Attic24

Slow November

Brrrrrrr, it's cold here in Atticland right now and dare I say it feels more like winter than autumn. We've had some hard frosts and this morning the first teeeeeny little flakes of snow swirled about in the wind.

It's mostly been wet and grey (of course it has, this seems to be the November default setting), but when the sun has decided to pay us a visit it has been glorious.

We walked through the woods on Saturday morning - 9.30 am in the above photos - and this is a surprise because not one but two teenage offspring were with us. It's rare that they are up and about this early on a weekend morning, and truly a very happy occurrence when they both decided to come out with us with no persuasion needed. Ok, yes there was the promise of breakfast in the café after our walk and Saturday market shop, but I do believe they weren't really bribed on this occasion. Totally of their own accord, I swear. 

The treetops are mostly bare now....

...but the wind was bringing down the remaining few leaves in a beautiful swirl of golden colour. I managed to catch one before it hit the ground and closed my eyes to make a wish, because that's a rule that can't be broken. Goodness knows what I must have looked like dancing around under the tree trying to catch a falling leaf, but I was so happy when I managed it. It's way harder than you would think. 

Reflections are still very much my thing, I just can't stop loving them. And trees reflected in water, well that's my second favourite type of reflection (clouds always have the number one spot).

An upside to the bareness of the branches in November is the sudden increase in light levels in the woodland. Usually this spot is very shady and so it's rather lovely to see The Huntress doing  a bit of sunbathing.

Saturday morning market shopping was great as always, and my best buy were hands down these kiwi fruits. You maybe can't tell the scale from the photo but they are petite, and my goodness the flavour was huge!!!! It's the first time I've ever tried red kiwis and they tasted of raspberries and kiwi mixed together - so sweet, I was in fruity heaven with these things. I wish I had bought more, and am keeping all fingers crossed for Wednesday because I shall be racing up into town and hoping to find them again.

No new flowers this week because as predicted my chrysanths are still looking amazingly good considering they are now a week old. I did dither around the fresh flowers in the supermarket today because they had parrot tulips in the reduced price bucket that looked amazing, and I was very tempted. In the end I walked away - but the regret is lingering. Parrot tulips (magenta ones), oh they were a bit special. 

I do have a pot of hyacinth bulbs on my mantel which I bought yesterday, and I'm sooooo so so so happy about it. I love having these in the home, and over the years it has become a favourite November ritual of mine. I still so clearly remember buying my first hyacinths for this house, November 2008. Fifteen years ago. 15. Fif-teen. WOW. Sometimes my blogging history blows my mind to pieces. I don't know the colour - pink or blue - so it's a bit like waiting for a Gender Reveal party to happen. I shall keep you posted.

A new cheap and cheerful little candle on my mantel, also a result of the weekend supermarket shop. The scent is Spiced Apple and Berry and it is delightful I have to say.

I also took delivery of some new wax melts from the Botanical Candle Company - I've gone for the scent named "Half Light" which is absolute perfection for this time of year.

The blurb (because I do love a good bit of descriptive blurb)>>

Half Light was made to bring back memories of a childhood spent studding oranges with cloves in the run-up to Christmas. The gentle sweetness of clementine is perfectly balanced by the resinous spice of clove to make a rounded, homely and familiar scent.

As I burn wax melts regularly next to my bed, a while ago I decided to buy some good quality non-toxic tea lights and I can highly recommend them. They are made from rapeseed oil (no paraffin or nasty chemicals) and burn slow and clean, plus they come in clear plastic cups which can be wiped out and popped into the household recycling. They are here on Amazon, if you burn tealights at home and want to switch to a cleaner alternative. And this is the ceramic burner I have, I love it.

I put my Big Blanket on the bed at the weekend too, it was time. Temperatures have been dropping to zero degrees at night, and we are forecast snow showers this week so the weather will remain chilly. This blanket is made from pure wool (it cost an absolute fortune to make), so it has a satisfying weightiness to it which is very comforting when you're pinned underneath it. I've actually slept really well the past few nights so perhaps I just needed to be immobilized a little.

I took this photo of my hill view today as I was walking down the road to the supermarket. I love the hillyness of where I live, it's a constant reminder wherever you are in the town that this is a rural community and the hills are (and always will be) bigger than the buildings.

I was working some more stripes on my Starbright blanket over the weekend, it's the perfect activity when the weather is cold. I really need to get the border pattern together to share, I keep forgetting to do it, especially with all the Sungold activity during this past week. I've been very busy on social media, it takes a lot of my time to keep up with all the platforms (my Facebook page, 3 different Attic24 Facebook groups, plus Instagram) but I do my best not to let it all slip slide. My apologies if you've reached the end of your v's and now want to add the border, I am prioritising that job for this week.

Thank you as always for calling in to read my rambles, I hope you're enjoying these cosy, shortening days as we move towards the Winter Solstice here in the Northern Hemisphere. And if you are upsidedown and heading towards summer, do tell me what you've been up to as your season heats up? In fact, lets have a global seasonal weather report in the comments, I'd love that! From me here in the north of England - mostly very cold and wet, with low digit temperatures and showers forecast for this week. Over to you........

 

EDIT >> THANK YOU so much for all the weather and activity reports from all over the world!! It's absolutely wonderful to read about where you all are, thank you!! I've loved the comments on this post so much, and I hope you've enjoyed reading and connecting too xxxx

 

Sungold Blanket :: Introduction

Morning, morning!! If you'd like to go and grab a Sungold yarn pack before coming back to read my blog post, click on the following link to go to Wool Warehouse :

♥ SUNGOLD YARN PACK ♥

Today I'm really excited to share the inspiration behind my latest blanket design which I've named SUNGOLD. As you can see from the photos I'm sharing, this a blanket inspired by flower-filled gardens. Not just any old ordinary back yards though, no, I've taken my inspiration from the type of gardens created and nurtured by skilled teams of horticulturalists. Picture the type of grand English gardens that have grown up around stately homes or the select gardens that've been created by horticultural societies to showcase the very best in garden design. 

I first came across our local Royal Horticultural Society garden when I was capturing photographic inspiration for my Sweet Pea blanket in 2018. RHS Harlow Carr near Harrogate in North Yorkshire has been a beautiful go-to place for me and my family ever since then, and during this past year we even had a members season ticket so we could visit as often as we wanted. It meant we got to see the garden in all four seasons, but my most favourite time of all has to be late Summer, hands down.

I'm a fairly recent newcomer to visiting big gardens, I think because I only have a teeny-tiny back yard I've never been particularly interested in seeking out grand garden design as inspiration. But flowers on the other hand, yes I've been a massive flower addict for pretty much all of my life. And late summer flower borders are nothing short of magnificent, so full of glorious colour glowing in that particular golden sunlight that comes in late August and early September.

Visiting these gardens full of floral colour never fails to leave me feeling happy and energised. And I can tell you that crocheting a blanket with these same colours has exactly the same effect, it's colour therapy that is seriously good for the soul.

Over the past few years I've taken hundreds of photographs of the famous flower borders at RHS Harlow Carr, and I used this collection of images to help me create the Sungold colour palette. The colours are rich and uplifting - joyful floral shades glowing with golden warmth. In late summer there is definitely a lot of heat in the floral colour palette - rich shades of gold, burnt orange and copper, deep reds and russets and the most beautiful rich purples and saturated pinks. And then there are the softer mauves and silvery greens too, creating an overall feeling of rich abundance, softened by golden sunlight.

The Sungold Blanket is going to be run as a crochet-along (CAL) and I like to think of it as me inviting you to come on a slow garden stroll with me, with the sun on our faces and the late summer borders in full bloom. If that sounds appealing, then read on and I'll tell you more about the yarn colours and new pattern I've designed for the Sungold CAL blanket.

 

 

For the Sungold blanket I've put together 15 shades of Stylecraft Yarns Special DK, and I absolutely love the way they look together. I wanted this colour palette to be a little dose of summer perfection - colours that remind me of a sunny afternoon strolling amongst brightly coloured flowers buzzing with bees.

 

 

Here are the fifteen shades of Stylecraft Special DK that make up the Sungold colour palette :

Top row :

♥ Lavender ♥  Proper Purple ♥  Plum ♥  Boysenberry ♥  Fuchsia Purple ♥

Middle row :

♥ Gold ♥ Tomato ♥ Copper ♥ Claret ♥ Magenta ♥

Bottom row :

♥ Dandelion ♥ Lime ♥ Lincoln ♥ Sage ♥ Cyprus ♥

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

♥ SUNGOLD YARN PACK ♥

As you know, one of the things that I am very passionate about is designing blankets with simple patterns to encourage new crocheters to feel confident about embarking on a large project. I also like that my simplified designs are great for more experienced crocheters too - these stripes are designed to help you unwind and relax and enjoy the rhythmic and therapeutic nature of working easy rows of glorious colour without having to faff with difficult pattern reading.

 

It's actually harder than you might think to come up with new stripe patterns which use basic stitches in easy repeats, and I work very hard to keep it simple for you. For the Sungold, I've designed a really easy little lacy shell which creates these beautiful, curvy stripes, inspired by the shapes I see in the wide flower borders. Let me show you what I mean...

 

 

....can you see the soft, rounded shapes?

When perennial flowers are planted in abundant layers, they create a series of overlapping curves which I really love the look of.

 

The above photo shows my Sungold sample with the light shining through, which gives you a clearer idea of the very pretty pattern. It reminds me a little of the flowers as they grow in overlapping clumps in the border, well that's what my mind sees anyhow....I guess it doesn't really matter what the stitch configuration looks like, only that it all works together to create a super lovely stripe pattern for you to enjoy :)

 

This is an easy pattern to learn, and providing you can hold an even tension and crochet the basic stitches (a UK treble and double crochet), then this pattern is very achievable for newbie hooksters. You might need to practice working a row of treble crochet into a foundation chain, but I don't anticipate you having any problems learning this stitch pattern. There will of course be my usual full (and I mean FULL) photo tutorial to help you every step of the way, and I'm quietly confident that all of you will adore crocheting this new stripe. It's pure hooky pleasure.

 

In the photos above, I've shown the Sungold colours arranged in a very ordered "warm rainbow" (note the absence of blues in this colour palette, very unusual for me), but the CAL blanket is going to be worked as a mixed stripe.

 

 

By "mixed stripe", I mean that the fifteen colours are going to be mixed together in a harmonious way that resembles the pleasing mix you would see in a flower garden. 

 

 

The above stripe sampler gives you an idea of how stunning the Sungold colours look mixed together, and how rich and uplifting they are - sunshine and flowers, what more could you want?! The blanket is going to be stunning, I can just feel it in my bones.

However, if you prefer the look of the colours following the natural order of the colour wheel, then I'll also be creating a "colourwash" stripe for you to follow in the crochet-along if that's more your thing.

 

 

This year there is also a third option, and that involves making squares!

One of the Attic24 Facebook groups ("Hooked on Attic24") is going to be running an alternative Sungold CAL, offering a square design alongside my stripes. Talented crocheter Kaz Hall is creating a Sungold version of my Summer Harmony Blanket, and will be sharing the colour charts in weekly instalments as part of the Sungold CAL. We discussed the colours together and decided on adding Violet and Meadow to the 15 Sungold colours, making 17 in total.

As you can see from the photo, she's off to a flying start and we'll be sharing snippets of progress in the coming weeks. In my opinion, it's already looking absolutely gorgeous!

If making a Sungold Summer Harmony appeals to you, make sure to join the "Hooked on Attic24" Facebook group for all the details. You will also need to add Meadow and Violet to your basket when you pick up a Sungold yarn pack.

 

 

OK, lets talk about the CAL details now, just in case this is all new to you and it all seems a bit daunting. I promise you it's easy-peasy and crochet-alongs are a lot of fun.

Firstly 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 free pattern is released on Friday 5th January.

♥ The Attic24 SUNGOLD CAL will will run for 8 weeks in total, beginning on Friday 5th 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 2024 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 Sungold stripe pattern. Weeks 1-6 I'll share the colour order for a set of stripes (around 15 each week). Week 7 will be a catch-up week (darn in those ends!), and the final week 8 will be all about the border.

♥ The SUNGOLD YARN PACK contains 15 x 100g balls of Stylecraft Special DK and is enough to make one blanket/throw. The 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. 

♥ 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 2024. 

♥ All CAL instalments (pattern and colour info) will remain FREE on my blog into the future so that it's there for you to access at a time that suits you. You don't have to squeeze your blanket journey into 8 weeks if you don't want to - take your time and work at your own pace.

♥ Something I often get asked - can you use your own colours, or use one of my other yarn packs and still join in with the CAL? The answer is YES, of course you can! I appreciate that many of you will probably already have yarn that you want to make use of, and I really look forward to seeing your creativity with stash busting. 

All in all, you've probably guessed that this is a relaxed crochet-along project and the main aim is for us all to enjoy crocheting together. It's such a lovely way to start the New Year, and I hope you'll look forward to it as much as I do.

Before I go, I just want to say how grateful I am for my continued partnership with the lovely folks at Wool Warehouse, they really are fabulous. We've been working together since 2014 and they are just the loveliest people, a true family business who genuinely care about their customers. And for full transparency, I do receive a commission for every Attic24 yarn pack sold through Wool Warehouse, so thank you ever so much for your support, I appreciate it more than I can say.

Well I think that's about all for now, and I hope these rich, sun-soaked colours have inspired you to plan a new blanket journey with me.....roll on January!!

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♥ SUNGOLD YARN PACK ♥

 

 

November Days

We went out today, myself, J and Little B, into the grey drizzle of a cold Sunday morning. First stop was coffee in town, a fairly new routine for us on a Sunday and one that I am heavily endorsing. It's just such a pleasure - family time to enjoy a hot frothy drink, and to chat about all sorts of random things. Sometimes I find myself totally surprised by my Little People growing into Big People. They are opinionated and articulate, ready to argue, debate and discuss, and often times I just can't get over the Bigness of their personalities. When exactly did their Littleness disappear?

After coffee we walked along the canal, not just our usual stretch but on beyond the centre of town to the outskirts. We walked for about a mile and a half before stepping off the tow path to go and buy some groceries. We are very lucky in our town to have two main supermarkets very close to the centre so they are very accessible on foot. We also have an Aldi which is further out, and this is where we went to shop today. I only buy certain products in Aldi, so I tend to go around the aisles and cherry-pick the specific things that I know I like and are good value. Extra virgin olive oil is one such product - this has become so, so expensive in the mainstream supermarkets now, so it's worth shopping elsewhere for it. Plus it was good exercise and an easy, un-muddy walk for us to take while the ground remains very, very wet.

On the way home we stopped briefly to watch this lady feeding the pigeons, she was completely surrounded by them and it seemed to me such a lovely scene unfolding in front of me. Often times when I'm out and about I can somehow view my life as though it's not real, like seeing it as a painting or a scene from a film. It's hard to explain the feeling, it's like a sort of visual detachment, and it's really rather beautiful at times. 

Yesterday was also wet and grey and J and I were in town quite early to shop at the market. One of my lovely US blog readers asked me a little while ago if I could show you what the market looks like, so I took a few rainy snaps to give you an idea. It's a street market which means it's linear, with stalls set up on both sides of our very wide main high street.

I found a really cool video on YouTube taken with a drone, showing you the town centre where I live, with the church and castle sitting proudly at the top. You can view the video ((here)), it's only 2 minutes long. You'll be able to see the road, but also notice that as well as the pavements there are wide cobbled "setts" along both sides of the road which are used for car parking and give space for the stalls to set up on market days.

We've stopped to buy free range eggs and locally produced dry cured bacon, and now we've crossed over the road and are on the other side. It's time for our fruit and veg....

....it's always a pleasure to shop in this way, buying from local small businesses and supporting our street market which has been here for hundreds of years.

After our Saturday shop we go for breakfast on our way home, always to the same little café which is strung with fairy lights and plays the sort of music you imagine would be playing in a Parisian café. It's charming and down to earth in here, and the coffee is extremely good.

I always eat a lot of fruit every day and enjoy seeing what's seasonal at the market. At the moment I'm loving these Russet apples, they have a very distinctive sweet flavour which is unlike any other apple. They are quite old fashioned I suppose and you don't generally see them for sale in mainstream supermarkets, so it's lovely to have them while they're in season. They go really well with thin slices of mature cheddar - a regular afternoon snack for me at the moment.

Also in season right now - pomegranates, oh, happy days!!! I AdOrE these exotic fruits and honestly get such a kick out of spending slow, quiet time taking them apart at the kitchen sink and popping out the jewel-like seeds.

Absolutely beautiful, in every way.

I can eat pomegranate seeds by the handful at any time of day, but this week I've really been enjoying them on my breakfast. A generous helping of Greek style yoghurt, drizzled with honey and topped with a little nutty granola, sliced banana, blueberries and pomegranate jewels. Delicious.

J and I continue our morning walk routine and have managed to go every day this past week. Five days out of seven it's been grey, dull and drizzly, but On Friday I was so happy to wake to clear skies - what a welcome change.

The clear skies made a huge difference to the light levels and at 7.15 it was no longer dark. I so wish we had more November days like this instead of the near constant grey wet weather we've been enduring.

I am making a great effort not to let the weather get me down, and I take myself out of the house by myself to walk every single day, even in the rain. There is always beauty to be found out there, and not a day goes by when I don't feel inspired to stop for a moment and capture something on my camera.

The dull wet weather has made the house feel even more cosy than usual, and the twinkly lights stay on all day long. I can really recommend these warm white lights on delicate copper wire, they take standard AA batteries (we use rechargable ones) and best of all they are on a timer so that they switch off by themselves after eight hours, which is so clever I think. They bring such a comforting twinkle into the house on these dull days and I wouldn't be without them.

Flowers in the house this week are these chrysanths and they are sooooo pretty. So cheap to buy at this time of year (this bunch was £3) and they stay looking great for ages. I think the last bunch I had (the dark pinky-red ones with yellow centres) lasted over two weeks

They bring such a lot of cheer into the room, I really do love having a jug of simple flowers in the house and it's not often my table is without them.

Tilly loves the cosy season when we are snuggled in blankets and she gets to drape herself all over us, she loves our company and honestly I love hers too. The weight and warmth of a soundly sleeping kitty on your legs is just the nicest thing.

Bringing colour into these grey November days is vital to my wellbeing, and my current Sungold yarn palette is doing a fantastic job. On Friday I sat at Coopers café and crocheted some simple flowers, what a joyful few hours that was. They are a bit misshapen and curly looking at the moment but once I've given them a little steam treatment they'll be ready for their photo shoot. I'm going to use them to showcase the full Sungold colour palette on Tuesday - only two more sleeps!!! Eeeeeep, I'm pretty excited to talk to you about this blanket and show you more of my inspiration photos. I hope you're ready for lots and lot of flowers, garden views, flowers and more flowers. Alllllllll the flowers. That'll cheer up an average November Tuesday, I'm really looking forward to it.

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Designer of Blankets

Hello, my name is Lucy and I am a Designer of Blankets. They are my passion and my obsession, my creative spark and my relaxation therapy. And how absurdly wonderful it is that I get to live this colourful life of mine, and that designing blankets has become the thing that I do to thrive. 

Attic24 blog started over fifteen years ago and I was crocheting blankets right from the very start. Then six years later I met the owners of Wool Warehouse and that was when we began to create yarn packs together to sell online. It was (and still is) amazing to me that I could design blankets that other people would want to make for themselves. How amazing to share my ideas and inspire people all over the world to crochet blankets!

The above photo is an old one from my archives, I really should create an updated image with all my blankets included, that would be something to see. To date I have created twenty blanket designs using Stylecraft Yarns, each one having its own beautiful colour palette inspired by things I love. I have used colour to describe my enjoyment of the countryside and the English seasons - walks over hills, along woodland paths, through meadows and along the beach. There is also my love of flowers in those blankets too - sweet peas, hydrangeas, wild flowers, summer annuals, cottage gardens and dahlias. There is sooo much gorgeous colour inspiration to be found out there in every day life!

Over the past few weeks I've been thinking a lot about my crochet and the way things have evolved and grown over the years, evaluating where I'm at with it all, and what I might want to do next. I'm very proud of what I've achieved so far because I am passionate about spreading the joy of colourful crochet and inspiring people to find happiness in being creative.

A few days ago I was reading something online which reminded me of the British Knitting and Crochet Awards. Sadly they no longer happen but they ran every year from 2014-2022. I won my first award in 2016, and do you know, I won the title of "favourite crochet designer" for seven years running. As well as the crochet designer category, I also won the "favourite crochet blogger" category many times, and last year scooped the "best ready-to-make kits" award too. 

It's a funny thing winning awards because there is a part of me which pops champagne and dances with delight, but a bigger part of me which just wants to keep my head down and not be a show off.  Trumpet blowing is not my style. But all in all, I think it's safe to say that crocheting blankets has been a good thing for me. A very good thing.

Today I want to share some crochet which literally fell out of the Cupboard of Doom yesterday and landed at my feet. I was in that precarious cupboard trying to get to my yarn winder, and suddenly there was a colourful crochet avalanche happening.

These colourful bits of crochet represent the preparation I do in the weeks and months before I embark on a new blanket journey. A blanket doesn't just happen for me, no no, there is a lot that goes into the design process before I sit down to crochet the actual blanket itself.

For every blanket I've designed, I've crocheted up one of these colour palette samplers. I spend a really long time choosing the colours for a blanket and often this process happens over the course of many weeks. Once I think I'm pretty much there with my palette, I set about crocheting a little square for each colour. This gives me a chance to get a true "working" feel of how the colours want to play together and make sure everything is balancing properly. Sometimes at this stage I will make a last minute change, but that's quite rare - usually by the time I'm crocheting these squares, I'm living and breathing the colour palette day and night and it's giving me all the shivery excitement.  By the way, I did write up the pattern for these little solid squares if they appeal to you - here it is >> ((Solid Granny Square pattern))

The second stage in my preparation is shown above - these are long, skinny stripe samplers made using rows of double crochet, one row to represent each stripe. I've found this a great way to work out the final colour order for the stripes and although it's all extra work I really think it's worth me taking the time to do it. It means that by the time I come to crochet the actual blanket, I'm one hundred percent confident that the colours are going to look magnificent.

On the right are my two festive colourways - Yuletide and Starbright. It's the first time I've seen them together and I have to say I absolutely love love love them. 

Look!! ^^ don't they both glow with joyful Christmas spirit?! Both very different, and yet they both have my trademark colour signature. It's a hard thing to define, but I do think my colour palettes are very recognisable, aren't they? They simply glow with Attic24-ness!

And finally...this is the third stage of my preparation. These are the samples which showcase the colour palette combined with the stitch pattern. Before I get to this stage, make no mistake, I've already done a tonne of work to design the stitch pattern itself. I don't tend to look in books for stitch ideas, I prefer to work them straight out of my head, a bit like doodling or making notes, but using yarn and hook instead of paper and pen. I've got a massive messy box containing dozens and dozens of trial and error stitch samples made over the years. Loads of them. It takes a while to work through ideas and there is a lot of failure in this process. 

So by the time I'm making the above samples, well, I'm already beyond thrilled with the pattern and raring to get going on the blanket.

I love these samplers, I really do. I pour so much emotion into all my blanket designs that they are like an extension of my heart.

I don't have all my samples here because my earlier ones are packed away in storage from when I cleared out my studio during covid. But these are the ones pictured above, from left to right...

♥Dahlia ♥ Dune ♥ Aria ♥ Meadow ♥ Harbour ♥ Springfrost ♥ Starbright ♥ Sungold ♥

You probably recognise them all from seeing them here on my blog over the years.....except for that last one.

Sungold...........ooooooo, that's something new!

Please say hello to the Sungold blanket, well the beginning of the Sungold journey at least. This blanket is going to be my TENTH annual crochet-along which begins in January 2024. I've designed a very pretty stripe for these colours, a soft and curvy little shell pattern which has a light and slightly open look to it.

Do you like the colours, aren't they joyful?

The colour palette was inspired by my many visits to see the famous flower borders at RHS Harlow Carr. I wanted this colour palette to be a little dose of summer perfection - colours that remind me of a sunny afternoon strolling amongst brightly coloured flowers buzzing with bees. The Sungold colour palette is rich and uplifting - beautiful floral shades glowing with golden warmth.

Just look at it compared to this year's CAL blanket (the Springfrost), what a difference in temperature! From frosty chill to golden warmth, I love that these colours literally make you feel the seasons.

My Sungold blanket hasn't started yet because truthfully I'm still caught up in the Starbright. I'm working on the border design for the v-stitch this week because I know there are those of you waiting for it. But if you look at the above photo, you can spot the Sungold stripe sampler....

......here it is look ^^, just to give you a taste of how amazing the colours look together. I'm going to be making a mixed stripe blanket, but there will also be the option to work the Sungold stripes as a colourwash if you wish. Both versions will be given as part of the CAL in the New Year.

Yarn packs are coming very soon, next week in fact. Mark your calendars - Tuesday 21st November at 8am, my shop at Wool Warehouse will be buzzing with sunny Sungold vibes. Maybe you'd like to join me making this blanket along with our wonderful worldwide hooky community? I'd really like it if you did.

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Autumn Scenes

We've had some really beautiful weather here during the past week and you can bet I've been out and about making the most of it. It's been a pleasure to walk with the sun on my face and blue skies up above, and I've felt energised and delighted just taking simple short walks to the shops.

One morning last week I was on my way home from the supermarket and had to navigate my way around this swan. They are impressive birds when they are out of the water, standing around 4ft tall (1.2m) and the general rule is to give them a fairly wide berth when they are up on the tow path. They are used to humans but sometimes get a bit hissy and those necks have a surprisingly long reach (spoken from experience). 

The bright, clear weather has made our morning walks very beautiful indeed, and it's wonderful to witness the light creeping in to a new day.

At the tail end of the day the light is very different but no less glorious....the above photo I took around 3.30 as I was walking home from town. I thought the scene looked so soft and painterly, as if I was viewing my own life captured on a canvas.

On Saturday I woke up to sunshine for the third day running and it felt a little bit unreal - we are simply not used to multiple days of fine weather at this time of year, well at any time of year really. As you know, my Saturday morning routine is to walk into town with J to buy groceries from the market and local shops. The beautiful sunshinyness made me want to take a scenic detour so I persuaded J to indulge my desire for scenery and off we went, up the hilly streets.....

...along the little track.....

....and into the top of the woodland. 

It was such a fabulous way to start the day, all golden and fresh and utterly autumnal. It added an extra 45 minutes to our walk into town, but it was so, so worth it.

After our food shop we usually head to one of our favourite cafés and on a Saturday morning it's pretty lively with a great friendly atmosphere. With its vaulted ceiling and huuuuuuge windows it's always filled with warmth and light when the sun is shining, I love it.

We got home from having our café breakfast and after putting all the shopping away, J and I decided to drive to Bolton Abbey to take advantage of the amazing weather. I asked Little B if he fancied coming with us, fully expecting him to say no and what do you know, he decided to join us without any hesitation. 

Oh, it was absolutely delightful out there on Saturday, so calm and bright and uplifting with the bluest of skies.

I loved breathing in these gorgeous autumn scenes.....

.....it felt so good, not only to have the extra exercise but good for my soul too.

Our fire is now lit every afternoon because the temperatures have dropped in the past week. Around about 3 pm is my usual time to clean, lay and light the fire and it's a job I adore. There is something incredibly homely about making a fire in the hearth and settling down to enjoy the warmth of it, and the kitty is usually right there with me. Another good-for-the-soul autumn scene I think?

The weather turned yesterday, of course it did. Three straight days of sunshine came to a sudden halt with drizzly rain and a wild wind whipping around the place. 

The trees are shedding their leaves at a rapid rate now, tumbling them down in great drifts that carpet the ground. Yesterday in the woods there was a swan swimming on the tiny little overflow stream, the first time we've ever seen one here. I say swimming, but really it was slopping along in the mud, half wading and half paddling, poor thing. It was definitely not in the right place.

Today has been even wilder than yesterday and it seems we are in the grips of yet another storm. This one is called Debi, and she has been very noisy here today, whistling down the chimneys and driving rain against the windows. I expect there will be hardly any leaves left on the trees now, and I'm so glad that I've been out to appreciate all that glorious autumn colour while it lasted. 

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Blogtober 2023 :: Review

October 2023 - what a crazy, emotional, unexpected rollercoaster of a month!

It's now nine days since the end of my October daily blogging marathon and I've been thinking that I'd better write up my review before it all disappears completely in the foggy depths of my memory bank.  I've spent quite a while today looking back through all my photos and reminding myself what the start of the month looked like because I honestly couldn't remember. I'd been in Dorset in the very last few days of September (I shared photos from that trip on Day 7), so at the start of October I was a bit frazzled and just starting to feel unwell too.

And of course, in the early Blogtober days I was not only photographing and writing my daily blogs, but I was also frantically trying to create the tutorial and blog posts for the launch of my new Starbright blanket. I was ill in bed for a few days, but still working hard on doing allll the Starbright things even with a heavy head full of cold. It's no wonder the start of the month is so hazy, I had completely forgotten until looking at photos that I had been unwell, and that the Starbright Ta-dah took place!

Ahhh, those Starbright  squares - how glorious they look, the colours really are quite something. I am so proud of this blanket, it wasn't an easy design journey by any means and I absolutely love the end result. Throughout October it gave me so much pleasure to see you receiving your yarn kits and embarking on your own Starbright squares, so thank you very much for sharing in the social groups.

The beginning of October also saw me starting out on my very own stripy Starbright, I just couldn't resist the lure of those easy, therapeutic rows of little V's.

I really enjoyed having a crochet project to take with me on my various travels in October, it certainly made the many train journeys more pleasurable. Currently I'm about two thirds of the way done with this blanket and am looking forward to getting to the border (hopefully by the end of this month) so that I can share with you what I decide to do around the edge. This blanket is nothing but pure hooky pleasure.

October was a month of very turbulent weather and there were a lot of wet and stormy days. It made it difficult to plan ahead in terms of anything we wanted to try and do outdoors, but we are pretty good at last minute decisions and getting out and about to walk whenever we can.

^^We walked at Bolton Abbey on Day 1 when an eerie mist was hanging low over the river.

^^ Day 9 saw us venture out to walk around Linton Falls and Grassington, and even in the grey drizzle it was beautifully picturesque.

^^ We had unexpectedly glorious blue skies on Day 15 and we drove out to Malham to walk around the cove. A picnic lunch and a sunny afternoon drink sat outside the pub was a delight.

We walked a few times through our local woodland and enjoyed watching the progression of Autumn as the month passed.

In fact, I think observing the seasons change and capturing the subtle colour shifts on my camera each month is one of my favourite things about blogging. Actually, it's one of my favourite things about life in general! It's such a simple but beautiful way to practice mindfulness and gratitude each day, and I shared a lot of my seasonal observations with you throughout Blogtober.

October is also a great month to celebrate the start of the Cosy Season, and it's most definitely my favourite Autumn month. We usually light our first fire in October, and I enjoy decorating my mantel for the season (Day 23). Once the fire is lit then I can give in to the idea that Summer is over for another year (it takes me a while to get on board) and start enjoying the best bits of the season. Woolly socks and fireside warmth are absolutely the best bits for me, along with candles and fairy lights of course. Warmth and light - I'm always seeking out those things in my day, whatever the time of year.

Aside from enjoying all the home comforts, October also saw me travel away from home an unusual amount - three times in fact. That meant three lots of train travel and ten nights sleeping in various beds that weren't my own.

The most enjoyable and surprising trip I made last month was to Scarborough over on the Yorkshire coast. It was a massive all-in act of self care, a spontaneous few solo days away for me to recharge my batteries and I absolutely loved every second of it. From the time I set off to walk to the train station to the moment I walked back in the front door two days later was full of positive energy and gratitude. I was really happy to take you along with me - if you missed it, you can read all about it via the following links :

Day 10 :: Day 11 :: Day 12 

The 12th October is also my birthday and I celebrated turning 55 this year. The day was extra special because I was able to fulfil a dream of mine - seeing the sun rise over the sea on the morning of my birthday is something I won't ever forget. It was absolutely magical.

I had the best of everything on my birthday because not only did I get my morning sea fix, but I then got to travel home to my fabulous family who made me feel very loved and valued....cheers to that!

As I mentioned earlier, I did a lot of train travel in October, way more than is usual for me in the span of one month.

On Day 25 I had the pleasure of spending the day in Leeds with my gorgeous girl. Another spontaneous decision to escape the hum-drum routine of daily life for a while and indulge a little. We shopped, ate lunch, shopped some more, ooooohed and aaaahed our way around the Big Shops, rode up and down escalators, sauntered in and out of arcades and finished off with a really delicious cocktail. Decadent and very enjoyable I have to say.

And finally, not one but TWO journeys down to Dorset in October, my goodness, it was a lot. Over a thousand miles of travel, a huge amount of emotional expenditure and only one week in between to recuperate. Dealing with all of that took a lot out of me, but throughout it all I continued to write and share and aimed to capture the snippets of good in each day. You were all tremendously supportive and I am so grateful that I had you with me so that I didn't feel so alone or disconnected.

I don't need to say any more - I've reached the point where I need to free up my head space from it all and not keep rehashing the ins and outs. But if you are new here reading my tales and are utterly confused, then you can read my Blogtober Dorset entries ::

Days 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 (first trip just me travelling by train)

Days 28, 29, 30, 31 (second trip, this time with J by my side).

So a third of the month was spent galivanting elsewhere, but the remaining two thirds of Blogtober were all about documenting the comforting, ordinary, ever so slightly mundane elements of daily life. And make no mistake, I LOVE sharing this type of content, it's the backbone of Original Blogging and I'm here for it. I occasionally felt like I was in a repetitive spin of boringness, but mostly I enjoyed really opening my eyes and looking for the beauty in the ordinary parts of my day. I shared my cups of coffee (of course I did),  my cosy moments, my germ-days written from bed. There were walks to the shops and along the canal, some therapeutic baking and my slow times spent at home doing nothing in particular. Crochet and flowers and woolly socks and fireside joy. 

Writing a daily blog is actually quite hard in that it takes up a large amount of mental head space throughout the day. And then there is the time spent in the evenings uploading, editing, writing, proof reading and crafting something that can be published for the world to see. Typically I spend around two hours making each blog post and it's been so lovely to have the engagement back from you in return. Those of you who write to me regularly, thank you from the bottom of my heart - I value our community so much. And if you've never left me a comment before, do please be brave and write to me sometime in the comments section - comments are soul-food for bloggers like me!! 

I thought it would be fun to share this years stats with you, just as I did last year.....

Number of daily blogs completed : 31  (full house - yay!)

Total number of photographs shared : 364 (a small percentage of the photos I actually took)

Total number of beautiful comments : 826 (thank you, thank you, thank you)

Total number of words written by me : 24, 467 (yes, I am a wordy so-and-so)

 

It's been a pleasure, truly - thanks for the company along the way.

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♥ Blogtober 2021 review

♥ Blogtober 2020 review

 

 

 

 

 

 

November Sunshine & Showers

Monday morning and back to school routine for us here, it was a bit of a shock to be pulled from my sleep by the beep-beep-beep of my alarm clock. It took some serious motivation to get ourselves out of the door at 7am this morning - you can't see it in the above photo but it was raining, a persistent light drizzle which my Mum used to call "wet rain". I never regret an early morning walk though, and always step back through my front door feeling energised and in a good mood even if I'm dripping wet.

I'm trying to get myself organised this week, I've let a lot of things slip slide in the past few months and it's time to pull my socks up and get myself together. I've got a back log of admin (both for myself and also to do with organising my Dad's affairs) so this week I've got a rather looooooooong to-do list. Today I impressively managed to do absolutely nothing, not one tick on my list. Ah well.....there's always tomorrow.

I made myself a delicious lunch today, I do really enjoy eating lunch in a bowl, it could be soup, pasta, or salad, I don't mind but the bowl format really kind of feels nurturing for some reason. Yeah - bowl food, I like it a lot. Today's meal was noodles tossed through with this super-tasty dressing which was shared by Dale Pinnock (The Medicinal Chef) on his Instagram page. These were the ingredients...

1 teaspoon of English mustard.

1 heaped teaspoon of white miso paste (first time I've ever used this, and it added such a lot of flavour)

1.5 teaspoons of honey or maple syrup.

1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil (I reduced this to 1 teaspoon)

1-2 teaspoons of water if needed to thin it out a little (I added a squeeze of lemon juice instead)

 

On top of the noodles I added some chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumber radish and a crumble of feta cheese...yummmmmm.

My afternoon was a slow affair (ah, procrastination in full force) - a quick jaunt to the supermarket in the rain which wasn't especially enjoyable, and then a hot milky coffee when I got back home. Candles and fairy lights to brighten the gloom of the wet day, and later in the afternoon the fire was lit. It's been that kind of a day where I've needed all the warmth and sources of light.

I baked this afternoon, timing these oat and raisin cookies to come out of the oven just as Little B got home from school. I think I can give myself a gold star for that act of Good Parenting? Little B's face was worth it a million times over, he was genuinely overjoyed by my warm-from-the-oven fresh cookie offering. You can find the recipe deep in my bloggy archives more than a decade ago ((here)).

This weather has been a little crazy today, so much rain, and then the most stunning colourful sky out of nowhere. For a few short minutes the light was insanely beautiful, sometimes life just makes you stop and stare and marvel at the beauty unfolding in front of your eyes.

Yesterday couldn't have been more different, it was mild, clear and sunny and the perfect weather for a short woodland walk.

My camera picked up this rainbow flare and I know it's just a fluke of the light but to me it was a ridiculously magical moment. The universe sent me a rainbow! A rain-bow!! My little mind was blown, honestly, I held onto that magical feeling all day long.

We are in peak autumn now, the height of all that seasonal beauty.

I mean, how stunning it all is, it's almost overwhelming....

....nature makes me so emotional, please tell me you know what I mean, I sometimes feel like I'm the only person feeling like I want to cry over leaves.

It was so lovely out there yesterday....

....just wonderful visuals which made my heart happy.

We sauntered out of the sunny woodland and walked along the canal into town, stopping for a coffee on our way home. I love these simple family outings with the Little People which we manage to do regularly on Sundays. As Little Lady would say, it's very "wholesome".

I'm enjoying Autumn, although I do wish the rain would ease up just a bit. More sunshine and less showers, please.

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And...Exhale

I was walking down the street this morning thinking about Blogtober and my recent contributions to life on the World Wide Web. I pondered on the fact that the gentle, daily routine of stringing together some words and photos can be so, so nurturing and fulfilling. After fifteen years I still love love love this blogging life I've created for myself. It feeds a need in me to connect, engage and inspire, but also it's a valuable way for me to empty my mind of visuals and thoughts so that I don't feel quite so congested in my brain. I can spill it all out onto this digital page and exhale with relief.

It's been a beautiful day here, and I really don't want to sound smug as I know the weather down south has been horrendous. But here in Yorkshire it's been all blue skies and sunshine and I have walked around soaking it in. Breathing out all the tension of the past months and reminding myself how to stand down from the high alert status I've been caught in of late.

Being Friday, my morning was spent at Coopers in the company of friends and my slowly growing Starbright stripes. I was sat next to my very good friend Samm today, and she's making a Starbright colourwash ripple, oh it's looking magnificent! I had a special little zip of joy seeing our two blankets side by side.

I'm being slow with these stripes because I keep getting distracted by other things. But I've got a weekend ahead with zero plans (which is the best feeling) so I'm going to make sure that I grab me some cosy hooky time.

Remember the one hundred foot chimney I showed you last week (Blogtober Day 27)? Well I took a photo of it from the other side today because it looked very picturesque in the Autumn sunshine.

This is an unusual spot (the chimney is just up and to the right of the above photo) because the canal is carried over the stream via an old aqueduct bridge. I often walk this way home from Coopers café - if I go up those stone steps, that's the canal tow path right there.

I took advantage of the weather and walked this afternoon, taking in all the glorious autumn colour and loving the gentle feel of the sun on my face.

I often take myself out and about, just for the pleasure of being outdoors and enjoying some slow, strolling steps along familiar routes. It's my therapy I guess, and really helps me to unwind and feel calm.

I walked along the canal to the supermarket to buy a few essentials that we'd run out of, and to treat myself to some fruit. I'll be going to the market in the morning to buy fruit and veg, but today I had an insane craving for tropical fruit - I guess not a bad craving to have. I bought passion fruits, persimmons and kiwis and when I got home I made myself a bowl of greek yoghurt with the fruits piled on top. Yummm.

The kitty has been in this position on the sofa allllll afternoon, and right now at 7.45pm she is still right there. She must be feeling very happy indeed because the fire is blazing (I'm sat right beside the hearth chatting to you today) and this room has reached the perfect cosy temperature. 

Today I have felt more like my normal self than I have done in quite a while, and my inner energy and spark is returning slowly but surely. I am quietly hopeful that November will be a month of healing and closure in many ways, and that thought is making me happy, like there is sunshine in my soul again. 

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Autumn Colour

I had a slow start to my day and I welcomed it wholeheartedly, making the most of this week where I'm home with the fam and there is no school routine to dictate my schedule. J is also off work this week so it feels good for us to just be in this slow, gentle routine together. We went out for a coffee this morning, and it feels like the Autumn season really got into full swing in the short time we were away.

Later I walked into town on my own, I needed to call in at the bank to make an appointment and pick up a few groceries. I took a homemade chilli out of the freezer this morning and bought some large baking potatoes to have with it instead of rice. Perfect Autumn comfort food.

On my way home I detoured into the church yard, it was unplanned and somehow I found myself there without really realising that's where I wanted to go. I have felt a little like I've been in a daze today, a bit detached from reality. I sat on a sunny bench for a little while, watching people come and go. I chatted to the jackdaws (I was surrounded by them on all sides, seven in total like a little gang) and ate half a bag of sugar snap peas. Afterwards I wondered what I must have looked like, a lady sitting on a bench talking to the birds and eating peas. I'm obviously in my crazy bench era.

I really enjoyed my slow stroll home, wandering these much loved little pathways along the canal side. Being by water is so calming. Obviously the sea will always have my heart but I'm drawn to any kind of water - lakes, ponds, rivers, waterfalls, fountains, canals.

The colours of Autumn were looking so inviting today, I can't believe how much change there has been in the trees since last week.

^^ Isn't it beautiful? This Japanese Acer puts on such a fiery show each year - you can see the pretty leaves it sheds onto the pavement in the first photo.

I want to thank you all for the comments you've been writing to me on my recent posts, and to tell you how much they have meant to me. I know from what you write that so many of you have enjoyed my daily ramblings, and in turn I've really, really enjoyed your words written back to me in the comments. We (you and me) are a two way street, isn't that a lovely thought?

Writing a daily October blog has been weirdly therapeutic, and although at times I've felt very vulnerable sharing such personal life stuff, it has helped me a lot to be able to share my thoughts. I know for a fact that if I hadn't committed to Blogtober, you would not have heard from me at all during these past few weeks. I would have hibernated until my emotions were back in check. And yet I don't have one regret about showing up in this space and writing about my days, it's proof that no matter what we go through, there is always beauty in the world and things to be grateful for. Those small moments of mindfulness and gratitude mean so much, most especially on the fraught days.

If you followed me in past years with Blogtober you will know that I do like to put together a monthly review at the end. It's a fun post for me to create and I'm looking forward to doing it again this year. This month has been far from ordinary! I can't even remember what was happening at the start of October, it's all a blur in my mind - haha - I wish this was an exaggeration, but sadly it's true. No. Idea.

So a review will be coming, it's a mystery what it will look like, but I'll be happy to share it with you.

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♥ Blogtober 2021 review

♥ Blogtober 2020 review

 

 

Blogtober 2023 :: Day 31

Blogtober Day 31 :: Tuesday

Eeeeeep, it's been a day. I tried so hard to keep it all together this morning as we packed up the car, but of course it wasn't possible and all that emotion came spilling out of me. It was messy. In a desperate attempt to help, J drove us into town, grabbed us a quick coffee and took us to the sea for a short while, bless him. It was only 8am, my goodness, so much early morning drama from yours truly!

It was gorgeous on the beach this morning, truly wild and wonderful. 

I rescued the one and only plant in my Dad's house which has managed to stay alive on the kitchen windowsill for countless years. I hope it'll be happy in the Attic.

We're home now, back to our messy house with happy kids and I'm sorry I can't quite think of what words to write here at the moment. I have simply come to a tired full stop.

I'll talk to you some more tomorrow xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx