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Blogtober 2020 :: Day 26

Daily blogging is such a strange thing to embark on, and if you've ever tried to describe your days in photos for any length of time you will recognise the slight craziness of the attempt. I was in the café this morning with J having my usual very-very-good cappuccino, and I had to force myself not to take a photo of my coffee to show you. Yet again. I mean, there is only so many times you would want to see evidence of me drinking coffee, surely?? Taking photos for a daily blog means that there is bound to be a slight obsessiveness creeping in, as I think about my blog content a huge amount throughout the day. But at the same time I'm mindful of living my life as normal and pointing my camera only when something really inspires me. Oddly enough, my daily coffee nearly always inspires me haha! There is something about the quiet familiarity of enjoying a favourite drink in a cosy environment which just feels a little bit magical to me. And even though it's something I do most days, it still feels special because I view it as a luxury (both having the money to indulge, and having the time too). I feel almost compelled to try and capture the feeling I get when I am there, to share it with you, to tell you how happy it makes me. But yeah, daily coffee reports are probably a bit unnecessary.

So today I'm showing you my £2 Very Large pumpkin instead of my coffee because it is seasonal and because I am thrilled to a) have the excitement of the upcoming carving fest on Saturday to look forward to and b) chuffed that I remembered to buy a pumpkin a whole five days in advance. That's something to be celebrated, especially after last year when we spent a ridiculous amount of time on the actual day of Halloween driving around various supermarkets and farm shops desperately trying to find one. You'll be pleased to know that I have decided on my design already, but I still need to buy a couple of smaller pumpkins for the effect I have in mind. I don't think trick or treat will be happening this year, but I know we have a few neighbours with young children who still plan on dressing up and going on a pumpkin-spotting trail without knocking on any doors. I'm all for that, and will do my bit.

Speaking of Halloween, I couldn't resist buying some spooky chocolates for my own Little People. I know they are way beyond an age where they get excited when Mummy buys them special seasonal treats, but I don't think you can ever be to old for chocolate.

Today we were back on familiar paths as we took to the woods this afternoon for our usual daily tramp. 

We had a slightly reluctant Little B with us, but he is of an age where he can recognise the benefits of taking some exercise and getting fresh air, especially as it does always feel really good to come back into a warm house afterwards.

It was beautiful in the woods and miraculously stayed dry for us right up to the point where we were about 5 minutes from home and then it absolutely lashed it down. So yeah, we got wet, but it made coming back into the house feel even sweeter.

After changing out of my wet clothes I decided to light the fire a bit earlier than usual.

I made myself a milky coffee and settled on a floor cushion right in front of the fire to soak up the warmth. Nothing beats the comfort of an open fire, I absolutely love love love it. It helps me cope with this long stretch of low-light months and I wouldn't be without it.

I sat there looking at the flames and thought about my yarny projects and pondered grafting the toes on J's socks or tackling the Naughty Granny bag, but I wasn't really in the mood. I am finding it ridiculously hard to concentrate at the moment, my brain feels like a big floofy thing with holes in it, incapable of any kind of decision making or anything that requires me to pay attention for longer than a few minutes. Thoughts and decisions kind of waft away before I can grasp them which makes life quite interesting. I'm looking forward to this crazy hormonal phase passing, I'd quite like to have my old self back again. Any time soon would be good.

So it's been a very average kind of a Monday, and honestly I am more than grateful for this fact. As the days, weeks and months slowly tick by and we are all still in the grips of Covid, I keep saying my quiet thanks for the fact that so far it hasn't troubled me too much. I had/have worries for friends who have been struck down with the virus, and of course like most of us I have been frustrated many times this year by the disruption to planned events and travel. But I am well and healthy and even during weeks like this past one when my sleep has gone haywire and I have felt bone tired, my wellness and health remains good. Like I say, I am grateful.

I hope you've had a tip-top day, and that your head isn't full of airy floof like mine! If you've had yarn in your hands, do tell me what you're working on, I'd love to know xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

 

Blogtober 2020 :: Day 25

It feels like a while since we took a family walk in the countryside as usually J and I take advantage of our childfree time during the week and head out to walk just the two of us. We had been prepared to walk in rain today as the weather forecast was a bit grim, but it actually turned out pretty good. So after a lazy start to the day (with an extra hour to play with after the clocks changed last night) we eventually rounded up the two youngest kidlets and drove out into the Yorkshire Dales to appreciate the weather and the seasonal colours.

We parked the car at Linton Falls so that we could follow the footpath all along the river. The falls were spectacular today, with very high and rapid water and an immense amount of noise. I love it when it's like that, it really does take your breath away. I thought you might appreciate seeing a little more of this location, I found a short video on YouTube which gives you an idea of what it's like in Autumn/Winter - click HERE to watch (and listen).

Our usual thing when we do this walk is to head for the Old School Tearoom in Hebden for a half-way refreshment stop. It takes maybe an hour to walk there which means that by the time you arrive you are generally pretty ready for a sit down and a drink. However, the Cappuccino Gods were not looking after me today as the café was incredibly busy both inside and out with not a single seat to spare. There was also a big queue going on for takeout drinks and the whole place was overwhelmed and overcrowded. J took one look, shook his head and made tracks to leave immediately, he doesn't like crowded places and especially not in the midst of a global pandemic. I was disappointed but not a lot to be done other than suck it up and walk back along the pathways to enjoy the scenery.

It was a lovely walk, but my goodness it was really busy out there along the riverside and that kind of took some of the pleasure away. Passing through gates, over stiles, and along some stretches of the path that were narrow felt tricky as there were just so many groups of people. It was still very enjoyable to be out and about though, soaking up the sunshine when it broke through the clouds and breathing in the fresh country air. And do you know what I did when I came home? I made myself a mug of milky coffee and a hot water bottle and tucked myself up in bed for a while, just for the absolute comfort of it. It felt quite decadent to get back into bed in the middle of the afternoon (I even had a little snooze, living my best weekend life).

I do like Sundays, especially ones which are at the start of the school holiday. No alarm for me tomorrow, hooray!!!!

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Blogtober 2020 :: Day 24

I had the best nights sleep last night (finally) and woke up thinking that after a pretty tiring kind of week physically speaking I can feel my energy slowly coming back. I am beyond thankful as I really haven't felt like myself this week and I think it's mostly down to my sleep being so disturbed by my crazy out of whack hormones.

I've also come to recognise that during my forties and now into my fifties I suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder. I can definitely feel the SAD creeping in as our daylight hours shorten, it's the strangest thing to recognise and witness it in my own self, as if I'm looking in from the outside. I find I can cope because my life is generally very happy and low in stress, but close friends tell me they do see a noticeable dip in my mood, energy levels and general wellness between October and March. Time to dig out my daylight lamp, wherever it may be, I have a feeling it might be under my bed so will need to go rooting later. 

Saturday mornings are market mornings, and J and I set out around 9.30 ish usually. I really do appreciate this gentle routine we have going on, it's just so ordinarily lovely and weekendish. In the years when we lived our city life in York we often talked about how much we would like to live in a small market town one day. We fantasised about walking to the market for fresh produce, visiting little independent shops and stopping for coffee in a small cosy café. And here we are, living the life we once dreamed of, and how very beautiful is that thought?! I feel so lucky, really I do, and trust me when I say that I do not take it for granted. 

Up this little cobbled street we go.....

....and half an hour later here I am walking back down the same cobbled street laden down with fresh produce and looking very pleased with myself. The monstrous green leaves you can see poking out of my bag belong to the biggest bunch of celery you ever did see. It's absolutely ginormous and I couldn't resist it's leafy charms and impressive size. Today's market haul consisted of apples, pears, plums, grapes, oranges, cherry tomatoes, Yorkshire black tomatoes, cucumber, carrots, sprouts, celery, leeks and a butternut squash. Oh, and a dozen eggs too. I'm planning on making more soups this week - I'm thinking a green "swamp" soup using some of the celery leaves and the leek (along with some other greens and potato), and a roasted butternut squash soup too. 

Following the road as it crosses over the canal, it was raining and I suddenly felt a little weary with my heavy bag of veggies. But in just a few minutes we were heading into our usual Saturday morning café spot.....

......ahhhhhhhhhh, that's better! Just what I needed! We treated ourselves to breakfast today, just a simple plate of eggs on toast but what a treat to sit in the warmth of a cosy café and wait for someone to bring me food. I love cooking and I especially love making myself breakfast but it's still a nice experience having someone else do it for a change. And did I ever tell you how outrageously good this coffee is (?!) I start to look forward to it around Thursday, no joke. 

The weather has been absolutely horrid today. HORriD I tell you. Gusting winds and driving rain, the poor trees are being stripped of their leaves at a fast rate of knots. The little cherry tree in the above photo is in my neighbours garden - you can see how it looked just four days ago (4th photo down on Day 20) and now look at it, it makes me feel a rising sadness for the loss of the leafage and the true onset of the cold season. It's less than nine weeks till Christmas, can you believe this is true? 

Mind you, horrid weather makes it feel all the more cosy inside and I made sure to set myself up for a top notch cosy afternoon with full blanket coverage and kitty warmth. She was on my lap before I had even spread the blanket out properly, having spied me settling down on the sofa and reaching for the hydrangea blanket she came leaping across the furniture to make herself comfy. Fortunately I already had my phone and my knitting to hand (plus a mug of hot coffee which isn't in the photo) so I was all set for a lengthy cosy-sesh.

Forty five minutes later and we were both still in situ, Tilly having spread herself right out making me feel super-warm, sleepy, comfortable and cosy-content. I managed to keep my eyes open and my brain engaged long enough to finish J's second sock (yay!!). Well I mean I finished the knitting but still have the kitchener toe closing business to see to, and I shall do that tomorrow when I'm not nearly so sleepy.

I lit the fire at four o'clock and J and I enjoyed a small glass of prosecco together. I've started buying the mini 200ml bottles as it's just enough for us to have one glass each in these beautiful vintage champagne saucers. These were given to me by my Dad's partner Lady B, she remembers them from her own childhood in Canada and tells me they were gifted to her mother in the 1940's. I absolutely adore them.

Before I go, I just wanted to say thank you so much for the commiserations you shared with me over the granny bag debacle. I was upset and cross yesterday but I woke up this morning with a workable solution of sorts in my head and in the next few days I think I'll be able to free the bag from the naughty corner. It's all good, and a reminder that the design process doesn't always run smoothly, but that's absolutely OK. For this particular project though, it means that the tutorial will be a bit out of kilter as the photos won't quite match the reality. But I'm hopeful that if I explain it as a general How-to, then you'll be able to understand the basics of it enough to give it a go should you wish to.

Right my lovelies, on that positive note I shall love you and leave you for today, thank you so much for reading my ramblings and for your wonderful comments and dialogue here of late. I appreciate you!

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Blogtober 2020 :: Day 23

Ahhhhhhhh, Friiiiiiidaaaaaayyyyy, how happy I am to see you!!!!! Is it just me or has this week felt supremely long? It's the last day before our half term holiday week and I'm pretty certain we are all very ready for some down time next week, an ease up on routine and some serious slobbing time. Pyjamas on until lunch time, nothing planned at all except for extensive relaxation. Bring it on, I am so ready to switch my morning alarm off and allow my body to go with it's natural flow. However, I am secretly hoping for one great-weather day where I will try my hardest to press-gang the fam into a "spontaneous" trip to the seaside, and I won't be doing that in my pyjamas. I am keeping all crossed, I really do need a sea fix quite badly.

I spent this morning having a laugh with good friends, four of us plus an iPad with one of our other fab friends joining us via zoom. It was such a tonic, a real happy few hours where I drank lovely coffee and finished knitting the second foot of J's socks.

When I came home I sat quietly and finished hand stitching the lining into my bag and it looks so neat I have to say.

However...........I'm afraid to tell you that there is some very, very bad news to deliver. Sigh. I almost don't want to tell you the story because I am that mad at myself and the bag is currently sitting slumped in the naughty corner.

You have to keep in mind that it's around 18 months since I was last working on this bag, and honestly last year was really not a good year for me. I was in a peri-menopause induced brain fog for so much of it, and really I am hard pushed to remember an awful lot about 2019.

I shall try and give you the brief run down.....

In the above photo, you can see two things. At the bottom is the 4 x 4 square bag that I have spent the past week constructing and lining and photographing for a tutorial. And at the top you can see one of the handles, plus some additional squares and a magical half-square that I found in the bottom of my project bag. Hmmmmm, a half square??? This has really been puzzling me as I confess I don't even remember making the half square. My brain has drawn a complete blank on that, I remember nothing. 

This afternoon when I  started to think about joining the handle to the body of the square bag, I realised with a sinking heart that it wasn't going to work. There is just too much crochet to gather in, and no way is it do-able. I couldn't understand it, because I recall last year I actually physically sampled the gathering and attaching method and it worked a treat, so I assumed I was good to go.

And then it came to me in a flash........the extra squares and the half square....Oh. My. Goodness. Of course!! There is meant to be an extra layer added to the top of the square bag body, two central squares with a half square either side!!! It was like a lightbulb went on and I remembered what I had planned. I am SO CROSS with myself that I didn't think to write this down, to make notes, to even take a single photo to remind me. What was I playing at?!

Anyhow - the upshot is that I now need to crochet a couple more squares and 3 more half squares, unpick my super-neat hand stitches, remove the lining, attach the additional squares to the top of the bag, make the expedition back into the eaves to drag out the sewing machine, cut and sew a new bigger lining, stitch it in place and then.......then I can crochet the gathering in handle attachment bit. I feel a bit defeated by it all at the moment.

There is one bit of good news.....I've just gone to look in my Word doc files to see if there is any remote chance that I might have thought to write up the pattern for the half-square. I was very, very doubtful as I have no recollection of doing it. But what do you know???? It's there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I almost burst into tears when I found it - high emotion indeed!!!!!!

So. I think I shall leave the bag in the naughty corner for the time being, until I feel ready to tackle the adjustments.

In the meantime, I am very close to finishing J's sock, yay, at least that's going OK! I finished one foot this afternoon and will work on the other tomorrow, then it's just the toes to graft. I know he's really looking forward to getting them on his feet.

When we went to collect Little B from school he was in very high spirits as we were finally making the trip to the new chocolate café. I love that we can easily walk wherever we need to go in this little town and within fifteen minutes of leaving the school gates we were seated inside a very busy café.

Oh my. It did not disappoint. Little B went for the signature hot chocolate which came with all sorts of additional extras as standard. As well as the drink itself (which was pretty amazing) there was gourmet popcorn, chocolate buttons, a chocolate cigarello, a chocolate flake and a small slab of double chocolate brownie. Wowsers, it was a very impressive chocolate feast and his little face was a picture when it arrived to the table. He demolished the lot, declared himself absolutely stuffed and said it was the best hot chocolate he'd ever had. Well worth the wait apparently.

We walked home in the late afternoon sunshine feeling glad for the upcoming break from school and the prospect of nine free days stretching ahead. I am thankful, truly.

It's been a day of ups and downs, but despite the bag fiasco I think the ups have out weighed the downs.

Right now it's 6pm and J has cooked dinner tonight (such a treat for me), the fire is lit and I have a mini bottle of prosecco waiting in the fridge. Not a bad way to end the day if you ask me. 

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Blogtober 2020 :: Day 22

Well today hasn't quite been the productive go-go-go hive of creative activity that I thought it was going to be, but the slowness has suited me very well to be honest. After the school run I went to have coffee with a friend which was really enjoyable. I appreciate my modest social life very much, and meeting up each week with different friends is just the nicest thing. I missed this part of my life very much during our lockdown months and am making the very most of it right now while it's still possible to go to a café with a few others.

I had a late breakfast when I got back home, then faffed around seeing to the laundry, catching up with emails, and generally just excelling at procrastinating. Even though I am so excited about finishing my bag, I couldn't seem to settle down and get on with it this morning. Oh, I've just remembered that I did go for a woodland walk with J very late on in the morning, but I decided (for once) not to take any photos and just appreciate being in the moment. 

I made carrot and coriander soup for lunch today, and it was absolutely delish. By the way I forgot to thank you for your wonderful soupy suggestions on my Day 10 post - Thank You! I made a little list of the ones you mentioned in the comments and am excited to extend my basic soup repertoire. Here they are, in no particular order.....

Swamp soup - love this! (it's leek, potato and spinach)

Red lentil and bacon

Curried butternut squash

Roasted butternut squash

Chicken leftovers with root veggies and a little milk

Potato and corn chowder

Green soup (watercress, spinach and kale, green pepper, stock and a bit of potato)

Broccoli and stilton

It was especially nice today because Little Lady now comes home from school for lunch and the timing was just right for her to have a hot bowl of fresh soup with some buttered toast. She is more than willing to rustle up her own lunch, but the mother in me still jumps at the chance to provide nourishing food whenever possible. I just can't help myself.

I've got some of the biggest, juiciest oranges in the fruit bowl at the moment, they really are magnificent. The above plate is just half of one (I ate the first half before thinking about taking a photo), and I ate it while browsing through the October issue of Country Homes and Interiors. It's very autumnal and a bit brown inside those pages I can tell you, but dahlias and pumpkins are always good for a hit of seasonal colour.

After lunch I set about catching up with the October #yarnfriendsrock challenge, only a day late. I don't know what it is about Wednesday but I can never seem to hold that day in my head properly. I either think it's Wednesday on a Tuesday or a Thursday! The prompt for this week was " Granny Squares" and although I have lots of archive images involving granny squares I thought it would be fun to take a new photo. I moved furniture, gave the floor a quick whizz over with the vacuum cleaner and set about having a play with my blankets. I do have a good few granny square blankets, shall I list them out for you? Ok, well in the above photo, starting from the back....

1. Patchwork Granny - this was a stash bust project using up lots of odds and ends of yarn.
2. Colourwash Granny - 44 shades arranged in a rainbow-ish wash of colour.
3. Summer Harmony - this uses my Harmony Square pattern worked with my Original 17-colour yarn pack.
4. Aria - my current crush, I love it SO SO MUCH.

And not pictured but still in residence we have....

1. Sweet Flower Granny - a stash bust blanket made for our old carava.n
2. Harmony - a rectangular blanket which uses 14 colours for the squares, all edged in Parma Violet.
3. Baby Granny - cashmerino blanket made when Little B was born.
4. Big Blanket - huge monster double bed blanket.

After all the blanket excitement I did eventually settle down with needle and thread and began making weeny stitches to attach the lining into my granny bag. Very gentle, therapeutic work, slow and steady.

I got about half way round before I felt the need for a refreshment break, then half way through my milky coffee I realised that crikey it's only ten minutes until I need to shoot out for the school run. It's been that kind of day, the hours have wafted by and I feel like I didn't really achieve a huge amount. 

I needed to use up these tomatoes which we bought from the market on Saturday, aren't they strange? The veggie man calls them "Yorkshire Blacks", they are a variety of heirloom tomato which is very juicy and has a great flavour. I'm rather thrilled that my basil plant is not only surviving but thriving on the kitchen windowsill, and I've remembered to water it twice, which is something of a miracle. 

I sliced up the tomatoes, drizzled them with a little olive oil, seasoned them, then ripped up some basil leaves to add that unmistakable summery flavour. They really were delicious. Tonight's meal was a bit thrown together, we had the tomatoes with some other salad things and some falafels (not homemade, but very nice). It wasn't really salad weather to be honest, but I enjoyed all the fresh flavours, plus it was a doddle to pull the meal together - the only thing I actually cooked was some garlic bread which meant I had some time to knit.....

I managed a few rows of my sock in the lull between ripping up the basil and putting the garlic bread into the oven. I pulled the wooden coffee table right up in front of the fire and sat with my feet in the hearth, it was oh so cosy, warm and comforting. My hands have been achey today (cold, wet weather I suspect), did I tell you I've started taking turmeric capsules to see if they help ease the discomfort in my joints? I hope they help, I really do. I've got socks to finish, bag handles to attach and a CAL blanket to work on, I need my hands to be tip top. Fingers crossed.

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Blogtober 2020 :: Day 21

Gah, those pesky ends!!!!!!! I woke up just after 4am this morning and I kid you not, the very first thing that I thought of was those bloomin' ends, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle. Of course it was still pitch black at that hour and J was fast asleep beside me so I resisted the temptation to get up and see to them. I eventually managed to fall back to sleep but there was a lot of tossing and turning. Never again.

After dropping Little B at school I called into the shops for a few groceries, stopped off at the coffee shop just at the bottom of my street to buy a latté-to-go (such a treat to be able to do this) before coming home. I didn't even have one single coffee slurp before running upstairs and unpinning my freshly blocked squares, I absolutely could not wait a moment longer.....oh, the joy! Such a wonderful thing, they really are transformed after their steam spa treatment and overnight rest.

I then had the job of darning in the pesky wigglers, it was a little bit tedious but I was sipping my delicious coffee as I worked my way around and soon enough they were all done.....

.....hooray!!!!! Done and dusted, goodbye for ever!

I ironed out my lining fabric (gorgeous Tilda fabric from the Lazy Days range, purchased from here) and realised that I have bought far too much, probably three times as much as I needed. At the time I ordered it I couldn't really work out the dimensions of the bag as the squares were still sat in piles, but no matter, I'm sure I'll be able to use it.

I'll be writing up all the details for constructing the Granny Bag but just to give you a rough idea, the squares measure around 35cm x 70cm once they are all joined and blocked (they will be folded in half to make a 35cm square bag). So that gives you an idea of how much fabric you would need if you wanted to do something similar. 

I managed to create the side seams of the bag during the morning before it was time to head out for some fresh air and a stretch of the legs with J. 

It wasn't very nice weather today, a little spitty rain and lots of murky grey gloom, but the woodland still looked beautiful.

Back home again, and straight back to the job at hand. I won't bore you at this point with photos of me making the lining (although they will be included in the "how-to" tutorial). I have to tell you, I had some "help" from Tilly who TWICE managed to sneak onto the table where my fabric was laid out and remove the pins. Yup, you read that right, she actually took the pins out of the fabric and threw them on the floor. With her teeth. Yes indeed!!! Have you ever heard of a cat who needs to be so utterly involved in human life? She is quite cray-cray.

I had a major job getting to my sewing machine which lives in the cavernous under-eaves cupboards in the Attic along with a whole mountain of other stuff. At one point I almost abandoned the idea of mechanical stitches in favour of some good ol' fashioned hand sewing because the task of actually getting to the sewing machine seemed unsurmountable. But I eventually managed - it probably took me a good half an hour to unearth the machine, carry it downstairs, find some thread and get it all set up, and about five minutes to actually stitch two simple side seams. 

But hinderances aside, as you can see from the above photo, the lining is in the bag, yippeeee!! It's only pinned in place for now as I ran out of time/daylight/camera battery to get any further, but it worked out really well and I'm excited to continue my journey tomorrow.

I spotted the above spectacle on the way home from school this afternoon and asked J to capture it on his phone as I didn't have my camera with me. There is a glorious cherry tree growing at the side of the tow path here, shedding it's leaves straight into the water and I thought it looked absolutely magical. 

I also noticed how well my cyclamen are doing on my front step, I think the way that the new flowers look all twisted before they open and perk upwards is beautiful. Ahh.....nature is just so inspiring, every single day I find something that literally stops me in my tracks in wonder.

And so that's about it for today, I am really enjoying this bag project and being able to share the daily progress with you is such a treat. Tomorrow I will be :

• Stitching the lining in place (weeny little hand stitches).
• Crocheting wide bands along the two top edges - these will effectively draw the top of the bag into gathers and allow me to attach the circular handles. It's a bit abstract at the moment, but I can see it inside my Creative Mind, which is good enough for now.
• Decorative embellishments (oh, this is ME, of course there will be decorative embellishments!)
• Attaching the handles (if I have time, I might need to roll this over to Friday.

I can see we are rapidly heading for a grand Ta-dah moment and I am SO ExCiTeD for it!!!!!! Lets hope I sleep well tonight because I need all the bag making energies for tomorrow.

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Blogtober 2020 :: Day 20

Firstly, thank you all so much for your kindness after yesterday's post, I felt very much better just for reading your words. I think we can all relate to those days when the internal battery feels flat and yes I agree that it's good to acknowledge life's natural rhythms. There are bound to be downs as well as ups and both should be celebrated as they represent life in all it's richness. 

This morning I still felt incredibly tired, but my overall mood felt lighter which I was very glad of. The weather was extremely bleugh this morning, we had a lot of rain in the night and during our walk to school the clouds were still very low and heavy and a dark moody grey. It was very uninspiring out there this morning I have to say. I ended up coming straight home and just sitting for a while in the comfort of the Big Chair where I was soon joined by Tilly (hee-hee, I got there first!) I stayed as long as I could manage with her snuggled on my lap but eventually I had to make a mad dash to the bathroom, you know how it is when you hold it in for aaaaages and then all of a sudden you HAVE to go??!! Yeah, that. Sorry Tilly, I evicted you at great speed and I apologise for the dreadful indignity of it.

I made porridge for my mid morning breakfast, the theme of the morning obviously being Comfort with a capital C. It was really good stuff - I cook my oats with milk and a few chopped prunes (the plump sort that come soaked in juice) as they give a lovely hit of natural sweetness. I add fresh fruit to the top once the oats have cooked, usually half a sliced banana and whatever berries I have in the fridge. Yummmmmm, its a wonderfully comforting meal this one.

After breakfast I decided to get busy with my Granny bag WiP. This project is just begging to be completed, and well, I really want to be able to actually use the bag so I feel highly motivated to take it over the finishing line. I spent quite some time arranging the squares and deciding on the best layout, faffing with the colour placement and taking photos. It was fun! I love the thrill of immersing myself in a colourful crochet project, it certainly helps massively in the mood-lifting department. 

I had to down squares at eleven o'clock as J announced that it was time for our daily walk. Oh, OK then, I can come back to the squares afterwards, lets go.....!

Joy of joys, when I stepped out the front door the weather had completely altered and there were no more heavy grey clouds. They had all been blown away leaving a bright blue sky up above - happy, happy, happy me!

The first part of our walk is quite a steep climb, it's all residential streets but they are very hilly. Usually I can walk up here at quite a clip as I've been working hard on improving my fitness levels this year. However today was a much slower affair, I am definitely not quite at full throttle this week.

With the sun streaming through the trees, the woodland was looking mighty fine this morning.

J spotted this intriguing looking mushroom at the side of the path, it's not one that I've ever seen before I don't think. I figured it would be quite easy to identify so I've just googled "UK tall shaggy mushroom" and found it straight away. It's appropriately named a "Shaggy Inkcap" or sometimes known as a "Lawyers Wig", how cool is that? And furthermore, it's edible!! Would you eat it do you think? Chopped up and gently sautéed in a little butter and garlic? I don't know if I would be brave enough.

I found a beautiful big leaf too, it was so pristine as if it had only just fallen from the tree. 

I wonder how many photographs of the woods I've taken since the start of Lockdown? Hundreds probably. This place has come to mean so much to me, a sanctuary even on the toughest of days.

By this point in the walk I was ready to be home though, itching to get back to my granny squares. I felt like I could actually hear them calling to me, well not really, but I did feel kind of desperate to see them again. I'd left them all laid out ready and waiting for my return......

....awwwwwwwww, I'm back again sweet squares, and you are looking so very, very PRETTY!!!!!!!

I decided on a 4 x 4 square layout for the bag sides, so in the photo above I've got the front and back all laid out and they'll be joined into one flat piece. I'll then fold the piece in half and create a seam along the two sides. Well that's the rough plan - I am winging this project from this point forward, making design decisions on the fly as I go. I really hope it's all going to work as well as I am imagining it in my head.

I've chosen Duck Egg as the joining and edging colour, it's one of my favourite shades and I think it'll work well with the lining fabric too.

I'm joining my squares using the crochet slip-stitch method - this is a tutorial that already exists on my blog, but I've photographed the whole process of joining the squares for this bag so that I can create something of a how-to for you to follow, should you wish to create your own version.

The idea is that you first create all the long seams (three of them in this case). You can see in the above photo that I've completed the first two long seams and am just about to start on the last one. 

Once all the long seams are complete, you then swing the whole thing around 90 degrees and crochet across the short seams (seven of them). It's slow work, but I really enjoy it. It's repetitive and rhythmic, just the sort of thing you can sit quietly with and allow your mind to wander for a while as you perform the slip of hook and yarn. 

Soon enough it was 3pm and time to down my hook and pull on boots ready to head out on the school run. It can be irritating to have to stop right in the middle of something (I hate having to stop mid row, absolutely hate it) but that's the nature of the school day and there is not a thing I can do about it.

It's only half an hour round trip though, so not too bad really.....

......and the scenery isn't too shabby to look at either.

After coming home I immediately sat back down to finish off my seams, gosh it was so satisfying to fasten off that final end and have all 32 squares neatly joined together. As you can see in the above photo it all looks a bit uneven, but fear ye not, all is well. As I sit and write this, the squares are pinned out and blocking on a towel just behind me and I absolutely cannot wait to perform the magical unpinning tomorrow once it's all completely dry.

In a show of uncharacteristic impatience I decided to block the crochet without darning in any ends.....very un-Lucy-like behaviour and I can tell you that it is really bothering me. Twenty wiggly ends shouting at me, I probably won't be able to sleep tonight because they will be shouting so loudly. I hope I don't have to get up in the middle of the night to darn them in.

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Blogtober 2020 :: Day 19

I have felt a bit out of of sorts today, nothing drastic, just a low grade weariness of body and mind that I don't often experience on a Monday. I felt a weensy bit irritable to be honest, and that's not like me at all. Maybe it's the hidden pressures of the weekend catching up with me, or maybe it's just the damn hormones, who knows?

After we dropped Little B at school we took a slow walk to the bakers for a loaf of bread, walking along the narrow pathway that runs between the canal and the beck. This is the same pathway (and beck) that eventually winds it's way up into the woodland. The building on the right in the above photo is a row of very old terraced cottages, they are extremely cute with windows that look out directly over the water. Some are permanent homes and a few of them are holiday lets - I actually booked one of them for my Dad and Lady B to come and stay in the Spring but of course it had to be cancelled when Covid arrived. Next year I hope.

Coming home from the shops I felt like I couldn't decide what to do with myself. I didn't particularly want to be indoors but J said he didn't want to go for a walk and fancied a quiet, slow day at home. I didn't have enough concentration or patience to get to work on my Granny Josephine crochet bag, so instead I decided to bake.

I don't bake nearly as much as I used to but every so often I will turn to an old recipe that I know by heart and produce something sweetly edible. It was flapjack today with dried apricots.

This is my recipe from my blog archives of 2008 ::

Fruity flapjacks

Into a heatproof bowl, put the following ::

80g soft brown sugar
100g butter/margarine
60ml Golden syrup

Into the microwave for a minute or two until the butter and sugar are melty. Stir well.

Add 200g porridge oats and 80g dried fruit (snipped apricots, sultanas or cranberries are my usual choices)

Press into a lined tin (make the flapjack around 2cm deep) and bake for 20mins at 180C.

Press down the mixture to firm and cut into flapjacky size squares.

Leave to cool in the tin before hoiking them out. Consume with a steaming hot brew/glass of milk, depending on age. Indoors or outdoors, preferably not in rain. 

On the spur of the moment we did venture out in the early afternoon, driving a few miles out of town for a short amble across the moor tops. This is one of J's favourite places, it's quite a bleak place in many ways but there is such a peaceful atmosphere up here and it's remarkably good at "blowing the cobwebs away".

We heard the unmistakable sounds of red grouse doing their thing as we walked along the track. They're such comical birds to listen to and I found a short clip ((HERE)) if you wish to familiarise yourself with grouse language.

You can see one in the photo above as it ran across the track in front of us.

We didn't have enough time to do a full circular route so we simply walked and talked and admired the view until we'd had enough fresh air and scenic therapy, then turned to walk back again. 

I felt a smidge better when we got back to the car, but the feeling of mental fatigue is still with me. Hoping very much that I'll feel more like my normal self tomorrow.

I guess that if I wasn't committed to Blogtober, then today would be a definite no-show for me in Blogland as I find it very hard to write when my energies are low. But I do think it's good to be honest and let you know that I don't feel full of beans all the time, I have my off days, of course I do. My instincts are usually to retreat until I feel more like myself again, but as it's Blogtober (which I am really, really enjoying by the way) I am here in the Attic giving you the slightly washed out version of myself today.

Keepin' it real, my friends! ;)

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Blogtober 2020 :: Day 18

Thanks to the fact that we were the first delivery on the list for the humungous white Ikea lorry this morning, I was up and dressed by 7.15am and that doesn't usually happen on a Sunday. Seven Fifteen!! It was a bit of a shock to the system  as I was still completely and utterly sound asleep at 7am, so good job they phoned to a) wake me up and b) announce they were only twenty minutes away. I quite impressed my self at the speed in which I managed to make myself presentable.

It was all good though, because it meant we could get on with our day a little earlier than usual, heading out into the cool grey morning while everything was still sleepy and quiet.

We had Little B with us on our daily walk this morning, which basically meant that I did much of the walk in solitude (he is very much a Daddy's boy at the moment). I didn't mind, really. No really-really I didn't mind at all. It's so sweet to see him and J get along so well, and I was left to trail behind at my own slow pace taking photos as I went.

I notice different things when I am on my own as I generally walk a lot more slowly. I take time to notice the small details as well as the bigger picture around me - nature delights me constantly and I can't imagine living a life where these things go unseen. 

I have to tell you I am really, really, really, really missing the sea at the moment. October is usually a time when I feel an incredibly strong pull to be at the coast and most years I strive to make it happen. We've still got thirteen days of October left, so there is an uber-slim chance that I might be able to see the sea before the month is out, but I'm doubtful.

I stood next to this small waterfall today and appreciated the sound of it filling my ears. I thought to myself - this isn't the sound of the sea, but I mustn't start to be ungrateful wishing for things that I can't have right now.

I ambled along this pathway wondering if J and Little B would think to stop and wait for me to catch up at any point. You can see I was so far behind that they are nowhere to be seen up ahead....

....but I was too busy climbing up muddy banks and photographing my own feet to really mind too much. 

Eventually we caught up with each other and meandered out of the lower gate and along the little access road with it's cute view over to the castle. 

Paused at the top of this hill to take in the town like I always do, saying my silent thanks of gratitude for my home place. There is something very special about this little town, the history, the lively community and the rural down-to-earthness of it. It suits me very well indeed, even if there aren't any waves crashing on the shore here. 

We turned left at the bottom of the hill to head into town instead of going straight home. We had promised Little B a trip to a brand new café in town which specialises in all things chocolatey. The excitement was understandably high. Unfortunately, the exciting new café was unexpectedly closed, oh dear, the disappointment was tangible and Little B was very, very downcast and droopy. He's still at an age where his emotions play out across his little face in vivid openness, and it can be heart breaking to witness.

So we did the only thing we could think of to ease the upset and detoured to our favourite friendly coffee shop where the girls know our order and have it on the go for us before we have chance to even take our coats off. I guess we are "regulars" now then, how lovely is that? Cappuccinos for J and I.....

....and a hot chocolate for Little B. Not a bad second best, and it certainly put a small smile back on his face.

To put it into context, yesterday morning Little B sat the 11+ entrance exam for the grammar school, so it was a Very Big Day for all of us. Quite stressful really to be perfectly honest, even though he was quietly confident and unrattled by the whole procedure. When it was all over we took him to the new chocolate café afterwards for a very well deserved treat, but it was incredibly busy and we couldn't get a seat. So we promised to come back first thing this morning as soon as it opened, hence the ensuing anticipation and huge disappointment when it didn't happen for a second time. Shame eh....but we can look forward to it another day, maybe on Friday after school when we finish for half term.

Today was a slow cooker day, oh the joy of comforting foodie smells filling the house all afternoon! I bought some stewing steak from the butcher yesterday with this recipe in mind, and it was absolutely wonderful. I cheated a little and used a packet dumpling mix where you just add water to the dry flour mix - there is something about using "hard animal fat" for making dumplings which I just can't get excited over. I hate buying that white lardy stuff, let alone getting my hands into it. I made a big tray of roasted potatoes and parsnips to have with the casserole, and we also had sprouts and tenderstem broccoli. It was such a lovely meal, really comforting and tasty and perfectly suited to Autumn.

Part of my Ikea delivery this morning included four boxes of Jubla candles, the plain white unscented ones that are just right for my candelabra. I've missed not having these as they give off quite a lot of light alongside the glow from the fire, so we don't usually have any lights on downstairs in the evenings. It makes for a very cosy atmosphere.

The rest of the Ikea delivery was for Little Lady to finish off her bedroom that she spent weeks tidying and decorating at the start of lockdown. She did such a good job as her walls, ceiling and all the woodwork were painted pale blue, so it took a lot of work to make the whole lot bright white. She did it all by herself, and I was so proud of how hard she worked to transform her space. We bought her a new dressing table, two new mirrors and a bedside table, plus a desk lamp and a planter so that we could re-pot her very healthy and rapidly growing plant which she takes great care of.  J took on the flat pack business, and I got stuck in with the re-potting business, and she is absolutely delighted with it all. The only thing we need to do now is order some new carpet (replacing the dark blue one with a mid grey/neutral). Yeah - her colour scheme is white and pale grey, that's how sophisticated Teenagers are these days, it's all very tasteful and photogenic. I certainly wasn't like that at age 16, I was still all about the rainbows at that age, no real surprises there I guess.

And that about brings us to the end of Sunday, it's been a lovely gentle day full of nothing much, but I have felt contented and grateful for the low key nature of the day after the intensity of yesterday. 

I hope your Sunday has been perfectly weekendish, do tell me a little about your day, I'd love to hear x

 

 

 

Blogtober 2020 :: Day 17

The above photo was taken back in the spring around Easter time (hence the hot cross bun) and I was on the final stretch of stitching this lovely cross stitch. 

I really love cross stitch designs, I think they are such a beautiful combination of simplicity and complexity and I've found that I am especially suckered in if the design includes flowers. I was sat looking at this particular cross stitch yesterday, admiring the satisfying neatness of all those hundreds of little stitches blending together to make the overall design work.

It was a WiP for quite a long time, almost two whole years in fact. I purchased and downloaded the design from an Etsy shop called "Tiny Modernist"* at the height of my cross stitching frenzy in 2018, and this was the fourth hoop that I stitched.

You can read about the first one ((here)) and the second and third ones ((here))

This design fits really neatly into an 8 inch hoop, which not only makes it a joy to stitch, but also gives an easy option for framing and displaying the finished work.

I like to use a "flexi-hoop" as they come with a little hanger attached at the top instead of the traditional screw that you find at the top of a wooden embroidery hoop. You can find them in all different sizes online, there is an 8 inch one on Amazon ((here)) which is similar to the ones I use.

I actually don't mind the wood grain effect but as I already had some pretty blue spray paint in the cellar (purchased for another project) I decided to have a go at changing the hoop from brown to Mediterranean Blue. It was a bit messy, and I discovered that I am veeeeeery impatient when it comes to waiting for things to dry thoroughly (note to self - tacky is not the same thing as completely dry). But on the whole I'm pleased with how it turned out.

Once I wrestled the cross stitch back into the flexi hoop and was happy with the way it looked, I trimmed the fabric with pinking sheers, then stitched around the edge with a strong length of embroidery floss so that I could pull it tight to gather in the edges. I like this simple way of finishing a cross stitch hoop, it's a bit homespun but I like the idea that the back of the stitching remains visible. I'm quite proud of my stitchy backsides as I do try and keep them neat and don't feel the need to hide them away.

Finally, I painted around the cut edge with a little PVA white craft glue to stop any fraying ends of fabric escaping, and left it all to dry thoroughly. Not  a tacky surface in sight, but thorough dryness you understand. 

Want to see how it turned out?

You know, with the blue frame instead of the brown?

OK...

here

you

go.....

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

It looks pretty good I think?! I added a final little ribbony flourish and it was ready to hang.

A few months ago at the start of the summer holidays, I decided that trying to write on my laptop downstairs was just not working out for me. It's nobody's fault, we were all stuck at home and we only have one single room downstairs (aside from our miniscule kitchen) where family life happens. I found it impossible to concentrate with J and the Little People coming in and out of the room, the cat mithering me for food and the background soundtrack of television invading my thoughts. When J decided to re-watch the whole of The Sopranos from start to finish (oh my goodness, the language! The noise!) I made my mind up to relocate myself ASAP.

I had a little narrow desk down at my studio which wasn't being used, so I fetched it back home, shifted an old heirloom nursing chair out of the corner of the bedroom and made space for a new work area. It's not ideal having a work space in the bedroom, but there isn't really any other place in the house where I could go, so the bedroom it is for now. I still do my creative work downstairs at the dining table or sat on the sofa (or the floor in front of the fire too) but I am really appreciating being able to close myself off from the fam when I need some peace and quiet to write. 

We haven't decorated in here since we moved in thirteen years ago, but as the walls are simply white washed they have been fine for us to live with. However, I would very much like to add some decoration to this space above my desk, maybe a little shelf and some pretty things to hang on the wall there.

I decided a few weeks ago that I'm going to slowly begin collecting some art work especially for my new desk area, and I'm really excited by the whole idea of curating a little space especially for my own enjoyment. This week I received two very lovely parcels in the post, and thought I'd share them with you.

The first parcel contained the above print which is by the very talented artist Brie Harrison. I am a huge fan of Brie's work, and have a few of her postcards dotted about the place. When Brie contacted me and asked if she could send me one of her prints by way of a thank you for a spontaneous shout-out I gave her on social media, I was really touched. I spent a while deliberating over which one to choose (all her giclée prints are just beautiful) and in the end I opted for the one shown above, called "Oaxaca Plant"

I can't tell you how beautiful it is in real life, I've never actually seen a "giclée print" before and oh-my-goodness, the quality is incredible. The finished print is very matt with the most vibrant colours, it honestly looks as if it has been freshly painted. I really love it, so much.

My other parcel contained a rainbow, oh yay for brightly coloured fluffy, frivolous things!

I purchased this from a lovely lady I follow on Instagram, her name is Natalie and she sells her work under the name "Love Indy" *. I saw that she was busy making lots of colourful new stock to re-open her online shop a few weeks ago and I was powerless to resist the lure of the pompoms. This is such a beautifully made decoration and I could tell instantly how much love and care has gone into perfecting the design and making the pompoms absolutely perfect. 

When I laid the above three things out to photograph earlier this afternoon I was immediately struck by how well the colours all go together. Don't they look lovely? I'm calling it a win!

So now I need to decide what kind of shelf I'd like before I begin knocking nails into the wall to hang my pretty things, but I'm excited to make this tiny little corner of the room a lovely spot to call my own. 

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@brieharrison on Instagram ( ♥ thank you Brie for the beautiful gifted print ♥ )

@love.indy_ on Instagram (*pompom rainbow not gifted)

@tinymodernist on Instagram (*cross stitch pattern not gifted)