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Stitchtopia Morocco Retreat :: crochet and colour

Have you all heard of Stitchtopia craft holidays? I began working with them in 2019 as one of thier textile experts, I think they have around 25 experts in total, covering crochet, knitting, patchwork, quilting and embroidery. The holidays and retreats vary from short weekend breaks in the UK, to week-long trips in Europe, and now also include longer holidays and tours worldwide. Sometimes there is a full touring itinerary (eg travelling by train or cruise ship), and sometimes there is a specific focus to the holiday (eg a large textile event) but mostly the holidays I've been on revolve around spending time in a relaxed workshop setting (always in a beautiful hotel), with various day excursions planned into the week. The groups are kept small (maximum of fifteen) and as well as the teaching expert there is also a tour manager present the whole time, and local guides who oversee the excursions. It's a great way for guests to meet like minded textile enthusiasts, and is ideal for anyone wishing to travel alone. In fact lots of ladies come on these holidays as a first time solo travelling experience (which is a very brave thing to do), and as soon as we all meet at the airport/hotel there is instant friendship and cameraderie - it's wonderful!

I've been lucky enough to teach five retreats this year (three in the UK and two overseas) and today I'm going to share the project I designed for my trips to Portugal and Morocco. I haven't talked much about my Portugal retreat back in June/July as I was taking a break from blogging over the summer, but it was absolutely amazing...maybe I'll share some Portugal travel diaries with you soon, if you'd be interested in seeing some photos?

Today though, it's mostly all about crochet and colour.....

....lots and lots of colour!

When I'm planning my Stitchtopia projects I get complete freedom to design any type of crochet item I like and then create bespoke kits for the guests using a yarn of my choice (within an agreed budget). My projects always focus on colour teaching, and for this year's retreats I chose to use these very cutesome little 20g balls of cotton yarn. This is Sirdar Happy, a DK weight yarn which has a lovely matt finish and is wonderful to crochet with, and the range currently has fifty shades which include colourful saturated brights, muted vintage shades and pretty soft pastels.

As I would be teaching the same project in both Portugal and Morocco, I had the idea to focus on the bright shades found in ceramic tiles as my inspiration. Both countries have very colourful and decorative architechture with lots of mosaic and tile work and there is a wealth of inspiration to draw from - it was a tough job picking out colours, but I am dedicated to my craft and gave it my all ;)

As I knew I wanted to teach certain aspects of colour theory with my project, I built my colour palette with those lessons in mind.

Firstly I like to focus on using the colour wheel to create harmony in our projects, and I teach how to balance out a palette of colours by splitting the wheel in half - equal hot and cold shades.

Secondly, my design would need to have some decent contrast, so I picked out a good balance of light and dark shades to make this happen, while still keeping a harmonious balance.

These are the three key things I like to teach with my colour projects - harmony, contrast and balance. It's deceptively difficult to achieve these things in practice, but I try and deisgn my projects to help my guests gain colour confidence, and for them to learn about the properties of colour. For example,  learning about advancing/receding colours, and tehniques to create a "pop" where it's needed most, also colour proportions and how to balance them over a whole project (again, this can take some doing but it's such a good learning curve).

This is the "Sunny Days" square I designed - it measures 15cm / 6 inches and is crocheted in ten rounds.

The first thing we did on the retreat was to crochet the square using just two colours. This meant that the guests could get to grips with the pattern without having to worry about colour choices straight away, and it also helped me to advise about any tension/gauge queries and hook size etc.

This blue and white sqaure also acted as a useful "blueprint" for making the full coloured squares - it helps to know which rounds need heavy contrast, and to learn about which rounds have the most impact in the design. All the guests agreed that this part of the workshop was really useful, and they enjoyed easing into the project without too much worry! Also, keep in mind that in Marrakech it was a very hot 37° C (99° F) degrees, so a slightly slower, easier start to the workshop was appreciated by us all.

After the blueprint square, we worked on two different colour lessons using just the first five rounds of the pattern. This was quick and fun and gave the guests the chance to start playing with the colour palette while learning more about how the design needed to work in terms of colour contrasts and using the hot/cold dynamic of the colour wheel.

This particular project was mostly focused on the colour teaching (and the joy of relaxed crochet) rather than completing a finished item, so I kept things simple and created a 12 inch square panel.  It meant the guests could experiement with colour combinations across their four squares (keeping the balance, harmony and contrast lessons in mind), and working on a small square in cotton yarn wasn't too tricky in the heat.

I love how my square looks on this lovely tiled Moroccan table ^^

....in fact, I just love my Sunny Days square any which way! The colours are very happy and joyful and bring back so many good memories.

I thought you might like to see our retreat setting in Morocco - this certainly isn't a boring classroom situation!

In Marrakech we were staying in a very beautiful old riad within the city walls (you can see more photos of it ((here)). We took over part of the huge rooftop terrace and the owners very kindly went to a lot of trouble to construct a fabric awning for us as it was so deadly hot in the afternoons.

When we moved location in the second half of the week, we travelled west to the Atlantic coast which was a lot cooler (around 25 degrees there, which was perfection). The hotel was more modern but still inceredibly beautiful with lots of Moroccan decorative touches. We were given a beautiful space to work in - it was airy and cool with very comfortable chairs and a large sunny terrace just through the glass doors to the left there.

It was lovely to be able to spend a little more time on our crochet while we were here, as our days in Marrakech had been very hectic with a full itinerary and our crochet time was more limited.

I love the above photo, taken towards the end of the week when one of the guests had transferred her yarn to a gorgeous woven bowl she'd bought on a visit to a local Berber market.....

....and here you can see the choosing process taking place! Aren't they all so beautiful??

I took a lot of photos in the market (it was an incredible epxerience) but I'll save those for another day.

Now I'd like to show you some photos of  finished Sunny Days projects shared with me since our return to the UK....it makes me so happy to see, and I'm sure you'll agree, the most excellent colour choices, they did me proud!.......

↑↑ This is Sandy's finished cushion - she finished the front 4-square panel while we were in Morocco, and made the reverse once she got home. She took my ten round Sunny Days square design and continued the pattern repeat to enlarge it, then added a lovely wide, stripy border.

↑↑ This is Janet's finished cushion looking very lovely with her Fireside blanket, they go really well together, don't they?

↑↑ This is Ann's beautiful cushion - for the reverse side, she took the ten round Sunny Days square and added some bright treble rounds to make it bigger - great use of alternating hot and cold colours to create the contrasts in those bigger rounds (proud teacher moment :)

↑↑ Judith took her four squares and doubled them up once she got home, making this fantastic centre piece for her table....it's delicious!

↑↑ Here are Veronica's squares, beautifully blocked and carefully stitched onto the front of a canvas tote bag, it looks so cheery and happy!

↑↑ Another stunning tote bag made my Jill, she made a second panel when she got home so there is crochet on both sides, it's super lovely.

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Ahhhh, it was such a lovely week, the ladies were all good hooksters and worked really hard to say that we only had three days to spend on our project. I love teaching and sharing my passion, and with such a happy and good natured group it was an absolute pleasure.

Now before I go, I thought you might enjoy just a few photos of the colour inspiration I gathered during my time in Morocco. It was honestly ridiculous the amount of colour and pattern that was everywhere you cast your eyes. I've got lots (lots and lots) more to share of the souks and the markets and the amazing excursions we took, but for now, here is a little snippet of some things that caught my eye.......

What do you think, isn't Morocco a colour-lovers dream??? Such an amazing trip, I shall never forget it.

I hope you've enjoyed a little look behind the scenes of my project planning and an insight into how my Stitchtopia retreat workshops are run. There is more Morocco content to come (I'll plan another post for next week sometime), but I think tomorrow will be back to normal everyday Yorkshire-style stuff, the essence of Blogtober.

Thanks for your company, I hope you've enjoyed todays post xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

 

Blogtober 2024 :: Day 9

Blogtober Day 9 :: Wednesday

I've just been watching some reports about the extreme weather in the US with Hurricane Milton approaching, oh my heart, it looks soooo scary and I feel ever so sad for all the millions of Florida residents who are preparing to deal with the force of mother nature. I can't even begin to imagine how it must feel to be so threatened by a storm.

It's been grey and wet here again today but I am certainly keeping things in perspective and am really thankful that the rain here has just been the irritating, drizzly kind and nothing to worry about.

I walked down to the coffee shop this morning to pick up some takeouts to bring home, a treat for J really as he was glued to his desk with online meetings and the very full-on working life that he conducts from home. Often if he is busy I'll head out by myself for a solo coffee date but I felt sorry for him today as he seemed snowed under. Again, it made me really appreciate the freedom I have in terms of how I spend my time - it's been a day of gratitude and feeling thankful.

The above photo I snapped with my phone at the bottom of my street, it seemed to sum up the mood perfectly - soggy but still looking perky, a visual reminder to remain optimistic even when things are tough.

Some breaking news --> it was a handknit socks-and-boots combo today, the very first of the season. I've been wearing my walking shoes a lot lately because my beloved Fly London boots that have seen me through seven winters had worn out completely and were no longer fit for purpose. Arrrgh, wet feet is one of my personal peeves, I absolutely cannot stand for my toes to be remotely moist, let alone reach the soggy stage. I knew I would be ordering the exact same Fly Salv boots because I love them so much, but it's taken me months to decide on which colour to go for. The struggle was huuuuuuge! In the end I settled for this lovely deep dark green (unatractively called "diesel") and today I had the pleasure of cosy, dry, uber-comfy feets as I went out to do my daily food shop. Happy feet, happy heart ♥

On the way home I was taking a short cut through B&M car park when my phone rang. It was Lady B (my dad's good friend), ringing to chat and catch up with news, and to tell me about her recent visit with my brother to the care home to see my Dad. We ended up chatting for 40 minutes and during that time I found myself slowly drawn across the car park towards the metal stands of flowers and plants. They were absolutely crammed full of cyclamen, colour-dyed heather plants and an exuberant collection of pansies and violas.

So as I was chatting to B, I was also more than a little bit distracted by all the floral goodness, oh, I LoVe violas soooo so so much! There is something unbleievably charming about them, and I adore all the sweet variety in their colours and markings.

Once I'd finished the phone call, I took some photos to share with you, it was an unexpected colourful sweet spot in a grey morning. The above delightful mixture was a largeish pot on sale for £5, and if I hadn't been carrying heavy shopping bags I would absolutely have marched into the shop and bought it. So I'm thinking that the top of my to-do list for tomorrow will read 1. Go and Buy Viola Pot, which I am stupidly excited about. What a treat to look forward to.

Ahh, this blog post seems to be really rather random today, I do apologise for the lack of follow-through narrative. But I just had to share the above image with you because it totally took my breath away when I saw it in my phone earlier. It's by an American artist called Angela Johal who I follow on Instagram and her paintings just blow my mind. Yes, this is a painting, acrylic on canvas, not a digital image! It's called "Rhythm & Line No. 18" and measures 4ft x 6ft, so the same size as one of my crochet blankets. Isn't it stunning?? And can't you just SEE it made out of Stylecraft Special DK????!!!!

You can see loads more of Angelas beautiful "chromesthetic geometric" paintings on her website ((here)), they are amazing, a real dose of colour therapy.

Talking of colour therapy, I have a confession to make. This afternoon I finally finished unpacking my giant pink suitcase which has been sitting on my bedroom floor for, eh-hem, << three weeks >> since I came back from Morocco. J and I both kept tripping over it, and I've been meaning to deal with it for ages. It was mostly all the travel odds and ends, plus all of my crochet project stuff and bags of spare yarn balls. I spent some time this afternoon sorting everything out and taking some photos of my crochet project to share with you, because the colours are lush. I named the square  "Sunny Days" and it feels like maybe now is a good time to share that with you, and I can show you some photos from my Morocco trip to feed colour inspiration into your eyes. So I think that will be my Day 10 Blogtober post, a blast of sunny colour to cheer us all up.

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Blogtober 2024 :: Day 8

Blogtober Day 8 :: Tuesday

It's been a wet, drizzly kind of a grey day today and not particualrly inspiring if I'm honest. J and I were both up early (still on Amsterdam time) so decided to go out for our morning walk despite the gloom and the rain. We are back to our "dark season" route for the next five months as it's not light enough to go into the woods any more. I don't mind it though, we walk along the canal, through the park, then a steepish climb up a long, hilly residential street before gently dropping back down along a leafy road to the top end of town and homewards. It's about 2 miles, with just enough hilly exertion for me to feel like I'm excercising but not in a scary or too-sweaty way.

I went out again mid morning to meet my friend for coffee, walking along the narrow spring branch of the canal as I needed to call in at the butcher on my way.

I thought it was looking suddenly very autumnal, the trees starting to change colour and drop their leaves more and more by the day.

At the top of the town outside the town hall there are some long, curved wooden benches that have planters built into the back rests. It's such a neat design and the planting is always colourful and changes with the seasons. They looked espeically lovely today I thought, cheering up the grey weather and bringing some much needed colour to the area. I do really appreciate seeing flowers around the place and it's something I noticed about my time in Amsterdam. That city is full of greenery and flowers - so many huge pots and planters filling pavements, spilling over bridges, clustered in front of buildings and lining the narrow streets, I love it.

Let me see if I can find a few photos to show you....

^^ isn't it lovely? The flowers and plants added such a lot of charm to an already charming city.

I bought myself some flowers today, I wanted something colourful but the choice in the supermaket was limited so I ended up choosing scent over colour. Stocks are really a summer flower aren't they? But there was something about that strong, spicy fragrance that grabbed my attention and felt right for October.

I've enjoyed having them on my table today, they really do smell amazing.

I felt quite tired tthis afternoon and couldn't really settle down to concentrate on anything much. I did a lot of faffing about - mild cleaning in the bathroom, sorting out piles of  laundry, dealing with the recycling, paging through recipe books and making a meal plan and shopping list....I don't know, could I call this productive faffery? As opposed to idle faffery?

Mid afternoon, I lit a candle and decided to sit and knit a few rows of my sock to ease my jumbled mind. I'm just starting on the heel flap which is why I'm using the pointy sticks instead of my favourite small circulars. The trouble is, my hands sometimes really ache (arthritis in my knuckle joints) and today was one of those achey days because of the cold, damp weather. I managed 9 short rows and then had to stop, but it was enjoyable if a bit slow and stop-starting.

I cooked a favourite comfort meal for the fam tonight and it was bloomin' delicious I have to say. This recipe is called "Dirty Macaroni" and comes from one of the wonderful Pinch of Nom recipe books. I can highly recommend the PoN recipes, they are healthy and very tasty and we've got a whole collection of go-to family meals from the website and books that we come back to time and again.

This recipe is a pasta bake (from the Quick & Easy book) - lean minced pork and peppers in a tomato sauce which is heavily flavoured with herbs and spices, then cooked macaroni stirred through and a topping made from grated cheese, wholemeal breadcrumbs and fresh parsley. Mmmmm.....so good!

I have to say I do like autumnal cooking with an emphasis on warming, nutritious comfort food...although I can be quite contrary and crave a fresh salad in October too.....it's all about the balance I guess.

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Blogtober 2024 :: Day 7

Blogtober Day 7 :: Monday, The North Sea, then Hull and home

It's strange to think that I woke up this morning on the sea when it was still dark and we were sailing gently along the wide estuary of the River Humber. Life on the ferry starts at 6am when the café opens and the wakeup call comes through to all the cabins so it's been quite a long day. We were showered, dressed and packed up by 6.45, enjoying a cappuccino up on the back deck as the sunrise was in full swing....such a lovely start to the day.

We were docked and disembarking by 7.30am - it's about an 11 hour crossing (sailing times are 9pm departure and 8am arrival, but sometimes it can be quicker if the weather conditions are right). I'm happy to tell you more about the travel aspect of the holiday (let me know if you'd like details), and if any of you up in the North of England fancy taking this kind of mini cruise then you can find all the info on the P&O website.

The three Little People did a really good job taking care of the house and each other while we were away and I'm so grateful for the ease of our family dynamics. They all get along well and it was lovely to come back home and catch up with their weekend comings and goings. The big boy-child shopped for groceries and cooked a few meals for them all, house chores were divided and done bewteen them, and Little Lady and Little B even went out to a café for brunch together yesterday which honestly makes my heart squeeze with happiness. And more crucially, Little B got himself up and off to school this morning, which made J and I breathe a small sigh of relief as we were driving home.

The kitty was pleased to see me and pinned me to the sofa as soon as I sat down with a cup of tea. It felt good to be home, and with some lovely memories still lingering after a really fabulous trip. Amsterdam is a wonderful city and never fails to give me all the happy vibes - I think this was my 6th visit (I first went in my mid twenties, travelling very cheaply by coach/ferry back then) and I'm certain I'll be back again.

I went grocery shopping this evening, swinging gently back into routine as I walked the familiar route along the canal to the supermarket. Canals are featuring very heavily in my life at the moment, but I can tell you that the call of the sea is also pretty strong...do you remember last year when I took myself off on a spontaneous jaunt to the coast? I don't think I can do that again this month (even though the pull is there), but I'm quietly hopeful that I can persaude the fam to come with me for a day trip very soon.

I'm sorry this blog entry is so short, I am suddenly veeeery tired but I'll be chatting to you again tomorrow - Blogtober is in full swing, one week down already, can you believe it?

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Blogtober 2024 :: Day 6

Blogtober Day 6 :: Sunday in Amsterdam

Here are a few of the things that have made me heart-skippy happy this weekend in Amsterdam....

♥ taking a boat trip along the canals and learning more about the history and architecture of the city

♥ a visit to de Hortus botanical gardens, the huge glass house was amazing

♥ stunning butterflies in the botanical gardens.....

♥ ....and a tropical glass house full of butterflies, I LoVed it!

♥ a stroll along the Singel canal to see the floating flower market

♥ popping into a random shop called Papier which was a colour-lovers dream

♥ warm Dutch apple pie, eaten with a very good cappuccino at a little canal-side café this morning

♥ the abundance of flowers and greenery in Amsterdam, and the picturesque beauty of the canals

♥ having a few beers at J's favourite bar, warm enough to sit outside right beside the water there

♥ the weather, it was autumnal perfection. The above view was just before sunset last night, from our hotel room on the 14th floor overlooking the river

Such a beautiful few days, I've enjoyed every moment. Currently just setting sail to begin our crossing back over the north sea, so I'll post this before I get disconnected.....see you tomorrow, back in Atticland:)

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Blogtober 2024 :: Day 5

Blogtober Day 5 :: Saturday in Amsterdam

I've had the most wonderful day, a slow and happy pootle along the picturesque canals and atmospheric streets of Amsterdam. It's been leisurely and so enjoyable, and as you can see it was deliciously warm and sunny all day long.

I'm sharing just a handful of postcards with you today which I hope you enjoy - more next time!

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Blogtober 2024 :: Day 4

Blogtober Day 4 :: Friday

Ahhh, Fridaaaaay.....yaaayyyyyyy!!!!! I've got that bubbly end of the week feeling because I've got plans for this weekend which I'm really, really happy about.

It was a stunning start to the day, my goodness, the sky was insanely beautiful, all firey and over-the-top dramatic. We walked along the canal at at 7am and my heart was full of gratitude for it all.

A few hours later I was out again into a crisp sunny day, yarn bag in hand, excited to spend the morning with my hooky/knitty friends. It's such a highlight of my week, spending time chatting and creating with wonderful friends and sharing our projects over coffee.

I worked on the colour palette for the canal inspired blanket way back in June/July and already have a basket of samples and yarn doodles from that time. It means that I'm certainly not starting from a blank slate, and although it's early days I've got a very definite idea for the design and can see it very clearly in my Creative Mind. Now the hard work begins as I try and translate my imaginings into something workable and real, which is exciting and nerve wracking in equal measure! I shall of course keep you updated on progress over the next few weeks as Blogtober ticks along.

Other things that made me very happy today - a gift of some homegrown baby tomatoes from my friend Judi's allotment. She said they were for Little B who has been obsessed with tomatoes since he was a very small weeny boy, but honestly I kind of think that I want them to be mine, mine, mine. We can share I guess?

Also, an unexpected visit from a lovely blog reader this morning, all the way from Australia! Sandy, it was such a pleasure to chat to you, and thank you for calling in to see me at the café. I do have the loveliest worldwide hooky friends and it's always a true delight when I get to meet you in person.

I mentioned at the start of this blog that exciting weekend plans were in place.......and in about an hour I am setting off on a jaunt to Amsterdam. Eeeeeeeeepppp! Hugely happy about it, especially as this time around it is just J and me, a special little trip for the two of us. You might remember that we visited back in the Spring and had Little B with us then. We love the city very much, and the option of taking the ferry makes it an affordable and really wholesome kind of a short holiday. The ferry experience is quite old fashioned but I love it for that - we shall be tucked up in our little two berth cabin tonight, being lulled to sleep by the waves.....ahhh, I'm so looking forward to it.

We arrive back into Hull port on Monday morning, but I'm going to try and share a few Amsterdam postcards with you over the weekend if I can. If by chance you visit here in the next few days and nothing is showing, then you'll know where I am and can forgive the Blogtober gap!

Have a fabulous weekend, I hope you have something lovely to look forward to!

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Blogtober 2024 :: Day 3

Blogtober Day 3 :: Thursday

I was wide awake and up suuuper-early this morning (like 4 am kind of early) when it was still very dark outside, and actually it was quite a nice feeling. It's rare I am ever up before J, so I felt like I had stolen some secret alone time when everyone else was still sleeping. Time to sit in the quiet of the house for a little while with a hot cup of tea, fussing the kitty because she is always very needy for attention first thing in the morning. At 5 am we swapped over, J coming down to the kitchen to make his first coffee of the day, and me yawning and sneaking back up to a still-warm bed to grab an extra hour of zzzzzz. Going back to bed felt like an indulgence somehow, and yet when I woke up for the second time it was only 6am.

We are still heading out to walk at 7am each morning, although it doesn't always happen if we sleep in or if it's absolutely pouring with rain. This morning was especially beautiful, a clear, crisp sky with the mist still sitting over the damp fields and the sun just about to rise.

The above photo was taken at 7.45 as we were returning home along the canal, such a happy part of my day despite the ridiculous early start and double wake up. I love the energy I get from an early morning jaunt, and the beautiful connection to nature, the weather, the seasons...there is something wonderful about being out and about and breathing in the start of a new day while many people are still tucked up in bed.

Some other things that made me happy today included a cup of good, sun-drenched frothy coffee....

....and the colour of the sky as I walked home from doing the food shop. That shade of blue made my heart sing, so beautiful and infintely nicer than our usual dull shade of grey.

This afternoon was a bit of a muddle, I felt tired and really could have done with a nap but with one thing and another it just wasn't happening. Little Lady is poorly and was home from work today, and I've found that it doesn't seem to matter how old the offspring are, it's still a worry when they are unwell. I couldn't seem to settle to anything, although I did have a play with my blankets which is always an immediate source of feel-good.

Little Lady made herself a nest on the sofa as she sat eating a bowl of soup and watching a film, and I found myself folding and tidying up around her as my substantial collection of comfort blankets were in wild disarray. We are avalanching here, piles of colourful crochet stripes and squares cascading all over the furniture. I really should pack some of them away but it's impossible to choose which ones and it feels so cruel to relegate them to a dark cupboard!

I was going to buy myself some fresh flowers today, but as my colourful chrysanths are still looking good (after eleven days), I decided that they can stay a little longer. I had a bit of a tidy up around the dining table this afternoon, it's all a bit chaotic and messy in my makeshift work space. I came across the above basket stuffed with scappy yarn balls and honestly the colours made me so bloomin' happy. I think there are a few Sungold leftovers in there as well as the remnants of a new colour palette idea that I was playing with in the spring (the easter-egg influence).

These colours aren't lined up for anything at the moment, but I do feel there might be a very pretty blanket idea sitting right there on my table. However....I must not get distracted as I have my canal boat design to work on next and I am ridiculously excited about it.

Now then, do tell me what you do with your crochet blankets, do you fold them? Stack them? Drape them over the furniture? Store them away in a basket or cupboard until you might need them? Rotate them according to the season? I'd love to know your thoughts on blanket storage and appreciation, please do chat to me about it!

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Blogtober 2024 :: Day 2

Blogtober day 2 :: Wednesday

Before I begin with today's blurble, I just wanted to say a really big, squishy (((thank you))) for all your beautiful comments on yesterday's first Blogtober installment. What a joy it's been to read them all (they come through to me via email so I make sure never to miss any). I LOVE that we can have a little chat and it's so nice for me to find out where in the world you are and read about your days - that connection we have is precious and I value it very much.

I was admiring the October page on my calendar this morning, it's hanging on my wall right next to my yarn shelf. I have an enduring love of calendars, especially artist-designed ones with great seasonal images, and this one is a beauty. The colourful paintings are by Vanessa Bowman whos work often follows a seasonal theme and her annual calendars are really lovely.

I've had a day out of the house today as my lovely friend Christine drove over from Winwick to visit. After a spot of brunch and coffee at a very nice café in town, we decided to drive out and take a walk at Bolton Abbey. I think walking in the countryside is such a nice way to spend time with friends, it's the perfect mix of relaxation and energy expenditure. Christine and I generally get together once a month for a day of yarny chat and I really appreciate having somebody to talk to who has the same kind of focus as me in terms of designing, creating, writing and nurturing an online community.

Bolton Abbey is lovely and quiet during the week days and we had a slow, ambling circular stroll along the riverside, around the Abbey, over the bridge and back through the woodland. Beautiful views, abundant greenery and good company, it was a lovely way for us to spend time catching up with news and chatting through ideas.

 And at the end of the walk, the café was waiting for us and it was warm enough to sit outside which made me very happy. I don't often drink coffee in the afternoons, but we were sharing a really indulgent slab of chocolate brownie and somehow in my mind that just had to have a frothy coffee to hold its hand. It was the decaff version, so hopefully all will be well tonight when I need to sleep!

I got home around 4pm, just in time to chat to Little B who was home from school and getting ready to head out to work. Yes, you read that right, my fourteen year old has landed himself a job....and for some reason I am seriously struggling to process this fact. He set off today for his first shift working in the kitchen of a lovely local pub, and well, he is growing up so fast and going out to WORK and my Mummy self is feeling weirdly emotional about the whole affair. Sigh. I am proud of my Little Peeps though, all three of them have worked from the age of 14 and I do believe it's very good experience for them.

Unusually today, J was also out at work (he usually works from home, but had to go into the office today) so there was a short period of time (precisely 85 minutes) where I was suddenly and unexpectedly all alone in the house. Hubby at work, two offspring at work, and the eldest boy-child at the gym, wow, the house was DeAdLy quiet and it was all a bit odd. I sat for a while and luxuriated in the total peace and quiet, then Miss Tilly came to join me for a little while before I needed to get up and start cooking some dinner. It was a really lovely little quiet pause in my day.

Something that wasn't quite so lovely was the fact that I came downstairs this morning to discover that Miss Tilly had puked on my beloved Flowerpress blanket, oooooo, the outrage!! Harrumph!! Luckily, when I was still in the very early design stages with this blanket I did a series of wash/dry tests with my ReCreate samples (I always do this with any new yarns, just to be sure that future blankets will be durable and machine washable) and it passed with flying colours. In fact, I would go so far as to say that the blanket really improves after a little jaunt in the washing machine cycle, it's very pleasing indeed.

The ReCreate yarn contains 30% recycled wool, and when it's washed it blooms beautifully - you might be able to see from the photo above that the fibres of the yarn are now slightly fluffed up and very soft looking, making the blanket feel much more cosy and blankety. The softness is the main thing, this really isn't a scratchy, itchy woolly yarn at all, not at all, it feels more like a lovely soft cotton. Currently I've got it spread out on Little Lady's bedroom floor (she has the most available floor space) - I spread it out slightly damp straight from the wash and after 24 hours natural flat drying I know it will look and feel dreamy.

Anyhow, I thought it was worth mentioning, for those of you who are making the Flowerpress blanket or who might be considering using Stylecraft ReCreate yarn in the future, it really is a wonderful fibre and I would highly recommend you putting the finished blanket into the wash and flat drying/blocking if you have the floor space. 

A happy end to the day, and Miss Tilly has been forgiven. I hope you've had a lovely day too, and I'll be back to chat to you again tomorrow ..

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Blogtober 2024 :: Day 1

Blogtober day 1 :: Tuesday

Hellooooo.....! Happy first day of a new month, and also the start of another year of Blogtober. I first took part in Blogtober in 2021, and this will be my third year of "daily blogs throughout October" (I skipped 2022 because I was away in France teaching a crochet retreat in October that year). I'm not sure how popular it still is to do this kind of thing, especially nowadays when slow, silent, non-filmy online content is becoming quite rare. I'm still a massive fan of slow, thoughtful, chatty words and images and I also love the challenge of creating posts for you every day which follow along with the organic and genuine twists and turns of daily life. It's quite a hard thing to commit to (especially as I'm going to be away from home at least twice this month) but I'm here for it and I'm thankful to those of you who always drop in to read and chat back to me in the comments section.

As usual there are no plans in place for this challenge, but I do want to share my recent Morrocco trip with you so some of the days in early October will be given over to that. Other than that, I shall be winging it and taking you along for the virtual ride, so here's hoping it's going to be a lovely kind of a month!

We seem to be well and truly into the Autumn season all of a sudden and we've had a cold couple of days with heavy grey skies and much rain. I can feel myself wanting to hibernate already, and find I'm putting off my daily walks when the rain is tipping down.

I did just about manage to dodge the showers today and enjoyed my slow walk along the canal - this wall of Boston Ivy puts on a spectacular show every Autumn and it's just starting to change from green to red. I love watching the gradual but inevitable creep of the seasons, it's one of the real pleasures of living in the UK, despite the rain.

We celebrated our wedding anniversary at the weekend, J and me. We met in September 1993 (31 years ago) and 8 years after that (23 years ago) we got married. We don't usually do anything much to mark this occasion but on Sunday we did take the three offspring out to the city and treated us all to a very lovely lunch followed by a few cocktails. It's quite rare for us to have all three kiddos together these days as my big boy-child is very independent and it's quite hard to pin him down for things that involve specific times and practical arrangements. I think the offer of food and drinks was enough to bring him on board and we really did have a lovely day all together. No photos to show you of any of that mind you, as for once I left my phone in my bag and didn't take a single picture.

This past week has been deliciously slow and steady and for that I am grateful. I think slow and steady days are highly underrated, they bring a gentle rythmn and peacefulness which keeps me grounded in the present.

Since I settled back into home life after my recent trip to Morocco, I've enjoyed some gentle social time this past week. I met up with a very good friend for morning coffee and a long overdue catch up....

....and a gorgeous morning with my yarn tribe which involved some slow crochet, lots of chatter and a very pretty bowl of breakfast. I know that some viola flowers are edible, and after much soul searching I did eat the one sitting in my yoghurt but felt dreadfully guilty afterwards. Flower guilt, who knew?

Canal boats are still taking up a lot of space in my Creative Mind, and I am just about to start work on a new blanket design inspired by the colours and decorative details of the boats I see on my walks. I've got a fabulous collection of inspiration photographs that I've collected over the past year and I'm looking forward to getting stuck into the crochet design work.

However, before I can properly let myself loose with new creativity, I'm desprately trying to get the tutorial for my recent Flowerpress blanket finished for you. During the past week I did get the square tutorial made and published, even though Typepad has been driving me absolutely round the twist with frustration. It's really misbehaving at the moment and not uploading photos properly, so I've had to dig deep for lots of pateience, and hoping that my attempt at daily blogging won't be sabbotaged by the technical blogging gremlins.

I've kept the written pattern in place and added the full photo tutorial right after it so that you can choose which one to use. Sometimes it's easy enough to follow a written pattern, but the extra photos can be very useful for guidance and clarification.

https://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/flowerpress-blanket.html

I'm now in the process of finishing up the square joining tutorial and the border instructions (insert praying hands and all other positive emojis here, pleeeease Typepad) as I'm keen to get everything done and online for you so that I'm free to move onto the next thing (the canal boats are calling).

It would be lovely to hear back from you if you've time to write a comment. I'd love to hear about your day-to-day comings and goings and the things that are keeping you grounded, and I'll chat to you again tomorrow...xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx