Every so often I come out of the supermarket not feeling quite ready to go home, and so I walk the long way back along the canal and through the park.

It's an opportunity to take in the very familiar sweep of grass and woodland that sits just a five minute walk from my door. It's a window into the seasons too, the trees telling the story of where we are in the year. Right now in mid November we still have some leaves hanging on in there, although another week and I reackon most branches will be bare. Winter will be creeping in soon enough.

I walked home from school today at 4pm, stopping to catch my breath at the top of the street (it's a heck of a climb up at the end of the day). The setting sun was casting a beautiful ruby glow over the hilltops and it made me glad (just a weeny bit) for our shortened days.

Hyacinth bulbs are in the house this week - yipppeeee for small (but perfectly wonderful) seasonal pleasures! I adore this seasonal ritual, and love that in the eleven years since I've lived in this house that hyacinths have become A November Thing. Gosh, it makes me so happy, right down to the ends of my toes. They are in a metal Christmas pot as that's how the supermarket is selling them this year - I have pondered taking them out and putting them into a stripy Cornishware bowl, but with only 37 days till Christmas it seems I may as well embrace the Festive theme. I'll have bulbs on my mantel right through till April, so plenty of time ahead to have springtime bulbs instead of festive ones.

It's been so cold here the past few weeks that we've had our central heating on during the daytime when J and I have both been home. Our sofa sits in front of the living room radiator and it's become Tilly's favourite place to sleep. Often she is sprawled full length along the sofa back, with legs draping and head lolling. The combination of rising heat and cosy crochet keeps her content and in a sleepy kitty stupor for hours on end. There is something so heart warming about seeing a cat cosied up on top of colourful crochet, don't you think?

Talking of colourful crochet, during the weeks when I've not been sat at my desk, I've been sat on the sofa crocheting. A real lot of crochet has been happening in recent months as I've been obsessing (to the point of weirdness) about this colour palette of gorgeously warm and uplifting colours. This is my new Dahlia colour palette, inspired by one of my favourite flowers and I can tell you that the colour therapy it delivers is second to none. The dull Autumn days have been brightened considerably by these bright summer shades and I honestly can't get enough of them.

There will be a new Dahlia yarn pack coming very very soon, along with a beautiful new blanket pattern which I'll be sharing here on my blog for my annual Crochet-A-long (CAL).

I'm using a new stitch pattern which is loads of fun to crochet - super easy and relaxing to do, with minimal counting and a very easy intuitive construction. It's a great pattern for beginners, or for those of you like me who need some low-brain-matter therapeutic rows to amble along with during the evenings.

I'll be sharing a lot more about the Dahlia blanket here on my blog on Wednesday 20th November (oooo, yes, it's very soon indeed!). I've got so many inspiring photos to show you - when I say I've been obsessing, I really do mean it haha!! 

I've been making two different versions of the Dahlia blanket (hence the huge amount of crochet time needed) - all will be revealed on Wednesday. 

And on that bright and breezy note, I shall love you and leave you as I head back to my hook and yarn. See you in a few days time for some floral feasting!

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Autumn Feels

Well hello there my lovely Attic visitors, it's so good to see you again! Thank you very much for stopping by after I've been away from this space for a silly amount of time, my break was totally unplanned but it seems life had other ideas for me these past few weeks. October has been a bit up and down, a real mixed blend of feels and my main aim has been to take one day at a time and try to look after my physical and mental well being.

I find Autumn such a strange season to get to grips with as regardless of how visually beautiful it is, I really struggle with the reduced light levels and the underlying feelings of melancholy. It's an odd thing for me as I am generally such an upbeat person and am passionate about celebrating the changing seasons, but this time of year just feels tricky to navigate.

October has been extremely wet for the most part, so the days when the sun has come out to play have felt like the greatest gift. I've been pretty unwell for the past few weeks and have spent a lot of time at home, but short walks into town during dry spells have felt really good. I've had to go slow as my energy levels have been extremely low, but I've appreciated the cool fresh air and the chance to very gently stretch my legs. 

Today I woke up feeling very much better (thank heavens!) and have spent some time in my studio which was so good. I do miss my blog when I've been away for a while, it's become such an important part of my life during the past decade. So as it's been a few weeks since I opened my Attic window, I thought it would be nice to have a grand ol' catch up and share a little of what I've been up to, both at home and away. 

Just after Yarndale, J and I had the opportunity to escape for a very short break away just the two of us. It was such a blessing, a quick jaunt up into Wensleydale to stay in one of our favourite villages {the very picturesque and atmospheric Askrigg} and walk a couple of our favourite trails in the Yorkshire Dales.

It was very lush but incredibly wet, light rain falling almost non-stop and the ground completely waterlogged. Can you see in the above photo what looks like a small stream flowing at the bottom? Well that was actually the footpath! We had to wade through that little lot which was a very wet and soggy business - thank goodness for my hand knit socks which kept my feet reasonably warm even though my boots were absolutely sodden.

Whole fields had become picturesque lakes, but we managed to navigate the paths and enjoy the peacefulness of the landscape with very few people about. It was such a tonic, and arriving at our cosy bed and breakfast after miles of wet wandering was pure bliss. We had a delicious dinner and a few beers beside the open fire in one of our favourite pubs (The Kings Arms) followed by an early night in one of the most comfortable beds I've ever slept in.

We returned home the following afternoon, so it really was a short break (30 hours in total) but it was enough to recharge my batteries after the whirlwind that was Yarndale. I think short breaks away from home are bloomin' marvelous things, and J and I are very fortunate to have his wonderful parents close by to take care of the Little People for us from time to time. I appreciate it very much I have to say.

A few days after Wensleydale and I was preparing for another trip away, this time on my own. This is something that has become a fixture in my calendar in recent years, my annual trip to London to visit the Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace. I traveled down by train, meeting up with my fab friend Christine before heading to the show in the late afternoon.

We never seem to time it right and always end up rushing around trying to see as much as possible before it closes - it's a giant show with a huge number of exhibitors and displays and of course there is always a lot of socialising to be done! I stopped to chat to my good friends at Stylecraft Yarns, said hello to other lovely yarny folks I know and introduced myself to new folks too. I had a very brief but exciting little meeting with the two gorgeous ladies who run this company.....

...this is the Historial Sampler Company who design the most beautiful cross stitch and tapestry kits. I'm excited to be doing some design work with them next year - during the past year or two I've been love love loving cross stitch and designing in this medium is super-exciting I have to say. I'll keep you posted!

The other reason for my annual trip to the Knit and Stitching show is down to a little something known as the British Knitting and Crochet Awards. This was my fourth year to attend, and I absolutely love that I now know many of the other lovely nominees and award winners. From designers and authors, to bloggers, yarn producers and shop owners, this is a super group of passionate and talented ladies and gents who I am madly happy to call friends. In the above photo you can see me in the middle (looking pretty smiley and contented!), Christine on the right (who won a highly commended award for her book "More Super Socks") and my lovely friend Fiona on the left who owns an amazing local yarn shop in Harrogate called "Yarn Etc". Fiona's shop won a highly commended award for the North of England region, such a well deserved win for all the hard work she pours into her shop and local yarn community. We had a fun time catching up and celebrating, then out for a meal afterwards with other shop owners and retailers who have become friends over the years, gosh I can't remember the last time I was out after eleven o'clock, it felt very grown up!

I am really, really happy to tell you that I won first place in the "Favourite Crochet Designer" category, and gained a highly commended in the "Favourite Crochet Blog" category. I would continue to do what I do here on my blog regardless of any votes being cast my way, simply because it makes me unbelievably happy to share my creativity and inspire others. But recognition is still a truly wonderful thing, and I am so so grateful for the community that surrounds me and the friendships that continue to grow from it. Thank you very, very much if you took the trouble to vote for me, I appreciate it very much.

After a night on the town in London, followed by a yummy hotel breakfast and an extended morning coffee/pastry/chatter session with Christine, I left the city behind and headed home.............

................not home to the Attic, but a journey South-West to my childhood home town in Dorset.

Hooray for spontaneous decisions and trains that take you where your heart desires! 

I'd decided to spend the weekend in Dorset as it just so happened to be my Birthday, and my annual pull to be beside the sea was as strong as ever. 

My Birthday fell on a Saturday this year and there was only one place I wanted to go - my new favourite cafe by the sea at West Bay for a spot of brunch. Yeah, I'm still firmly on my brunch kick, I am quite addicted to this leisurely weekendish meal and take advantage of it as often as possible. So I was without J and the Little Peeps which felt a bit odd, but I trundled down to the sea with my Dad and Lady B to settle cosily into Rise cafe. Gosh, I do so love this place! Brunch was awesome and although the weather was very disappointing (it did not stop raining the whole weekend I was there, honestly, non-stop wet stuff falling from the clouds), I was still able to sit and swoon over the seaside views. 

My birthday passed in a blur of sea air, good food, good company, a trip to the local pub followed by cake, prosecco and cosy crochet sofa time, which was pretty perfect.

On the Sunday morning I had the pleasure of returning to West Bay to meet up with a group of local crocheters. This lovely group of Dorset ladies meets up a few times a year as a result of knowing each other online via the "Hooked on Attic24" facebook group. Isn't that just the loveliest thing? The get together was organised by Sandra who writes her blog Daffodil Wild, and it just so happened that the Autumn meet coincided with my own short jaunt down to Dorset. How could I stay away?! It was a fabulous few hours, loads of excited chatter, coffee, cake and crochet and lots and lots of blanket squishing. Thank you lovely Dorset ladies for making me feel so welcome, it really was a wonderful way for me to round off my time in Dorset before I had to whizz back up North again.

I arrived back late on Sunday night, exhausted but glad to be home after four days away. I had kind of forgotten it had been my birthday whilst I was gone and enjoyed opening some surprise cards and gifts from the Little People. I'm happy to report that chocolate featured heavily in the gift giving this year, how lucky am I? And in case you were curious - I've managed fifty one glorious years pootling around on planet earth. Pretty happy about that!

When I woke up on the morning after coming back from London/Dorset, I did not feel at all well. I knew straight away that it wasn't just tiredness from travelling, but something much yuckier taking over my body. Nothing serious you understand, just a cold, but my goodness what a beastly virus it turned out to be.

Last week I really felt pretty unwell, that cold really did a number on my energy levels and I've barely felt like doing anything, just the absolute bare essentials. I've been sleeping badly at night, then falling asleep on the sofa at odd times during the day, trying to keep up with Mum stuff, the shopping, cooking, laundry, school run, homework type of stuff which still needs to happen regardless of how bad the body feels. 

This week I've been feeling a little better, and J and I managed a short walk at Bolton Abbey on a day when it actually stopped raining and the sun came out.

Real, actual sunshine!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Glorious, it really was. 

We spotted a heron soaking up the rays on the opposite side of the river.....

....and the woodland was looking super-pretty wearing it's early Autumn colours.

I enjoyed the walk enormously, although I was pretty much dragging by the end of it and so glad of the café where good coffee was inhaled for essential revival purposes. 

We walked in our local woods at the weekend with Little B in tow - actually it was his idea to take a walk on Saturday morning, with the promise of a stop off in town afterwards for hot chocolate. It was a tad muddy, but delightful all the same, and for the umpteenth time I gave thanks for this beautiful patch of tree-filled land which is there for us to enjoy right on our doorstep. 

So........that's about all that's been going on here this month -  a couple trips away, some serious germs to contend with and a few short local walks. Autumn has well and truly arrived.

I've still got some Yarndale things to share with you all, I've not forgotten about that and was part way through creating the blog post just before I became unwell. I'll try and get that finished off and published very soon - it's half term next week which I absolutely can't wait for, I really am longing for some slow days of family time. 

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Yarndale After and Before

I spent most of the day alone in my studio today, something that hasn't happened in a long while. I bought fresh stems of sunflowers for my table, ordered up a latté and sat down with my lengthy email catch-up list and my laptop all set to Get Things Done. I figured that today was day four post Yarndale and I should be attempting to regain some normality, but the reality is that I am still in recovery and energy levels are pretty low. So I sat and admired my flowers and gazed at my tidy shelves, sipped my coffee and read through so many lovely messages written in my visitors book over the weekend, and allowed the gratitude to gently wash over me. It was a good, good day.

I've slept a lot these past few days, sometimes crawling into bed at odd times with all my clothes on just desperate for some immediate shuteye. It's been an intense and emotional week but oh my goodness, totally worth it. Yarndale was amazing! I was going to try and write up a big Yarndale post for you today, but I'm not quite there with my thoughts yet, so for now I'm going to share a few snippets of things from the days last week. 

I tidied up my studio at the start of last week in preparation for it being open to the public. 

My shelves are still a bit chaotic but I sorted out a massive pile of yarn to give away (felt so good!), cleared out a load of rubbish, cleaned my floors and dusty surfaces and generally regained a sense of cosy order which pleased me enormously. 

I adore my little studio room, it means the world to me and I enjoy sharing it when visitors come to town. It's a working room and not a showroom and as a result it's often a little bit on the messy side, but it has a really good vibe and I always feel inspired and uplifted after spending time there.

As you know, I put up all my lamp post wraps in the rain last week, a fairly big job which took around three and a half hours to complete.

I do quite enjoy it actually, it's quite physical work but not that hard. I climb up my step ladders and secure the wraps top and bottom with cable ties, then a long seam is stitched down the back to hold the wraps securely in place.

They look so good when they are done, and I know how much visitors and local residents enjoy them. I took them all down on Monday afternoon, they were very soggy so I gave them a wash in the machine and a low heat tumble dry and they are now all packed away until next year.

The bears.....oh my heart ♥️ such an amazing, heart-warming project and a humongous success at the weekend. I took lots of photos so will share much more of those when I write up my Yarndale post proper next week. I'm awaiting the final total for the fundraising, but I know it went well and the lovely volunteers at Mercy Ships were blown away by the fabulousness of our crochet and knitting community. 

I realised today when I was looking through photos from September that I didn't show you my floral headband, how very slack of me?! I shared on Instagram, but not here on my blog, so thought you might like to see this quick little pre-Yarndale make.

I fancied making myself something fun and yarny to wear and after a bit of pondering I settled on a hair decoration. I've seen a few beautiful crocheted "Frida Crowns" in the interwebs (this one in particular caught my eye) but I didn't want mine to be quite so sticky-uppy if you get what I mean. Less of a crown and more of a headband I think. I happen to have a very small head, so bought a very inexpensive narrow child's alice band from a local shop (this kind of thing) and crocheted some little cotton flowers and leaves to decorate.

I used oddments of Ricorumi Cotton DK, and crocheted some May Roses, Teeny Tiny Flowers and leaves. I then took my chances in the Cupboard of Doom and managed to unearth the magic hot glue gun.....

...and a very quick and satisfying little make came together in an evening.

Ta-dah!! Not a very good photo I'm afraid (and gosh, I do look tired!) but you get the idea. Not sure if I'd be brave enough to wear it out and about in general public, but I did enjoy being appropriately yarny at Yarndale. 

I'll be sharing more Yarndale Tales with you next week - I need to sort out my hotch-potch collection of photos and attempt to describe the hugeness of being in a building with over 200 madly talented exhibitors and over 7000 madly excited visitors. It was pretty amazing I have to say. More soon!

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It's Yarndale Time

Helloooo!!!

Just popping by to say that I'm sorry I haven't been able to write a proper pre-yarndale post but I've been so flat out busy getting everything ready that time has escaped me.

I put up the lamp post wraps in the park - 28 of them in total - on Tuesday, in the slanting rain. It was so wet and dismal but I pulled my hood up and tried not to be bothered by it, and my goodness they do look good! In a way, they look even better in the dull grey weather as the colours truly shine out - so many folks stopped under their unbrellas to admire the crochet and tell me how much they enjoy seeing the yarn in the park when Yarndale comes to town. It made me really happy, even in my soaked-to-the-skin sogginess. I'll share more pics next week.

The past few days I've been working very hard with the Yarndale team up at the auction mart getting it all together. The bunting went up yesterday and looks as magnificent as ever - hard to believe this is it's 7th outing (you can read about it here).

I've spent all of today building the Creative Community display - that's the BEARS in case you missed it!

And just about half an hour ago I finished uploading the final photos to Pinterest.

All one thousand, eight hundred and seven of them. Yup - J and I have worked so hard on this, photographing every single bear and giving it a little ta-dah moment to credit the makers who joined in from 23 different countries around the world.

1807!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had to make 18 separate boards on Pinterest, with around 100 or so bears on each, if you want to take a look >>

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/yarndale/boards/

I am completely blown away by the respsonse. Thank you so so much if you made a charity bear and sent it to us for this project in support of Mercy Ships. Your bears will make so many children happy, and I am all emotional and heart-squeezy over it, and can't quite find the words to tell you what this means to me. But thank you.

I'll take a LOAD of photos and share more of it here next week. And for those of you who are coming to Yarndale, you will be able to see them for real and I hope you enjoy the incredible display.

Right, I am dead on my feet and am going to fall horizontal now. I'll be back next week once Yarndale 2019 has been and gone and I am recovered a little.

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Summers End

Today marks the Autumn Equinox and there's no denying it now - Summer is officially over for another year. The past week has been absolutely glorious, a truly beautiful end to my favourite season and I've been drinking it in at every opportunity. 

On Monday last week J and I took a flask of coffee and some chocolate and set out to climb The Crag - it's been a while since we were last up there and I'd forgotten what a beast of a climb it is. I felt like every cell in my body was screaming in protest, but the stunning views combined with the deep down feeling of achievement (and sheer relief) once I hauled myself up to the top was definitely worth it.

It was a lovely walk in perfect late summer weather and I was so glad we made the effort to get out there to enjoy it.

Our days this week have often started out in a very foggy way with a thick bank of whiteness hanging low over the landscape. It's been atmospheric and beautiful, and has made our morning walks to school feel very Autumnal.

There is something very unique about the morning light in September, don't you think? There is a softness to it which I've come to really love, and even though it signals the end of summer I find I really don't mind it at all.

Coming home after the hectic morning school run, I try and make time to sit quietly with a coffee for a short while to gather my thoughts and just breathe in the stillness. It never fails to make me feel that all is right in my world when I have a hot milky drink in my hands. 

I've been walking around town more than usual this week as I've somehow had a lot of errands to run which have taken me from one end of town to the other.

It's certainly no hardship to run errands in my town. I've lived here for almost twelve years now and I absolutely love being able to walk from my house to the shops via roads like this ↑↑

....and along pathways like this ↑↑

I consider myself extremely lucky to be able to walk along these watery pathways every day and never take it for granted.

We gathered up Little B on Saturday and drove into the Yorkshire Dales to walk alongside the river Wharfe. This walk has become a firm family favourite during this past year, ever since we discovered the delights of the Old School Tearoom. In fact it was Little B's idea for us to walk there at the weekend, and I'm pretty certain that his decision was entirely banana milkshake induced.

Even though I've been holding onto the idea of Summer still being with us, the trees along the riverbank were most definitely displaying their Autumn colours. Most trees are still very green (hooray!) but the horse chestnuts are always one of the first to turn.

They look lovely though, especially when the sun lights them up.

Little B was on a conker-finding mission, although really it's still too early for them. He was overjoyed by the very small ones he found and we now have a very teensy collection of them sitting in a bowl in the kitchen.

The tea room was delightful as ever and it was warm enough for us to sit outside to eat an early lunch. Note the banana milkshake of dreams (!), he was so happy with his drink and his conkers, bless him.

I used to have a major addiction to buying tea towels, I wonder if you remember? I've not exactly grown out of it but have learnt to curb it and haven't indulged in a good few years now. I was looking on the Cath Kidston website for a new purse as my current 22 year old one has finally fallen apart. Somehow I found myself looking at tea towels instead (old habits die hard) and well, the 'shrooms just called out to me and had to come and live in my kitchen. I think they look very Autumnal and so blinkin' cute, I love love love them.

I've got some glorious sunflowers on my table at the moment, a gift from a good friend for no other reason other than she knew I would love them. She wasn't wrong, I do absolutely adore them and every day they make me smile. They are very Septemberish I think, a real end of Summer treat.

My mantel is still in Summer mode, and it shall stay that way until after Yarndale. We are forecast some rotten weather this week so I am doing all that I can to summon up some sunshiny summer vibes, just enough to get us through the weekend would be good. 

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Across the Moors

Last Sunday on the first day of September we set out on a morning walk across the moors. It was our last jaunt of the Summer holidays, a chance for us to stretch our legs, breathe in the fresh air and mentally begin the process of winding down our holidays and preparing for the start of a new school year. 

As is pretty usual for us these days, we were walking as a family of three with both the Teens working that day. Mind you, even if they weren't working I doubt that it would have made a difference to our walking plans - Little Lady does still like to walk with us but more often than not she's made other weekend plans for herself. Her social life is like a non stop merry-go-round and she is always on the go with her gorgeous group of friends, which of course I'm super happy about. She is in such a great place right now, happy, confident and loving life and I couldn't be more pleased for her.

So we are a threesome for walks these days, and that's quite OK, the transition has been gradual and it feels more normal now than it did a year ago. 

We mapped out a circular five mile walk around the two reservoirs (Upper Barden and Lower Barden) which sit high up on Barden Moor. We drive this way often en route to Bolton Abbey, but it's a beautiful place in it's own right and well worth an outing when the weather is fine. It can often be very wild and windy up here with virtually no place to shelter, so you do need to come prepared with the right clothes and some refreshments tucked in your bag.

We passed a few other people walking as well as some woolly four legged residents but mostly we enjoyed having these vast moors and spectacular views all to ourselves.

Upper Barden reservoir can't be seen from the road so it's always a lovely sight when it finally comes into view. Being that this was roughly the half way point of the walk, we had told Little B that we would stop here for a rest and something to eat and drink, so he was ridiculously happy when we arrived at the waters edge.

Before leaving town, we made a quick stop off at a café which opens it's doors for the early morning breakfast crowd and filled up our flasks. J and I had frothy lattés and Little B had his very own flask of hot chocolate which he was delighted with. On the spur of the moment I'd also picked up a couple of chocolate croissants which I felt would hit the spot rather nicely once we were high up on the hilltops.

Sitting out in the wide open countryside with a picturesque view laid out in front of you is one of life's glorious pleasures and one of my most favourite things to do. If you add in a picnic blanket, a hot drink and a bit of something sweet and naughty, well the whole experience is elevated up a notch or two on the pleasure charts. It was just so good! It also really helped to give Little B an extra energy boost as he'd been dragging his little legs somewhat. Hot chocolate has magical properties I'm sure of it.

We walked past the old Victorian reservoir keepers house - we were last here in the depths of Winter and I found myself very intrigued by this remote house back then too. I wonder what it would feel like to live there? Blissful or lonesome?

The heather was beautiful but definitely not abundant this year and there was far more brown than purple.

There was lots of green though, and it made me immediately think of the first part of my Moorland Blanket. I don't think I'll ever walk up here and not think of the colours in my Moorland blanket to be honest, it's impossible for me to look at this very familiar landscape and not see Cypress, Lime, Khaki, Meadow, Pistachio, Mocha and Walnut!

The winding track back towards the Lower Reservoir felt quite long and a little hard going - you can just see the reservoir in the distance there. 

But eventually we made it to the water's edge...

...and continued to follow the track across the embankment and up, up, up over the moors.

This felt like a veeeeery long part of the walk, and I was glad that Little B seemed to still be powering forward on hot chocolate energy because I was definitely dragging my heels.

I loved this Rowan tree which was absolutely covered in berries, it looked so bright and cheerful against the more muted backdrop of the hills and water.

I love walking in the countryside and taking in all the colours and I find myself mixing up virtual colour palettes inside my Creative Mind all the time. I've always been this way, even as a teenager I can vividly remember walking in Dorset and being so drawn to particular colours around me, wishing back then that I'd had a camera to capture what I was seeing. Owning a digital camera has completely changed my life and I absolutely wouldn't be without it. I always carry my little pocket point-and-shoot camera with me wherever I go (it's this Sony one, in case you wanted to know) and love that taking photographs has become such an essential part of my everyday life.

Hard to believe it's now three years since I  was working on my Moorland Blanket, it's still one of my most favourite makes.

I'm currently working on my next blanket design which I'll be ready to share with you in mid November (it'll be run as another CAL which will take place in Jan/Feb 2020). I'm super excited as I'm heading off on Friday for a little inspirational visit somewhere special. I might share some sneaky photos with you, I've not decided yet - it's hard to know how much to share and how much to keep as a surprise.

Let me know what you think? Would you like to know what the colour inspiration is for my next blanket, or shall I keep it under wraps for now? I'm so so so so so excited about it by the way!!!!!

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Life in August :: part 3

I've loved writing my blog during this past month, and know from experience that these types of everyday-life posts are the ones that I'll most enjoy looking back on and re-reading in future years. Blogging is such an excellent way to capture memories and record the essence of time and place, and I so enjoy seeing my random photos come together to describe the little everyday joys of spending summer at home with the Little People. I guess this is my own personal window into the summer of twenty-nineteen, but I'm glad that you also enjoy peeking through my window with me.

24th August, a random Tuesday morning. We drove out to the beautiful village of Burnsall in the Yorkshire Dales and strolled along the riverside, it was sunny, bright and fresh and a lovely morning for a walk. Most of the river along this stretch is fast moving and quite noisy...

....but I loved this bit close to the riverbank where the reflections played on the still surface of the water amongst the mossy stones. 

Turning away from the river, this part of the walk passes through beautiful fields and meadows. Mid morning and the sun is still low in the sky and the shadows are long in late August.

There is a definite feel of summer drawing to a soft, gentle close......

....and the very beginnings of the Autumn season beginning to show. 

We walked as far as our favourite watering hole in Hebden and for the first time all summer we chose to sit inside instead of out in the garden. This was in part decided by the wasps, but it's sooo cosy and gorgeous inside I felt I could quite happily move in. A leisurely brunch is definitely the most enjoyable meal of the day I've decided. I know it doesn't really work on school/work days but that's probably why I love it so much because it's so very weekend/holidayish!

We've continued to make the most of the long days when the weather has been good, enjoying early evenings out and about after our dinner. It's mostly just Little B and me, the two of us seeking out the sunshine and enjoying a bit of playtime. We head to the park close to our house where I sit a while and daydream while he runs, balances, jumps, climbs and spins his way around the place.

There is another small park that we sometimes visit, it's a bit further to walk and sits at the top of a veeeeeery long, steep, hilly residential street so I need to be persuaded to take that particular jaunt in the evening. Little B is very, very good at the whole persuasive thing though, and I do love the peaceful tranquility up here.

It was definitely worth the steep walk as we got to watch the sun go down just after 8pm. There were rabbits nibbling the grass and a couple of people walking dogs, but mostly we had the whole place to ourselves.

Another evening, and this time it's Little Lady who asks me if I'd like to walk with her. I immediately sense that she is feeling restless and needs to walk and talk, and I am more than happy to be the legs and ears that she needs. We climb up the big grassy hill to sit on the dry stone wall and look out over our neighbourhood....

....well, that was the plan! As you can see, our usual peaceful long distance view was interrupted by the local residents who were very interested in coming to see us. Nosy things.

7.20pm and already the sun is low in the sky and the shadows are delightfully long. You can just make out myself and Little Lady in the photo above, well not us in person but our shadowy selves. Little Lady has grown tall this summer and is now around three inches taller than me (I am a shorty at only 5ft 3"), and I am still adjusting to that fact. It feels all wrong somehow.

On our way out of the woods we found ourselves at the top of the high street and with a tilt of her head and a big persuasive smile, Little Lady gently asked if perhaps we might go for a drink together. It was a beautifully warm, clear evening and I could tell she wasn't ready to head home, so I did the decent thing and obliged her.....

....oh, it was really no hardship, as you can see!!! Haha!! We were drawn to the outside terrace of Alexanders Bar which really comes into it's own on a warm summers evening. I treated Little Lady to a mocktail, she chose a White Russian (a "coffee and vanilla infusion with crushed ice & cream topped with salted caramel" in case you wondered) and I went with a very delicious chilled Sauvignon Blanc. It was such an unexpectedly good end to a long, warm lazy day, a delightful memory that has stayed fresh and bright in my mind ever since. My sweet girl, I do love her so.

Days have been gentle and rather lazy during this past week or so. I've found myself lolling around the house in Holiday Mode and sometimes I've felt guilty about it and sometimes I've just been delighted by it. I found the above photo on my camera roll, and it just describes these kind of lolling days perfectly. I'm sat outside in my back yard, it's 5pm ish and I'm kind of in the midst of cooking dinner (well when I say "cooking" I probably mean plopping various bits of salad stuff onto a plate along with some cold roast chicken and appropriate condiments, crusty bread and dips). I remember it had been a warm sunny day because there is my duvet cover folded up ready to go upstairs after drying on the line (isn't that one of the most wonderful things about summertime weather?). I had been reading through some magazines after deciding to carry out a bit of decluttering around my desk that afternoon. Of course I had to read the magazines before passing them on to a good friend. Of course! And yes ok, that is a cheeky little gin and tonic there, hmm....I don't often drink during the week, but realise that these last two photos make it look like I really do. Holiday Mode and a relaxing drink go hand in hand, no?

I have to say that I don't enjoy the shortening days at this time of year and although I try not to allow it, I do experience a creeping melancholy at the thought of summer starting to wane. I try hard to be positive about it, but it's not easy for a summer-loving soul like me. I've been lighting up my candles in the evenings instead of putting the light on, and that does kind of ease the transition a little. I'm so enjoying this particular candle which was a gift to me from Lady B when she came to visit a few months ago. The scent is just beautiful, and it does feel like a real luxury to light it up and enjoy the fragrance as well as the dancing light.

On the mornings when I don't have any particular agenda or anywhere to be, I've been getting up at around 7am ish. I head downstairs, empty the dishwasher, bring the milk in from the doorstep, feed the cat and see to the laundry, then set about making myself a cup of coffee. I like my coffee with plenty of hot milk and a dusting of chocolate powder, and always in a mug that feels morningish and good to hold. I tiptoe back to bed and sit and sip my coffee in the quiet of the house before Little B wakes up. It's one of those lovely little pockets of time in the day when I can be still and quiet and allow my thoughts to meander. I appreciate this slow start to the day very much as it's not something that can easily happen during school time. By the way, do you like my new mug? I came across it in the supermarket and couldn't resist it's wonky charms....it cost £4, a little treat from me to me. Happy Summer, Lucy!!

Actually one day last week I woke up with a start at 7.15 and was just about to start my dishwasher-cat-laundry-coffee-back-to-bed routine when I remembered that I had a train to catch......and I only had 50 minutes in which to perform the catching!!!! Yikes, I had to rush around like a crazy thing to get myself ready and out the door in time for the 8.05 train, I only just made it. My destination was Hebden Bridge....

....and can we just stop a moment and appreciate what a picturesque little train station Hebden Bridge is, it's really very lovely!

Setting off so early meant that I was strolling the streets before it got busy, and that's a rarity in this popular little town. I don't know Hebden Bridge very well having only been there a few times before, but from what I've seen it's a truly amazing  place with a very creative, quirky vibe. There are lots of independent shops and cafés and a real feeling of community spirit (it's very much like that where I live too).

To make this trip even more special, I wasn't wandering the streets on my ownsome. I had journeyed to HB to meet up with my very good friend Christine as we'd not had the opportunity to get together since before the summer holidays began. We thought it would be a fun place to spend the day together, an easy(ish) train journey for each of us and a great place for a leisurely pootle with plenty of cosy places to sit, sip, munch and chatter.

I hadn't really considered the shopping possibilities in HB, but of course the temptation was there and it was hard to resist the lure of pretty things. We called into a few different shops but this was definitely my favourite - it's the very lovely Yorkshire Soap Co. I didn't know until about 5 seconds ago that there are actually eight shops in Yorkshire, which just goes to show how gorgeous the products are and what a treat it is to step inside the fours walls.

Everything was just so very pretty, not only to look at, but the array of sniffing possibilities blew my mind!

I fell in love with the glycerine soap bars - the combination of beautiful glowing colours and tempting scents made me a bit giddy (to be fair, it doesn't take much to tip me over). There are more than 40 fragrances to choose from, and rather predictably I chose this one................

.......uh, huh.......Seashore. I've not used it yet but I have sniffed it excessively and can tell you it is delightful in every way. Fresh and zingy, it is meant to "capture the essence of a bracing walk along a seashore" which is right up my street. 

Our day was such a tonic, a chance to take some hours to be just Me and not Mum or Wife. I do really love the summer holidays and being home with the family but towards the end I always find myself craving just a weeny bit of breathing space. Christine and I meandered along the very picturesque canal, wandered in and out of shops and spent an extensive amount of time drinking coffee and eating cake in the cosy upstairs of a small café. We attempted a little bit of planning which ended up being just a bit of list making for me, but that's not a bad thing by any means. All in all it's often such good therapy just to talk things through with someone who knows you well enough to offer honest opinions and objective advice when it's needed. I certainly always feel like my head space is clearer after spending time with Christine, it's like whipping a feather duster around my cluttered Mental Cavities and opening up a window or two.

This week has seen us preparing for the return to school after our six week break and there has been a definite feeling of wanting to make the last few days count. On Sunday we decided to head up to to high ground and stride out across the moors. I was hoping for lots of purple but as you can see the heather on our local moor is pretty sparse this year. Still, we had a really lovely walk and I took lots of panoramic photos which I'm saving for another blog post. Lucky you.

Yesterday was the very last day before school returned today, and I'd promised my time to Little B. The previous day (Monday) I'd given it over to Little Lady, going with her on the train to Leeds for a day of shopping and lunch. She'd managed to save up a fair bit of money from working so many extra shifts at her waitressing  job over the summer, and was excited for a little bit of a well earned spending spree. It was a lovely day for us both, but honestly utterly exhausting.

So back to Little B - I asked him what he wanted to do, suggesting all sorts of things including swimming, the cinema, a trip on the train to Leeds (even though the thought of doing it two days on the trot made me wither a little inside), and in the end he was adamant that he wanted to go here...................

..........Skipton Castle. Yes, that's right, this is the castle that sits at the top of the High Street, less than ten minutes walk from home. He had it in his head that he really wanted to see inside it - we had taken him years ago when he was toddlerish size so he was too young to remember it. So off we went yesterday morning, just him and me (J was suddenly very busy, funny that), walking through that grand archway to buy our tickets and go on a jaunt through an eight hundred year old building.

I adore this tree which sits proudly in the centre of the inner courtyard. It's an ancient yew tree, planted as a sappling waaaaaay back in 1659. Sixteen-fifty-nine!!! 

I don't know how many times I've visited the castle over the years, we used to go when the Little People were small using an annual voucher from the local newspaper which gave us free entry. But no matter how many times you walk the rooms and take in the views and soak up the immense history of the place, it never fails to impress. It's just so very, very, very old!

I especially loved looking out of the windows to the side of the castle which overlooks the woodland as we've walk along that narrow pathway pretty much every week during the summer. There's something appealing about getting an aerial perspective of a well known place don't you think?

We really had a great time actually, and Little B absolutely loved it. We read every single information panel in every single room and being that is was first thing on a Tuesday morning we pretty much had the whole place to ourselves. We were able to freely wander in and out of all the magnificently huge rooms and generally breathe in the historical importance of it all. I'm not much of a one for historical appreciation, but even I felt impressed by the absolute ancientness surrounding us.

After buying a pencil from the castle souvenir shop, we ventured back into modern day life and went for a coffee in Starbucks, followed by a last minute dash to the school uniform shop. It's all about balance.

The afternoon was spent like this ↑↑↑↑ (well for Little B, not me, although I was very tempted). You can just see his hand waving out of his "den", telling me that he is still alive and hasn't suffocated under the huge weight of allllll the crochet blankets and alllllll the cushions. 

And so......there endeth our summer holidays and it's been back to school and work for us all today. I think we've had a pretty great summer this year and it has felt beautifully long and lazy for the most part. Our trip to Dorset seems like it was ages ago now (well I guess it was six weeks ago), and although we haven't had any big exciting holidays or trips out this summer it's still been extremely lovely. Oh, I almost forgot, we did have a second short break three weeks ago up to Saltburn  - I started to upload some photos for a seasidey blog post so I'll try and finish that up and write about it quite soon before it all fades and becomes too distant.

Yes, summer has been so, so good. And you know, it IS still summer, right up until the Autumn Equinox on Monday 23rd September. It really is still summer (it is, it is), so please don't talk to me about Autumn just yet. I'm not quite ready.

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ps. Here are links to previous summer posts ::

☀ Life in August PART 1 ☀

☀ Life in August PART 2 ☀

 

 

 

Yarning for Yarndale

I know many of you already know all about **Yarndale but if you've somehow missed it, Yarndale is a creative yarn festival, "a celebration of all things woolly and wonderful." It takes place here in my home town in North Yorkshire at the end of September and this will be the 7th year. As one of the the five original organisers, I'm involved with all sorts of behind-the-scenes stuff throughout the year - Yarndale has become quite a large festival with more than 200 exhibitors and over 8,000 visitors, so there is always plenty to be done.

One of my main "jobs" for Yarndale is to head up all of the creative stuff, so today I thought I'd share a few of the projects I've been working on this summer.

Every year I come up with a small pattern for the brochure. It's not always easy to think up something pretty that will photograph well and be a small enough pattern to fit on the brochure page. But my Creative Mind likes a challenge and always seems to deliver something appropriate when I need it - so far I've designed a jar cover, a birdie brooch, a small stuffed owl, a heart key ring, a felted bowl and a flower garland. I have to say I do really like the little decorative things that come forth from my imagination, they make me smile! 

This year I settled on a bag charm and I have absolutely no idea why or how this came to me, I just snagged the idea directly from my Creative Mind as I could see it so clearly. I could envisage little crochet balls and tassels (I thought about adding beads but didn't have any to hand at the time) in bright colours and a bit boho gypsyish in style? Not sure that makes sense, but I kind of knew what I meant at the time!

I went to Amazon to find the clasp, it's called a "Lobster Swivel Clasp" if you are searching online for it. I chose the pretty coppery colour, but you can get this clasp in silver, gold and some other metallic colours as well, click on the link below ::

{37mm Lobster Swivel Clasps on Amazon UK}

The clasps come in packs of ten, so they are great things to have for making small gifts, you could dangle all sorts of little crochet things from them and clip to a bag or keyring.

I bought this cute straw bag a while ago, again from Amazon {{here}}. I wanted a neat little bag to take to the park and on holidays, something I could use to carry a drink and books/mags and a little bit of crochet perhaps if I was off for a picnic or a bit of relaxing-on-a-blanket time. The description on Amazon really made me laugh.... "Special Design: This straw handbag is hand-crafted by our local Artisans, unique, delicate, and fashionable. Perfect for any occasion: beach, party, shopping, camping, and dating, it shows your special personal character" ...HA!! Love that!

You can see how the bag charm just clips straight onto the bag, I do really love the effect of the bright colours against the straw.

Making the tassels was sooo easy and super-addictive. I used cotton yarn (Ricorumi DK), wrapping a length around my four fingers (I wrapped 12 times I think). You then slip a length of yarn between the yarn-wrap and your fingers and ease it up to the top, then tie a tight knot to secure the strands.

Then use a second length of yarn to tie another secure knot about 1 cm down to form a little bobbly bit at the top of the tassel. Use a needle to thread the yarn ends down through the centre of your tassel after you've tied both knots, but leave one long end at the top that you can use to secure your tassel onto your clasp. And finally, give the tassel a neat trim across the bottom. Easy Peasy! 

The pattern for the little crochet balls will be in the Yarndale brochure and like the tassels they are very easy and addictive to make. I love the finished look I have to say.

You might remember me talking a little while ago about some stripy crochet I've been doing? During Yarndale week these long thin panels will be wrapped around the lamp posts which line the pedestrian path through the park. I've LOVED making them, the colourful stripes have really ticked all my therapeutic-happy-crochet boxes. I already showed you the YARNDALE stripes above, and I think I also showed you the beginnings of my sunflower wrap in progress.....

I made a bright sunny flower using chunky yarn and following a free pattern I found online ((here)).

The leaves were a made-up pattern (and I'm sorry I didn't write anything down for these so can't share how I made them). I think perhaps they are a bit small for sunflower leaves, but honestly I don't suppose it matters too much.

I couldn't resist adding a little flying critter too, using scraps of 4 ply wool yarn and a 3 mm hook. This is such a faffy little thing to make but it is totally worth the effort - you can find the Bumble Bee pattern on my blog ((here))

What do you think? 

I'm so happy with it! I hope all the folks who see it wrapped around a lamp post next month will stop and smile :)

For the third wrap I crocheted up a whole load of green stripes to accommodate a flock of woolly sheep, as you do. The idea sprang into my mind one afternoon and would not go away, I was powerless to resist. So I set about designing a sheep pattern to bring my idea to reality, and I'm really delighted with it.

I used scraps of Stylecraft Special DK in white, black (yes I do possess black yarn) and grey.

Oh, and pink yarn too! Baaaaaa!!!!

Love love love how this came out, I had such fun making the sheep and stitching them in place to graze on those green stripes.

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

Super happy with these, and I'm really looking forward to seeing them bring some happy vibes to the park in September.

Many of you have asked for the sheep pattern, so I did the decent thing and made a whole tutorial for you. I've just been proof reading it, and do you know what I realised??? 

Can you see what's missing???

This poor little sheep has no tail!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So I added a quick pattern edit to tell you about making the tail, but it's night time now and I don't have the time or energy to make a tail and re-photograph the sheep. You'll just have to imagine her with a cute little sheep tail waggling from her behind.

You can find the pattern and tutorial by clicking on the link below >>

🐑🐑 SHEEP PATTERN 🐑🐑

I've named the pattern "Sheep Appliqué" if you need to find it in my list of patterns in the sidebar of my blog.

One of my biggest jobs for Yarndale each year is to organise and co-ordinate the large scale creative display which raises money and awareness for a charity. This has become an all-consuming part of my summers in recent years and although at times it's a pretty huge undertaking I do really enjoy it. The large scale creative displays are an amazing way of bringing together our fantastic worldwide yarn community and it's something I feel passionate about celebrating. I love the idea of us all connecting together through knitting, crochet and a love of yarn (and colour!) - I'm lucky enough to experience this sense of belonging and friendship every day through my blog and social media and Yarndale is a beautiful real-life extension of our online community.

This year, the project is all about BEARS!! Aren't they lovely??

These crochet bears are very simple to make and were inspired by the old fashioned traditional knitted bears that have been around for decades. There are many different charitable organisations around the world who collect and distribute knitted bears to give comfort and hope to children in need. My job was to create a crochet pattern which matched the knitted pattern. Sounds easy eh? It took me three attempts to get the proportions right (bear number one had veeeeery long legs, bear number two had veeeeeery long arms and a body that was too short, bear number three had a head that was too small). It's difficult to tell what the different parts of the bear will look like during the crocheting process as the whole thing is constructed as a flat piece. But eventually I got it about right, and I loved the whole process of making it work. 

The construction is ever so clever - the legs, body and head are worked as one long continuous piece. It's then folded in half and the head/ears are stitched and created. Finally the arms are worked into the ends of the body rows so that there is no need to sew on limbs. This makes a strong, safe toy suitable for children.

As with all critters, it's always so much harder than you'd think to get the face looking friendly/charming/cute, especially when you aren't able to use pre-made plastic toy eyes. A length of black yarn, a needle and some simple stitching and off you go...hoping you don't create an evil monster!

Awww, I do so love the old fashioned simplicity of these bears, I think they are completely charming.

I made a whole tutorial to help with the pattern and I named it "Charity Bear" if you are looking for it in my sidebar. Click on the link below to find it >>

🐻🐻CHARITY BEAR TUTORIAL🐻🐻

 

I also made a written pattern PDF which you can download and print if you don't need all the step-by-step photos.

Click on the link below to find it >>

CHARITY BEAR PATTERN

As I mentioned earlier, this isn't just about me making a few bears to sit on my sofa - this is all part of the Creative Community project for Yarndale 2019. The display of teddies at the festival will be in support of a fantastic charity called Mercy Ships (https://www.mercyships.org.uk), and you can read more about the Bear project on the Yarndale website ((here))

As in previous years, I was able to put the call out on social media to get the project rolling and during the past month or so, bears have been arriving into the Attic from all over the world. At first there was a neat little well behaved group......

....then more began to arrive and a bear party began!

To date, almost 400 bears are hanging out with me here in the Attic, it's a riot! There is still time to join in with this project if you would like to, in fact I would be delighted! The more bears we receive, the more children will be given a very precious woolly hug in a time of need.

With J's help, we've made a start photographing each and every bear and adding them to Pinterest so that everyone who has contributed is credited. It's such a lovely, fun gallery of images, I adore it! Currently there are four separate boards (100 bears on each board), and I've got a massive stack of parcels in my hallway waiting to be opened still.

You can see all the bears ((here)) and I'll be adding more over the next few days as I try and catch up with the parcel mountain currently blockading my hallway!

I love that these bears will be seen and loved at Yarndale, but that they will then be going on a very special onward voyage. It means that every single bear that is sent in will eventually be given a forever home with a child undergoing surgery or treatment on board the floating hospital ship currently off the coast of Senegal, isn't that something?

If you are interested in making and contributing a bear, all the details for sending etc can be found on the Yarndale website ((here)). 

Thank you for reading all the way to the end of this post, gosh my posts always end up waaaay longer than I anticipate, I can't seem to do concise writing, and I'm sorry about that. Well kind of. I don't know how to write any other way, so I guess it's not something I should be sorry about really. But thank you anyways. 

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Here are some links all in one place for you ::

💗 SHEEP APPLIQUE PATTERN

 

💗CHARITY BEAR PATTERN

 

💗 YARNDALE CREATIVE COMMUNITY INFO (includes address for posting, plus important bear making details)

 

💗 YARNDALE BEAR GALLERIES ON PINTEREST

 

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** Yarndale is a for-profit organisation and I am one of the five organisers. Yarndale is not a charity. You can read more about Yarndale on the website ((here)). I know you know all this already, but I do need to be clear and honest about my involvement with Yarndale. I'm so proud of our festival and hope you've enjoyed a little bit of insight into some of the things that I've been up to. xx