Attic24

First Snow

It's been snowing here today in Atticland - not a huge amount, but enough to beautifully dust the hills and rooftops and see us setting out to school this morning fully wrapped up against the flurry of freezing flakes. Little B very excitedly (and rather optimistically) asked me if I could manage to find his ski goggles (old inherited ones, we aren't a ski-type of family) as he felt sure that a flurry of snow in the morning would equal some sledging action after school. Sweet boy, I didn't have the heart to tell him that the brief snow shower we walked to school in wouldn't be nearly enough to merit the wearing of extreme winter gear.

I walked up to the park on my way back from the studio mid morning, just to see if there was any remote chance of needing goggles, and it was oh-so-pretty out there. 

The snowy clouds were already drifting away to leave us with some weak winter sunshine....

....and there was a soft glow over the landscape which made me sigh with pleasure.

I can certainly appreciate the beauty of the winter landscape, even if I would much prefer to see dancing green leaves on those bare branches. There is a clean clarity which I do enjoy, the pared back bareness makes me feel like I can breathe more deeply somehow.

The trees were dripping wet and the sight of the light-filled water droplets stopped me in my tracks. Much like reflections on still water, I find myself captivated by the suspended beauty of water droplets, such a still, precious moment in time.

I was looking at these photos on my camera a short while ago before I uploaded them to my computer, and zoomed in on the droplet to take a closer look.....................

............isn't that something? My camera is a small point-and-shoot type with all settings on auto (it's a Sony - this one), but I do have a very steady hand and a good eye for pointing it at visually appealing things. I showed the photo to Little B, and explained about the image being upside-down as the water acts like a lens...I felt quite science-ish and intelligent for a brief moment in time (!) and he was suitably wowed. Nature is bloomin' mind blowing at times.

My "red" hyacinths came into bloom over the weekend, adding a beautiful dash of colour to my winter mantel...

....I think calling them Red is a bit of a stretch as they are very clearly not red, but they are more vibrant that the usual pale-pinky pink hyacinths which are actually labelled Pink. Lots of pinks in that sentence, I should probably edit that eh......

Coming home from school at 3.30 and not a scrap of snow remains here in the town, so no real need for protective eye wear after all. The hill was still looking mighty fine and winterish though, and it was most definitely hat weather. I noticed today how light it still was at 4.30pm and my heart literally felt like it was expanding with pleasure at that thought. We've still got a whole lot of winter to come through yet as Spring doesn't make an appearance in Atticland until well into April, but we are on our way. A whole month since the Solstice, we are On. Our. Way...............!!!! Very happy about that!!!

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Sweet Pea Blanket CAL :: Part 3

Mornin'!!! How are you all doing, have you had a  good week? All is grand here in the Attic and I've been enjoying the gentle rhythm of my days very much. Nothing really momentous has happened this week, but I've felt calmly energised and have managed a pretty good balance between doing the tedious but necessary worky things (annual accounts, I'm looking at you!) and the sweet, sweet creative things (sweet pea, I'm swooning over you!). It's just been a lovely week, in a very normal and ordinary kind of way. 

We were forecast snow for this week but as of yet (dare I say it?) it's remained dry and we've just had freezing temperatures instead. I love it when it's properly cold though, I enjoy seasonal weather when it's behaving and doing what it should be doing for the time of year. Below zero temperatures are good, cos it's January and I'm OK with winter weather happening, bring it on! When J and I are both working from home we sometimes light the fire during the afternoon and I do so appreciate the luxury of it. The warmth and light draws me to sit as close as I can get, and crocheting beside the hearth on a cold winters day is one of my greatest pleasures. 

As is usual for me during one of my CALs, I've spent another full week immersed in the land of social media, absorbing all the Sweet Pea comings and goings and attempting to keep up as best as I can. The fabulous "Attic24 Moorland and More" Facebook group now has more then 8,600 members, and there are hundreds and hundreds of photos on Instagram with the #sweetpeacal hashtag. To be honest it kind of blows my mind a little, but in a really super-duper good way. It's amazing! All the beautiful connections and friendships, all the happy joy over a shared passion, all the colour and yarny love, it's just incredible and I adore being a part of it.

The above photo was shared on Facebook this week when this gorgeous group of ladies met up in Perth, Western Australia with their Sweet Pea blankets. Oh my goodness, I was moved to tears by the very notion of this happening, and I know there are many more little groups planning on meeting up in various UK locations too. Thank you, to every single one of you hooking this journey with me, you make me so happy!

Before we come to Part Three of the CAL, I want to share some of the blankets that I've come across during my online travels. This week I'm going to show you some blankets that are all using my Trellis Stripe pattern, but with a good many colour variations. I often get asked if I mind that folks use their own colours instead of following my carefully selected CAL colour palette, and the answer is honestly a big resounding No! How can I possibly mind?? My main aim with my CAL is to inspire some happy hooky creativity and for us all to feel connected as we make a blanket (or two) together.  I really love to see new ideas and excited sparks of inspiration flying, so let me show you what I mean.......

Helen is using the Summer yarn pack.....

Jo is using the Cottage yarn pack....

Jo B is using the Coast yarn pack....

Vikki is using the Sunny yarn pack (minus Citron and Lipstick)....

...and Lesley is using the Hydrangea yarn pack.

I honestly love every single one of the above blankets and think they all look really great.

There are also plenty of folk who are taking this opportunity to use up yarn they already have, and the Trellis Stripe makes a perfect stash buster blanket. If you know that each stripe is going to need roughly 12g of yarn, you can dig into your stash and use up even the smallest odds and ends left over from other projects.

Let me show you how lovely these stash busting blankets are turning out....

Aline ^^^

Laura ^^^

Gaye ^^^

Diane ^^^

Lynne ^^^

Sandra S ^^^

Aren't they all fabulous? Each blanket has such a unique character and personality and I absolutely love the charm of them all. 

I've also spotted some beautiful blankets created with their very own colour palettes, and I find this so inspiring. It's actually not an easy thing to do - if you've attempted to put together a colour palette for yourself, you will know that it takes a certain amount of creative vision to achieve a harmonious overall look and feel.

Yvonne is using a collection of blue shades arranged in a perfect colourwash....

Nia has chosen a serene palette of subtle greens for her blanket.....

Sandra has selected five pastel shades which she's spacing out with cream stripes - this is a very effective way to harmonise colours and create a soft feel perfect for baby blankets.

Karen has selected a stunning rainbow palette for her Trellis stripe, it really sings JOY to me!

B Kae is making THREE trellis stripe blankets for her children using her own colour palettes and I love them all. The one on the left is based on the Sweet Pea palette but with some additional deeper colours added at the end. B is actually making her blankets chunkier by holding two strands of DK yarn together and using a larger hook - this suits the wider bands of colour beautifully.

Jan has carefully selected a colour palette to match her rug which is such a creative idea - I think she's done a terrific job of it too.

I've also noticed a couple of Trellis Stripe blankets being made using the ever popular "cakes" of yarn  - I wasn't sure how these built-in colour changes would work, but they are very effective and I imagine they make for a super-breezy crochet experience.....

Carissa is using Caron Cake "Turkish Delight"....

....and Nina is using Caron Cake "Bumbleberry". 

One last variation that I honestly didn't see coming, and that is the idea to use all one colour. Teresa is making a Sweet Pea posy blanket, but at the same time she decided to crochet up an all-white baby blanket. Isn't the simplicity appealing? I do love the way the stitch pattern shows up so beautifully. I've also seen an all-grey variation - it's a lovely idea that you can keep just one ball of yarn and a hook in the car or in your bag and you will instantly have an easy crochet project to work on whenever you need it.

I hope you've enjoyed seeing all the beautiful Trellis Stripe blankets.....shall we get back to the business of the Sweet Pea stripe now???

Here we are with week three, and at the end of this week you will be just over half way. Your blanket should be gaining roughly 30cm in height each week, so week three will see you with almost a metre of gorgeous summery colour to drape over your knees as you continue on your journey.

The more this blanket grows, the deeper in love I fall. The sweet medley of pretty pastels and brights just makes me swoon!

I also really, really love the way the stitch pattern is looking too. The bigger the blanket grows, the more it gently stretches out the Trellis pattern so that you can see the subtle vertical texture running through the stripes. It's very quickly become one of my all time favourite patterns to make, and to look at too.

Right then, here is the colour info you need for this week............

SWEET PEA BLANKET CAL PART 3

🌸 POSY 🌸 

#teamposy #sweetpeacal

So your last stripe from Posy Part 2 should be Pistachio - that was stripe number 30.

And here is the colour information for Part 3 : stripes 31-45, working from the bottom upwards.

Remember each stripe is worked in two rows, so 15 stripes = 30 rows of crochet.

SWEET PEA POSY Part 3

31. Wisteria

32. Violet.

33. Soft Peach

34. Clematis

35. Cypress

36. Fuchsia Purple

37. Magenta

38. Blush

39. Candyfloss

40. Meadow

41. Plum

42. Pomegranate

43. Lavender

44. Cream

45. Pistachio

I hope you continue to enjoy these colours as you work through week three, they really are a visual pleasure.

Now lets take a look at Part 3 of the Colourwash version............

This week we'll be heading through the palest part of the colourwash which marks the centre of the blanket.

These pale coloured sweet pea flowers are so delicate and subtle, and I adore the softness of them. Truthfully they aren't my best favourite (the deep pinks and rich purples have my heart), but they are extremely pretty. 

As well as the cream, I chose three shades to represent the subtle pinks, and we'll be using all three of these colours in part 3 of the colourwash blanket this week.

You'll be continuing with Clematis, and adding in Cream, Candyfloss and Soft Peach.

You may find that you don't instinctively adore these pale colours all sitting together, and I know some of you find Candyfloss especially tricky to get on board with. Please remember that the remaining half of the blanket contains all the rich pinks and purples, and that this paler middle section provides a very necessary balance to all that is to come. I hope you can trust me on this!!

Ah Tilly, always front and centre when I'm attempting to do my thing!!! She spent ages rolling around on my blanket, looking as if she was truly enjoying the experience - she was very cross when I turfed her off!

I've been so lucky in having a small group of pattern testers to help me with the Sweet Pea colourwash blanket. I'm still in the midst of making it myself as I'm making it pretty much in real time along with you all, just one week ahead which is slightly stressful but I'm managing. So it's been invaluable for me to see in advance how the blanket will look as it grows each week. My testers did such a fantastic job photographing their blankets for me too, so I'm going to share a few of them with you......

This is Dawn's blanket ^^^

and Darlene's ^^^

and Heather's ^^^.

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Right, on with the all important colour info for this week's stripes...............

SWEET PEA BLANKET CAL PART 3

🌸 COLOURWASH 🌸 

#teamcolourwash #sweetpeacal

So your last stripe from Colourwash Part 2 should be Wisteria - that was stripe number 30.

And here is the colour information for Part 3 : stripes 31-45, working from the bottom upwards.

Remember each stripe is worked in two rows, so 15 stripes = 30 rows of crochet.

SWEET PEA COLOURWASH Part 3

Note that throughout the colourwash blanket there are some double width stripes (4 crochet rows of the same colour). I've marked these in red so that they stand out for you. Remember you don't need to fasten off between the double rows.

31. Clematis

32. Clematis

33. Cream

34. Clematis

35. Cream

36. Clematis

37. Cream

38. Cream

39. Candyfloss

40. Cream

41. Candyfloss

42. Cream

43. Candyfloss

44. Candyfloss

45. Soft Peach

The two blankets {posy} and {colourwash} do look very different at this stage don't you think? I love them both, I honestly do.

I've enjoyed seeing some beautiful Repeating Sweet Pea blankets this week too.......

Tamsin is #teamrepeat and has completed four repeats so far.....

....and Dawn is #teammirror, which is looking fantastic the bigger it grows.

Wonderful work ladies, I've loved seeing all the love and admiration for these blankets on Facebook too.

I'm wishing you all a marvelous seven days ahead as you continue to jaunt along with your Trellis Stripes - ENJOY every minute!!!!

I'll be back with Part 4 on Friday 25th January.....until then, here are the links you might need this week ::

🌸 SWEET PEA YARN PACK

🌸TRELLIS STRIPE PATTERN🌸

🌸 SWEET PEA BLANKET INTRODUCTION

🌸 SWEET PEA BLANKET Q&A

🌸 SWEET PEA BLANKET PREPARATION (includes a sneak peek of the Posy and Colourwash blankets)

🌸 SWEET PEA CAL PART 1 (colour info for stripes 1-15)

🌸 SWEET PEA CAL PART 2 (colour info for stripes 16-30)

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Winter Colour

We ventured out into the cold, cold wintry countryside yesterday, J and I, for a brisk walk around Grimwith reservoir. As you can see, the water levels are frightening low (photos from April last year show how full it was then) and I hope very much that we're not headed for any sort of water shortage situation.

It was blinkin' freezing out there in the Dales yesterday, and even though I was bundled up in extra layers, with my woolly hat pulled down low (yes I'm still wearing that very same hat), the cold wind seemed to reach my bones.

I am always fascinated by moss at all times of year (it's an enduring crush that I have), but in Winter it really makes me love it to distraction. It's so hardy and vibrant, like a bright beacon of natural positivity amongst all the muted dullness out there, and I adore it.

Now get this ---- I just did a quick online moss search and found a mossy blog!! It's called "Moss Musings" (seriously!!) and the tag line reads "for all the buzz about your favorite fuzz..." Oh. My. This is utterly brilliant. I'm laughing into my tea at this point, that tag line is just...well, beyond words really. Life is fantastic when you discover such small and quirky things that make you laugh out loud.

I like lichen too....any lichen fans out there? Its such a subtle and sublime colour, like the true essence of winter (along the lines of eucalyptus, that soft grey-green is just lovely). I do so enjoy the small details of a walk as much as the bigger long distance views.

Being out in the winter countryside is such a tonic, not just physically for the fresh air and exercise, but mentally too. It's like opening a window when the room becomes too stuffy, I find that having a stuffy brain can feel very draining at times, and fresh air and open views make a huge difference to my thought processes. It's liberating, and I really appreciate being able to do this on a Monday morning.

I like to chat to J about my crochet and blogging plans as we walk, I know he doesn't really "get it" but I enjoy offloading onto him regardless. I'm pretty sure he doesn't mind me laying it all out as we walk, it certainly helps me to feel clearer in my mind and more energised for the days that follow. I made massive in-roads into my ridiculous to-do list this morning, and I'm sure it was because of my outdoor walking therapy session yesterday. I can highly recommend it.

And to end the walk........a rainbow, the best winter colour of all.

Back here in the Attic, and Winter colour is mostly yarn related, of course it is. I gathered up a pile of clean socks this morning to take them upstairs - they'd been drying on the radiator downstairs and honestly I just swooned a little at the sight of all those delicious stripes. For those who don't know that I knit socks (I do, I do!), you can follow my "Socks" category in the sidebar for all previous sock posts with yarn and pattern details etc. I didn't make many pairs last year (I'm not sure why .... oh hang on .... yeah .... cross stitch happened!), but plan to have a few more pairs on and off the needles this year. 

I fear I am obsessing about my eucalyptus in a way that is a bit weird, but I can't seem to help it. Gawd, I love it so much. It's become my daily ritual....I sit and sip that delicious first coffee of the day, and rub a little euc leaf between my fingers to inhale at the same time. I think smelly pleasures are highly underrated. 

My sofa is a bit of a colourful mess right now, but I am really loving the riot of colour and pattern. In fact, the whole house is a mess, but I am going against the current January trend of decluttering and clearing and simplifying and choosing to embrace the cluttered, lived in look, just for the time being. Clearing may happen in the Spring, I'm in no rush. 

I was working on my sweet pea blanket for lots of hours over the weekend, and found myself wishing (for the umpteenth time) that the yarn would magically smell like sweet peas. Actually, I read on Facebook somewhere about a lady who puts a scented soap in her organza yarn bag along with her yarn and current project, and I thought that would be well worth a try. So I'm off to search for sweet pea soaps now, I think this could be a Good Thing.

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Sweet Pea Blanket CAL :: Part 2

Hello petals, how has your week been? Tell me, has it contained plenty of happy moments, and possibly a little hooky action? Have you been closing your eyes at night and seeing neat rows of pretty floral inspired colour? Have you longed for the scent of sweet peas to waft in on the summer breeze? I've had a great week myself, a little emotional but that's to be expected in these crazy-intense CAL weeks.

For those of you who are joining me on this yarn-filled blankety journey, I hope very very much that you got off to a good start. And if the start was a little iffy, I hope that you managed to overcome any wobbles and are well on your way with your sweet trellis rows now. For those of you who don't crochet (why ever don't you??!!), I do so hope that these posts aren't boring your to tears and that you're enjoying the waves of summery colour that I'm sending your way.

So here we are about to embark on week two, and this week you will really begin to see the colour palette springing to life in your hands. These colours are so optimistic - I know for some of you these aren't the type of colours you are usually drawn to, but aren't they uplifting to look at? I do love them, because I am a summery type of person right down to my soul.

I'm surprisingly not missing my favourite blues too much either, and thinking about it, this may possibly be one of the only blankets I've ever made (ever, ever) that doesn't have any blue in it at all. Believe me when I tell you I really seriously thought about including some summer sky in this colour palette (Duck Egg was positively SHOUtInG at me from the sidelines!) but in hindsight I'm glad that I resisted. I think it would have diluted what is a very strong colour palette with a very distinctive floral essence.

I took dozens and dozens of photos of these flowers during the summer, the majority of them all on one glorious day in July after I'd been to the Sweet Pea Flower Show. I remember it so well, the almost overwhelming excitement when I realised how beautiful this whole sweet pea colour palette was going to be. Playing with colour makes me so happy!

Back to the blanket, and I'm wondering how many of you have been darning in your ends as you go along? Are you listening to the Voice from the Attic and being good with your ends, or are you leaving them dangling?!

A few people have asked about the best way to darn in ends when working the Trellis Stripe - I did include this info (with photos) in the tutorial, but possibly you might have still missed it. If you're looking for it, you can find it within the Trellis Stripe tutorial just after row 4 (the second stripe). Hope that it's helpful.

During this week I've spent a humongous amount of time on Facebook and Instagram, attempting to keep up with the huge volume of Sweet Pea posts, answering questions, giving encouragement, having some little tearful moments and plenty of laugh-out-loud moments too. I really enjoy sharing this whole blanket journey with you all, and today I thought it would be inspiring to show you how many variations of the Sweet Pea blanket I've come across.

Be warned......there are a LOT!!!!! >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Connie wowed me by sharing all three versions of the Sweet Pea blanket that she's started making. On the left is the Repeat stripe (following my sampler colour order), in the middle is the start of the Colourwash, and on the right is the Posy. Enlightening, don't you think?!

There are many of you who are making two blankets together, and it's been so fun to see these......

Rachel is following the Posy colour order, using the Neat Ripple and the Trellis Stripe patterns.

Michelle is making the Colourwash Sweet Pea blanket as well as a beautiful Posy granny stripe where she's changing colours every row. This granny stripe has had a lot of love on Facebook, and I agree it looks absolutely great.

Susan is following both the Posy and the Colourwash, but has chosen to work them into granny square blankets - I'm so looking forward to seeing these grow as the weeks progress.

I've come across pretty much every Attic24 blanket pattern being used with the Sweet Pea yarn pack.......

take a look........

Weia is making the Cosy Stripe....

Michelle is making the Woodland Ripple....

David is making a gorgeous Granny Stripe (2 rows per colour)....

Ida is making an Interlocking Colour Ripple....

Alta is making the Neat Ripple....

Jacqui is making the Neat Wave....

Margaret has used the Hydrangea Stripe with the repeating colour order....

Kaz has astounded us yet again by working like the clappers and finishing a whole Sweet Pea Summer Harmony blanket, isn't that something? She added in two additional shades (Fondant and Apricot) to make 17 colours in total, and "mapped" each colour to a corresponding shade in my Original yarn pack. She was then able to use the formula I created for my Summer Harmony Blanket to allow the sweet pea colours to cascade in this beautiful colour wash. At the beginning of March, Kaz will be releasing a PDF file to list out the colours she used for each of the one hundred squares in her blanket - I'll be sure to let you know where you can find all the information if you fancy creating your own Sweet Pea Summer Harmony.

As well as all these Attic24 patterns being used, I've also spotted some other gorgeous stitch patterns which have been given the Sweet Pea treatment.......

Liz has used this dense stitch for her repeating stripes - it's called the Elizabeth stitch or Bean stitch, and creates a fabulously neat texture.

Carol has taken the Sweet Pea yarn pack and made a Granny Stripe baby blanket, choosing to work single rows of each colour. She followed the repeating colour order from my sweet pea sampler, alternating each single row with a soft silvery grey....isn't it inspiring?

Ruth is doing something similar by adding silver grey to the Sweet Pea colours, but this is the beginnings of a cardigan (adapating this pattern, which was originally written for 4ply yarn).

Honor....well Honor is doing something stunning with her yarn pack!! This is the beginning of the "Briar Rose" pattern by Hooked on Sunshine which you can find on Ravelry (here). I'm so looking forward to seeing more of this in the coming weeks.

As well as blankets, I have spotted Sweet Pea Fever sweeping through our community.........

Sue crocheted these super-pretty sweet pea flowers, aren't they delightful? You can find the pattern on Etsy (here).

Judy decided that instead of crocheting Sweet Pea colours, she would grow her own real-life flowers instead.....fab idea, and I hope to see many more of you bringing these beautiful flowers to your gardens this summer.

Sarah made my laugh out loud this morning by sharing her Sweet Pea nails.........utterly brilliant!!!!

I hope you've enjoyed seeing just a fraction of the many hundreds of photos which have been shared on Facebook during this past week. Thank you for making our online Sweet Pea gathering a truly lovely place to be.

Oh, and speaking of gatherings, please can I tell you about a little get together that is happening next month? A lovely lady called Sandra is organising a Sweet Pea Gathering in my childhood home town of Bridport in Dorset. Sadly I can't make it (it's on Sunday 3rd February) but I so so wish I could be there!! If you like the idea of taking your blanket to Bridport to socialise with other lovely Pea Podders, please go visit Sandra's blog to say hello and get the details {SWEET PEA GATHERING}

Right, shall we get on and take a look at Part 2 of the CAL????????

Lets begin with the Posy version first........

At the end of Part 2 you will have thirty delicious stripes to twirl around your person, and will be just over a third of the way through your journey.

This is the Posy version of the Sweet Pea blanket where the colours are mixed together, and I absolutely love love love how it is turning out. You will find that the more your blanket grows, the more defined the stitch/texture will look.

Size wise, each weekly part should be giving you approximately 30 cm in height (so 60 cm tall after week 2 is complete). You may find your width has shrunk a little and isn't quite measuring the full 120cm - please don't worry too much about that, I'm planning a delicious border which will add on a little extra width at the end.

You will hopefully fall more deeply in love with these colours as you progress through this next week - don't they look great???

Right then, here is the colour info you need for this week............

SWEET PEA BLANKET CAL PART 2

🌸 POSY 🌸 

#teamposy #sweetpeacal

So your last stripe from Posy Part 1 should be Pistachio - that was stripe number 15.

And here is the colour information for Part 2 : stripes 16-30, working from the bottom upwards.

Remember each stripe is worked in two rows, so 15 stripes = 30 rows of crochet.

SWEET PEA POSY Part 2

16. Clematis

17. Lavender

18. Plum

19. Pomegranate

20. Cypress

21. Violet

22. Clematis

23. Wisteria

24. Soft Peach

25. Meadow

26. Fuchsia Purple

27. Blush

28. Candyfloss

29. Cream

30. Pistachio

Now lets take a look at Part 2 of the Colourwash version............

Last week you probably remember that it was all about the greens, with just one stripe of Lavender appearing at the very end. This week we are going to continue with Lavender and add in two additional colours.

We'll be finishing off with Cypress and adding the remaining Lavender, along with Wisteria and Clematis.

I didn't manage to grow any lavender/pale purple Sweet Peas on my allotment, but they certainly do exist. I saw plenty of them at the Flower Show and they were very, very pretty indeed.

So this is how the Colourwash blanket will be looking at the end of Part 2. I apologise for the poor lighting in this photo which is making the Lavender and Wisteria look very, very similar. They are close colours which often get mistaken for one another, but they are definitely more distinct in real life than this photo shows.

As the greens gently give way to the pale purples, there is a real sense of the flowers beginning to bloom. I love it!

Darlene was one of my amazing pattern testers and I'll be sharing more of her lovely photos as we progress through the CAL. She worked so fast in order to show me how each part would look, and I am very grateful for her stunning photos which make my heart explode with joy.

Jane also tested the pattern for me and I adore the way she has shown us the blanket in a vertical position - don't the stripes look different when you see them this way? 

Right, on with the all important colour info for this week's stripes...............

SWEET PEA BLANKET CAL PART 2

🌸 COLOURWASH 🌸 

#teamcolourwash #sweetpeacal

So your last stripe from Colourwash Part 1 should be Lavender - that was stripe number 15.

And here is the colour information for Part 2 : stripes 16-30, working from the bottom upwards.

Remember each stripe is worked in two rows, so 15 stripes = 30 rows of crochet.

SWEET PEA COLOURWASH Part 2

Note that throughout the colourwash blanket there are some double width stripes (4 crochet rows of the same colour). I've marked these in red so that they stand out for you. Remember you don't need to fasten off between the double rows.

16. Cypress

17. Lavender

18. Cypress

19. Lavender

20. Lavender

21. Wisteria

22. Lavender

23. Wisteria

24. Lavender

25. Wisteria

26. Wisteria

27. Clematis

28. Wisteria

29. Clematis

30. Wisteria

I hope that whichever colourway you are following, that you are enjoying the way your blanket is blooming?!

Finally, lets take a quick look at the repeating colourway which I know many of you have been smitten with.....

SWEET PEA BLANKET CAL PART 2

🌸 COLOUR REPEAT 🌸 

So the repeating colours are listed above, and there are a few different ways to go about repeating this sequence. Obviously we are only just touching into part 2 this week so I can only show you what has been shared on Facebook so far, but hopefully you can get a good idea.........

Dawn started her blanket with the greens and worked through to Plum - she then chose to "mirror" this colour order and work backwards towards the green again. We are calling this #teammirror.

Sarah is also #teammirror, but she started with Plum and is mirroring her colour repeat when she reaches Pistachio.

Verity is #teamrepeat and is currently four stripes from completing part 2. Once she reaches Plum, she'll start over through the greens again.

I am so enjoying all these variations, and the obvious joy that you are all finding in the colours and the soothing nature of the repetitive Trellis pattern.

I'm wishing you all a pretty amazing week - I hope you enjoy every minute of your hooky time!

I'll be back with Part 3 on Friday 18th January.....until then, here are the links to all Sweet Pea CAL pack, pattern and posts (sounds like a tongue twister!!) :

🌸 SWEET PEA YARN PACK

🌸TRELLIS STRIPE PATTERN🌸

🌸 SWEET PEA BLANKET INTRODUCTION

🌸 SWEET PEA BLANKET Q&A

🌸 SWEET PEA BLANKET PREPARATION (includes a sneak peek of the Posy and Colourwash blankets!)

🌸 SWEET PEA CAL PART 1 (colour info for stripes 1-15)

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January Bright Moments

Do you know something, I do really rather like January for it's sheer newness and optimistic feel. As is the norm, I have been rather late sorting out my new calendars (I have four throughout the house) and still have my main family writing-on calendar to update with birthdays, school holidays etc. But the sight of that clear January calendar page is making me feel all cleansed and delighted and positive about the year ahead, possibly because the page is currently blank so it looks as if it's all free time and nothing pressing to remember at all, no appointments, no Birthdays, nothing doing AT ALL. That isn't the case of course, there has already been one Birthday (Little B turned nine on the 5th), there is another family birthday next week I think, and I've had my first Yarndale meeting of the year this morning. It was only by sheer chance that I actually remembered the meeting at all, I really must get my act together. 

I ordered a new Erin Condren Life Planner last week, again with the lateness I know. I cannot wait for it to arrive as I do feel like I need it - I've a head full of lists and plans and dates, and I'm so going to enjoy those blank pages and sticker therapy. Bring it on...I'll show you when it comes as I've gone for the hardbound version this year for the first time, it was cheaper than the ring bound and had 20% off at the time I snagged it, so that swayed it for me.

So I thought I'd bob in to the Attic and chat about this and that, no New Year's resolutions or magic Word of The Year, just a deep desire to live every day with a joyful heart and positive outlook. I feel very good for January actually (I often don't feel at all well at this time of year), I'm not exactly bursting with energy but something calmer and more sedate, a kind of low hum of energy perhaps? It feels good I have to say.

The above photos were taken on New Year's day, a short family walk through the woods in the pale morning sunshine. It was busy amongst the trees, and despite the above pathway being clear of other folk at the time I snapped the photo, we met and greeted so many other families out walking. It was a lovely way to mark the first day of the year.

During the past week in the lull after New Year, we all kind of slumped here in the Attic. Well, that's not true exactly as it was mainly the rest of the family taking it easy while I worked my socks off creating the Sweet Pea Cal post and full pattern tutorial. And I've spent an incredible number of hours on social media too, which is all part of the CAL experience for me. But look, see, there were still moments where I wore pyjamas and woolly socks and settled down to crochet a few quiet rows, so it all balances out in the end.

I have really, really, really, really enjoyed seeing how the Sweet Pea blanket has taken off with you all, it's giving me the most incredible feeling of deep down happiness. It's very hard to put into words that feeling, it's so emotional for me, and feels quite raw at times. I often feel very moved and tearful when I read about your experiences of the colours and the joy of those rows growing, it never gets old. I love sharing my blankets with a true passion.

There's a glimpse of Big Blanket on my bed too, still making me very happy and keeping us cosy in the cold weather. Can't believe this blanket is almost ten years old now.

I lit my Sweet Pea candle over the weekend, it's lovely! Truthfully it doesn't smell an awful lot like Sweet Peas, but the scent is lightly floral and unmistakably summery so I'm good with that. It tickles me that the text on the side of the tin says "The One I Truly Love" as it makes me think of my blanket every time, awwww, I'm a bit in love with my Sweet Pea blanket!!!

I packed away Christmas at the weekend, gosh what a mammoth event that turned out to be. I had to pull out the sofa to retrieve all the bells and baubles that the kitty had hidden under there, and that resulted in a huge bout of manic guilt-cleaning. Oh, the fluff and miscellaneous detritus to be found behind the sofa was quite shocking, but it's all ship-shape now and I'm trying to erase the memory of how bad it had gotten.

Removing Christmas from the mantels gave me a reason to dust, polish and faff, and set up a little bit of a Winter theme. Do you remember my simple crochet garland from last year? It was so lovely to unpack it from it's "winter decoration" bag and enjoy those soft seasonal colours again.

I've got some hyacinth bulbs just starting out - these ones were labelled as being Red (not pink) so I'm really looking forward to seeing what they turn out like when they bloom. I'm also LOVING my new painting by one of my favourite artists Annabel Burton. I commissioned this canvas from Annabel after seeing something similar on her website, isn't it delightful? I love the wintry trees, but also the feeling of soft light and seasonal change which makes me look forward to the months to come. She is such a lovely lady and I adore her style and colour sense - you can keep up to date with all her latest works on Facebook, tell her I sent you!

Yesterday morning the sky was beautiful over the rooftops and I couldn't wait to get out there and breathe in the cold wintry air.

The Little People went back to school yesterday so Little B and I set out on our morning commute along the canal. It was lovely to embrace the return of our routine, I do enjoy the structure of the school day very much. It grants me six hours to do what I need to do, which yesterday consisted of my accounts, coffee and a good chat with a friend, lots of Facebook and Instagram stuff, emails, and then this......

.....an afternoon at Coopers cafe with my fabulous yarny ladies, jaunting up and down my Trellis Stripe rows. And look - what do you make of my Drink That Isn't Coffee???? That's a rare sight indeed, to see me at Coopers without a mug of frothy coffee in hand!! I decided on a whim to try out the Very Berry smoothie and my goodness, it was utterly delicious and extremely fruity and berry-y. I could positively feel it doing my insides good.

Do you remember me telling you that I'd ordered myself a Eucalyptus tree? Well it arrived in the post last week, all snug inside a cardboard box, and oh oh oh, I do love it so!!!!!! I think it's amazing that you can order a tree through the post - I ordered from Amazon and it just pleased me so much to unpack it and examine it and think to myself "it's my very own tree!" Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever bought a tree before, not ever in my life. Ha! No wonder it was so bloomin' exciting!

For those who have asked, I'm intending to keep my eucalyptus tree in the back yard, growing it on into a large pot and keeping it pruned/trimmed to keep it under control.

I've already snipped a few stems to have on my table, it's the most wonderful thing to be able to inhale that distinctive eucalyptus fragrance whenever the mood takes me. Ok, I'll stop going on about it now.

In other news, I purchased my first bunch of annual daffodils yesterday when I spotted them for £1 in the supermarket. I always wait until January to do this, even though I saw buckets of daffs as early as November. It's become one of my New Year traditions, and makes me very very happy. Can you imagine....fresh eucalyptus AND daffodils in the house????? I might have been a little bit giddy.

Yesterday the daffies were in bud.......

.....and today they bloomed in glorious fashion. So joyful, and such a lovely bolt of bright colour when you come into the room.

A rare photo of the kitty - she detests having the camera pointing at her, but I like to do it anyway. Actually, this is a really bad photo, the sofa is sloping and my cushions are slumped and my blankets are untidy.....but it's home in all it's perfect imperfectness. The cushion on the right (the fabric one) is one I made years ago for Connievan. It has huge sentimental value because it has the original caravan cushion inside it, and when you open the zip and sniff the cushion it still smells of the caravan. Sounds a bit weird, but that smell is so nostalgic and sweet, gosh I do so treasure the precious memories we made with Connievan.

And so that's where I'm at as we gently step into 2019, rejoicing in this quiet life that is uniquely mine. I hope the year is treating you kindly so far, and that you feel optimistic and and positive about where you're heading. I'm wishing you lots of brightness in your days!

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Sweet Pea Blanket CAL :: Part 1

I've been thinking a lot about my personal crochet journey of late, about how I started out on this pathway eleven years ago and how it has always been all about the blankets for me. It's a curious thing that no matter how many crochet blankets I make from year to year, I always feel the same overwhelming sense of excitement and joy with each and every one. I would say this is probably because I design, create and share from the heart with a great deal of emotion and passion involved in everything I do. I really get to feel the colours and the memories they evoke, and combined with the therapeutic nature of making something by hand, well it's an absolutely marvelous thing all round.

Some of you will be like me and will have made plenty of blankets already, and some of you I know are about to embark on your very first blanket journey. I know that it's a fair investment of time, money and energy and a totally different experience from making small decorative pieces of crochet, but ohmygosh, it is so so so worth it! Blanket making is a whole journey of joyfulness, and by joining in with a Crochet-A-Long, well you get the pleasure of sharing that joy with a fabulous creative community as you gently work up your colourful stripes. I hope with all my heart that you enjoy every second of making this blanket (even that first wiggly row!)

I know I've already talked at length about the inspiration behind the Sweet Pea blanket, so I'll try not to waffle on any more about how much I adore these flowers and how evocative of summer they are. But just look at those blooms......aren't they stunning? I had such a fabulous time creating the colour palette directly inspired by my jug of sweet peas, you can't beat having real living inspiration to draw from.

photo credit : Sarah Raven

Another of my favourite sources of inspiration is Sarah Raven, and that's where I bought my sweet pea seedlings from (I know a few of you asked about this). There are some deliciously lovely sweet pea photos on the website, as well as seeds and seedlings to purchase should you wish to try your hand at growing real flowers after you've grown your blanket.

I expect most of you will already have your yarn, whether you've purchased a Sweet Pea yarn pack from my shop, or whether you are using yarn from your stash, or a different alternative altogether. As is usual for my blankets, I've chose fifteen shades of Stylecraft Special DK for my Sweet Pea blanket.

This is enough to make a single/twin size blanket measuring approximately 120cm x 180cm.

If you wish to make a double/king blanket, you will need to buy two yarn packs.

Top row, left to right...

🌸 violet 🌸 cypress 🌸 candyfloss 🌸 magenta 🌸 plum 🌸 

Middle row, left to right...

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

Bottom row, left to right...

🌸 wisteria 🌸 pistachio 🌸 cream 🌸 clematis 🌸 pomegranate 🌸 

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

❧🌸SWEET PEA YARN PACK🌸❧

I've mentioned a few times about making a record of the yarn colours before the ball bands disappear and I've so enjoyed seeing the results of this on social media during the past few weeks. Donna used a hole punched card (these are great for recording your project colours)....

....while Helen crocheted some cute little hearts and attached handwritten wooden tags.

Camille ingeniously used a decorators wooden paint stirrer which I think is fantastic (imagine a chunky ceramic jug holding one of these for every blanket you make?!!).

Sarah has decorated pages in a project planner to record her sweet pea journey, using stickers from Ellie Beth Designs.

Another simple way to identify your yarn is to remove the ball band, fold it up neatly and push it into the centre of your ball. Obviously this will only work if you are going to pull your yarn from the outside of the ball, but it's a simple solution to help you keep track of the colour names.

I designed a special stitch for the Sweet Pea blanket which I am absolutely besotted with, and I cannot wait to see what you make of it. The simplicity of it is pleasing on so many levels - the subtle texture, the ease at which the pattern can creep into your brain and stay there, and the mesmerising rhythm that you create with your hook when you are working with just one type of stitch. It's all rather blissful I have to say, and I hope the perfect way to spend an hour or so each day. 

I've written a very full photo tutorial for the Trellis Stripe which I've aimed at beginners, so I've included things like how to join in a new colour and how to darn in ends as well as lots of step-by-step guidance. If you are an experienced hooker (ho ho ho) you can read the beginning info which explains starting chains, pattern repeats, and the working of a gauge sample (oh, yes, you know you will want to do this!), then jump to the end where I've written out a conventional pattern which you can copy/paste/print in a word document if you wish.

Remember if you are a a newbie hooker, then take things slow, read each step carefully and scrutinise my photos. I do my utmost to make things as clear as possible, but if you are struggling, please do join the Attic24 Moorland and More Facebook group. This is a very supportive and friendly group with wonderful crocheters of all abilities so you can post photos there and ask for help without feeling silly I promise you. 

You can find the full tutorial and pattern (including starting chain info) by clicking on the following link : 

❧🌸TRELLIS STRIPE PATTERN🌸❧

Right, we are going to talk about doing a tension sample - yes, we are!! Apologies for the colour of the above sample as I grabbed the closest ball and then realised afterwards that it's Boysenberry which isn't in the Sweet Pea blanket at all....(keeping it real!). I explain the pattern repeat in more detail in the tutorial, but the above sample has a starting chain of 28. I worked 6 rows of the pattern which was enough to give me a measurable piece of crochet and using a 4.5mm hook (I'm a tight crocheter) this gives a width of approx. 15cm. This is what you should be aiming for - this is a fairly lacy pattern so you want to try and keep the stitches fairly tight/neat and avoid the crochet fabric becoming too holey or floppy. You may well already know what size of hook to use if you're familiar with this yarn - if not, start with a 4mm but be prepared to go bigger or smaller with your hook if the sample measurement is smaller/bigger. 

My main concern here is that I really, really don't want you to run out of yarn. If you are working on a looser tension then you will be using more yarn per row, and there is a danger that you will run out. So please do take the time to sample, and experiment with hook sizes and decide what works best for you. You can use all one colour from your yarn pack (don't fasten off between rows) and leave your sample attached to the ball at the end while you measure - that way you can frog it and re-use the yarn. 

Another good way to keep track of your yarn is to use digital kitchen scales if you have them. You can weigh your whole ball of yarn before you start, work a complete stripe (2 rows), then weigh the ball again. As you can see from the scales, I use approx 12g of yarn per stripe which means that 6 stripes = 72g roughly. This is reassuring and tells me I won't run out of yarn and I should also have enough left to work a border.

❧🌸TRELLIS STRIPE PATTERN🌸❧

I mentioned stitch markers in my Preparation post a few days ago - these are handy things to have, although not essential (you can use paper clips or scraps of waste yarn). When you crochet your starting chain, it's a good idea to go up a hook size just for making the chain, then switch back down to a smaller hook to work that first row. I like to place markers every 25 stitches so that it's easy to keep count if you get interrupted/distracted. This first row must be counted accurately or the pattern repeat won't work.

Once your first row of double crochet is complete, row 2 will see you go straight into the trellis stripe pattern. You will be using only one stitch (a UK treble crochet), and I am confident that so long as you count your stitches/spaces correctly and take your time then you will reach the end of the row with a perfectly perfect row of Trellis stitch in your hands.

After that second row, you'll be fastening off and changing colours - each stripe is worked in 2 rows and I am anticipating that by the end of row 4 you will have fallen in love. It's so easy this pattern, so simple, so relaxing, so therapeutic - you will love love love it, I am confident!!!

❧🌸TRELLIS STRIPE PATTERN🌸❧

I've had a few people ask me how much time they will need to keep up with the CAL, and that's a hard question to answer. I'll be giving out 15 stripes per week, which I figure is 5 stripes to create over the weekend and then 2 stripes a day during the week. So, maybe an hour a day? More? Less? You can go at your own pace, there is no rush - I want you to really enjoy the journey even if it feels like you are dawdling along, that is absolutely OK!

I'm going to list the first set of colours for you in just a moment, but first I'd just like to reassure you that all CAL posts will remain on my blog indefinitely so you can dip into them whenever you need. Please don't worry if you miss a week or fall behind with your hooky, you can go at your own pace and you certainly won't be alone.

Here is a rundown of the CAL schedule :

Friday 4th January - part 1 - working  a tension sample, choosing the right hook size, stripes 1-15.

Friday 11th January - Part 2 - stripes 16 -30

Friday 18th January - Part 3 - stripes 31 - 45

Friday 25th January - Part 4 - stripes 46 - 60

Friday 1st February - Part 5 - stripes 61 - 75

Friday 8th February - Part 6 - stripes 76 - 84/86

Friday 15th February - Catch up week (darn in those ends!!)

Friday 22nd February - Part 7 - the edging and a grand Ta-dah!

Now it's time to look at PART 1 of the Sweet Pea blanket, which consists of 15 stripes. 

Remember we will be looking at two different versions of the Sweet Pea blanket each week - the Posy and the Colourwash. If you missed the Sneak Peek I gave you a few days ago and want to see the two blankets, go to this post and scroll down to find the downloadable image.

The Sweet Pea Posy blanket is directly inspired by my own allotment sweet peas and the joy of picking a fragrant bunch to bring home and pop in a jug or a jam jar. I wanted the stripes to convey that happy mix of bright and pastel shades, with little peeks of greenery showing through at intervals.

Here is the colour info for "Part 1 of the "POSY" Sweet Pea Blanket.

1. Violet (Foundation chain & dc row & row 2)

2. Lavender (rows 3 & 4)

3. Plum (rows 5 & 6)

4. Magenta (rows 7 & 8)

5. Cypress (rows 9 & 10)

6. Pomegranate (rows 11 & 12)

7. Blush (rows 13 & 14)

8. Candyfloss (rows 15 & 16)

9. Cream 17 & 18)

10. Meadow (rows 19 & 20)

11. Fuchsia (rows 21 & 22)

12. Magenta (rows 23 & 24) NOTE :: this isn't a mistake!! Clematis will appear in part 2!

13. Wisteria (rows 25 & 26)

14. Soft Peach (rows 27 & 28)

15. Pistachio (rows 29 & 30)

I am just thrilled with how the colours are playing - they are everything I wished for. They are joyful and uplifting, light and summery, pretty and floral. I also love the sweet texture that this stitch pattern creates - as the blanket gets bigger, the trellis stripe pattern/texture will become more defined and I've got some beautiful photos all lined up ready to show you as the weeks progress. 

The second version of the blanket is called the Sweet Pea Colourwash. This week we are starting out with all three shades of green, which might feel a little dull at first. When I was making my colourwash blanket, I kept thinking about my allotment and those weeks when the seedlings were planted in the ground and beginning to climb up my string trellis. It feels like a long wait for the first buds to appear, but it's sooooo exciting! Eventually, you do get a glimpse of the first signs of floral colour......

.....and this is how it is this week for the Sweet Pea colourwash - you'll be crocheting your green rows and waiting for that rush of joy when the first peep of lavender pops out!!!

There won't be any more greens in the blanket - you've got 4 stripes of pistachio, and 6 each of meadow and cypress. From now on in, you'll be deep into the floral shades.

The above photo was taken by one of my pattern testers Jane (thank you Jane!) and I wanted to share it because it so beautifully shows the subtle texture that is created by the Trellis Stripe. 

Here is the colour info for "Part 1 of the "COLOURWASH" Sweet Pea Blanket.

Note that throughout the colourwash blanket there are some double width stripes (4 crochet rows of the same colour). I've marked these in red so that they stand out for you. Remember you don't need to fasten off between the double rows.

1. Pistachio (Foundation chain & dc row & row 2)

2. Pistachio (rows 3 & 4)

3. Meadow (rows 5 & 6)

4. Pistachio (rows 7 & 8)

5. Meadow (rows 9 & 10)

6. Pistachio (rows 11 & 12)

7. Meadow (rows 13 & 14)

8. Meadow (rows 15 & 16)

9. Cypress 17 & 18)

10. Meadow (rows 19 & 20)

11. Cypress (rows 21 & 22)

12. Meadow (rows 23 & 24)

13. Cypress (rows 25 & 26)

14. Cypress (rows 27 & 28)

15. Lavender (rows 29 & 30)

During the past few weeks, there has been some interest in the small sample I made to show the Trellis Stripe and the Sweet Pea colours. Some of you expressed a wish to work your Sweet Pea blanket following this exact colour order, so that you have a repeating colour stripe. You can probably work this out from the photo, but to make it easier for you, I'l list them below ::

....there you go! Similar to the colourwash, you'll begin with greens, then a soft merge through the floral colours. After the Plum row, you'll return to Pistachio again and repeat the order. 

Well, I think that's about all for this week - remember you can share photos or questions on my Facebook page, in the Attic24 Moorland and More group, or an Instagram (use the hashtag #sweetpeacal).

Have a fabulous, happy hooky week my Sweet Pea Podders!!!!!!!!!

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🌸 SWEET PEA YARN PACK

❧🌸TRELLIS STRIPE PATTERN🌸❧

🌸 SWEET PEA BLANKET INTRODUCTION

🌸 SWEET PEA BLANKET Q&A

🌸 SWEET PEA BLANKET PREPARATION (includes a sneak peek of the Posy and Colourwash blankets!)

 

 

 

 

Sweet Pea Blanket CAL :: Preparation

I'm working hard at the moment creating the full picture tutorial for the Trellis Stripe pattern (only two more sleeps!!!!!!!!!!!) but I wanted to pop in to chat about a few things ahead of us setting out on the Sweet Pea journey on Friday. I know that so many of you have already received your squishy bags of Sweet Pea yarn and it's been an utter delight to see so much love for these colours all over social media. I am soooooooooooooooo excited for you to begin turning these colours into stripes, and I'm hoping you'll all be in floral heaven during the next few months.

So today's post contains a few things that you might need in preparation for beginning your blanket, just some reminders and recommendations really. I gave a lot of guidance in my Q&A post a few weeks ago, so please do go and read that if you missed it.

Before a new blanket begins, I always recommend making a note of the yarn colours (before you trash the ball bands completely) so that you've got some visual reference to guide you. In this particular colour palette, it can be a bit tricky to differentiate between Pomegranate and Fuchsia Purple, also Cream and Soft Peach, especially if you are working in artificial light in the evenings or early mornings.

It doesn't need to be anything elaborate - you can simply snip little lengths of the yarn, stick them to some paper and scribble the name next to them. On Friday I'll be sharing some of the lovely ways in which people are choosing to remember this colour palette, it's been so lovely to see.

One thing I've noticed about the Sweet Pea CAL so far is that there seems to be a significant number of new crocheters about to set out on their very first blanket journey. This makes me unbelievably happy, oh, I am honestly thrilled!!! One of my true passions in life is to spread the joy of crochet blankets as I believe that they bring so much comfort, fulfillment and happiness. 

I've noticed on social media a good number of questions from beginners about hook size and tension, and how to find out what hook size to use. My advice would be to have a small selection of hooks if you can afford it - Stylecraft Special DK yarn requires a 4mm hook as standard, but it's a great idea to have bigger and smaller hooks too.

When I write my tutorial, I'm going to strongly advise you to make a small tension sample - this doesn't take long and is a great way to familiarise yourself with the pattern as well as giving you something to measure to determine your tension/hook size. If you have used this yarn before then you will probably have a good idea  as to whether you are a loose or tight hooker (!!) - this blanket pattern looks/feels better if the stitches are slightly tighter rather than looser. All will be explained in the tutorial.

You might also like to get some stitch markers, although these aren't essential (you can use paperclips, or small lengths of waste yarn).......

....stitch markers are brilliant for giving you a helping hand when you are making your wiggly-worm starting chain, and crocheting your first row of double crochet. I was able to count my chain in my head without stitch markers (by banishing the Little People from the room) and I always add on 3 or 4 extra chains just-in-case as these can easily be unpicked afterwards. But I do like the security of stitch markers for that first row - I place them every 25 stitches, and it's very reassuring to know that you are making an accurate count which can be easily checked at any time (especially if you are rudely interrupted/distracted whilst counting, kitty, I'm looking at YOU!). That first row does need an accurate count or else the pattern repeat won't work.

Now then.....here we come to probably the most talked about part of the Sweet Pea blanket preparation - the choice of colour order. Ah yes.....if you've been pootling about with me on my Facebook page this week then you will know ALL about this!!

To save any further confusion, here are the facts ::

1. The Sweet Pea blanket contains 15 colours.
2. I will be using the exact same 15 colours to create two different blankets for the CAL.
3. The POSY blanket is created by mixing the 15 colours throughout the blanket (see the left image above).
4. The COLOURWASH blanket is created by ordering the 15 colours from bottom to top (see the right image above).
5. Both blankets will have the same number of stripes and use the same yarn pack/15 colours.
6. You need to choose which one you are in love with!!!

Now I know that many of you have been deliberating over this, and although I don't usually show the whole blanket(s) in advance of a CAL starting, I felt that in this case you might find it useful to see. To confirm this, I conducted a quick 24 hour poll on Facebook a few days ago and a whopping 6,400 people took part. The overwhelming result was in favour of a sneak peek (91%), so I decided the fair thing to do was to create a hidden PDF file to show you. That way, if you wish to keep the surprise and don't want to see the blankets, you can skip on by. And for those who have a crushing need to peek, well here's your chance........

Download Sweet Pea Blanket SNEAK PEEK!!!!!

I'd like to say a massive THANK YOU to my lovely Facebook friend Darlene who is the maker of the Sweet Pea Colourwash blanket shown in the sneaky peek photo. She offered to pattern test for me, and I'll be sharing some more of her beautiful photos as we go through the CAL. As I mentioned yesterday, I'm making both versions of the blanket myself but I'm working my own colourwash slightly ahead of real CAL time (I'm currently on part 2) so without Darlene's help I wouldn't be able to show you an awful lot of that just yet! A big shout out to my fab group of testers in the HH group, you know who you are and I am beyond grateful for your support and help.

I've had a few requests from ladies who wish to make a repeating stripe using the colour order of my sample (shown above). You'll most likely be able to work this out for yourself from the photo, but I'll list the colours on Friday for you just so it's clear. 

So I think that's about all for now - I've got my Sweet Pea candle ready and I absolutely cannot wait for Friday. I'm hoping, all being well, to have everything ready for 9am on Friday so that you've got the whole day ahead to make your tension sample (you know it makes sense!) and get started with your rows. 

All the love from the Attic, I can't imagine how dull January would be without you all jaunting along with me. Thank you, thank you.... xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

🌸 SWEET PEA YARN PACK

🌸 SWEET PEA BLANKET INTRODUCTION

🌸 SWEET PEA BLANKET Q&A

 

 

 

 

 

December Chitter-Chatter

 

Helloooooooo!!! I'm giving you a big and long overdue enthusiastic wave from the Attic window as I sit here on the very last day of the year and think about the weeks that have passed. I've been trying to write this post for the past few days and am happy to have finally managed it now that we're on the flip side of Christmas and teetering on the brink of the New Year.

D you know, I wrote the title of this post and then wondered if chitter-chatter was actually a proper word so went to look it up. Turns out it is indeed and means "informal and inconsequential conversation", which about sums up the overall gist of this post (well most of my blog posts actually). So I hope you're up for a some inconsequential chitter-chatter and a few photos to go with it? Onwards!!

 

 

Little B remarked to me this morning that this holiday has already felt super-long and I had to agree with him. It seems like aaaaages since we managed to exit the house at 8.30am and walk to school along the canal. This past week has been lazy in the extreme - there have been late nights and late mornings, entire days spent in pyjamas, erratic meals and way too much chocolate and screen time. It's been relaxed and restful, a much needed respite from the routine and clock watching of our school and work days. I for one have relished it all, have loved the slightly chaotic nature of having us all home together enjoying the long slow hours of nothing in particular.

 

 

I made a journey down to Dorset a few weeks before Christmas, travelling the 300 miles by train and bus. This is the second time this year that I've been to Dorset on my own, and although I'd much prefer to have J and the Little Peeps with me, I've come to appreciate the pleasure of travelling alone. I do enjoy a solo train journey where I can divide my time between reading, listening to music (Christmas tunes on this trip), browsing Instagram/blogs and crocheting, with some idle scenery gazing and day dreaming thrown in for good measure. 

 

 

I was pleased to find my Dad in good spirits and although we don't always see eye to eye on things, we generally manage to rub along OK for a few days at a time. Obviously I was mainly visiting to spend time with Dad and Lady B, but there is also a really deep need in me to be back on my home turf from time to time, for personal, nostalgic, feel-good reasons. Oh, I miss it there, I really do.

 

 

We walked to West Bay on a bright and breezy day in mid December and it was everything that I needed it to be. It was fresh and brisk, with blue skies and sunshine, noisy, pounding waves and salty sea spray. We walked around the harbour and out along the pier before heading to the cosy warmth of a local pub for a quick drink to fortify us for the two mile return walk.

 

 

I was away for three nights and J did a fabulous job of keeping the home front ticking over in my absence. In fact, I'm sure the Little People didn't really miss me at all, although I did receive the biggest hug from Little B when I got in through the door, so I think perhaps he missed me a smidge even though he insisted that he didn't.

 

 

In the days/weeks since I returned from Dorset, life has been steady. I lost track of the number of people (both friends and random strangers) who asked me if I was Ready For Christmas, and each time I would shake my head and tell them no. I never, ever feel ready for Christmas until that particular hour in the late afternoon on Christmas Eve when all the presents are wrapped, all the food has been bought and all the fire-fuel (logs) and festive-fuel (prossecco mainly) are in the house. Only then do I sit, breathe deeply and feel ready. Up until that point, there is not a jot of readiness to be felt within me, but I am absolutely OK with that. It is how it is, I am a last minute person and I try very hard not to stress it, even when people give me the wide eyes when I tell them I haven't bought presents and our tree isn't up (this being the 2nd week in December - PLeNty of time yet!!)

 

 

This year, as is the norm for me, I treated myself to a few little from-me-to-me Christmas gifts. J and I don't exchange gifts with each other and never have done in the twenty five years we've been together, so I feel it's absolutely ok to gift to myself. I bought the above book which I've been curious about for a a few years, and I would love to tell you I carved out time to read it but I don't want to lie to you. I've flipped through the pages (some glorious photos and illustrations) and dipped in and out of the chapters, but I'm saving the serious reading and absorbing of it for January.

Two other things I treated myself to - a Sweet Pea scented candle ready to light on 4th January when the Sweet Pea Crochet-Along begins, and a tree. HA!! Yes, I bought myself a tree. It's only a small sapling (1-2 foot high) and it hasn't been delivered yet but I'm beyond excited about the idea of it, mainly so that I can have access to it's leaves to squeeze and sniff to my hearts content......yes, it's a eucalyptus tree. I plan to grow it in a large pot in my back yard as I know they can grow into beastly big things, and I am just giddy about it. I'll show you when it comes!

 

 

I've been yarning along with myself during the past month of course, but haven't got anything much that I can show you. I've got a pair of socks on my needles which  are a belated Christmas gift for my fabulous father-in-law. I'm not going to show them here just yet as I have a feeling he occasionally peeks in through my Attic window. They are stripy and fairly manly (blues and greys) and I'm enjoying the little stitches very much.

As you can see above, I also tried my hand at making a critter a few weeks ago which was unexpectedly challenging (not the crochet so much as the facial features). I've got lots more to show you about that but can't just yet as this was a pattern test for a friend, so I need to wait for her nod. But if you know her critters already you will know that this is going to be one cute little thing. Oh it's so difficult to make animals look cute though, I had no idea!

 

 

In other creative news, I've been totally obsessed with my Sweet Pea blankets. In previous years I've crocheted the blanket more or less at the same time as I run the crochet along (just a week or two ahead so I can get the photos ready in time). But this year, as soon as I made the decision to offer two versions of the blanket I really had to get cracking as a LOT of hooky hours are needed to create two whole blankets. So I made the Posy version first and I'm now working on the Colourwash version, and I'm really, really, really looking forward to Friday and sharing the pattern and first colour installments with you. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has bought a Sweet Pea yarn pack from my shop at Wool Warehouse, I'm just thrilled to bits that our online crochet community is such a happy, positive and thriving place.

 

 

In the week before Christmas I finally started to think about gifts for family and friends. I decided for various reasons not to write Christmas cards this year, and instead I gifted potted bulbs to friends who I knew I was going to see. I bought some single hyacinth and amaryllis bulbs from the farm shop, wrapped them carefully in gold tissue paper and popped them into paper gift bags.

 

 

I know how much pleasure I get from watching hyacinths grow and bloom, there is something so optimistic and simple about them, the slow anticipation is just perfect. I hope they are bringing a smile to my friends as we head into the New Year, a dash of living greenery and a bloom of colour to welcome in 2019.

 

 

We decorated for Christmas at our usual time this year, around ten days before Christmas. This is early enough for me as I like to have the tree up until the Twelfth Night, or there abouts. And wonders will never cease - I even remembered to purchase the candy canes in time!!!! 

 

 

We have our usual haphazard arrangement of colourful mismatched decs on our old faithful artificial tree. Little B and I did the honours together, and I think we did a pretty good job. The tree isn't especially twinkly as we opted for battery powered lights after last year's kitty disaster (she chewed through a set of lights). But still, I do enjoy the gentle glow of it especially first thing in the morning when we come downstairs and it's still dark.

 

 

I decorated both mantels as I usually do, pretty much the same as last year and I've really been enjoying the twinkly little lights and the various candles. I don't think you can ever have too much sparkle and glow at this time of year.

 

 

Coffee Yeah!!!! Not much to add to that really is there??!! In fact, I'm not sure why I took this photo, other than to remember that there have been many happy little moments of daily sitting, sipping and taking stock during the past few weeks. It's not always easy to stop still and grant time to just be in the moment and allow thoughts to flow, but I think a mug of good coffee does aid that practice rather well. Yeah!

 

 

On Christmas Eve we woke up to the most perfectly perfect winters day, brrrrrrrrrr it was freezing! Being that we were firmly in holiday mode and therefore not able to get out the door before midday, it was early afternoon by the time we set out for a walk. The above photo was taken from inside the car around 2pm, and with temperatures still well below zero the ice crystals on the windscreen were mesmerising to look at.

 

 

We walked at Bolton Abbey with Little Lady and Little B, striding through the cold, sunlit woodland......

 

 

......following the frosty pathways through the trees.

 

 

There were plenty of people out on this crisp, clear afternoon enjoying the fresh air, yet it still felt tranquil. 

 

 

Heading back towards the car in the late afternoon, and the prospect of snuggling up in the cosy cafe suddenly seemed very appealing. Did I mention how cold it was? Uh-huh, below freezing, and definitely frothy coffee/hot chocolate weather. 

 

 

On the way home we stopped  a while on top of the moors to take in the sun - I think this was the exact moment when I finally felt ready for Christmas actually. So beautiful, those long distance, glowy golden views on the eve before Christmas.

 

 

From one day to the next and the weather couldn't have been more different. If Christmas Eve was full of sparkly gold, then Christmas day was a dull pewter grey. We had an early start on Christmas morning thanks to Little B who woke us all up at 5.45am absolutely fizzing with excitement. Gosh, that boy, his mood was highly infectious and the pleasure we had from watching him delight in his presents was worth the lack of shut eye.

 

 

J and I knew that we would meet huge resistance if we attempted to make the Little People venture outdoors on Christmas morning, so we took the decision to leave them behind. It was only for an hour - a quick walk into the woods as far as the pond, then back to the warmth of home. They barely registered that we'd been gone, all engrossed in new games and gifts. Although it was very gloomy out there, the fresh air was invigorating and I felt so glad of it.

 

 

We spent a quiet day at home just the five of us, and I am so grateful for the gentle ease of it all. Since then, our days have merged  into one long idle, contented blur. The kind where you wake up without an alarm, have no idea what day of the week it is, and wonder if you even need to bother getting dressed at all. It's been fabulous, and we are all rejoicing in the fact that we still have another week left to enjoy. I'm hoping to get out and about a bit more this week though, possibly to the seaside if I can get the family into the car to head west to the coast. Fingers crossed on that one.

 

 

Right now it's almost 9pm on New Year's Eve and I am going to take myself back to the fireside with a glass of fizz. We are choosing a gentle close to 2018, it's been such a contented year for us as a family and I am truly grateful every single day for the happiness and fulfillment that I find in my life.

Wishing you all a magical New Year, I hope you find happiness and joy in the little things and that life sparkles for you.

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Winter Solstice 2018

Yesterday we celebrated Winter Solstice, the shortest day and longest night of the year. Celebrating the Winter Solstice (and the summer one) isn't something I've always done, but during the past decade or so (since living in this house and sharing my thoughts from the Attic) I have become increasingly aware of the changing seasons and the way they subtly weave and flow through my days. Personally, I much prefer to think of the seasons according to the Astronomical calendar rather than the meteorological one, and so the passing of these four points in the year always makes me stop and take note. I think Winter Solstice is my most favourite of all, and even though this is the start of Winter (and I'm most definitely a Summer Spirit) I just adore the celebration of light and greenery and the magic and optimism it evokes.

Late yesterday afternoon in the last hour of daylight, I ventured out into the small woodland at the top of the park to gather in some greenery.

It's been raining on and off for most of the week and everything was dripping wet and very soggy and slippery under foot.

There's not a lot of greenery to be found in the winter woods but I was after some long vines of wild ivy which grow rampant all over the ground under the trees.

Long lengths of ivy make a great base for an evergreen wreath as the stems are very bendy and can easily be twisted and wrapped without needing to be secured with wire.

As well as the ivy, I gathered some evergreen stems from the allotment, and added in my best favourite greenery of all - eucalyptus. I have to buy the eucalyptus from the farm shop, but I love it very very much and to me it is the scent of the season, much more so than pine. It's my annual seasonal treat, and kind of makes up for the fact that we always have an artificial Christmas tree which generally just smells a little dusty. 

The wreath base I use is an inexpensive florists wire one (like this), and it's pretty easy to weave the stems in an out and around the wreath without really needing to do any tethering. 

I work fast as the light is fading and I'm out in the cold, damp back yard. Ahhh, I love love love eucalyptus, did you get that already??!! I'm snipping and weaving and twisting and poking, inhaling that fresh evergreen scent and thinking about Winter beginning and another year coming to a close. It's kind of serene and frantic all at once.

And then oh, gosh, my wreath is finished and well, it's erm...............well, a bit shaggy? A weeny bit unkempt looking and not especially magical, but there you have it...................

......................ta-dah! One rustic, evergreen Winter Solstice wreath.

I've just looked at the time stamps on my photos, and am kind of oddly proud to tell you that I made my wreath in 12 minutes flat. Ha!! Twelve minutes very well spent in my opinion.

I don't make my Solstice wreath to hang as I like to use it as a table decoration to surround my candle of choice. This year I went for a festive star candle with a Mulled Wine scent, and it's absolutely wonderful. It smells of orange and spice, of Christmas and warmth, and I can't stop sniffing it.

I managed to have all this in place by the time the Little People came home from school, which was something of an achievement. It was the last day of term yesterday so there was a fair bit of excitement in the air and our home felt cosy, happy and upbeat.

The other thing I like to do to celebrate Winter Solstice is to make a Yule Log for the fire, but this year we didn't have any proper logs to hand. We're burning smokeless coal and those eco friendly heat log thingies , so I decided to improvise and create some Yule Pine Cones instead. I collect pine cones from the pavement every summer  as they fall from the extremely tall pine trees which sit at the end of our street. Wrapped in ivy and eucalyptus, they make perfect little handfuls to throw on the fire for a solstice wish.

J wasn't interested in being Solstice-ish (which was rather lucky as I only made three cones), but Little B and Little Lady were happy to join me. I wished hard for 2019 to be brim full of health and happiness, and although I would dearly love to know what the Little Peeps wished for, they refused to tell. Top Secret Wishes, obviously. We rounded off the evening with hot chocolate and a film, and all was blissfully peaceful.

I was thinking about the very first Winter Solstice we celebrated here in 2008, and how I've managed to create this annual seasonal tradition for my family. Way back then, Little Lady was 4 and the Teen was 6 and Little B wasn't even a faint notion. It really makes me happy to think that the Little Peeps have these memories embedded in their childhoods, a gentle antidote to all the technology and a reminder to stop and reflect and be grateful for the year that has passed. And of course, extra precious minutes of daylight every day now, gosh, that thought alone makes me so happy!!

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Chasing the Light

Yesterday we woke to yet another day of low, grey skies and an eerie damp mist clinging to the landscape - down in Dorset we would call this mizzle (a combination of mist and drizzly light rain), and honestly it's my least favourite type of weather. We've had so little light here in general this month, day after day where it barely feels as if the sun is there at all, and I miss the sight of clear skies and brightness very much. However, Monday is my day with J and that's something that I always wake up feeling glad for, so even though the weather was grim, we still made plans to venture out together.

First stop : Breakfast. Well, technically it was the second stop as we first had to deliver the Littlest B-boy to school. Once we were free of offspring we walked through the damp park and up over the hill where we stood a while and marveled at the mist  swirling through the valley. Down the hill and along the footpath to the farm shop where all was cosy and bright, and we treated ourselves to a very fine spot of breakfast. It's not an elaborate affair (I usually have poached eggs on toast and a cappuccino) but there is something about going out for breakfast that always feels like the biggest treat.

I bought some stems of fresh eucalyptus (my annual festive treat in lieu of not having a real Christmas tree to inhale), and some potted bulbs to gift to to friends. I enjoy gifting living, growing things, there is something so optimistic about a humble bulb still in it's green-shoot stage, don't you think?

On our walk home from the farm shop, we noticed that the sky was ever so slowly beginning to clear, and by the time we arrived home in the late morning, we'd decided that the promise of a little sunlight was just too good to miss. I set about making a flask of fresh milky coffee and gathering together a light lunch snack of sorts (I know, not especially nutritious, but I did at least include some fruit), and off we went, out of town to chase the winter light.

We decided to keep ourselves below the mist still swirling over the high moors and headed for the riverside. Bolton Abbey was near deserted on this damp, quiet Monday, so we parked the car right next to the riverbank and settled down for some good old fashioned in-car relaxation.

The river was running high and loud after so much rain in recent weeks, and as the sky cleared a little we were treated to some blinding sunlight shafting off the surface of the water. Oh, it was glorious! I got out of the car for a while and just stood to soak it in.

There is very little colour to be found at this time of year, but the low sun illuminating the seed heads and grasses made it all look beautiful. I am trying my best to embrace the winter season we are in, digging deep to find appreciation and gratitude for this time of year which sees me struggle. I think I'm doing OK, and I am really (really, really, really) looking forward to celebrating the solstice on Friday. I think I love that day more than Christmas. I said to J, if it weren't for the children, I should like to celebrate the Winter Solstice with greenery, candles and feasting, then go abroad for the remainder of December to lie in the sun somewhere warm and bright. One day maybe.

One thing I know for sure - colour and yarn most definitely helps maintain the feel-good and I'm so very, very grateful for it. I sat in the warmth of the car yesterday afternoon and crocheted a few rows, glancing up frequently to take in the flow of the river and the sunlight bouncing around. J was reading beside me and we chatted a little about this and that, but mostly we were content to just be there in the quiet of the moment, enjoying the light and tranquility. It was a small slice of calm at the start of what promises to be a hectic week.

I hope all your pre-Christmas preparations are going well, it's the usual last minute cray-cray here, but I refuse to allow any anxiety to creep in. It's the winter Solstice on Friday (yay!) and I have fresh eucalyptus!! All will be well, I'm sure of it.

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