Attic24

2021 :: First Quarter

:: JANUARY ::

:: FEBRUARY ::

:: MARCH ::

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At the end of March when I'd finished my fortnight of continuous daily blogging, I decided to make a little montage of photos to capture the essence of the month. I used to make these nine-square monthly photo montages all the time and I've many years worth of them here on my blog and in my photo archives. I started them right at the beginning of my blogging journey in 2008 and continued them for five years (you can find these "monthly mosaics" in my right hand side bar →, or click here). I always featured a photo of my hill view as seen from the Attic in the centre of each collage, a beautiful record of the changing seasons and weather each month.

Eventually life got too chaotic to keep up with a review at the end of each month, but for a few years I did continue creating monthly collages at the end of each year for my annual "yearly review" : {2014} ♥ {2015} ♥ {2016}

Anyhow, after creating the March square, I remembered how much I love doing them and how there is something very comforting and consolidating about reviewing a month in this way. I went on to create squares for January and February and then had the idea that this year I'll create four Quarterly Review posts as a way to remember 2021. I feel ridiculously excited about doing bloggy things like this again, especially seeing as I'm now into my fourteenth year of old school blogging. I still get such a buzz from creating my blog posts, the pleasure of it hasn't diminished at all across the years it seems. 

So...January, February, March :: Winter giving way to Spring.

Looking back, I honestly did enjoy this winter because to me it felt properly seasonal for once. It was cold (bitterly so for much of the time) and we were gifted some beautiful icy, snowy wintry weather. I LOVE when the weather plays out according to the seasons, it makes me feel as if all is right in the world somehow. I found this year I didn't suffer with low mood as much as I have in the past, and the times when I did feel low I think it was due to pandemic life and the severe lockdown we were (are) living through rather than the fact that it was winter time.

I had my Meadow Blanket CAL to keep me creatively busy through January and February, and as always that really went a long way towards keeping my sprits up. Having that sense of purpose and the weekly postings to concentrate on was such a blessing and without it I think I might have fallen into a bit of a dark hole for a few months. In March I felt my creativity begin to really return, and I enjoyed my flowery crochet project and some cross stitch too. 

There were zero outings in this quarter due to the fact that the whole of the three months have seen us in lockdown. We took one or two walks at Bolton Abbey, and one walk around the reservoir and that was literally it. Extremely uneventful, but it's not like we had any choice.

I tried hard to shift my mindset this winter and think about the time as being restorative and replenishing as I hibernated a little and kept myself introverted for a while. I made sure to prioritise self care, keeping up my daily exercise and gentle routines and resting/retreating when I needed to. Even though we celebrated the Spring Equinox in March, it's a month that still feels very much more like winter than spring here in the north of England. But I've loved watching the wild garlic emerge in the woodland, and the first early blossom appear in the hedgerows. I've also really enjoyed having daffodils and tulips on my table throughout these past months. I've appreciated the cosy warmth of the fireside and many (many many) cups of hot milky coffee - little daily pleasures that have felt so good in these strange times. It's been a gentle period of rest for me and quiet homely days, and now I'm more than ready to dance through this next quarter which is my absolute favourite by a country mile. Spring giving way to Summer.....oh, yes, yes, I am so so ready for you!

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Easter Weekend 2021

Hellooooo!! I thought I'd come and chat to you at the end of what has been a beautiful, relaxing Easter weekend, and to share some of the things that have been making me feel really happy the past few days.

Firstly, these daffies on my table, oh-my-gosh they are incredibly beautiful. I picked them up from the supermarket on Friday when they were still in bud and had no idea they would be this way - the petals are kind of a mix between pale yellow and a very subtle blush colour, they are so lovely. They have a sweet scent too and I'm having the biggest crush on them (can you tell?)

The weather has been mostly bright and sunny but very chilly, so we are back to winter coats and woollies it seems. On Friday morning I met with five of my yarny friends for a walk through the park and a long over due catch up with a take out coffee. It was honestly so good for my soul to have female company for a few hours, I'm very thankful for my friends and have missed them terribly.

In the afternoon we went for a quick walk, mainly to get Little B out and about for some fresh air, daylight and exercise. He's become very teen-like of late, spending most of his time hunkered down in his bedroom with the curtains closed, playing games, chatting to his mates and watching insane videos on YouTube. I sometimes find myself missing the younger Little B, but this more mature version is certainly very low maintenance. Just a bit of a walk every now and again and he's good.

I'm delighting in this new season we're in, soaking up every little scrap of fresh green growth that I come across. Every day I see more signs of Spring emerging, and it honestly makes me so happy.

Saturday afternoon saw us walking out again, this time the four of us. I really love having Little Lady with us because she keeps me company when the boys are chatting boy-stuff. Without her I'm a bit of a lonesome straggler on our walks as Little B is very much a Daddy's boy at the moment and I don't really get much of a look in.

We walked over the fields on Saturday, it was a bit squishy under foot still, but nowhere near the mud fest that we've had during the winter months. This pussy willow looked incredibly pretty against the blue of the sky....

....and as you can see it was in full-fluff mode. I stroked it (of course I did), and I can report that it did indeed feel as soft and fluffy as it looks.

This circular walk takes us across fields and along quiet country lanes, and it felt good to have the sun on our faces and some wide open views to drink in. I love waking in the woods, but on a bright sunny day I definitely feel the pull to be more out in the open.

I wonder if you can guess from these photos that I really quite like walking?? Can you possibly tell??!

The above photo was taken Saturday evening just after 7pm. Little Lady was feeling restless and asked if I'd like to go and watch the sun go down. She is SO like me in so many ways and I recognise huge chunks of my personality traits within her. Plus, there is this part of Mummying-me that just swells with joy when she seeks out my company. She is almost seventeen and the fact that she likes to be with me is just the most heart warming thing, I feel very lucky indeed.

We walked up into the park just as the sun was lowering down to the horizon, all golden and dusky. We decided on a whim to walk up to the farm shop to see if they had any little flowering plants. Re-planting my doorstep pot has been an item on my to-do list for far too long now.

The Easter display in the entrance was really lovely - possibly the biggest Easter tree I've ever seen. They also had a decent selection of potted bulbs for sale, so I bought three small pots to bring home.

It's such a treat to have daylight in the evenings now, and although the temperature has been very wintry, the lengthening days more than make up for it.

It's about 8.15pm in the above photo and we are crossing the canal bridge on our way back from the park and farm shop. Ready to climb up the hill and back into the cosy warmth of home.

Sunday morning now, and despite the hideousness of it, I'm showing you my doorstep pot with deceased cyclamen still in residence. You can see what it looked like back in October when it was at it's peak - to be fair the flowers did last much longer than I thought they would and they were lovely right the way through the Autumn and early winter. However, the above sight has been making me feel miserable for the past few weeks so it was high time for a little Spring makeover....

........ta-dah! I spent about £7 at the farm shop on these bulbs and they've made me so happy. I must gather some moss and cover up the earth I think, heaven knows I've got the mossiest grass at the moment in my front garden. Not complaining though, you know how much I adore moss. In fact I would be quite enchanted if the whole of my grassy grass was in fact moss.

I'm looking forward to coming and going in and out of the front door in the weeks to come and watching these flowers bloom. 

Sunday afternoon, and the very chilly weather meant that we decided to light the fire in the middle of the afternoon. Although I wasn't impressed with having near freezing temperatures for Easter, there is nothing nicer than lighting the fire at the weekend and settling down for some cosy fireside loafing. 

I think I told you during Blarch that I spent some time having a bit of a tidy up, and that I had some magazine reading on my to-do list? I already managed to read and pass on the March issues to my friend, and on Sunday I had the perfect opportunity to spend some time swooning my way through the April issues.  

Oh it was delightful, lots of Spring inspiration and Easterish feel-good, I drank it all in and felt very uplifted I have to say. Sometime these aspirational magazines make me feel a bit inadequate and needy/greedy (I want more!! More space, more garden, more beautiful things, more holidays, more freedom, more, more). But mostly I can flick through the pages and feel inspired by the gorgeous images and seasonal narrative.

Four pm, and I decided that a cheeky little glass of chilled Sauvignon Blanc would go very nicely with my fireside daydreaming. I just recently bought these new glasses and am so in love with them. They were only cheap from the supermarket, I think they are called "stemless wine glasses". I love the weighty curviness of them, they're a pleasure to drink from and not nearly so tricky as a tall wine glass when you are lounging on the sofa with a magazine.

We were forecast s.n.o.w. today, can you believe that? In fact we woke up to smattering of the icy white stuff on the ground this morning but not really what I would call a snowfall as such. Still, it was blinkin' freezing (literally, -1 degrees) but the sky was oh-so-blue and I couldn't wait to get out in it. Eight o'clock and I was heading up the hill to the meadow, to walk around a bit, stretch out my muscles and breathe in the freezing cold spring air.

Interestingly I had company this morning as J came with me - I didn't really think it through when I invited him along to be honest. He kept saying "where are we going?" and I said well we're just going here, right here, this is the meadow and we're walking around it.....he definitely didn't seem to feel the magic like I do. 

I'm trying to make better choices for myself with regards to what enters my mouth now, after a long weekend of wine, chocolate and buttery hot cross buns. The over indulgence is over, and I am hauling myself back in line. Yes, I really am. I'm feeling a bit plumper around my middle again and the heaviness doesn't feel so good. The saying "you are what you eat" is so simple yet so true, and I always do feel so much better in myself when I'm eating good things.

This morning's coffee was taken down by the sunny canal side, wrapped up in many layers against the chill of zero degrees. The coffee was superb, and honestly really cheered my day along. Such a pleasure as always.

Fuelled by sunshine and good coffee, I came home and spent many hours sat with my crochet hook today. During this past week I've been working on a new blanket design - lots and lots of sampling to work through colour palette decisions and then pattern ideas. I think I'm finally there with it, both the colours and the design and I am sooooooooooooo excited by it. It's something different for me, and I absolutely cannot wait to get going now that the nitty gritty design stage is complete. I'm working a long way in advance for this one as the launch date isn't until early September, but I'll be showing you some of my progress as I slowly work on it during the next few months.

Well I think that brings us to a gentle close for now, I'm suddenly hearing my flowery pillow calling to me and I think I'm ready to be right there in my comfy bed as it's almost ten o'clock. I hope you've enjoyed a wonderful Easter weekend full of things that have made your heart sing...

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March End

A cup of frothy coffee enjoyed in the cosy warmth of my bed is how I really like to start my mornings. It's the perfect way for me to gently adjust my mind to the new day and to process what I want to try and do with the hours stretching ahead. I don't meditate, but I am very good at just sitting and being in the moment. Often I wake up and my mind is so chockablock full of stuff it's hard to think straight, so I've been meaning to try and do a mini morning brain dump but I keep forgetting! I'm sure there is a lesson to be learnt there.  I was chatting about this with my bloggy friend Rachell who was telling me that taking just five minutes to empty your mind onto paper in the mornings is hugely beneficial. I'll try and remember to do it tomorrow morning, and I'll report back on how it goes. Do let me know in the comments if this is something you have tried or do regularly, I'd love to hear.

I was on a real go-slow this morning after another poor nights sleep, and as today is the first day of my monthly cycle I was not feeling the best. I know I must have been feeling low because even though the sun was shining I really didn't feel like taking my morning walk. I just didn't want to expend any energy, so I simply decided to stay put. I feel extremely fortunate to be able to make these decisions for myself I have to say, and I do really appreciate that fact. My Little People are at an age now where they sleep in late and are self sufficient in the mornings so I'm at liberty to please myself when there isn't a school run to do. I've had many, many years of very full on parenting, often starting my days at 5am as all three of my littln's were very early risers. This is my time now, and my goodness I'm grateful. 

After a very slow start, I eventually got myself together and went about my morning chores - emptying the dishwasher, putting a load of laundry in the machine, feeding the kitty, a quick tidy up of our downstairs living space. We had a family dentist appointment in the late morning which involved a drive to another town, oh, huge excitement to be leaving the boundaries of our local area and seeing Fresh New Scenery for the first time in months! It was a thrill, honestly. 

I get very nervous going to the dentist (even though this was just a check up, and my teeth are pretty good on the whole), so I wasn't able to eat very much this morning. By the time I got home at 1pm I was seriously hungry so I made myself a healthy lunch bowl. Yesterday I got a new gadget to play with and I'm pretty sure I'm about to become a little bit obsessed with it. The gadget in question is a spiralizer, but not one of those huge machines with a handle that takes up half the kitchen, oh no, this is the most amazing low-tech little hand held gizmo and I am so impressed with it. You can find it on Amazon ((here)), and I tell you it works a treat for making courgette noodles.

I made a simple salad dressing for my courgetti today (olive oil, lemon juice, wholegrain mustard and maple syrup), and tossed them in with cucumber, tomato and a bit of left over cooked chicken, then crumbled some feta cheese on top. Oh my goodness..... sooooooooooo good. I've been reading up on courgetti recipes (courgetti puttanesca, or a garlicky pesto - yes yes, I could make wild garlic pesto courgetti!) and I am most definitely going to be spiralizing my lunch on the daily for a while.

Lunch time rolled around into mid afternoon and I felt restless but weary at the same time. I couldn't decide what to do with myself, so in the end I decided to do nothing much. I made a coffee (all my coffees are decaff at the moment because of the rubbish hormonal sleep sitch), and sat myself in a sunny corner of the back yard to absorb some of the warmth and light into my brain. I think the sunshine must have helped recharge my batteries a little because once my coffee was finished I felt ready to do some work.

I spent some time caking up my Meadow blanket leftovers so that they can be neatly added to my yarn stash boxes. I needed to do this to free up my big baggy yarn bag because I'm starting out on a new blanket project and I've been sampling for it this afternoon. I'm still in the very early stages of working out the colour palette but I'm very nearly there with it I think. I'm beginning to get that fizzy feeling in the pit of my stomach that tells me that this blanket is coming in with alllll the feels, so I know I'm close to nailing it down. There is a teensy clue in the above photo - two shades of red. Tis VERY exciting! 

It's taken me an age to write this blog entry (it's now gone ten o'clock and I've been sat here for hours, literally), so I hope I've not written a huge pile of gibberish. As you probably know, I don't faff my posts at all (other than a quick check through for typos) so what you read is the actual unedited stream of words that pours forth from my brain. Some days it pours in a flowing torrent, and other days it's a slow trickle, but at least it's always the true essence of what I'm thinking/feeling at the time.

Ah.......see that above?? Now that is partly why this blog post has taken me so long as I spent an AGE choosing and editing photos for my March round-up. Ha, I had forgotten all about that, honestly, my poor brain is so thick with fog sometimes, it's a wonder I can get anything done. 

Today being March End and all, my two weeks of daily blogging have come to a gentle finishing line. Thank you so very much for joining me and for all the delightful comments you've written for me too, I really appreciate your company. I don't plan on disappearing so you can expect my blogs to keep on coming, maybe not every single day but I'll do my best.

A new month begins tomorrow and I'm so excited for it, the start of my favourite quarter of the year. I'm ready for all the light and sunshine and greenery and flowery things.

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ps huge thanks to my two friends Christine and Kate who have kept me company with my daily blogging endeavour this month, it's been wonderful to have them with me xx

 

 

 

 

Springlike

Gosh, it's been the most beautiful day here today, a truly wonderful, glorious, springlike day full of warmth and full blown sunshine. It was forecast to be this way, but here in England you can never ever rely on the forecast as our weather is notoriously unpredictable. I slept in this morning after a very restless night, so my early morning wake-up-walk didn't happen until 8.20am. That's OK though, we're on holidays so I'm making the most of being able to go with the flow. 

It was stunning out there this morning and I was so content to be strolling through the park with the sun on my face and a coffee in hand.

I took a little walk around the edge of the meadow which was still wet with morning dew.

Although we're still a few months away from buttercup season, there is hawthorn blackthorn** blossom in the hedgerows to enjoy right now. I drank in the fresh air and sunshine, absorbing it right down into my soul.

** thank you to those who corrected my mistake, I always get those two muddled up!

I don't know what it is about the meadow, but even without all the beauty of the wild flowers and tall grasses it still has a magical appeal. I find that by the time I've walked around the perimeter and arrive back at the little wooden gate, I feel calm and restored somehow. It's a really beautiful feeling, and was needed today.

By the time I got home I realised I was running late, so I had to rush to get ready to meet my friend for our weekly park walk at 9.15. Actually, we really didn't do much walking - we got into the park with our lattés and walked as far as the very first wooden bench, and there we sat for over an hour having a jolly good catch up. 

Pretty much as soon as I got home, J was reaching a lull in his work day and was ready for our daily walk - you can see how I easily manage to knock fifteen thousand steps a day out the park, can't you?! Today was Little B's first day of freedom after his self isolation period, so we were able to take him with us today. He was really glad of the fresh air I think, and to be outside finally after his very cooped-up existence of late.

And pause......so grateful for finding my home in this little town.

I made myself a cold coffee when I got home from walking, do you ever drink cold coffee? It was like an iced latté I guess, but without the ice. Last year in lockdown I treated myself to a good milk frother (it's the Lavazza A Moda Mia one, it gets rave reviews and I would definitely give it five stars). It's hands down the very best purchase I made in lockdown and I can't tell you how much I love it. It really does elevate the whole home coffee experience to something special. Anyhow, it has three settings, one for a super thick frothy cappuccino, one for a velvety smooth foamed latté, and a third one which makes the latté style milk but keeps it cold. It's surprisingly good to drink a cold coffee on a warm day I have to say. I should maybe have put it in a fancy glass and drunk it through a straw, but I didn't happen to have either of those things to hand. Hmmm....now I want to go off and search online for a fancy cold coffee glass. I'll resist for now, but know that I'll be shooting off as soon as I've finished this blog to go virtual glass shopping.

The warm weather meant that for the first time this year I could hang the bedding out on the line to dry. Oh, the JOY!! Such happy feelings as I pegged out my duvet cover, pillowcases and sheet, because I know that tonight I've got the super-charged pleasure of getting into a sun-dried clean bed. I can hardly wait.

I had five things on my to-do list today, and I managed to tick three of them off so I'm calling it a win.

1. go to post office to send a bar of chocolate to my Dad ✓
2. sow sweet pea seeds
3. Buy and plant new flowers to replace deceased cyclamen and half-dead winter cherry
4. cut grass in front garden ✓
5. retrieve Easter Box from Attic eaves and decorate dining room mantel ✓

I bought my Dad a bar of the Lime and Sea Salt dark chocolate for him to try as he loves dark chocolate and I was telling him about my fave ChocAffair bar last time I  saw him. I hope he likes it.

Sweet peas - gah, I just clean forgot about them. I must try and find some compost tomorrow.

New flowers - I did try, but honestly I couldn't find anything suitable. There's a huge shortage of small, cheap flowering things right now, I'd thought I'd at least be able to lay my hands on some primulas but I couldn't find a single one. Might have to drag J to a garden centre, ooo, now that sounds like it could be A Plan.

Cut the grass....that was a tick.

Our front garden is tiny and very unkempt  and although I do have plans to spruce it up a bit this year, firstly I figured a bit of a trim would help a lot. Because the grassy patch in question is so small, I'm easily able do the grass cutting with hand sheers. It's surprisingly satisfying actually, and wasn't too much effort. I took the opportunity to also tidy up some of the few perennial plants we've got growing, and sweep the steps and little pathway. A little TLC goes a long way when you have a miniature sized garden.

The last thing on my list was retrieving the Easter guff from the attic eaves and arranging it just so. Tick!

This mantel had been standing bare since Christmas as I hadn't bothered to put back all the objects that got cleared from it in December. It's had some cards on it at various times (Little B's Birthday, then J's birthday, then Mothers Day), and my jug of bare twigs has remained in place. So it was a breeze to prettify it for Easter and I had a fine old time doing it.

I was especially happy to be reunited with my cute little chicklets and the weeny Easter Rabbit, they did really make me smile.

(chicklet post/pattern HERE, rabbit post/pattern HERE)

Little B was with me when I was unpacking and starting to faff my mantel, but he is at an age where he finds this kind of thing insanely boring. I've long given up on the idea that I decorate for the Little People, nah, of course I don't!! It's all for me, me, me!! Ha, well that's absolutely fine by me, I'm more than happy to indulge myself. 

While I'm pondering on this mantel and the decorative possibilities, just scroll up a bit and have a look at my crochet heart garland....I made this so long ago it was actually pre-blog, can you believe that? It was only just pre-blog mind you, I made it in late Feb 2008 and I started my blog about three weeks later. 

I still love it, but it's looking a little bit faded and worn now and I'm thinking about making a new garland for here - maybe a string of slightly smaller hearts? Let me know what you think.

Being that it's Easter week I have of course got mini eggs in the house - Easter is simply not complete without them. Mini eggs, hot cross buns and Easter biscuits are the three things that make Easter for me, way more than the big giant commercial chocolate eggs that seem to be the norm these days. Having said that, I know that the Little People are definitely expecting a large boxed chocolate offering, so it's just as well that I've already managed to purchase those and get them squirrelled away. I'm actually really looking forward to Easter weekend - we've got nothing planned at all, but I still think it should feel a bit special somehow. I may even have mini eggs for breakfast, just because I can.

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Pottering

I've enjoyed a pottering kind of a day today, the sort of day where not a lot of note has happened and I've felt weirdly unsettled and preoccupied. I didn't sleep very well last night and so waking up at 6 really felt a smidge too early. But I decided to go with the flow of my natural body clock and got up anyways - it was strange because we've gone back to darkness again at 6am with the clocks changing and I wasn't prepared for it. It made me realise how much I love waking up when it's already light, it makes such a difference to my energy levels. 

My early morning wake-up-walk was at 7.30 this morning, it was cold and blustery but as usual when I make the effort to get out early, I was so so glad to feel my body filling up with fresh air and to feel myself truly waking up to the day. Instead of walking through the park, I decided to take my walk in the opposite direction to our local bakery, having just discovered that they open their doors at 6am. Well I never, thirteen years living here and I never knew that. Although I did often wonder how come they sometimes sold out of their freshly baked croissants before 9.30. I bought our usual large wholemeal loaf, plus some pain au chocolat for the Little People as a treat, then wandered my way back home along the canal tow-path.

I love walking underneath this old low bridge (it carries the road across the canal) and soon I was home again and ready to get straight on with my twenty minute workout. I'm enjoying this morning routine I've got going, and feel it's doing me a lot of good. I'm not sure how I would feel about getting outdoors if it was raining though, I think in all honesty I'll be labelling this as a Fairweather Morning Routine.

Oh, I had some very, very happy post arrive this morning as my special Spring Treepeep arrived. Isn't she beautiful? Lynn painted her especially for me as I couldn't make my mind up between tulips and daffodils, so she painted both for me. I said she could choose the background colour and she picked this wonderful shade of fresh turquoise, and you all know how I feel about this colour....it's the colour that sings to my soul. I love her so very much.

I was really happy to settle her onto the Spring mantel and she looks very at home in the blossom orchard there.

J and I took our walk through the woods late this morning, I think it was almost midday by the time we were setting out. I noticed that the little anemones have started to flower by the top gate, a sure sign that spring is underway at last.

I thought you might appreciate an update on the blossom hedge, it's looking blooming marvellous. It makes me so happy just walking past it and the dainty little flowers have a very delicate sweet scent which hangs in the air. It's an utter delight.

Do you remember me planting up my wall basket back in October? Five months later and the ivy and violas are still doing very well but the winter cherry is on it's last legs and the cyclamen are deceased. The extremely cold icy winter finished them off, but that's OK as I wasn't expecting them to last more than a few months and I really enjoyed them while they lasted. This week I'm going to buy a couple of new plants to pop in there, maybe some little narcissus would be lovely?

I do so love the violas, they seem to be permanently smiling. Beautiful little things they are.

Thinking about flowers this afternoon got me on to thinking about my little back yard space which really needs some serious TLC. Last year I didn't really plant anything much in my pots, I just kind of made do with what I already had going on. This year I want to have lots more flowers so I've decided to have a go at sowing seeds. It's not an easy thing to do here as we have very narrow windowsills and next to no space available with enough light for seed growing. But I'm going to try and see if I can make it work. I've been collecting up some cardboard toilet roll tubes for sowing sweet peas, my friend Judi (who has the greenest fingers I have ever come across) tells me that this will work nicely for these seeds. Two seeds to a roll, and then when the plantlets are ready to plant out, you can just pop the cardboard rolls straight into the soil, thus avoiding root disturbance which sweet peas dislike. Sounds like a plan, no?

I'm soaking the seeds overnight (something my Mum always told me to do with sweet pea seeds) and tomorrow I will try and find some compost. I think I might have a small bag of seed compost in the cellar but I can't be sure. It's an awful mess down there "below stairs", I shall have to venture forth into the cobwebby depths and see what I can find.

Making the most of the longer days is something I'm sure I'll be doing a lot of as we head through the next few months. Having daylight until almost 8pm feels unbelievably good, and this evening Little Lady asked me if I'd like to take a walk to watch the sun go down at the top of the hill. Although I felt really weary I couldn't refuse her request and so at 7.15  I set out for my third walk of the day. As you can see, we timed it brilliantly and the sun was just about to slink down behind the horizon as we reached the top of the hill. It was gloriously golden and uplifting.

Well right now it's 9.30pm and I'm sat in bed tap tap tapping away on my laptop. I'm warm and cosy and I've been drinking a mug of peppermint tea but honestly, I feel bone tired. My fitbit is telling me I've walked 18,564 steps today which is around 12km, and yes I can feel that it's true. So I think I shall love you and leave you for now, I hope you've had a golden day full of happy pottering moments, see you tomorrow xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

 

Colour Palettes

Spring sweetness right there on my table this morning, isn't this little twig of pink blossom sooooo pretty? Every day when I sit down at the table to work or eat, those dinky little flowers make my heart feel so light. It won't be long until the big blowsy blossom trees put on their annual show and I'm really looking forward to enjoying it again this year.

We've had a day of horrid weather, it's been wet and very windy. I could hear the wind howling down the chimney for most of the day with no let up, so we all collectively decided to hunker down and have a very lazy stay-home day. 

I made myself some oat pancakes for a late breakfast, adding some chia seeds to the batter for extra protein.

I did my usual thing and heaped on the yogurt and fruit, and oh-my-goodness they were scrumptious. I don't ever tire of this breakfast, it's just so satisfying to make and eat, and keeps me feeling full for hours.

Pretty much as soon as I woke up this morning I was thinking about the Weekend To-do list that I jokingly made for myself on Friday night. There were four things on it :

1. Finish Granny Josephine bag
2. Stitch together Meadow blanket sampler
3. Cross stitch greenfinch hoop
4. Read March and April magazines so I can pass them on

As you know, yesterday was all about the stitching and number 3 on my list was successfully ticked off. I was really happy about that actually, that mental tick felt stupidly good. So after breakfast was done and dusted I decided to attend to number 2 and stitch my blanket sampler together.

If you've been here for a while, you'll probably know that every time I design a new blanket, one of the first things I do is create a square for each of the fifteen colours. There are two reasons for this - firstly, when I make these squares I am usually in the very first stages of creating a new blanket, and crocheting simple squares gives me a chance to really get to know the colours and how they like to play with each other. This process will often highlight any mistakes I might have made when choosing the colours, and gives me an opportunity to make changes before everything gets nailed down and set in stone. Secondly, I like to stitch the squares together to create a sampler which acts as a visual reference for my colour palettes. At the moment I have sixteen different blanket kits in my shop at Wool Warehouse which I've made over the past seven years, and I like to keep a record of the colours I've used in each one.

When I crochet my squares I leave a long tail end when I fasten off which is used to stitch them together. You can find the pattern for these solid granny squares here on my blog, the tutorial includes my method of joining them using this stitching method which creates a very neat and invisible seam.

I think it took me about an hour or so to join them together, it was a lovely, quiet, soothing activity for a rainy wet Sunday morning. I was happy to get it done and tick another job off my list. Actually, I was surprised when I found the squares sat in the messy piles on my desk on Friday, I'd forgotten that I hadn't finished making up the sampler when I was designing my Meadow blanket back last summer.

↑↑ This is the Meadow colour palette, ahhh, I am still so in love with it! You can read all about the inspiration behind the colours in this post ((here))

As I'm beginning to slowly tidy and sort out my temporary home studio situation, I'm starting to find things that have been forgotten and muddled in with the general chaotic mayhem of things here. As well as the Meadow squares, I also found some of my other blanket samplers shoved in a bag, so I thought it might be nice to show you while I had them out on the table. 

↑↑ This is the Aria sampler, a lovely uplifting palette of juicy bright hues. You can read more about the Aria design process in this post ((here))

↑↑ This is the sampler for the Dune blanket which I made in the Spring of 2019. The palette is soft, light and airy and you can read all about the coastal inspiration in this post ((here))

↑↑ And this is the Dahlia colour palette from my 2020 CAL just over a year ago. Wow, there's no mistaking that exuberant collection of bold floral inspired colours, is there? You can read more about the inspiration behind it in this post ((here))

I find it fascinating to look at these samplers and remember the inspiration that sparked each individual colour palette. They all have a very personal story to tell, memories of times and places that mean a lot to me.

These are the latest four in my series of blankets, the older samplers are displayed in my studio.....

....hanging on my wall and looking very lovely indeed. 

Once I've made my square samplers, the next thing I do is create a striped sampler using all fifteen shades ordered in a colourwash. This gives me a chance to use the stitch pattern that I've designed for the blanket and see how it works in terms of tension/gauge. It's also a neat way for me to photograph a sneaky peek of the blanket design without giving too much away before I'm ready to share fully.

I love these so much! Again, these are the latest four samplers, I have them for all my other blankets too, the rest are in the studio. I think at some point I'll have to reunite them and do a big photo shoot?!

I've also got a fair number of skinny stripe samplers, this is the final part of the design process for my striped blankets, and I often end up needing to make three or four versions before I get it right. I'm never quite sure why I keep them as I don't need them once the blanket is made. But at the same time, I can't seem to bring myself to cast them out into the bin either. You can see why things get into such a mess here.

Such a gorgeous pile of colourful creativity right there, and so many hours/days/weeks/months spent on the design process. I wouldn't have it any other way - at least if you buy one of my yarn packs to make a blanket, you know that a massive amount of heart-felt time and energy has gone into creating it.

Now, for the final bit of Sunday good news - Number 1 on my to-do list GOT THE TICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, the Granny Josephine Bag is FINISHED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my. Such an emotional moment, with lots of dancing around the house once the final yarn end was fastened securely and snipped off. Words can't describe the joy, so so so so happy. I adore my bag, it's just so damn lovely! I'm looking forward to showing you how she looks as soon as I've managed to take some proper photographs. I hear on the grapevine that the weather is going to be warm and sunny on Tuesday, so that could very well be the day for prancing around with bag in hand. I'll see what I can do.

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A Stitchy Saturday

It seems I've entered a spell of early starts to my days as I've been waking up naturally around 5.30. But the good news is that I'm sleeping very well at the moment so despite the early hour I feel well rested and ready to roll. I usually get up and head downstairs, feed the kitty, empty the dishwasher, then make myself a frothy coffee to bring back to bed. I went through a phase of drinking hot water with lemon and ginger first thing in the morning, but in all honesty it didn't really send me twirling into the contentment zone like that first coffee of the day does. 

Once I had my coffee in hand I idled around in bed for almost two hours watching videos about decluttering and minimalism which for some obscure reason I'm fixated with at the moment. To be clear, I definitely don't want to be a minimalist, but I do have a deep need right now for more breathing space and less chaos in my living environment. So yeah, maybe my watching this type of content isn't all that obscure as I can see the reason behind it, and I guess I'm looking to be inspired to start working a bit of zen magic in my home. I'll be sure to let you know if any magic happens.

Saturday again (a week since the first day of Spring) which means a walk into town for J and I to visit the market and a few local food shops. It was bitingly cold this morning so we hurried through town gathering food into our bags, picked up a very good latté each, then straight home before the coffee had time to cool. I'm really, really looking forward to some warmer weather I have to say.

The best buy from the market today was this glorious Romanesco cauliflower for £1.50. Wow, I just couldn't resist it. I'm fairly sure I meant to ask for broccoli, but the sight of all those enchanting lime green florets captivated me completely. The colour in this photo doesn't quite compare to the real thing - this is a majorly bright vegetable! J and I had some with our dinner this evening, I tossed some of the florets in some olive oil, seasoned with salt, pepper and some smoked paprika, then roasted in a hot oven for about 20 mins until the edges went slightly crispy. So, so good, and definitely on my list to buy again when I see it.

Do you remember my to-do list for today (I wrote it out at the end of yesterdays post)? Well, I'm pleased to announce that I achieved one whole thing today, yayyy!!!!!!!!!!! Go me!!!! The fourth item on the list was "stitch a greenfinch" and I've had the most wonderful stitchy time of it today. This little 4 inch hoop project from Craftpod is utter stitching perfection - it's the perfect size, just the right amount of counting and concentration, and so insanely satisfying to start and finish in an afternoon.

I sat myself down at the table at around 1pm and I did not stop stitching until that little greenfinch was sat on his pretty perch of mimosa blossom....

.....awwwwww, just look!!! I adore this little hoop, honestly, I couldn't love it more. I finished it off with a little green ribbon bow, then hung it on my wall straight away......

.....next to my Spring embroidery from three years ago. 

I love having a couple of stitchy hoops hanging on the wall with the rest of my seasonal guff - I have Autumn, Winter and Spring hoops, but I don't think I have anything yet for summer. I'll have to see what Jo has in store for us with the Summer Craftpod in June, or maybe I'll design something myself for summer. Ohhhh...I just remembered I already designed this! Yes, it's all coming back to me now. Well I'll definitely need one or two more hoops to go with the Summer daisy as that one's only tiny. I also need to make a Summer wreath too, that's been on my to-do list for the longest time. So exciting, I love thinking about future makes. 

Being that I got caught up in a stitch fest today, there wasn't any time left for Granny Jo or magazine pages. By 4pm I needed to rest my weary eyes and hands and sit down to enjoy some liquid refreshment. I've had a truly lovely, simple day today, and tomorrow there will hopefully be time to tick a couple more things off my weekend list. The clocks change tonight, jumping forward an hour as we move into British Summer Time....I'm tHrilLeD about this because it'll mean longer evening daylight hours......oh, my happy heart!

Hoping you've enjoyed a lovely day today, tell me what's been floating your boat - will it be as obscure as my green cauliflower and stitchy greenfinch I wonder? Do tell!

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Slow and Quiet

I've had a slow, quiet sort of a day today, lots going on in my mind it seems. I woke up early (5.30am) and got up not long after so my day has felt quite long - not in a bad way though. I really like having extra time in the early morning to come into the day at a slow pace, and it meant I had almost two hours to sit quietly and drink coffee before needing to be up and out.

I intended to sit and do a bit of a therapeutic brain dump this morning but I accidentally got caught up in the online world. I'm not sure how it happened, but I found myself reading all about Intentional Living, wow, there are some passionate folks out there advocating this way of life, and reading about it was fascinating. There is a lot of crossover between intentional living, simple living and minimalism and although this sort of lifestyle isn't for me, I can certainly see how adopting elements of it could be hugely beneficial. Lots to think about. I keep a little notebook and pen beside my bed and often like to jot things down when I find myself contemplating new ideas. I think I'll do some more reading/viewing online and try and organise my thoughts a bit better, then I'll write about it here - could be interesting?!

I was out the door at 7.30 this morning as per my new spring routine, walking swiftly down through the park, along the canal, then back up the steep hill to home. It was grey and cold so I didn't linger to take many photos, and I made it home in exactly ten minutes - a fantastic way to warm up before my twenty minute running interval workout which I really enjoyed this morning. J and I also took a wet walk through the woods, it was a bit grim to be honest as the rain was pretty freezing and blowing in our faces. We stopped in town on the way back to pick up our coffee and I was so glad to finally get back home, wrap a blanket around myself and sit a while in the Big Chair with my latté to warm myself up.

As I was sat drinking my coffee I noticed that my Winter wreath was still in situ, so a bit later in the day I unpacked my Easter wreath ready for it to take it's place for the Spring season.

I've just looked back through my archives to find the Ta-dah post for this wreath, and am shocked to discover it was eight years ago. Gosh, how the years fly by. I still love this wreath, although if I were to make it again I would make some changes. I would remove the pompoms and space the flowers out a little bit more - it's very crowded on there! It's such a cheerful decoration though and I'm enjoying having it on my wall again.

The flowers on my table are teensy weeny this week, a couple little stems of blossom that are very slowly beginning to open. They are so, so beautiful, the perfect, delicate shade of pink.

Actually my table has been in a right mess this afternoon as I decided to have a bit of a sort out. The dining room has become my work-from-home makeshift studio during the past year or so, and it's gotten into a real chaotic state. I think all that reading about simple living must have seeped into my soul as I suddenly felt desperate to try and clear some space for myself. 

I tackled a huuuuuuuuuge teetering pile of stuff on top of my old desk (which is supposed to be leaving us as soon as we can find how/where to move it out), and boy was it therapeutic. I managed to sling a massive pile of paper/card/packaging/old magazines/boxes into the recycling bin, and sort out the varied assortment of miscellaneous objects which had accumulated over the months. The piles were so tall and so dense that I unearthed a wonderful collection of lost and forgotten things, including some Christmas presents, crochet projects and a box of posh chocolates.

I gathered together a small pile of recent magazines which I want to read before giving away to friends. I found my Meadow blanket colour squares which need stitching together (I make up colour samplers for all of my blanket projects which I keep for reference). And to my utter shame, I found my Granny Josephine bag sat at the bottom of the pile looking very neglected indeed. You may remember I was working on her during Blogtober and she's so very nearly finished, what a silly thing to have left this project for so long.

All that needs to be done is a little bit of hand stitching - leaves, flowers and the handle flap, and then she is done - flying straight to the top of my to-do list. Seriously. This bag needs to be used and loved, and I shall make that happen this weekend.

Also in my monstrous desk pile was the latest Craftpod box which arrived earlier in the week, oh, it's so lovely! I took out the little cross stitch project as I really love the design and the colours and would love to see it on my Spring mantel. I shall need to see to Granny J first, and then I'll make a start on the birdie.

BY the way, if you like the look of this project, you can buy the Spring box as a one-off purchase while stocks last - see ((here)).

Today was the last day of the Spring term and I think we all collectively breathed a sigh of relief at 3.30 when home school finished for Little B and Little Lady came through the door. She was in a good mood because she got an A score in her recent maths test (she's studying A level Maths, as well as Physics and Spanish, she's a clever so-and-so). We've got two weeks free from school stuff now, and even though lockdown life means that we can't do very much, I'm still hoping that there might be some sort of a holiday feeling to our days.

Little B doesn't spend much time with us downstairs any more, but once he'd finished his lessons today he came down to watch TV for a while. After years of guarded suspicion, Tilly has recently decided that she does in fact like Little B when he's not being all noisy and boisterous and she will always curl up on his lap any time he sits on the sofa. It's such a sweet thing - there is something about children and crochet blankets that makes my heart melt into a puddle, especially if you add in the crazy furball as well. So sweet.

I made this granny square blanket while I was pregnant with Little B and as he was born in the middle of an extremely cold snowy winter (it was -11 degrees on the day we brought him home from hospital), this blanket was very much needed in his cot at night. It's made from Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino, so it's really cosy and warm.

It's been very stormy here today, windy and wet with heavy hail showers thrown in for good measure. I'm glad I took the time to do a little bit of tidying today - still a LOT to do, but at least I made a start. It meant that I could sit for a while by the fire this afternoon without feeling guilty, making inroads into my small magazine pile. I've got both March and April issues with all the Spring vibes in those pages.....do you think I could add "read magazines" to my weekend to-do list, along with "Finish Granny Jo" and "Stitch a Greenfinch"?

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Mini Spring Flowers

Ahhhhhh, this yarn is giving me so many happy feels this week, it's sat there looking very inspirational in it's circular tin tray. I keep moving it around the place, I just love having it close by and in full view so it mostly sits on our dining table until we need to eat.

I spoke briefly about this new yarn in yesterdays post - it's a brand new organic cotton by Stylecraft which launched to retail at the start of last week. It really is a beautiful yarn - at first glance it looks quite thin for a DK weight but it hooks up really well on a 4mm hook. The thing I like most about it is that it's a smooth matt yarn (I'm not a fan of slippery mercerised cotton) and it's also really soft. So far I've only used it for small decorative things but I'm looking forward to making something bigger with it so that I can see what the drape is like.

There are 38 shades in total (the 36 shown above, plus black and white), and I think  the clever folks at Stylecraft have done a fantastic job with the colour range. It's the perfect combination of soft pastels and strong brights which makes it very versatile for all sorts of projects.

I picked out a palette of soft Spring pastel shades to crochet some mini flowers and leaves...

Top row :

Mauve : Fondant : Blush : Coral

Bottom row:

Cardoon : Artichoke : Peppermint : Buttermilk

↑↑ See the twiggy branch up there on the right of my mantel? I picked it up when we were out on a walk last month, it was laid on the grass verge at the side of the road and I just happened to like the look of it. The family were completely gobsmacked which surprised me as you'd think they'd be used to my strange ways by now. They just couldn't understand the appeal of a dead twig but as soon as I saw it I knew that it would be perfect for a Spring decoration. It was worth the effort of carrying it the two miles home.

I used the same little pattern that I designed for my Spring Garland - do you remember the white Hawthorne blossom I made to go in between the polyanthus flowers? This is exactly the same flower, and I just added some little leaves.

**I'll write the pattern out at the end of this blog post for you for reference**

I'd forgotten how satisfying it is to embark on a small decorative project which takes just hours to complete. I ended up making 20 flowers and leaves and loved every minute of it. The leaves were a little fiddly as they are only small, but it was such a fun thing to sit and occupy myself with yesterday afternoon.

You can see in the above photo that the leaves still have their tail ends hanging....

....these tail ends are used to stitch the leaf to the back of the flower.

I decided on a whim to add some tiny buttons to the flower centres, and when I say tiny, I really mean it! These are "micro buttons" which are only 6mm across, I have a whole tin of them left over from the long ago days when I used to make handmade greetings cards. They are made by a company called "Dress it Up", you can find little packs of them on Amazon in all sorts of colours ((see here)). For a very brief second I did consider stitching the buttons on, but quickly came to my senses and reached for the craft glue.

This morning when I woke up, the very first thing I thought was "yipppeeeee, I get to stick my flowers to the twig today!"

The thought of having this project to work on gave me such a buzz! Of course Tilly was on hand to help me throughout the whole process, whatever would I do without her sticking herself into all my business??

Attaching crochet flowers to a twiggy branch is definitely a job for a hot glue gun. I bought this one a few years ago when I wanted to stick some felt owls to twigs (you can see I have history with twiggy projects) and it is so easy to use and very, very good for super fast, strong sticking of any type of material.

It took no time at all to attach flowers to twig-ends.........

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

I love that the colours of the flowers go so well with my little Annabel Burton canvas (a happy accident to be honest, but I'm calling it a win)

I love what I created, it's a simple idea that delivers maximum spring vibes.

I would say this is a very Attic24 style make, and I'm not sure there is much general appeal in crocheting flowers to stick to twigs? But if you feel a burning desire to make yourself a little twiggy spring something, then I'm writing the simple pattern out for you below.....

MINI SPRING FLOWER

Ch 4; sl st into 1^st ch to form a ring.

All stitches in round 1 are worked into the ring.

Round 1 : *ch 2; 1 tr; ch 2; sl st;

Repeat from * 4 more times; sl st into 1^st ch of beginning ch-2 to close the round; fasten off [5 petals]

Note : if you crochet over the tail end as you make each petal, you can give it a firm pull when you finish and close up the hole in the centre. Alternatively, you could use the magic ring method if you prefer.

MINI SPRING LEAF

Ch 4; beginning in 2nd ch from hook, work 1 dc; 1 htr ; 1 dc;

Ch 2; sl st in 2nd ch from hook to form a picot point;

Now work into the single loops of the foundation chain, as follows :

1 dc; 1 htr; 1 dc;

Sl st into the little loop formed by the turning chain; fasten off, leaving a tail end long enough to stitch the leaf to the back of the flower.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my crazy idea take shape - I've got a couple other things to work on for you in the next week or two, things that have been on my crochet to-do list for aaaaaages. And this new organic cotton is the perfect yarn for what I have in mind.

See you tomorrow :)

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Routine Feels Good

Following on from yesterdays chat about my new-found Springtime lockdown routine, today followed a similar pattern and I felt really good about making it happen. I didn't manage to get out quite so early this morning as I didn't set an alarm and woke naturally at 6.30. But I tell you, it felt wonderful to wake up and know that I already had a plan in place, and that there was no need to ponder on things. I can't tell you what a difference it made, it was quite remarkable how much more settled I felt when I woke up. I was striding out the door at 7.20, and it was a truly beautiful day to be out and about. 

I appreciate the feeling of stillness that hangs in the air this early in the morning, there is something very calming and tranquil about the day being still in it's early waking hours.

It must've rained in the night as everything was damp this morning and the hedges were still holding onto the raindrops.

I love to see the signs of spring slowly appearing and the fresh zing of newly unfurled leaves never fails to make me happy. It's a magical time of year and I can see why so many people are spring lovers. 

J and I set out to walk early again this morning, around 8.45 I think it was when we left the house. The sunshine was glorious, and it was just about warm enough to ditch the coat and manage with a warm hoodie. It felt so good after many months of woolly layers and wellie boots.

We walked home through town so that we could pick up our coffee, and on a whim I stopped to buy a loaf of bread from the veggie stall on the market. I figured that fresh crusty bread would go well with my homemade soup for lunch so I bought a brown sourdough loaf made here in Skipton by a local chef who started up his own micro bakery last year. It's hands down the best sourdough I've ever tasted, the flavour is so so so good. Of course it really didn't help me with my quest to kick the toast and sugar cravings to the curb, but that's a burden I'm willing to deal with. Everything in moderation.

It was a happy delivery day here today as not one but two parcels arrived in the post this morning. I bought myself a new dress (this one) from one of my favourite clothing companies, it's a really soft cotton material and I can't wait to wear it on days when it's warm enough for bare legs and flip flops.

I also purchased some of my most favourite chocolate (again, NOT helping with the clean eating mission, but I ordered it at the weekend when I was in full self indulgence mode). Lime and Sea Salt dark chocolate, honestly the flavour combos in this chocolate are like heaven to me.

Hmmm....I'm seeing a seasalty theme appearing here......guess I must really be missing the sea?!

This afternoon I felt the pull to crochet and it felt really good to sit for a few hours to quietly work with hook and yarn. Do you like the look of the yarn? Isn't it a feast?! This is a brand new product from Stylecraft and I've been lucky enough to get my hands on all of the colours available - there are 38 in total. This is a DK weight organic cotton which comes in 50g balls, and I absolutely love it. It's soft and smooth with a matt finish (it's not a mercerised yarn) and it's a delight to crochet with. I was worried that my hands might not like it as cotton doesn't have any elasticity and can quite often be tough to work with. But I haven't had any difficulty with this yarn and I think it's going to become a firm favourite. 

I spent the whole afternoon lost in the bliss of these soft, spring like colours, crocheting up a pile of flowers and leaves. It's been ages since I felt inspired to dive into some decorative making, and it felt so good! Happy, happy me!!

So I have a bare twiggy branch that is waiting for Spring to arrive - tomorrow I'll show you when these flowers find their twiggy place. See you then xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx