Attic24

Harbour Blanket :: Introduction

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

♥ HARBOUR YARN PACK ♥

I hope you'll also enjoy reading today's post where I'm sharing a bit more of the inspiration behind this blanket. I promise that I'll try not to go overboard with all my millions of coastal photos, I'll save some for the CAL :)

Earlier in the year I was lucky enough to take a late Spring jaunt over to the Yorkshire coast with a friend of mine, partly because we both felt in need of a little holiday and partly because I knew I wanted to gather in some visual inspiration. It was mid May and we were exceptionally lucky with the weather - May here in Yorkshire wasn't that great, but on the two days that we spent by the sea we were treated to (mostly) blue skies and some very welcome sunshine.

We stayed in one of my favourite places on the coast, a place that I've visited many, many times during the three decades that J and I have been together. This is Whitby, a picturesque little seaside town with a busy fishing harbour which is deservedly popular with tourists who come to enjoy the beach and the friendly atmosphere. There is a distinct holiday vibe here which I absolutely love and it always makes me happy to spend time around the harbour and in the very old part of the town which is steeped in history. 

I've been thinking about creating a blanket inspired by the colours found at traditional seaside harbours for many years. This is often the way I work, and it's not unusual for me to ponder on creative design ideas and colour palettes for a really long time before it feels right to bring them to fruition. 

During the few days I spent at the coast I did a lot of walking - coastal walking is one of my favourite activities and I absolutely adore it, especially when the weather is playing nice. We walked for many miles, following the Cleveland Way as it ambled up and down the steep cliffs which hug this coastline. I took a LOT of photos, way too many to share with you today, so I'll save them for the CAL so that we can look forward to some coastal views as we make our ripply rows. What I mainly want to show you today is a little bit of the inspiration I found around the fishing harbours, not just in Whitby but also the charming village of Staithes. There aren't nearly so many boats at Staithes as the harbour is tiny compared to Whitby but oh my goodness, the colours are beautiful. 

I mean, just look how colourful and jaunty it all is!! I adore the jolly, carefree summer vibe that these colourful boats invoke, it makes me feel incredibly happy right down to my toes, especially on this grey, cold misty day in mid November when summer seems so far away. I love love love the way that the colours of the boats look so vibrant against the backdrop of coastal blues - those vibrant "pops" of colour light up my colour-loving soul and I can't get enough of them.

It's not just the boats that bring colour to the harbour - vibrant colour is all around once you begin to look for it. These lobster pots really caught my eye with their bright turquoise, jade, mustard yellow and orange netting and I took a gazillion photos of them from every imaginable angle. I hope you appreciate that I'm showing enormous restraint by showing you just one!

May time is full of glorious colour in the countryside, and along the Yorkshire coastline you get to see the country and coast combined. I noticed lots of colour in the fields as it was the time of year when rapeseed crops were in full bloom, and I loved seeing some self seeded flowers right down at the edge of the harbour. These flowers were so gloriously bright that I knew I would have to include some yellow and fresh green in my Harbour colour palette. 

I love the cosy tumble of these Yorkshire seaside villages and everywhere we went I took note of the colours. The terracotta pan tiled rooftops are a very distinctive feature of the Yorkshire coast and look wonderful against a backdrop of cool blue sea and sky.

I also took lots (and lots) of photos of cute coastal cottages with brightly painted doors and colourful ceramic pots full of tumbling flowers - I'll show you more of those once the CAL starts. 

Of course, the overwhelming colour of the coast is blue, blue and more blue, and I couldn't be happier about that! I adore the cool part of the colour wheel and sea blues and greens are my most favourite colours in the whole wide world. Coastal walking is a real treat when the weather is good because sunny skies mean that there are soooooooooo many shades of blue to enjoy. The colours in the sea change minute by minute and I never tire of seeing it. I am quite obsessed by these coastal shades of water and sky, they just fill my soul with such a deep sense of calm and tranquillity. 

As I spent these wonderful hours and days beside the sea, I began to instinctively know how this blanket would look and feel. It would be dominated by blues, because, well....the endless expanse of sea and sky is hard to ignore. I wanted it to feel as peaceful as a wide open sea view - bright and breezy, but also calming and restorative.

And then at the same time I was excited to add in those gloriously vibrant pops of coastal colour that bring such energy and joy. Bright shades of red, orange and yellow which sing against a backdrop of cool blues. This is how I imagined the Harbour blanket would be......

....and I began to actually see the brightly coloured ripples dancing in front of my eyes long before I picked up my crochet hook. I just knew it would be a truly happy blanket - bright and breezy, jaunty and jolly, and full of summer feel good.

It was a huge amount of fun playing with the colours when I returned from my trip - this is the part of the design process which gives me the most happiness and satisfaction. Fortunately for me, Stylecraft has a really beautiful palette of blues and blue-greens to choose from and I had absolutely no trouble at all selecting my sea and sky shades. My biggest challenge was deciding on the overall balance of the colour palette. In other words, how to take the very bright colours of the harbour boats and balance them out with exactly the right amount of sea and sky. How much blue is enough??!!

It took me many weeks to make this decision, honestly, I take my colour balancing very seriously and a humungous amount of pondering goes on before I settle on the final palette.

I really, really hope you love the Harbour colours as much as I do, because I am absolutely head over heels for them!

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

From left to right :

♥ Lipstick ♥  Tomato ♥  Spice ♥  Clementine ♥  Dandelion ♥

♥ Apple ♥ Aspen ♥ Spearmint ♥ Cloud Blue ♥ Turquoise ♥

♥ Aster ♥ Cornish Blue ♥  Storm Blue ♥ Denim ♥ Lapis ♥

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

♥ HARBOUR YARN PACK ♥

In the above photo, you can see the fifteen colours I chose and get a better idea of how the balancing act worked out. You can see that the blues and blue-greens take up more than half the space, with the bright boaty colours occupying a little less than half. Getting this balance right is really important and not to be underestimated -  a bold, stripy blanket needs careful handling if it's to look happy and jaunty without looking garish.

I'm so, so happy with how these colours play together, and I can't wait for you to see for yourself. The baby ripples are fabulous and make the colours look so playful and full of life.

As well as the random mix of Harbour stripes shown here, there will also be a second option to create a "colourwash" Harbour blanket where all fifteen colours are ordered in a very particular way. Over the past few years I've enjoyed giving more than one option for my CAL blankets and it's always wonderful to see the excitement as everyone makes their decision as to which version they prefer. I'll be sharing some sneak peeks of the two versions of the Harbour blanket a little bit closer to the start of the CAL.

It's hard to think of a coastal blanket without conjuring up ripples or waves, so I did the decent thing and settled on a pretty little eyelet ripple stitch for my harbour blanket. This is a wonderfully simple but effective ripple design which is SUPER EASY to crochet. It's perfect for newbie crocheters or for those who have maybe attempted the ripple in the past but not quite been able to get it to work. I promise you, this ripple pattern is easy-peasy and I can't wait to talk you through it when I share the pattern at the start of the CAL in January. I feel sure you'll love it. 

Now if you've followed along with my CAL's in the past, you might remember that every year I work on a collaboration with my lovely friend Rachel of EllieBethDesigns who designs and sells stickers for planners, journals and notebooks. We started working together for my Moorland blanket in 2017 and Rachel has designed a sheet of stickers for every CAL blanket since then. It's always such a delight to see how she takes my colour palette and comes up with the most delicious stickers - isn't she clever?! I'm not sure if you can see in the above photo, but there are stickers to add to a planner or journal to mark each week of the CAL, along with some very sweet little harbour inspired decorative stickers (I especially love the rows of harbour cottages).

Rachel has very kindly created a discount code especially for you, and you can use this to get 20% off any of her stickers.

Use code A24HARBOUR at the checkout for 20% off any order (one use per customer), either on the EllieBethDesigns website or Etsy shop. Here are the links for you >>

https://www.elliebethdesignsuk.com/

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/EllieBethDesignsUK

It goes without saying that I'm incredibly excited for this crochet-a-long, it's such a lovely thing to look forward to in the New Year once the sparkle of Christmas is behind us. Just a reminder that there is no need to sign up for this CAL - it's all very relaxed here in the Attic so all you need to do is gather your yarn together and join in when the free pattern is released on 7th January.

I'll be writing more about the CAL a little closer to the time (just over seven weeks until the CAL starts), but here is a quick round-up of information for you :

♥ The Attic24 HARBOUR CAL will will run for 8 weeks in total, beginning on Friday 7th January - that'll be the day when the pattern will be published here on my blog and I'll give you all the information you need to get started. I'll then give weekly updates every Friday throughout January and February 2022 so that we can make the most of weekend hooky time.

♥ There will be a full picture tutorial here on my blog for the new Harbour Ripple pattern. Each week I'll share the colour stripe order for the two different versions of the Harbour blanket I'm making (Mixed Stripe and Colourwash),

♥ The HARBOUR YARN PACK contains 15 x 100g balls of Stylecraft Special DK and is enough to make one blanket/throw. There is no printed pattern included in this pack, all pattern info will be here on my blog, with updates every Friday throughout January and February 2022. 

♥ The Harbour blanket will measure approx. 120cm x 175cm. You will need two packs if you wish to make a larger/double bed size blanket. I'll give starting chain/pattern guidance for those of you wishing to make larger (or smaller) blankets. 

I'm extremely grateful to my friends at Stylecraft Yarns and Wool Warehouse for all the hard work they've done to make sure that this gorgeous collection of yarn is here for you, especially in these still-tricky times. The CAL begins in just over 7 weeks, so hopefully enough time for you to gather your yarn together.

As always thank you so so much for keeping my company as I jaunt along with another blanket project. I know many of you are still hooking away on your Yuletide blankets, so I do hope you're still enjoying those colours and that you'll be ready for a bright and breezy change of scene in January?!

Thank you for being such wonderful friends, I appreciate you very much ♥

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

♥ HARBOUR ♥

 

 

 

 

Out of Town

Yesterday morning I was out doing the usual thing with J, our early morning walk in the semi darkness. Although I'm generally happy enough pottering through my same old daily routine, yesterday I realised that I've not actually been out of town since I went to Dorset at the end of October, so it's been two weeks without a change of scene. We've not even driven into the countryside to walk, so all my photos from the past fortnight have been local walks and the same old views, and I suddenly felt a really strong urge to escape from it all. 

So I did!

On a whim I hopped onto the 10:25 train to the city, and it felt absolutely marvellous, I was so happy to just be in motion and to be somewhere with a totally different atmosphere. I had a few things which I wanted to look for (new bedding and towels) and a few things which I needed to buy (something to wear for a fairly posh weekend ahead) but other than that, all I really wanted to do was wander around the streets and shops and soak up the city vibe.

As you can see, the shopping arcades were already in full-on Christmas mode which caught me by surprise as I don't generally begin to think about Christmas until December.

I love this arcade which is a relatively new build and houses some lovely shops including John Lewis which is one of my favourite department stores to browse in. This flooring though, it gets me every time - it's sooooooooo shiny!! It has a very reflective surface and combined with the zigzags it makes me feel all off kilter and wobbly, it's the strangest sensation.

Anyhow, John Lewis was dreamy and I spent ages riding up and down the escalators and ummming and aaahhhhing over the household textiles, like you do. I didn't end up buying anything because I didn't want to have to carry it, but it was good to see and feel and make notes for a future online shop.

Leeds has some really stunning architecture which includes these historic shopping arcades, and I absolutely love them. They are so beautiful and atmospheric....

....I mean, just look how glamorous it all is!! You can read more about them ((here)), they really are quite special.

My shopping trip was a success, and I did manage to find something to wear for the weekend which I was relieved about. I'm not a great shopper and really don't enjoy trying things on or making decisions about outfits so I very rarely do it. I have a very small wardrobe and wear the same clothes over and over and over, for years, until they fall apart or look far too unkempt to be acceptable. So yeah, job done, and I'm even a teensy bit excited to wear my new dress on Saturday.

I loved being in the city for a short while and wandering around just immersing myself in the commercial world for half a day gave me a real energy buzz.

Today I was also out of town, and the contrast with yesterday really did make an impression when I looked at my photos this evening.

My good friend who I meet with every week for coffee is off work this week on holiday, so of course I offered up my services as Outing Companion and agreed to go anywhere that took her fancy. I admit I did quietly suggest that the seaside is wonderful at this time of year, but she obviously didn't get the hint and instead she suggested we drive ten miles out into the Yorkshire Dales to the picturesque village of Burnsall. 

We both know this riverside walk very well, and I've pootled along here countless times over the years with the family. It's beautiful in all weathers and seasons but is especially lovely in Autumn.

It's an easy, scenic walk and we had a very specific midway destination in mind....

....leaving the river behind and following the footpath through fields, we arrived.....

....at one of my favourite little watering holes. Doesn't it look welcoming? This is the Old School Tearoom and somewhere I am very fond of when I'm in need of a bit of brunch and a really good coffee.

On this quiet, misty grey Thursday morning in November, the café was quiet when we arrived which allowed us to nab the very coveted window seat. Oh, happy, happy day!! As you can see, the view out of the window is absolutely beautiful....

.....with the café's free range chickens wandering around on the grass below. It really is an idyllic spot to sit and rest for a while in the cosy warmth while waiting for food and drinks to come to the table.

We stayed in the café eating, drinking and chatting for almost two hours, long enough for the mist to eventually lift and the sun to make an appearance. Doesn't it look gorgeous out there? Anyhow, aside from the scenery and greenery, I know that what you're really interested in is my coffee of the day, so here you go, I photographed it especially for you......

.....ta-dah!!!! It's a beauty!! This was actually my second cup of the day, uh-huh, I did splash out and have two, sometimes one just isn't quite enough. Do you want to see my brunch too? I thought you might......

.....now doesn't that look like it would really hit the spot? It was scrumptious, it really was.

It was early afternoon by the time we started to make our way back across the fields.... 

.....and the sun made such a difference to the colours of the landscape, it was really beautiful.

The river Wharfe is quite wide and fast flowing along this stretch but there are spots close to the riverbank which are more shallow and still. 

I kept thinking about my day in the city yesterday, and how today couldn't have been more different. It was extremely tranquil, not an inkling of hustle or bustle to be found along the riverbank.

I read somewhere that the village of Burnsall (in particular this old stone bridge) is one of the most photographed villages in the Yorkshire Dales. I've no idea if this is true, but it certainly is very photogenic.

It was built in 1609, over four hundred years ago. Amazing history right there.

Well it's been lovely catching you up with my comings and goings, I've had a really happy few days doing different things and I do feel that it's done me good. This weekend promises to bring even more out-of-routine delights, because I'm off with Little Lady to look round another city University, and this time we've booked a hotel stay to make a weekend of it. I'm really excited actually, me and my new dress are ready for some city adventures. Bring it on!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday Photos

Some photos from Sunday - I meant to share these with you yesterday but I had to go out in the evening and was too tired to write when I got back. However, I didn't want to lose the memories of a pretty ordinary Sunday which nevertheless felt so nourishing and good. 

A lazy start with some crochet in bed, a lovely walk full of Autumn feel-good, then back for a snuggle in bed with a delicious frothy coffee topped with real chocolate flakes. After my coffee I spent a few hours writing up my last blog post before heading downstairs to cook our roast dinner. I don't often blog from my bed, but I have to say it was ever so cosy and I found my words felt like they flowed from a good place in my soul.

Some days just feel blissful in their ordinariness - this was one of those days and I want to remember how good simple weekends can be xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

 

 

 

Full Tilt Autumn

We are full tilt into the autumn season now and there is so much to love about it. This past week the weather has been cold and still, and the stillness was the biggest surprise after the high winds we experienced the week before. At first I couldn't quite place what felt different, but gradually I realised it was simply that there was no wind whipping the trees and mussing up my hair. It felt like a quiet sort of relief, the kind you don't know you need until it happens.

As is usual for me at this time of year, I find myself enchanted by the colours in nature and every day there are moments when I can't quite believe how beautiful it all is. It's an intense feeling and very distracting - J often says that I rudely interrupt our conversations because my attention is suddenly caught by some fallen leaves or the way a cloud looks as if it is lit up from the inside (I wish I'd been able to capture the cloud-light in a photograph, it was magnificent, and really did stop me in my tracks and bring a halt to the conversation).

We haven't been anywhere this week, so all my photos come from my walks around the town, either on my way to do something or meet someone, or sometimes just walking around for the pure pleasure of it.

 I know I'm very lucky to have some pretty scenic places to stroll within a few minutes of my front door, and I appreciate it very much. Mind you, even when I lived in very un-inspiring urban environments I still used to walk for pleasure - for most of my adult life, heading out for a walk has been my go-to solution when I need to clear my head, think things through, unwind, or just feel grounded in the moment. I think a simple walk around the local neighbourhood is a highly underrated pastime for pleasure, but also for mental health benefits.

The tourist season is beginning to slow down now that half term is over, although we do get visitors all year round here. In summer the canal is very busy with holiday rental boats coming and going, but now in early November there are mainly day-trip boats on the move.

Along certain parts of the canal the boats don't move at all as they are permanent moorings. Some of them are lived on all year round, and others like the one above are used like summer holiday cottages and get put to rest in the colder weather.

These photos were taken in the mid afternoon one day last week, Thursday I think it was. The weather was bright and clear and like I mentioned earlier there wasn't a wisp of wind in the air.

The still air and bright skies made for the most beautiful reflections in the water, I was absolutely enthralled by them. I've no idea why I find reflections in water so pleasing to look at, but I could honestly stand and stare for ages getting lost in the visual perfection of them.

J and I are still doing our early morning walks and on Friday we had the first frost of the season. It was certainly "crisp" out there at 6.45am, and I was glad I'd put on an extra fleece layer. It was very beautiful though, especially in the park where the grass was frosted to a pale minty green....

....and the fallen leaves were edged with delicate ice crystals.

Our woodland walks are now a weekend treat because it's too dark to walk amongst the trees during the week when we head out so early. 

With only walking this way once a week the seasonal changes are really noticeable, and it's a lovely feeling to observe nature doing her magnificent thing. I am very in tune with the seasonal rhythms of the year and always feel a sense of comfort when I see that all is on track and as it should be. Early November, Autumn is in full swing and all is well.

These woodland photos are from yesterday, J and I walked reasonably early for a Saturday (it was about 8.30am I think) so it was blissfully quiet along the leafy pathways. Strolling in the woods before pootling into town to buy groceries from the butcher, bakery and the market is such a wonderfully weekendish thing and I can't tell you how much I love it. Every single Saturday I get a little jolt of happiness when I realise that this is my life, and I get to do this every single weekend. I just can't seem to get over the happy surprise of it somehow. I think this must be a true definition of contentment, when you keep getting surprised by the routines of life and feeling delighted that they belong to you.

⇈ OK, I'm documenting this as an Autumn-in-full-tilt moment, because honestly it's just too good not to share. Some of you may recall that J and I recently started enjoying a coffee together a couple mornings a week in the teensy little coffee shop at the bottom of our street, it's the one with the William Morris wallpaper. Well, alongside the most yummy coffee they also sell a modest selection of sweet treats, and have recently introduced these traditional Portuguese tarts - "pastel de nata". I've eaten them in Portugal before but never here in England, and J had never tried them so I felt it was my duty to introduce him to the delight of them. Have you ever eaten one? Oh. My. Word. They are utterly delicious in every way, the perfect amount of sweetness and flaky pastryness, and they go ridiculously well with a cup of strong coffee. We are addicted, honestly.

I seem to be all about routine at the moment, and I'm really enjoying all the ordinary, repeating, familiar comforts that make up my weeks. And pastel de nata is a very, very welcome addition.

The little posy of geraniums is just about still going on my table, but they are well past their best and I'll need to think about buying in some fresh seasonal flowers this week. Last year I fell a bit in love with some tiny little yellow button chrysanths, do you remember them? I might see if I can find something similar tomorrow when I'm out and about.

I made a batch of fresh soup on Saturday, again this has become another of my weekly routines which grounds me and feeds my sense of domestic contentment. This week I made carrot and coriander and it was sooooo good. I toasted some pumpkin seeds to add to the top because I've been trying to add seeds into my diet every day for the healthy fats. They added a perfect little crunch and I'll definitely do them again as a soup topper.

In creative news, I've been thoroughly enjoying having woolly socks on my feet every day this week as it's been so cold and it inspired me to knit some more of my Cool Kaffe socks. I can't wait to actually have these beautiful stripes on my feet, so I'll try and get the heels turned this week if I can.

Thanks as always for the lovely, lovely comments you wrote about my Harbour blanket, thank you! I'm really enjoying crocheting this blanket ahead of my CAL, it has a very special rhythm to it which makes for some of the most relaxing crochet I've ever done. I can't wait to share more with you, especially more of the photos from my coastal jaunt earlier in the year. Such happy memories.

Well, I think that's about all my seasonal banter for now, I hope you're enjoying the autumn if you're on this side of the globe, and if you're down under, then I truly hope that Spring is bringing you joy.

Right now it's already starting to get dark (it's 4.30pm) and I'm going to go and light the fire and get on with making the dinner. We're having a roast today, for the first time in a long while and I'm really excited for it - we've got a stuffed pheasant parcel wrapped in bacon which we bought from the local game man who comes to the market. It's very Autumnal fodder I think you'll agree - can't wait!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

 

Attic24 CAL Number Eight

Ever since I learnt to crochet my first wobbly granny square in the summer of 2007, I knew that I would be a blanket maker. I had my heart set on making a granny square blanket for my two Little People to snuggle under (they were aged 3 and 4 at the time) and I've been crocheting blankets ever since. I absolutely loved making blankets right from the start, and whenever a blanket was finished I would always feel a deep sense of loss followed by an immediate itch to start a new one. I quickly learnt that it was futile to ignore the lure of yet another blanket project and allowed myself to just do what my heart wanted, and my heart always wanted another blanket on my hook. I became addicted, and now here we are fourteen years later and that craving has never left me.

My first blanket Crochet-A-Long (CAL) came seven years later in the autumn of 2014. I had fallen in love with the wonderful colours of Stylecraft Special DK and decided to create a striped blanket that I would share on my blog in weekly instalments. It wasn't a new concept by any means, but I'd never actually followed a CAL myself and didn't really have much idea about running one either. I just thought that I could design and publish a free pattern, tell folks which colours they needed, then give out fifteen stripes per week until the blanket was complete. I'd already begun working with the wonderful people at Wool Warehouse, so it was a natural decision for us to create yarn packs which contained the fifteen colours I'd selected for my first CAL blanket.

What I hadn't bargained for at the time was the huge amount of excitement that would come my way from the world wide crocheting community, WOW, I remember being so, so thrilled when people actually started buying the yarn packs and following along to make their weekly stripes! It was an amazing feeling, knowing that I was inspiring people to find joy in making blankets in beautiful colours, and the wonderful sense of belonging that wraps around you like a warm hug when you create alongside so many other like minded souls. 

This year I'll be leading the way with my eighth blanket CAL, and it's safe to say I'm more than a little bit excited about it! Before I tell you all about the latest stripes on my hook, I thought it would be fun to look back at the previous seven blankets and the colour inspiration behind each one - I wonder if you will recognise them all?

♥ BLANKET CAL #1 {2014} COSY STRIPE ♥

This blanket was inspired by the colours of Autumn - leaves, seeds, berries and flowers. It was the first time that I'd created a colour palette with a definite "theme" and all my subsequent CAL projects have been inspired by the seasonal landscape or by nature.

You can read more about the inspiration behind the Cosy colour palette in this post ((here))

♥ BLANKET CAL #2 {2015} SUNNY LOG CABIN ♥

This colour palette was inspired by my love of the summer season and the colourful flowers I always have growing in my back yard pots. I designed a large square blanket for this CAL, made up of 16 colourful log cabin blocks - it's one of my all time favourite designs, and you can see more of it in this post ((here)).

As well as the large log cabin blanket, I also crocheted the same Sunny colours into a vibrant granny stripe blanket. You can read more about it ((here)).

♥ BLANKET CAL #3 {2017} MOORLAND ♥

For this CAL I changed the timing and moved it from the pre-Christmas period into the start of the New Year. I love the idea of having something to look forward to in the darkest of our winter months, and ever since then my annual CAL's have always run through January and February.

The Moorland blanket was inspired by the colours of the moors close to where I live in August when the heather is in full bloom. It was the first time I'd designed a blanket as a "colour story" where the stripes are ordered to mimic the colours seen when viewing the landscape. You can read more about the colour inspiration in this post ((here)).

♥ BLANKET CAL #4 {2018} WOODLAND ♥

Another autumn inspired colour palette, this time it was my woodland walks which provided a rich source of inspiration. I designed this blanket as a companion to the Moorland, so another colour story sequence which takes you on a walk through the trees.

Lots more photos about my inspiration ((here)).

♥ BLANKET CAL #5 {2019} SWEET PEA ♥

My fifth CAL blanket proved extremely popular, and I have to say this floral inspired colour palette really is incredibly pretty. You can see lots more photos in this post ((here))

As well as the mixed stripe Sweet Pea blanket, for the first time I created an alternative colour order. This is where the same fifteen shades were arranged to create a colourwash effect, and it's something that really sparked a lot of interest at the time. I've since created colourwash stripe orders for many of my blanket kits - there is something very pleasing about seeing a colour palette ordered in this way.

♥ BLANKET CAL #6 {2020} DAHLIA ♥

Similar to the Sweet Pea, I created two versions of the vibrant floral inspired Dahlia blanket - a mixed stripe and a colourwash.

You can see lots more inspiration photos ((here)) - dahlias are soooo photogenic!

♥ BLANKET CAL #7 {2021} MEADOW ♥

A very pretty summery colour palette inspired by the wild flower meadow very close to my home. The meadow became a very special place for me during the lockdown months in 2020, and I adore this colour palette. You can see more of the inspiration photos ((here)).

Actually this crochet along only finished eight months ago because it ran throughout January and February of this year, but I was working on the colour palette and design ideas way back in the summer of 2020. Generally speaking, by the time I'm chatting to you about a new CAL, I've already been obsessing over it for many, many months. And when I say obsessing I really do mean it - I put a tremendous amount of heart and soul into all my blankets as they are inspired by places or things that I have a deep emotional connection to. I take hundreds of photos which feed my initial ideas through a lengthy design process, and this means that my colour palettes are always the end result of a huge amount of pondering and creative faffery. Can you tell?!! I wouldn't have it any other way, I'm passionate about creating colour palettes that tell a story and bring joy into the finished blanket.

Anyhow - back to the present day, and being that we are now in November you may have guessed that it's almost time for my next CAL yarn pack to be released into the world.....oh, I may be just a teensy bit excited to share this with you.....!

Are you ready to see what has been floating my boat since May this year?

Some of you may have already guessed from the little peeks of the ripply blanket on my hook just lately, but let me tell you more.

My next blanket is inspired by the coast, specifically the gorgeous colours of fishing boats against the calming blues of sea and sky.....

........this is the HARBOUR blanket, and I'll be releasing the pattern and colour instalments at the start of 2022. All these photos were taken earlier this year in May when I took a short jolly to the North Yorkshire coast to photograph some of my favourite places. I've had the idea to make a harbour inspired blanket for a few years now, as I have so many happy memories of holidays spent in Whitby, Robin Hoods Bay and Staithes on the Yorkshire coast. And of course my childhood home in Dorset and the harbours at West Bay and Lyme Regis have often featured in my blog over the years so you know how much I love these places.

Boaty colours are bright aren't they?! I love the jaunty, jolly holiday feel of these colours, and when they are set against a palette of cool blues, they really do harmonise beautifully. As well as a mixed stripe I've also created a colourwash version and I'll be chatting more about this when the yarn packs launch in twelve days time.

As you can see I've designed a new ripple pattern to gently blend this colour palette into a really beautiful and joyful blanket. This is an incredibly soothing and easy ripple to work and is perfect for beginners, or for those of you who like to immerse yourself in some easy therapeutic hooky rows. I can't wait to share more with you in January.

As in previous years, yarn packs will be on sale in my shop at Wool Warehouse very soon so that there will be plenty of time for you to get your yarn sorted if you wish to join in with the CAL in the New Year. I'll also publish a list of the colours so that you can check your stash or shop local if you want to. The launch date for the Harbour yarn packs is Tuesday 16th November, and we usually aim to have everything go live at 8am - put the date in your diaries! The packs will contain 15 balls of Stylecraft Special DK (my usual thing) and Wool Warehouse will ship worldwide. Did you know that my yarn packs get sent out to more than a hundred countries around the world, isn't that amazing? We truly are a world wide community, and I'm so, so thankful for it.

Right, I think that's about all for now - on the 16th November I'll have a lot more photos to share when I introduce the Harbour blanket to you in all it's colourful glory. I can't wait!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blogtober 2021 :: Review

In early November last year after my first ever attempt at Blogtober, I decided to write a review post to chat about my experience of taking part in a whole month of daily blogging. It was a really enjoyable post to put together, and I got a lot of satisfaction from looking back through all my photos and creating a visual overview of the month. You can read my 2020 blogtober review ((here)). I had so many comments after that post (131 of you wrote to me) that I guessed you enjoyed it and and hopefully you'll enjoy this year's offering just as much. I spent this afternoon looking back through my photos and creating some collages to share, so it's been a whole lot of creative fun for me too.

October will always have a little bit of a celebratory flavour because it's my birthday month, and I turned 53 this year.

We also had a much needed week-long break from school towards the end of the month, and there was Halloween to celebrate too.

Looking back through my photos today I realised that October was a much busier month than usual with quite a few outings and day trips. I really enjoyed every single jaunt that we made out of town, and realised (not for the first time) that I positively thrive when I'm out and about. Even if we are visiting familiar places, there's still a certain level of anticipation and excitement when there are walks and picnics and lots of lovely photogenic vistas to lift my spirits.

We walked at Bolton Abbey on Day 3.

On Day 11 we drove to the west Lancashire coast to spend a few sunny hours by the sea.

Day 9 was an exciting train journey to visit Newcastle university with Little Lady and it was wonderful to see and experience a completely new city.

I had the pleasure of Christine's company on a gloriously sunny Day 21 and we visited RHS Harlow Carr which was absolutely magnificent. Looking back at the post I wrote on that day fills me with joy, oh the colours were something else! Such a lovely day, and I know the memories will stay with me for a long time.

The most out of the ordinary thing I did in October was to travel south to Dorset to spend some time with my Dad. After my holiday back in August, I made a promise to myself that I would try and visit every season, and I'm so, so glad that I made an Autumn jaunt happen. I think I've mentioned before that my Dad has aged quite a lot since the start of the pandemic and without being morbid about it, I do really feel that I need to make the most of the time we have left together - who knows how long we have? With any luck it'll be many, many years, but something in my heart tells me not to take any of this time for granted.

I had a really lovely time in Dorset, but to be perfectly honest it was a major challenge to carry on with Blogtober each day while I was away. I mean, I took loads of photos so always had plenty of things to share but it was the extreme end-of-day tiredness that was the hardest thing for me. I'm telling you, the air down there is potent and makes me sooooooooo sleepy! Anyhow, reading back through my Dorset posts I'm so happy that I have my memories preserved for the future. You can find my Dorset Blogtobers here, here, here and here. 

Creatively, October was a really good month and I found a lot of comfort and happiness in designing and making. I worked on an idea for a new mandala based on the Yuletide blanket stitch pattern and I love love love the results.

You can find the blog post on Day 7....

....and the tutorial and pattern can be found ((here)).

October was also a month where I dusted off my knitting skills, specifically the joy of knitting a pair of gloriously stripy socks. I treated myself to this lush Regia yarn, the colours expertly put together by Kaffe Fassett, and cast on on Day 13.

I tend to knit in short bursts as and when the mood takes me, so progress can be a bit on the slow, stop-starting side. By the end of October I'd managed to knit one and a half legs (I knit both socks at the same time) and with any luck I'll have them on my feet by the end of this month.

Throughout Blogtober I showed some snippets here and there of my other main project of the moment which you can see in the above photo. I actually did a LOT of crochet throughout the month and am absolutely beside myself with the feelings I have for the colour palette and these delicious little ripples. So. Much. JOY!!

I'm going to be writing more about it to share with you tomorrow (the 4th) so I'm really looking forward to that. It's been hard not to blab about it allll the time, since I first began working on the design ideas back in May.

Aside from the daytrips and holidays, the celebrations and creative endeavours, Blogtober is mostly all about the ordinary every day stuff. It's about sharing daily routines and capturing the little snippets of life that spark inspiration and emotion. Confession :: it's actually a pretty tough challenge in terms of the space it takes up inside ones head! When I'm blogging every day it's constantly on my mind and I find myself writing sentences in my head and searching for visual inspiration pretty much all the time. But my goodness, it's worth it. SO, so worth it. All those thoughts, emotions, ideas and inspirations are like food for my soul and I absolutely love the process of allowing them to eventually filter out into the world via my Attic window.

Daily blogging is a constant reminder to practice gratitude, and to really open your eyes and see the world around you. It's an opportunity to search out the things that bring happiness, to train your eye to see and appreciate a moment in time that will make a good photograph or tell an honest story. Using photos and words to capture all those memories and experiences that flow through each day is such a rewarding thing to do, and even after all these years I still absolutely love it.

Blogging daily life also provides a beautiful snapshot of the season, and year after year it's fascinating to see the rhythms of nature play out as the months pass.

A lot of my photos during Blogtober captured the early days of Autumn and the seasonal changes happening in my local neighbourhood. Each month of the year has it's own "flavour" and I find it fascinating to see how the light and colours change as the year passes.

I also enjoyed sharing many snippets of daily home life too, although I did often worry that the sameyness might get a bit repetitive. October was definitely a month of home comforts - blogging by candlelight and the warmth of the fire, hand knitted woolly socks on my feet and on my needles. Mugs of milky coffee and bowls of nourishing home made soup. Cosying up under layers of blankets, and enjoying the comfort of having the kitty close by. Fresh flowers are a constant here in the Attic and October gave me colourful shop bought blooms as well as little posies of back yard flowers. There was baking and of course there was crochet, there is rarely a time when I don't have any hooky going on!

So that about sums up Blogtober 2021, it's been a good month, hasn't it? I know from the hundreds of comments I've received here and on Facebook that you've enjoyed your daily visits, and I'm so thankful for your company. Thank you for being here with me as I jaunt through my days.

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

Number of daily blogs completed : 31  (yay for one hundred percent attendance)

Total number of photographs shared : 350 (out of 442 taken in total)

Total number of beautiful comments : 1,049 (thank you so very much)

Total number of blog views : 884,848 (ooo, that's a lot of eyeballs)

Total number of words written by me : 27,276 (yes, I added them all up, took me aaaages)

Will I do it again next year? : oh yes indeedy, #blogtober2022 is already on my to-do list.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

ps huge gratitude also for these wonderful bloggers who took part in Blogtober 2021 alongside me :

Christine at Winwick Mum

CJ at Above the River

Barbara and Coastal Ripples

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

♥ Three Things ♥

♥ Three things that have made me feel heart-skippy happy today...♥

♥ Thing # 1 :: on my table ♥

♥ A little glass bottle of raindrippy geraniums rescued from their very soggy back yard pots.

I popped out in the drizzle this morning to put some recycling into the bin and was so happy to see my geraniums still bravely flowering despite the wet and wild weather we've had this past week. I decided to snip a few stems to bring indoors as I'm not really getting to appreciate them very much outside. Oh, they are such a delight! Like a breathe of summer air, they are cheering up my table and my heart.

♥ Thing # 2 :: on the sofa ♥

♥ A contented sleepy kitty, enjoying the warmth rising from the radiator that's on the wall behind the back of the sofa.

She's been happy today because I felt so cold this afternoon that I switched the heating on and I lit the fire too. Such indulgence, but I hate it when my bones feel chilled. I'm sure she was silently thanking me with her eyes closed, sweet thing that she is.

♥ Thing # 3 :: on my needles ♥

♥ Gloriously happy stripes turning slowly but surely into wonderfully cosy socks.

I'm really, really enjoying this Kaffe Fassett sock yarn, the colours and the changing stripes are just lovely. I was sat in my favourite place right next to the hearth earlier and my hands had reached that perfect temperature where the stitches seem to fly. I love it when that happens and the stripes almost seem to make themselves. J made me a cup of tea and I felt like the luckiest person being able to spend a wet Monday afternoon doing just as I pleased.

I hope you've had a great day, and that you've had some moments that have made your heart skip a beat.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

ps : I created this "3Things" category for my blog many years ago but it's not often that I remember to create this kind of simple gratitude post. You can find all of my past 3-things posts by clicking on the category tag in my left hand side bar, it does make for an uplifting bit of browsing if you need to fill a little time x

 

 

 

Blogtober 2021 :: Day 31

Well I thoroughly enjoyed having an extra hour at my disposal this morning, it was much appreciated and allowed me to have a super slow start to the day. I got up much later than usual and made myself a chocolate dusted coffee to take back to bed, relishing the pleasure of taking my sweet time with it all. It'll be all change again tomorrow, my alarm will be set for 6am and J and I will be out walking, but I think that made todays slow start feel even more luxurious. 

I had a craving for pancakes this morning, so I made myself a plate of easy oat pancakes topped with lots of fresh fruit (recipe on my blog ((here)) and they really hit the spot.

I ate my breakfast by candlelight as even though it was around 10.30 the heavy grey skies and pouring rain made the house very dark and gloomy. I'm trying not to let the low light levels affect my mood, it takes a conscious effort to embrace the candle light and fairy lights and not feel disheartened by the lack of natural daylight. So far I feel like I'm doing OK, and candles are most definitely helping.

I had to pop out to the shops this morning to pick up some ingredients for a curry that J decided he wanted to make. We realised earlier that Little B wouldn't be here for dinner as he'd been invited to a birthday party, so we took the opportunity to make a curry with a bit more spice in it than usual. The rain had eased up in the late morning and I was happy to get outside for some fresh air. There is a row of terraced houses I walk past that all have really well kept front gardens, and at this time of year the foliage is beautiful.

After a stormy night there were plenty of leaves on the ground, and I never tire of seeing the bright autumnal colours under my feet as I walk.

Similar to yesterday, the early afternoon gifted us with a break in the weather and we went from grey and wet to blue and sunny in what felt like the blink of an eye. I was pottering around catching up with laundry, accounts and emails, and all of a sudden J asks "shall we go for a walk?" Without a moments hesitation I dropped everything and pulled my boots on ready to go, I'm like a dog, ready to walk at a seconds notice, always eager to be out and about.

We walked through the park and it was unexpectedly glorious, so fresh and bright and very perfectly autumnal.

The wild weather from last night has brought down a lot of the leaves already - I remember from last year that it doesn't take much change in the weather for the trees to give up and let loose with allllllll their leaves. I expect the branches will be completely bare in a week or two.

We walked around some of our favourite streets, admiring gardens and enjoying the huge mature trees that grow along a certain long, hilly residential road that we like. The houses are all individually designed and quite substantial and have lovely gardens....I dream that one day we might perhaps leave our very modest tall thin terrace and live somewhere with breathing space around it and possibly a tree or two. I'd like that very much.

While I was away last week, Little Lady sent me a photo of some shortbread biscuits she baked with Little B and I was a little bit heartbroken that they went ahead and did it without me. I bought the biscuit kit a few weeks back, something for Hallowe'en that I thought would be fun for us to do.......awww, I don't know, I just got really choked up that I was not needed. Of course I'm super happy that she wanted to do it so much, and not only that but she said that BOTH of her brothers helped decorate with icing - wwwwwhaaaaat????? The 19 year old Big Teen got an icing pen and made bones on a biscuit??? Reeeeally? I was absolutely incredulous, but she swears that it was so.

This is the one that he made apparently, I am still in shock to be honest.

OK, hands up who remembers the incident with the  Silver Balls??? ELeVeN years ago my friends.....eleven years ago!! And if you have no idea what I'm talking about, the blog post about that unforgettable incident is ((here)). It's a shocker.

It occurred to me yesterday that maybe Little Lady is finding comfort in doing the things that she used to love as a child, because first the biscuit baking and then came some colouring. She printed this design last night and coloured it all in and said she enjoyed it and found it therapeutic - I suspect that part of it was nostalgic comfort, but a bigger part of it was procrastination because she was supposed to be revising for a maths and a physics test.

Talking of nostalgia, today saw the both of us sat at the dining table carving out our pumpkins, and it was a lot of fun. I managed to find a white ghost pumpkin at the supermarket for Little Lady to carve out a simple ghost design, and I settled on a spooky face for my larger one. 

I love the magic that happens when darkness falls and the candles are lit inside. No matter how wonky or basic the design, carved pumpkin lanterns always look so, so good in the dark. We had the usual small army of visitors knocking at the door, so much excitement amongst the younger residents of our streets.

And just like that, the month of October has come to an end. It's felt like quite a long month to me, and I really do mean that in a good way. The best of ways, actually. I feel like my days have been full, and even the slow, routine days of nothing in particular have had many moments that were worthy of writing about and capturing on my camera to share with you. I'll be putting together a Blogtober Review as I enjoyed doing it last year, so there's that to look forward to.

So many of you have told me in comments here, and on my Facebook page that you'll be sad when Blogtober ends, and so I'm going to try and be here as much as I can through November. I've enjoyed chatting with you very, very much this past month, thank you for your most excellent company.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blogtober 2021 :: Day 30

This is my fifth Saturday of Blogtober 2021 (previous ones are here, here, here and here) and I woke up to the sound of rain pattering heavily against the window. For a smidge of time I thought I was still in Dorset, but I gradually worked out where I was and that I didn't have to rush to get up as it was Saturday. I drifted back to sleep for a little while longer in that particularly delicious warmth of a soundly slept in bed. Crikey, I had such a good nights sleep last night, I really was bone tired by the time I walked in the front door last night at 9.30pm after nearly ten hours spent on the move.

I'm really glad to be home but it does take a little bit of readjustment after a break away. I've spent quite a bit of today doing chores - my usual weekend jobs, but also all the little things that slip through the net when I'm away and J is left in charge. My friend CJ calls it "re-entry" when you come back home after a holiday, and I totally get that - there is an element of bracing oneself to deal with the bumpy landing.

So today's market delights included the above spectacular vegetable, and I'm sorry the photo doesn't really do it justice because it was a beauty. I say was because it's all gone now, J and I ate the whole thing between us in one sitting. To be fair it was quite a small one (it's a Romanesco in case you didn't recognise it, a cross between a cauliflower and broccoli in terms of flavour). I broke it up into the prettiest of dainty florets, massaged them in a little olive oil, seasoned generously and baked in a hot oven for about 30 minutes. They come out lightly charred, a little bit sweet and utterly moreish, and we ate it with a veggie curry and sticky rice.

This morning the weather was nasty, it was cold and wet and our visit to the market was a bit of an endurance. Breakfast in the café afterwards was a much cosier and enjoyable affair and it felt good to be back in my familiar weekend groove.

This afternoon the rainy skies all of a sudden cleared and there was actual sunshine for a short while. I asked the fam if they fancied coming with me for a walk in the woods, but both Little People were still in pjs and taking it easy and couldn't be persuaded so it was just J and me.

 

It was very picturesque in the woodland, the sun makes such a huge difference to the colours and overall ambience and I hadn't realised quite how much I've missed it of late. 

You can see how quickly the leaves are changing now.......

....the autumn colours are sweeping through the treetops.....

....and the ground is carpeted with them too.

It was lovely to be out amongst it all, and we timed it just right because by the time we were walking back up our street the sun had disappeared and it was raining again. 

The kitty is pleased to have me home, in fact when I walked up to my front door last night she was sat on the doormat waiting for me which made my heart swell somewhat. She is such a contradiction, at times ridiculously feisty and difficult, and yet she really does seem to need us close by at all times. She's been sleeping all afternoon, shifting from the chair (pictured above with my new blanket) to the cushion beside the fire which currently has my cashmerino granny square blanket on it.

I really desperately want to tell you more about the new blanket, and once Blogtober has come to a close I'll have a little bit more headspace to chat to you about it. I'm excited!

A few people have asked me recently about the Yuletide Garland which I started back in September using left over scraps of yarn from making my Yuletide blanket. I'll get back to working on the patterns for it next week once the Little Peeps return to school, and I'll share progress on it as I go. There will be free patterns for you eventually so that you can choose to make either a garland or a little Yuletide wreath perhaps? Ivy, eucalyptus, holly and orange slices, with maybe a few little golden stars thrown in for good measure. I think it's going to be cute, and a lovely project to work on in the run up to Advent.

Ahhh, I'm sorry if I haven't sounded like my usual bright and breezy self today, I'm suddenly so, so tired my lovelies. It's 8.30pm and I think I'm going to head up to bed for an early night. The very thought of my bed is so insanely appealing that I now can't think about anything else other than sinking my head into my plump feather pillows. 

The clocks go back tonight, so we'll all enjoy an extra hour in bed and the timing of it couldn't be better. Night night, I'll see you all again tomorrow with some pumpkin related content I expect.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

 

 

Blogtober 2021 :: Day 29

My last morning in Dorset and I decided to treat my Dad and Lady B not only to morning coffee but breakfast as well, and they seemed truly delighted by the prospect when I put it to them. My destination of choice was an independent bistro called The Green Yard Café which I'd heard good things about, and I can tell you that it was wonderful. First up, just feast your eyes on my cappuccino - isn't it the most luxurious cup of morning coffee you ever did see? 

I mean, look!! Real chocolate sprinkles!! I was quite beside myself with delight, as you would expect. Breakfast was a huge success and my Dad surprised me by following my lead and ordering the poached eggs and avocado on sourdough which is always my favourite go-to brunch choice. It was delicious, and the whole outing felt relaxed and easy which I was thankful for.

After breakfast was done and dusted, I had a few hours before I needed to head off to catch my train so I squeezed in a little bit of hooky before making my way homewards via the coast for one last quick sea fix.

It was so beautiful at the beach this morning, sunny and bright with a wild wind blowing.

The waves were magnificent, woweeeee, they just took my breathe away. 

I didn't have much time, just ten minutes or so, but it was long enough to sit down in the sunshine for a short while and breathe it all in. Ahhhhh, I shall miss the sea air very much.

I picked up a pebble to pop in my pocket for good luck, said goodbye to the sea until next time, and mentally prepared myself for the long day of travel back North.

I'm always glad to have my crochet with me when I travel, and this new ripple blanket is really, really, really making me extremely happy indeed. It's such a joy and the combination of jaunty bright colours with this easy, rhythmic pattern is pure hooky pleasure. I'll be telling you more about this blanket next week, I can't wait to show you the inspiration behind it.

Right now it's dark outside and I'm jollying along on the rails somewhere in the middle of the country. This is the very first time I've blogged on a train, it's a bit wobbly but I'm enjoying the fact that I can chat to you while I'm speeding along. I'm currently thinking about the brown paper bag tucked in my rucksack which contains something yummy and sweet purchased from Leakers bakery this morning. Oh yeah, a treat from the bakery, what a lovely thing to look forward to.

Thank you as always for joining me on my adventures, and for the lovely comments you've written on my posts this week. I hope you've enjoyed jaunting with me along the Dorset coast, it's been a fun time and I've loved sharing it with you.

I'll be back tomorrow with my penultimate Blogtober post, it's gone by quickly don't you think? 

See you then  xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx