Attic24

Springfrost Blanket CAL :: Part 5

This week has been a busy one for me, a week of catching up. A mixture of happy social times spent catching up with friends as well as some very time consuming and brain numbing hours spent catching up with my accounts and taxes. It's the usual merry jumble of January and I do quite enjoy the fullness of my days when they run like this. Even when I'm spending hours at my laptop crunching numbers into a spreadsheet, it reminds me how amazingly grateful I am to be making a living out of something I love so much.

One of the friends I had coffee with this week is someone I've not had a chance to catch up with since before the pandemic at the start of 2020 - it's hard to get my head around the fact that this was almost three years ago. Crazy, eh? We were chatting a lot about our shared passion for yarn, designing and creating, and the ups and downs of working from home. She asked about my studio which sadly I don't have any more, and I told her that I mostly work from the dining table, the fireside or the sofa these days. I do miss my studio a lot (you can read more about it in this post), but working from home has some huge benefits too.

I took the above photo for Instagram, a quick snap of the sofa earlier in the week where I had been sat crocheting my Springfrost blanket. I don't know how many of you reading here also use Instagram? I love it for the visuals and the inspiration, and of course the wonderful crochet community on there, but sometimes it can be a bit of a strange platform for sharing photos.

As you've probably guessed by now, I love the idea of sharing images that inspire and look good, but I'm a very in-the-moment person and I much prefer the authentic, un-edited, un-filtered, more spontaneous approach to taking photographs. There is a LOT of "styling" on Instagram, it's creative faffing taken to a whole new level, and honestly I just don't often have the patience for it. So the above photo for example is completely un-styled, and shows my sofa exactly as it was when I got up and plopped my blanket down with the hook still stuck in my uncompleted row. I happened to turn round and thought how lovely it all looked in that moment, and decided to snap the scene with my phone ready to be used a few days later on Instagram. It's far from perfect, but then that's real life for you and I wouldn't have it any other way. 

Seeing a snapshot of my "working from home life" described in a photo honestly makes me so full of gratitude I feel like I could burst wide open with it. When I find myself craving more space, or pining for my old studio, I quickly remind myself how bloomin' lucky I am that I get to be at home with J and the Little People and crochet blankets for a living. Lucky, lucky me.

I had to show you the above photo - this was just moments after I'd snapped my square image for Insta, and the kitty obviously assumed that the blankety sofa was being prepared especially for her. My blankets are like a magnet for her and she can't resist their special brand of cosy. I know many of you share your crochet blankets with your furry friends (or rather, the four legged members of the family insist on inserting themselves whenever crochet is about), so I thought it would be fun to share a few cutesome furry photos this week with you.

♥ Kathy had to stop hooking mid row (don't you just hate it when that happens?!) because her kitty decided that the Springfrost made the perfect bed.

♥ Oh Charlie, just look at your contented face! Helen had obviously laid the blanket out especially for your pleasure!

♥ This sweet kitty is also appreciating the cosiness of a crochet blanket - Kate has chosen a gorgeous palette of "peacock feather colours" and I think it looks amazing.

♥ Christine also has a kitty who has stopped her hooky time mid-row...I mean, how could you possibly think that this blanket could be moved? The cat's in charge!

♥ Sheelagh's kitty made me smile, I mean, how perfect is that crochet-lined basket for a quick little cat-nap?!

♥ Nicola, oh my goodness, this photo made me hoot with laughter, so funny!! There's no way you could ignore that cheeky face, is there?

It's not just the cats that appreciate a fine crochet blanket, there are plenty of dogs who intervene when it's hooky time......

♥ Lynsay's dog doesn't seem to mind that the blanket is all wrapped up, it makes the perfect pillow, thank you!

♥ Oh, just look at those puppy-dog eyes! Sue's gorgeous blanket is already well loved by the looks of it.

♥ Denise's Springfrost is also getting a lot of love and you can just see the crochet blanket appreciation in that sweet face.

♥ Clare is generously sharing her Springfrost with the gorgeous Luther, what a photogenic pair they are!

♥ And lastly, I know this is Fireside rather than Springfrost, but I really had to share it with you. Lynette's kitty is an absolute beauty and a natural in front of the camera - I mean, the blanket looks stunning but the kitty really steals the show hands down. I love it!

Thank you again for taking time to share your blanket journey with us all on social media, the Facebook groups are buzzing with happy Springfrost vibes and the #springfrostcal hashtag on Instagram is a true feast for the eyes. The Attic24 online community is something very special, so thank you for being a part of it xx

Is it just me, or do you also think that the weeks are flying by? January is behind us now and we're at week 5 of the CAL already......I just can't get my head around it! They do say time flies when you're having fun, so lets just put it down to that - lots of blankety fun.

Week five of the Springfrost CAL will bring your blanket pretty close to completion as we'll be crocheting another 18 stripes this week. 

I hope that you're still enjoying the soothing rhythm of crocheting this lovely stitch? I'm love love loving it and think it's one of the most relaxing patterns I've ever worked on. I had some lovely friends visiting me last weekend who you might know - a well known sock designer and a talented crochet author - so we spent a lot of time chatting and yarning together. It's one of the things I adore about making striped blankets with a simple pattern repeat, it makes for the perfect social project. My Springfrost rows happily grew all day in the café and then later with a glass or two of vino in the bar, and then into the next day over morning coffee.

Mostly when I'm working on a blanket, it stays folded up in my yarn bag or else it's strewn across the furniture with a child under it or a kitty snuggled into it. So when I need to take my weekly photographs for these CAL blog posts, it always takes me a little bit by surprise to see it all laid out neat and flat. It's not often my blankets ever get to be horizontal and smoothed out in real life as they are very, very well used household items that are more often folded, piled or in some sort of nest-shape. 

I do admit I get a genuine thrill each and every week when I stand above my blanket all laid out on the floor and get to see it in it's entirety - it makes me SO HAPPY!!!!!!

So the above image is after week 5 has been completed, which is 87 stripes in total. I would say that this is a good length for a blanket (it's measuring around 160cm long at this point), and the proportions look good too. I shall leave it up to you, but if you wish to stop after part 5 and wait for the border instructions then you absolutely can do that.

I'll be adding the final set of stripes next week in part 6, but it won't be the full 18....I'll explain more in a bit.

Aww Tilly....I love how much you love my blankets!!

Right, lets get the next set of stripes under way........

Here is the colour info for Part 5 of the Springfrost Blanket. Click on the following link for the printable worksheet...

🌸 PART 5 COLOUR WORKSHEET

Remember that this list of colours refers to the stripes, so crochet two rows of each colour.

70. Baby Blue

71. Mushroom

72. Duck Egg

73. Blue Marl

74. Cloud Blue

75. Meadow

76. Parma Violet

77. Lincoln

78. Pale Rose

79. Duck Egg

80. A Hint of Silver

81. Baby Blue

82. Spearmint

83. White

84. Meadow

85. Mushroom

86. Powder pink

87. Wisteria

NOTE : If you are making a larger double/king blanket with two yarn packs, there will be an extra set of stripes given in part 6 for you to add on if you wish.

🌸 PART 5 COLOUR WORKSHEET

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT YARN QUANTITIES

As you start to work through part 5 of your blanket, it's a good idea to take stock of where you're at in terms of the size of your blanket and the yarn that you're using. Hopefully most of you took my advice and made a tension sample before you began, so your measurements shouldn't be too wildly different from mine.

I use digital scales to check how my yarn is being used as I work through my blanket - ordinary digital kitchen scales work just fine for this as you only need a general measurement in grams. I can also highly recommend these pocket scales too - they are small enough to tuck in your yarn bag and work a treat for weighing yarn. You can find the ones I have on Amazon ((here)).

Each stripe should be using approximately 12g of yarn.

As you work through part five, most of the colours will have been crocheted into six stripes in total - this means you should have used around 75g of yarn, and have 25g left.

When we work the border, we will need approximately 20g of each border colour.

Please, please use your own judgement with your yarn quantities - spread your blanket out, measure the length of it and decide how long you're happy with. Keep in mind that this is a squishy, stretchy crochet pattern, and your blanket will stretch slightly with use. Weigh your yarn balls, and please do feel free to stop working your stripes if your blanket is long enough, or your yarn is running low! I really want you to have enough yarn to work a cute border to finish off your stripes.

I hope you have a lovely week and find pockets of time to really unwind and enjoy some top notch crochet therapy.

x

♥ SPRINGFROST BLANKET INTRODUCTION

♥ SPRINGFROST YARN PACK 

♥ SPRINGFROST STRIPE TUTORIAL

♥ SPRINGFROST PDF PATTERN

♥ CAL PART 1 : stripes 1-15

♥ CAL PART 2 : stripes 16-33

♥ CAL PART 3 : stripes 34-51

♥ CAL PART 4 : stripes 52-69

 

 

 

Springfrost Blanket CAL :: Part 4

Isn't it a lovely thing when we can gaze at a simple collection of colours and conjure up another time and place? I've been doing exactly that this past week - using these soft, Springfrost colours to remind myself that we are slowly edging through winter towards a lighter, brighter time of the year. This pretty yarn palette has really has helped lift my spirits, both the colour therapy and the repetitive, soothing rhythm of working those squishy rows to calm my mind.

Last week I journeyed down to Dorset, and as it's a pretty full-on day of travel involving three different trains across seven hours, I always like to have something yarny to pass the time. For this journey I knew without a doubt that I needed to make space in my bag for my rapidly growing Springfrost - it's not an especially portable project, but oh, it's so worth it! As I jigged my way through the southern counties watching the sun slowly sink in the sky, my hands busy creating some slow, spring-coloured stripes, well.....it was a little bit of heaven right there. 

My time in Dorset was such a melting pot of mixed feelings and I'm still attempting to sort through them and recover some equilibrium. As I was there primarily to take care of my Dad, I didn't have much of a chance to get out and about like I normally would. The days were extremely cold but clear and bright with lots of winter-frost covering the landscape. I snapped the above photo walking past the local florist in town one morning, as the flowering pots stacked up outside really caught my eye. The flowers looked so pretty and instantly reminded me of my blanket - cool silvery-white hellebores and the cutest little pots of pale purple and white pansies too. 

I wasn't online much during the week I was away and so I feel  little bit disconnected from you all out there. How are you doing? Are you enjoying the Springfrost colours? Are you taking it gently this month and allowing some drift to happen?

Since I came home a couple days ago, I have managed to do a quick spin through the various social media groups and CAL hashtags and have been utterly delighted with the images you've been sharing - thank you SO MUCH! I feel ridiculously InSpiReD every time I see where my colours are taking you, it really is the most fabulous thing. I don't have much of a theme to my sharing this week, but I hope you enjoy this collection of inspirational Springfrost works-in-progress.....

♥ I shared some of these beautiful squares made by Nikii (@nikiiloops) in week two of the CAL and thought you'd appreciate an update. They really are stunning and the more I see of them, the more I love them. They are made using the tapestry crochet technique and the pattern by Tinna Thórudóttir Thorvaldsdóttir can be found on Ravelry:

(https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/saga-6).

♥ Marion is making hexagons and she's included some darker shades in with my Springfrost palette. I love how she's kept all the centres white so they look like snowflakes - so pretty.

♥ Rain shared this photo on Facebook of her Springtide blanket in progress, and I'm loving how these soft colours are working up with the original Yuletide square pattern.

♥ BK is using the Springfrost yarn pack to make this very striking Clamshell stitch blanket. The pattern is by Sandra Paul and is free on her Cherry Heart blog >>

https://www.cherryheartcrochet.co.uk/2019/07/clamshell-stitch-tutorial.html

♥ Laura (@goslingandplumb) is also using one of Sandra's patterns with her Springfrost colours - this is the start of a Battenberg blanket using white as the main shade, isn't it pretty? You can find this pattern on Sandra's blog too >>

https://www.cherryheart.co.uk/2018/12/battenberg-blanket.html

♥ Kaz (@kaz_at_frockasaurus) - has done it again! Most of you will probably be familiar with Kaz Hall and her collection of Harmony blankets, especially if you are part of the Hooked on Attic24 facebook group. The blanket above is a lovely alternative Springfrost baby blanket, made using the first four rounds of the original Harmony Granny Square and the join as you go method.

If you are a member of the Hooked on Attic24 Facebook group , Kaz has very generously written up a free PDF chart to help you make this baby blanket and you can find it in the group files.

♥ Kay also made a baby Springfrost blanket and designed her own lovely border for it too. But I think you'll agree that the super-cute Springfrost bunny really steals the show!

♥ Jo, WOW, this really caught my eye on Instagram and I am now impatiently waiting to see those stitches grow. As well as crocheting some solid Springfrost squares for a blanket, Jo is STITCHING her Springfrost yarn onto canvas to make a cushion - amazing or what?! This stitching technique is called Bargello Needlepoint and is traditionally made using tapestry wool on canvas, but what a fantastic idea to use up leftovers of yarn instead.

♥ Lynn (@silverypaws) always has something creative and beautiful on the go, and her Springfrost project is an absolute stunner. She's making a cushion cover using a beautiful design by Jen Tyler (The Floral Hook on Ravelry), and I absolutely adore it. I think this circular design will now very cleverly be turned into a square. You can find the pattern on Ravelry if you feel inspired to create your own, it's called the Moonflower cushion block >>

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/moonflower-11

♥ Nini (@nini.pippilotta) is a huge fan of my Aria blanket design and if you follow her on Instagram you will probably have seen her amazing collection. Let me share with you her Springfrost Aria.....I think in the above photo there is still one more round of squares to be added around the outer edge, but you can already see the radiating Aria colour effect. Nini is using an alternative square pattern (the Fat Flower Granny Square by the very talented David Abel). Similar to Kaz, David is an integral part of the Hooked on Attic24 Facebook group and has shared his square as a free pattern which you can find in the group files (files are displayed in date order, you'll find this one in January 2021)

I have to tell you that at first I was confused by the warm yellow centre of this blanket as I deliberately kept my Springfrost colour palette on the cool side. Nini said she used yellow to represent the Winter Aconite flower which she sees at this time of year in Germany where she lives....

....and when I saw her inspiration collage above, it all made perfect sense. Beautiful!

I hope you enjoyed seeing the creativity and design ideas shared in the Attic24 online community, it makes me so deep-down happy to see you sharing and inspiring as we enjoy crocheting along together, so thank you xxx

Here we are then, more than half way through the Springfrost CAL, and part four this week will add another 18 stripes to your growing blanket. I'm working just one week ahead of you all, so I was busy hooking up part four last week when I was down in Dorset. It was a very welcome way to pass the time, those soothing stitches giving me some much needed comfort at times. 

These soft colours continue to bring some gentle calm into my days and I am very grateful for that I have to say. Calm is good!

Cosy is good too, especially as we've been gripped in a freeeeeezing spell of winter frost and ice this week. I've appreciated having a blanket on my lap very much - it was pretty shivery-cold down in Dorset and there wasn't a mammoth pile of crochet blankets to reach for like I'm used to here at home. How do people manage without crochet blankets??!

Part 4 of Springfrost......ta-dah! I apologise for the weird lighting which makes the bottom half the blanket look a little on the yellow side - I was limited with space at my Dad's house and didn't have good light to work with. In the end, I decided to brave the freeze and take my Springfrost out into the garden.....

....ahh, that's better! This gives you a much better look at the colours in bright natural daylight, but please do me a favour and pretend you can't see the rough fence backdrop? 

At the end of part four, you'll have 69 stripes and your blanket should be looking and behaving in a very pleasing blankety manner. Oh, I do so love growing a blanket, don't you?! It's just so bloomin' satisfying!

Yummy. These Springfrost colours are veeeeery yummy.

Here is the colour info for Part 4 of the Springfrost Blanket. Click on the following link for the printable worksheet...

🌸 PART 4 COLOUR WORKSHEET

Remember that this list of colours refers to the stripes, so crochet two rows of each colour.

52. Spearmint 

53. White

54. Pale Rose

55. Mushroom

56. Blue Marl

57. Powder Pink

58. Duck Egg

59. Meadow

60. Baby Blue

61. Pistachio

62. A Hint of Silver

63. Parma Violet

64. Wisteria

65. Lincoln

66. Powder Pink

67. Pale Rose

68. White

69. Spearmint

NOTE : If you are making a larger double/king blanket with two yarn packs, there will be an extra set of stripes given in part 6 for you to add on if you wish.

🌸 PART 4 COLOUR WORKSHEET

I'm sending you calm and cosy vibes, I hope these yummy stripes bring you some contented moments this week.

x

♥ SPRINGFROST BLANKET INTRODUCTION

♥ SPRINGFROST YARN PACK 

♥ SPRINGFROST STRIPE TUTORIAL

♥ SPRINGFROST PDF PATTERN

♥ CAL PART 1 : stripes 1-15

♥ CAL PART 2 : stripes 16-33

♥ CAL PART 3 : stripes 34-51

 

 

Springfrost Blanket CAL :: Part 3

Hellooo! I'm really happy to be here chatting blankety things with you this morning, and I hope you're all doing OK out there in whatever weather the planet is dishing up to you. It's been a very chilly week here, and I've wondered (not for the first time) how non-hooky folks cope without a pile of crochet blankets to tuck into when the temperature falls? In my house, my blankets are piled on every piece of furniture, so if you're sitting or sleeping then you'll have a handmade blanket to cosy under. They feel like such an essential part of home life, and with each passing year I appreciate them more and more.

We are also blessed to have an open fire to see us through the cold half of the year, and lighting it is a daily ritual which fills me with a deep sense of gratitude. Lighting up time is usually around 3pm on weekdays as I like to sit down right next to it and enjoy an afternoon cuppa when Little B comes home from school. It's one of my favourite times of day, that lull between 3 and 4 when I often sit and chat to the Little People before I need to start thinking about getting started on making dinner.

My three o'clock sit-down is also the perfect time to have my crochet in my lap so I can add a few rows to my growing blanket while I chat with the fam. It's such a pleasure, a time to unwind and relax while also managing to feel just weeeeny bit smugly productive! Its a great combination - relaxing productivity - and gives me the happy feels right deep down into my soul. I hope that if you're crocheting along with me this season, that you feel the same way, it's such a blessing.

I know that many of you who join in with this crochet along aren't in the northern hemisphere at all, and you're dealing with rising temperatures instead of falling ones. It must be strange for you to try and imagine the sub-zero freeze that we're experiencing here, just as I honestly can't imagine feeling the heat right now?!

We are in the grip of a very cold Winterfrost in the UK, and as pretty as it is, I'm still really looking forward to a little more warmth and colour. I find myself looking for colour everywhere I go, searching out signs of seasonal growth....

....and every so often I'm lucky enough to find it. What a delight! I often walk past these trees on my way home from town, and right now they are bravely flowering with the prettiest, "Powder Pink" winter blossom. It honestly doesn't look real - so delicate and fragile in this harsh weather, but oh, so very beautiful. 

Seeing the blossom made me think again about my Springfrost colours, and how surprising it is that I'm loving such pale, delicate shades.

I'm usually all about the bright colours as you know, and this colour palette really is an unexpected delight I have to say! 

This week I've gathered together some really lovely photos for you from my travels through the online Attic community, and I'm sure they'll spark some inspiration. They feature Springfrost blankets which use alternative colour palettes - you know I'm always in support of you using my patterns and joining in with the CAL with whatever colours make you happy. Creativity is to be celebrated, and it's a genuine joy to see you taking my patterns and making them your own.

♥ Becka is using the Fireside yarn pack for her blanket, and as you can see it already has the all important Kitty Stamp of Approval. If the Fireside stripes appeal to you, you can find a suggested colour order on my blog ((here)).

♥ Mary-Joyce has taken her stripes on a coastal journey and is using the Coast yarn pack for her blanket.

♥ Christine decided the Hydrangea yarn pack would work well with this pattern and I agree, it looks wonderful. The spike stitches really help to blend the colours which is especially effective when there are quite strong contrasts.

♥ Jo is taking the Cosy route with her blanket and it looks scrumptious! The Cosy yarn pack is available from Wool Warehouse if you love the look of these colours together.

♥ Rebekah has chosen a Woodland theme for her blanket and has put together a warm, earthy colour palette which works ever so well.

♥ Anja has been hooking along and busting her stash, creating a wonderful blanket with a vintage vibe.

♥ Lisa has chosen a cool palette of blues, greens and purples, adding in some pops of bright pink to bring it to life. It's a gorgeous collection of colours and the blanket is already looking fabulous.

♥ Sandra has also chosen her own cool colours - such beautiful harmony with a real wintry feel to it.

♥ Joke is embracing the random approach using yarn from her stash, and the result is an absolute delight - so joyful, I love it.

♥ Samantha - ahhhhh, this photo made my heart leap!! A gorgeous sweep of rainbow brights, and now I'm ItcHiNg to see the greens swell into the blues...it's going to be LUSH!

♥ Wendy has chosen to use yarn she already had, the majority of it being 4ply. She is holding two strands together to achieve the thickness of DK weight, and the result is absolutely beautiful - those multicoloured strands mixed in with the solid shades make the colours look rich and jewel-like.

x

THANK YOU so, so much for sharing your photos on social media via the Facebook groups and on Instagram (using the hashtag #springfrostcal enables us all to find them on insta). Being able to see your newly fledged blankets is such a hugely enjoyable part of the crochet-along experience for me, it really makes me incredibly happy. Keep taking photos, and keep sharing them, it really is appreciated by so many.

Now lets take a little look at this weeks addition to the Springfrost and see what Part 3 adds to the mix. As you work your way through this middle section of stripes, you'll begin to notice your crochet really turn into something blankety. It starts to drape and fold as you work on it, covering your lap in the most deliciously cosy way as you gently hook more rows.

The more blankety your blanket becomes, the more you may notice it attracting attention from family members. Who can resist a set of soft stripes which promise comfort and warmth??!

In part three, the colours continue to blend and harmonise, and the delicate shades work together so beautifully....

....I particularly swooned over this little bit where part 2 joins with the start of part 3 (stripes 31 - 37), oh, those pretty, pretty colours!! 

By the time you swing into part 3, you should be finding the pattern has embedded itself into your grey matter so that you are free to hook away without too much concentration needed. It's the perfect pattern for relaxation and a spot of yarn therapy, and I hope it's bringing you comfort if you are in need. Also....can we take a moment to appreciate how very cosy these stripes are - oh, they are so hugely squishable, and once you come through part 3 this week then you'll have enough of a blanket to deliver some warmth if you need it too.

↑↑ This is how the Springfrost will look once you've completed part 3. We'll be adding on an additional 18 stripes again this week which will take you to around about the half way mark.

Here is the colour info for Part 3 of the Springfrost Blanket. Click on the following link for the printable worksheet...

🌸 PART 3 COLOUR WORKSHEET

Remember that this list of colours refers to the stripes, so crochet two rows of each colour.

34. A Hint of Silver

35. Pale Rose

36. Pistachio

37. Lincoln

38. White

39. Cloud Blue

40. Meadow

41. Blue Marl

42. Powder Pink

43. Duck Egg

44. Parma Violet

45. Spearmint

46. Wisteria

47. Lincoln

48. A Hint of Silver

49. Cloud Blue

50. Parma Violet

51. Pistachio

NOTE : If you are making a larger double/king blanket with two yarn packs, there will be an extra set of stripes given in part 6 for you to add on if you wish.

🌸 PART 3 COLOUR WORKSHEET

I'm wishing you a wonderfully peaceful and gentle week - remember January is made for a slow pace, and a little bit of hibernation (with your crochet) at this time of year is to be embraced. Enjoy the drift of your days!

x

♥ SPRINGFROST BLANKET INTRODUCTION

♥ SPRINGFROST YARN PACK 

♥ SPRINGFROST STRIPE TUTORIAL

♥ SPRINGFROST PDF PATTERN

♥ CAL PART 1 : stripes 1-15

♥ CAL PART 2 : stripe 16-33

 

 

January Moments

♥ Stopping on top of the moor for a blast of fresh air on our way home from a walk.

♥ Loving the peaceful view out across the valley, and that lonesome, windswept tree.

♥ Making some gentle plans for the year ahead.

♥ Celebrating Little B's thirteenth birthday - we have a TEENager!!!

♥ Carnations and eucalyptus from my festive bouquet still going strong.

♥ Healthy(ish) eating, in amongst a lot of carb-heavy comfort food. Hello, hot buttered toast.

♥ Sunday morning coffee and crochet in bed...bliss.

♥ Afternoons and evenings spent beside the fire with my Springfrost blanket.

♥ Walking with J yesterday morning after a brief snow shower. It was oh-so-cold.

♥ The snow-sprinkled woodland was very wintry and very pretty.

♥ Bench. With snow sprinkles. J made me get all arty with my angles :)

♥ The snow didn't last long because joy of joys, the sun came out - HAPPY ME!!!!

♥ Attempting to take a blue photo for Blue Monday (Instagram stuff) - the kitty assisted.

♥ More blues up above, such a boost for my light-deprived brain and very much appreciated.

♥ Noticing the slowly lengthening days - 4.30pm and still light now. Gosh, it feels good.

.

We're just over half way through January and I've been trying very hard to capture the good moments that catch my eye and lift my spirits in this tricky month. Mostly I've been spending a lot of time at home keeping warm, pottering about the place and feeling just a little bit drifty, if you know what I mean. It's not a bad thing for January I don't think - I do like the slow approach to the start of the year, no real rush to do things and lots of time for gentle drifting and pondering.

We've had a lot of yuck weather so far this month. Huge amounts of rain, oh so many grey, greeeeeyyy wet days resulting in equally huge amounts of mud. But this week there has been a change and we're back to sub-zero temperatures and bright, icy, snowy showers which has felt pretty good actually. And the sun! YAY!! Our daylight hours are increasing and it's very noticeable now at the end of the day especially.

Thanks goodness for my Springfrost blanket and the structure of my crochet-along which keeps me feeling productive and creative and connected during these slow, hibernating kind of weeks. The connection into social media during my CALs is hugely time consuming but it makes me feel so, so good. So much feel-good, and I'm really thankful for it I can tell you.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) I'm heading down to Dorset for a week  - Lady B is going to be away for a while and my Dad really needs round the clock company these days. I'm taking my laptop and will write my Friday CAL post while I'm there, so praying that technology is on my side and I can get connected to the interwebs and make it all happen like magic. 

I hope January is treating you gently and that you are finding time to potter and ponder and take it as slow as you like. Sending my love to you all...thank you so much for calling in to visit and leave me your words in the comments, I love to hear how you are and what you're up to so do send some chatter my way.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

Springfrost Blanket CAL :: Part 2

It's been very grey and dismal here in my part of the world and we've had a huge amount of rainfall during the past week. The little beck is close to overflowing, the fields on the outskirts of town are flooded and footpaths are soggy and muddy. It's the kind of weather I know to expect in winter but still, I can't help myself longing for some bright, sunny cold frosty days instead of the endless shades of dim grey. Yesterday afternoon I happened to look out of the window just as a huge arc of a rainbow was gently fading away above the rooftops, and it really made me smile in that moment. A tiny little glimmer of colour in a day that was wild and stormy from start to finish.

Back in December at the start of the winter season, we had a week or two of very cold weather where the temperatures fell well below zero and pretty much everything that stood still for long enough was covered in a delicate layer of ice. Even on those days when we walked through a freezing murky fog, it was enchanting to see how the trees and hedgerows were transformed into beautiful white icy sculptures. 

I know that signs of Spring will slowly, slowly creep in as the weeks unfold now, and I'm looking forward to going in search of it....I guess it won't be too much longer before the first snowdrops appear and I'm all for it. 

I've spent a lot of time on social media this past week and  from all the photos I've seen I know there are a good many of you joining me on this blanket journey and I hope that you've enjoyed getting started with your stripes. I would like to thank you all so much for sharing your progress online and for all the heart warming friendship and support you've freely given to our online groups, it's been absolutely wonderful to see.

If you aren't already a part of the Attic24 Facebook community, I can highly recommend it if you're looking for some friendly banter and to join up with hundreds of other hooksters all over the world. You can share photos of your blanket progress, pick up lots of handy hints and tips and chat to your hearts content. There are three groups on Facebook to look out for :

Hooked on Attic24

Attic24 and Lots More - UK

Just Attic24 Friends

These groups are very active and friendly, and you'd be made so welcome if you wanted to join in (please do make sure you answer all questions when you submit your joining request as the admins won't be able to accept you into the group if you don't). I'd like to say a massive heart-felt thank you to the fabulous folks who administrate these groups and take care of the day to day running of them, I am so grateful to them.

I love the excitement that surrounds the start of a new blanket and it's always a wonderful experience for me to see what you make of my colours and designs. I know that so many of you look forward to this annual crochet along as a way to start the new year with some gentle creativity and I'm really happy that I can help you with that! As soon as my yarn packs go on sale in November, the buzz on social media is tangible - the Attic24 community really is something very special. 

I hope that after the first week of the CAL that you are all well underway and enjoying these soft, winter-spring colours that I've drawn together for you. I've enjoyed seeing you gather in your supplies and setting off on your Springfrost journey, and the various ways in which you are keeping your colours in check (thank you to Michele for the above image) have made me smile. 

As you know, I do like to include some of your photos each week in celebration of our crochet community and the fabulous sharing across Facebook and Instagram which makes the crochet-along experience extra special. Today I want to inspire you with some images which show the Springfrost colour palette being used in some very creative ways - stripes obviously aren't for everybody!!

I've seen quite a few Yuletide blankets being given the Springfrost treatment, and Jane's photo above gives you a taste of how absurdly pretty this combination is going to be. I think we are collectively calling this blanket "Springtide" which is absolutely brilliant.

Chris is also making some Springtide squares, crocheting the first nine rounds of the Yuletide pattern for hers. She has a really inspirational Instagram account (@krafty_kris3) which is definitely worth a follow.

Sandra is also going the square route and making her Springfrost colours into an Aria blanket. I'm really excited for this as she is taking on the Aria colour story and working from the centre outwards (think pale pink shades in the centre, radiating out through the frosty purples, greens and blues).

Nikii (@nikiiloops) stopped me in my tracks with these square beauties on Instagram, wow, aren't they amazing?! They are made using the tapestry crochet technique and the pattern by Tinna Thórudóttir Thorvaldsdóttir can be found on Ravelry:

(https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/saga-6).

Beautiful work Nikii.

Aside from the square variations, I've also spotted some alternative stripes and they really do look lovely in the soft Springfrost shades. Helen is making a Seaside Stashbuster blanket designed by Eleanora of Coastal Crochet - you can find the pattern ((here))

Sharon is going miniature and making beautiful, tiny rows of moss stitch. I think she said this is going to be a baby blanket because there will be an awful lot of rows.....it's going to look unbelievably pretty.

And finally, not stripes, not squares, but something in the round caught my eye - the start of a Mandala Madness blanket. Hayley is using a fabulous pattern by Helen Shrimpton (pattern details can be found here) and I think "Springfrost Madness" sounds like a lot of fun!

Seeing your photos and all the creativity flowing is always a huge part of the CAL for me, I LOVE to see what you make of my designs and how many of you have the confidence to grow your ideas and make your own unique blankets come to life. Oh, I almost forgot, I really want to show you this image..........

....I saw this on Facebook and was really struck by the simple beauty of it - Lydia is taking inspiration from the sky and has put together her own "Winterfrost" colour palette.

Next week I'll be sharing more alternative colour palettes, I've seen some wonderful stash-bust colours coming together with the Springfrost stitch pattern. More next week.

So lets take a look at the next part of the Springfrost blanket - we're going to be working 18 stripes this week. 

I hope that you've all settled into the pattern and are loving the easy, soothing stripes as they gently grow in your hands. I've read that a lot of you are really appreciating the therapeutic nature of this simple pattern, and I totally get it - me too! I'm working my own blanket just a week ahead of you so am joining in with the CAL each week and it's bringing me so much comfort.

Week two continues with the soft, cool spring colours gently growing. I have to confess that this is a deceptively complex colour palette to balance and I've worked hard to put these fifteen colours into a very soothing, harmonious order. I think looking at it all spread out - so far, so good!

I still can't get over the insanely satisfying texture of this stitch, it really is lush. I can tell you the kitty definitely approves of the squishiness and I've lost count of the times I've found her sitting on my stripes. She's a good blanket tester, followed closely by Little B who is constantly wrapped up in crochet whenever he is sitting downstairs.

Here is the colour info for Part 2 of the Springfrost Blanket. Click on the following link for the printable worksheet...

🌸 PART 2 COLOUR WORKSHEET

Remember that this list of colours refers to the stripes, so crochet two rows of each colour.

16. Wisteria 

17. Cloud Blue

18. Pale Rose

19. Lincoln

20. Baby Blue

21. A Hint of Silver

22. Duck Egg

23. White

24. Mushroom

25. Pistachio

26. Spearmint

27. Blue Marl

28. Powder Pink

29. Parma Violet

30. Meadow

31. Baby Blue

32. Wisteria

33. Mushroom

NOTE : If you are making a larger double/king blanket with two yarn packs, there will be an extra set of stripes given in part 6 for you to add on if you wish.

🌸 PART 2 COLOUR WORKSHEET

I hope you have a really peaceful and gentle week ahead and that these comforting stripes bring you some happy moments. Enjoy the hooky therapy!

x

♥ SPRINGFROST BLANKET INTRODUCTION

♥ SPRINGFROST YARN PACK 

♥ SPRINGFROST STRIPE TUTORIAL

♥ SPRINGFROST PDF PATTERN

♥ CAL PART 1 : stripes 1-15

 

 

Springfrost Blanket CAL :: Part 1

Gooooood Mooooorning my lovelies, Happy New Year, and happy CAL day!!!!! It seems like an age since I first started chatting to you about my inspiration and ideas for this years blanket, and I'm so happy that we're starting the year with some pretty colours and gentle creativity, just what the soul needs in January. Just in case you missed my introductory blog post, you can find it by clicking the following link >>

🌸 SPRINGFROST BLANKET INTRODUCTION

My hope is that you'll enjoy these weekly instalments even if you're not a crocheter and not into making blankets (hmm....are there really any non-blanketeers visiting the Attic?!). I will be sharing lots of gentle colours and seasonal inspiration as we plod our way slowly through January and February and I hope it'll make your heart happy. 

This colour palette is very different to my usual jaunty brights and I am absolutely loving the delicate, soft, gentle feel of it. It's like turning your face into the low winter sun and feeling a welcome warmth even when the air is still freezing. Its refreshing and soothing, and very uplifting too - a weeny glimmer of Spring in the depths of our cold winter season.

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

Top row :

♥ Lincoln ♥  Duck Egg ♥  White ♥  A Hint of Silver ♥  Mushroom ♥

Middle row :

♥ Pistachio ♥ Spearmint ♥ Blue Marl* ♥ Parma Violet ♥ Powder Pink ♥

Bottom row :

♥ Meadow ♥ Cloud Blue ♥  Baby Blue* ♥ Wisteria ♥ Pale Rose ♥

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

🌸 SPRINGFROST YARN PACK 

A little reminder for you to make a note of the colours so that you don't have any mix-ups, the colour names are written on the ball bands. In the Springfrost colour palette, some of the paler shades can look very similar especially in artificial light (eg Parma Violet and Mushroom can be easy to mix up).

I really love using these wooden shade cards to keep a note of the colours, they are very photogenic too! My lovely friend Veronica makes and sells them via her Etsy shop, you can find them ((HERE)). She has cards for many of my other yarn packs too, so you could collect them if you wish.

I use my trusty wooden yarn pegs to keep a check on my colours, I keep them in a little drawstring bag with my yarn balls so that I've always got them to refer to if I need them. 

For those of you who have made CAL blankets with me before then you will be familiar with the schedule. If this is your first time, here is a quick rundown of the weeks....

Today you have access to the pattern which remains free and accessible here on my blog for ever so that you can use it whenever you like. Each week I'll be giving you a list of stripes so that you can work on a portion of the blanket, and we aim to make 15-18 stripes a week. Don't worry if this isn't do-able for you, you can absolutely work at your own pace and take a decade to do it if you need to! 

🌸 PART 1 : stripes 1-15 - that's what we're going to look at today

🌸 PART 2 : stripes 16 - 33 (13th Jan)

🌸 PART 3 : stripes 34 - 51 (20th Jan)

🌸 PART 4 : stripes 52 - 69 (27th Jan)

🌸 PART 5 : stripes 70 - 87 (3rd Feb)

🌸 PART 6 : stripes 88 - 105 (10th Feb)

🌸 PART 7 : catch up (darn in those ends!) (17th Feb)

🌸 PART 8 : the border (24th Feb)

As always, I've created my usual photo-heavy tutorial to help you crochet your tension sample and learn how to create the Springfrost stripe. You can find it by clicking on the following link >>

🌸 SPRINGFROST STRIPE TUTORIAL 

I've also made a simple written pattern that you can download/print if you don't need the step by step help and prefer to have a traditional printed pattern to pop in your bag. You can find it by clicking on the following link >>

🌸 SPRINGFROST PDF PATTERN 

I know that some of you may find the thought of crocheting and counting a looooooong wiggly chain and then crocheting that first row a bit daunting. Here are a few tips to help you get off to an easy start...

1. use a bigger hook size to make your chain, then switch down again to work your first row. You can go up two half-sizes to open up the chains a little (eg if you're going to use a 4mm hook for the blanket, make the chain using a 5mm).
2. take your time, and plan to make this first row when you can sit quietly and be completely undisturbed as you count and concentrate on the pattern.
3. make sure you have good light to start your blanket.
4. use stitch markers. You will need to have an accurate chain count for this to work, there is no room for errors. Make your chains slowly, evenly, and place stitch markers at regular intervals, say every 25 chains. This way, if your mind suddenly goes blank (it happens), or the cat distracts you and you lose count (also a distinct possibility in my house), you only have to go back as far as your last stitch marker.

Once your first few rows are out the way, I'm confident that you'll be sailing along these pretty rows and enjoying every minute of it. The pattern is easy to learn with very little counting, and once the initial pattern is set then every stripe is the same. All you need to do is change colours every alternate row and enjoy the hooky rhythm.

By the way, I'd be interested to hear what you make of the white in this blanket?! It's the first time I've ever included it in one of my blankets and I'm still getting used to it, but it does bring a beautifully cool, frosty winter's touch to the whole colour palette.

One thing I LOVE about the Springfrost stitch pattern is the beautiful texture it creates, it really is one of the most squishy and cosy blankets I've ever made.

The spike stitches do a great job of blending and harmonising the stripes, and the delicate shades I've put together have a very calm and soothing effect. But also --- just LOOK at how beautifully bobbly and lush the texture is!! Love love love it.

In part 1 of the CAL we are using all the colours and crocheting up the first fifteen stripes. 

Here is the colour info for Part 1 of the Springfrost Blanket. Click on the following link for the printable worksheet...

🌸 PART 1 COLOUR WORKSHEET

1. Cloud Blue (Foundation chain & rows 1 & 2)

2. Parma Violet (rows 3 & 4)

3. Blue Marl (rows 5 & 6)

4. Spearmint (rows 7 & 8)

5. Wisteria (rows 9 & 10)

6. Mushroom (rows 11 & 12)

7. Duck Egg (rows 13 & 14)

8. White (rows 15 & 16)

9. Lincoln (rows 17 & 18)

10. Pale Rose (rows 19 & 20)

11. Powder Pink (rows 21 & 22)

12. Pistachio (rows 23 & 24)

13. A Hint of Silver (rows 25 & 26)

14. Baby Blue (rows 27 & 28)

15. Meadow (rows 29 & 30)

NOTE : If you are making a larger double/king blanket with two yarn packs, you will need to crochet some extra length. There will be an extra set of stripes given in part 6 for you to add on if you wish.

This year, after much deliberation and an awful lot of frustrated sampling, I decided not to create a Colourwash version for the Springfrost colour palette. The reason being, I just couldn't find a way to make it work harmoniously. With white added into the mix it's a tricky palette to balance and nothing I worked on felt right. I hope you trust me in this - I just didn't feel comfortable giving you something that I wasn't 110% delighted with. 

I know there were those of you hoping for a colourwash blanket and I hate to disappoint you - I'm so sorry it didn't work out. If you really like the idea of a colourwash sweep, then one option is to create a repeating pattern with the Springfrost colours, as in my sample above. If this appeals, then you should work the colours in the following order (from top to bottom in the above image)

Wisteria : Parma Violet : A Hint of Silver : Mushroom : Pale Rose : Powder Pink : White : Blue Marl : Baby Blue : Cloud Blue : Duck Egg : Spearmint : Lincoln : Pistachio : Meadow

Once you've crocheted up all fifteen colours, simply repeat them in the same order so that you end up with wide, repeating bands of stripes, does this make sense?

I really hope you enjoy starting out on this journey with me, I honestly can't think of a better way to begin a new year.

Please do share your photos on social media as I'd love to see how you get on - you can share on my Facebook page, or use the hashtag #springfrostcal on Instagram so I can find you.

Wishing you a week full of happy moments with hook and yarn!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

♥ SPRINGFROST YARN PACK 

♥ SPRINGFROST STRIPE TUTORIAL

♥ SPRINGFROST PDF PATTERN

♥ SPRINGFROST BLANKET INTRODUCTION

♥ PART 1 COLOUR WORK SHEET

 

 

Christmas Season

❤ Slow mornings :: waking without an alarm, bringing coffee back to bed and waiting for the daylight to creep in.

❤ Cosy nights :: our heavy winter feather duvet, brushed cotton Christmas bedding and a layer of colourful crochet. Cosy nights and early mornings.

❤ Seasonal snacks :: endless juicy clementines, a real favourite of the winter season.

❤ Morning walks :: walking round our quiet residential streets as the sun rises, enjoying some gentle exercise and fresh air.

❤ Food shopping :: Christmas eve early morning visit to the market for our fresh fruit and veggies. Cute little Chantenay carrots and the most beautiful purple brussels sprouts made me so happy!

❤ Decorating :: very low key this year, I decked out our main mantel and called it a day.

❤ Festive Florals :: my favourite potted hyacinths are just coming into flower for Christmas, a delectable pale pink.

❤ Bauble delight :: enjoying the colours of Christmas, these jewel brights always make me giddy with joy.

❤ New decorations :: remembering I snaffled up some cut price decorations in the Oxfam New Year sale - love them.

 

❤  Family traditions :: can't ever forget the candy canes, the Little People tell me they are essential.

❤ Happy Tenth Birthday! :: My over-the-top wreath is a decade old, and I love it more than ever.

x

Just a few snaps from the past week, it's been an utter delight to lean into these slow days of family time, enjoying familiar traditions and gentle routines. It's Christmas Eve and we're all cosied in here at number twenty four (well my oldest two offspring are out on the town), the fire is lit and I'm actually feeling pretty sleepy and ready for bed even though it's only 9pm. Honestly I am content right down to my bones and really looking forward to the day tomorrow, good food, family time and cosy vibes. 

Sending lots of happiness out to you, I hope this season brings you comfort and joy in abundance,

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

 

 

 

Autumn Snaps :: November 2022

♥ Early November brought the first frosts and our seven o'clock morning walks were suddenly very chilly. Such a beautiful and invigorating way to start the day though, I love the energy it gives me.

♥ Continuing to walk around my lovely little rural home town, observing the beauty of the changing seasons.

♥ Even on damp, dull days the autumn colours cheered my spirits and I took so much pleasure from being out underneath the trees.

♥ Most weekday mornings I head out by myself for an hour or so, mostly to pick up groceries or run errands around the town.  I realised just the other day that this has kind of taken over from the school run that used to be such a big part of my routine, and the thought of that made me smile. 

♥ Two weeks ago we celebrated a whole fifteen years living here at number twenty four. This house, in this friendly town with this remarkable hill view fill me with gratitude every single day. I'm so glad we live here!

♥ Ahh, a random photo of a leaf, of course. This is the exact kind of thing that literally stops me dead in my tracks as I'm walking up the street. The colours in nature fill my brain to bursting, it's no wonder I can't remember stuff - there's just no room for information in amongst the leaves.

♥ November is a month full of cosy. The rapidly shortening days and cold, snappy weather makes me appreciate the comforts of being indoors, covered in the all the yarn. Socks, mitts and blankets, layers and layers of warmth.

♥ Waking up and realising it's Friday - allllllll the happy feels. I get to jaunt down the hill to the café to spend three delicious hours drinking coffee, hooking up something colourful and chatting with my very good friends. I bloomin' love Fridays.

♥ The joy of sharing a love of yarn and colour with my tribe. Sitting opposite my talented friend who's been knitting a circular blanket in the most glorious shades of Autumn. My Fireside cushion really looked good with her blanket, such a photogenic pair.

♥ Haha - mid November, and I was still hanging onto the last remains of summer, I just couldn't seem to let it go completely. The little wood and wire sculpture is a recent purchase from one of my favourite makers Helen of Thimbleville. I love the simple words because they remind me to stay positive on days when it feels like a struggle.

♥ Cheap and cheerful autumn flowers on my table, bringing colour into the room for almost three whole weeks. 

♥ November has long been the month of the indoor hyacinths, ever since I first moved here and found them in the supermarket in November 2008. I've had them in the house every single year since and look forward to them very, very, very much.

♥ Here's an observation though - they really don't seem to smell any more? The scent of hyacinths would easily fill the room once upon a time, but in recent years, not so much. They are still the most beautiful things to observe though - there are six days between the two photos above, don't they grow fast?

♥ A weekend family walk at Bolton Abbey, taking advantage of some unexpected afternoon sunshine.

♥ The low sun was blindingly bright at times, but I couldn't get enough of it. Sometimes I just stand still and face the sun with my eyes closed - J says I'm solar powered and need to recharge my panels. I think he might be right.

♥ Gorgeous, gorgeous light as we drove home over the moors - it's just after 3pm in the above photo. The long, tall shadows are me and Little Lady prancing about while the boys sat patiently in the car waiting for us to finish.

♥ Cosy crochet by candlelight - very, very Novemberish I'd say.

♥ The first mice pie of the season, such a perfect little afternoon sweet treat. I adore these little mini ones that you can buy from the supermarkets and much prefer them to the big filled ones.

♥ November is generally waaaaay too early for me to think about anything Christmassy, but it's hard to avoid as little signs creep in everywhere you look. I can cope with the odd bauble here and there, and maybe some extra twinkly lights about the place.

♥ All in all, November was a good month, really good actually. Ohh....yes! There was also this.....

....a few days spent by the sea which was absolutely, wonderfully restorative and energising. I'll show you some more photos in  my next post xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

 

 

Autumn Snaps :: October 2022

Thank you for all the kind words you sent my way after my blog post yesterday, it's been something special to receive so much feel-good from you all and for me to digest your wise words and take your advice. I've been thinking a lot about my blog today, and remembering how much I love to create and share my stories here in this space - blogging for my own pleasure has always been my priority since day one and that hasn't changed over the years. Having said that, I've learnt that I do still need to give myself permission to take a break when I need it, and to place value on time spent away from my laptop. I need to remind myself that it's not a failure if I miss some weeks here and there, especially not given the length of time I've consistently shown up to open my Attic window - over fourteen years now, one hundred and seventy seven months and counting. I'm really proud of still being here, writing about my life as I moved out of my thirties, through a whole decade of my forties, and now into my fifties.....oooo.....I'm feeling a smidge emotional, I had better get a grip and start chatting about leaves!

Autumn leaves.....aren't they just the best little gifts from nature? Right now the trees are bare and the leafage is just a memory, so it's been lovely to dig back into my photos from two months ago and find some lovely seasonal colour to share with you.

October was a month for visiting Bolton Abbey, I think I went at least three times maybe more. I love to spend time in the woodland when the seasons are changing - the first rush of bright green leaves in May, and then the beauty of the Autumn colour shift in October.

In October I had to admit that my toes were cold and put my sandals to sleep for a while. It's no hardship really, because >>hello<< cosy, stripy handknit socks and my beloved Fly London boots. Believe me, it's a heavenly combination and I can highly recommend both. If you need to learn about knitting socks, then Winwick Mum will hold your hand with her free beginner tutorials. And if you are in the market for some uber-comfy leather boots to house your stripy socked feet, then I can point you in the direction of my Fly London chelsea boots ((here)). I've got two pairs, the purple pictured above (they are a lovely deep dark reddish colour in real life) and the green ones, and this is their fifth winter. I love love love them.

Speaking of hand knit socks, in October I made a real effort to finish off the pair that I cast on in August.

They came off my needles and onto my feet after I got back from France and was feeling the chill, and I'm so happy with them. The yarn is from the Regia Design Line range by Kaffe Fassett and the colourway is called "Moor". It's quite hard to find this range of sock yarn now so you need to hunt around in your local yarn shops or online. I found mine at a small indie online store called KnitUK which is fabulous - the yarn came beautifully packaged with real care and attention. You can find it ((here)). I've just actually ordered the "frost" colourway as it reminds me of my Springfrost blanket. I admit I do get a bit of a buzz out of matching my socks to my blankets, all those colourful stripes are perfect eye candy I have to say.

I've grown to love Autumn in recent years and the colours in nature are a big part of the enjoyment for me.

It's a habit now for me to spend as much time as possible outside throughout the year and I walk a fair bit in the course of an ordinary day. I find it extremely good for my mind, and I think that walking might be even more beneficial for my mental health than for my physical health (although clocking up 15,000 steps a day certainly does some good for the old bod).

I love that there is always beauty to be found, and I am very tuned in to finding it.

My photos are certainly full of all sorts of random things that have caught my eye (most of which I share with you), so I hope you enjoy seeing things through my goggles.

Another photo from Bolton Abbey...I've just remembered that one of the reasons I took so many visits in October was to do with friends visiting or local friends wanting to walk there with me, and for us to see the moon.

Yes, the moon......

......ta-dah!! This amazing installation was hanging inside Bolton Abbey priory church for a few weeks in October and it was wonderful to be able to see it a few times while it was there. It measures seven metres in diameter and features detailed NASA imagery of the lunar surface. It's amazing to think that each centimetre of the sculpture represents 5km of the moon’s surface....it really is a bit awesome.

The "Museum of the Moon" is a travelling exhibition which moves around the world so maybe you've already seen it, or perhaps it will be dangling in a place near you next year. You can read more about it ((here)).

During October I was mainly fixating on my Springfrost blanket and working on sampling and preparation for the crochet-along kit to launch in November. I have to say that in the run up to the reveal of a new blanket it really does take over so that it's hard to think about very much else.

But looking at my photos I was reminded that I also had this round cushion on the go too, and it often came to Coopers with me on a Friday morning. I'm not sure if I've shown it to you before - I started it when I was in France and it's made using the leftovers from the Fireside blanket (12 shades of Stylecraft Highland Heathers). I've almost finished it, but the cushion pad I bought is a bit larger than I thought (I bought 18 inches diameter instead of 16 inches by mistake) so I still need to work some extra rounds for it to fit. 

October was the start of the leaves beginning to fall, and they continued to gently tumble right through November. It's kind of a bitter sweet time in some ways, the true end of summer with the constant visual reminder that the year is falling away.

We had our half term week towards the end of October and it was a gentle week of rest and relaxation for us here. We did manage a couple of day trips which were soooo good, but I'm going to share those in another post because really I took way too many photos to shoe-horn them into this one. Pumpkin season came and took over for a while, I don't think I've ever seen so many huge piles of them in the shops, or such a variety to choose from.

With my own Little People growing up, the rituals of celebrating Hallowe'en are slowly slip sliding away. Little B was only momentarily interested in the pumpkin carving and although his ears perked up at the mention of sweeties, he didn't really want to be involved this year. I carved my pumpkin quietly in the afternoon and enjoyed the gentle creativity....

....and in the dark of the evening we did have a large number of Littles calling by for treats. My pumpkin was much admired which gave me a ridiculous amount of pleasure, so I do think it's still a lovely thing to do to round out the end of October.

Well, I think that's about all for now, I hope you've enjoyed my rambles. I'll take a look at November next and see if there's anything of interest to show you - ooh, I did take a few days away to the seaside in November, so maybe I'll share some of that with you. A little bit of salty sea air is always good for the soul. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

 

The Here and Now

Hellloooo......hello, hello!! I thought it was high time I re-opened my window to welcome you back into the Attic, thanks as always for taking the time to visit. It's been a few weeks of my sleep being off kilter and my chatty voice refusing to come forth, so I've needed to withdraw a little and patiently wait it out. I've also just come back from a week away, as in properly AWay-away, a fully fledged holiday where I disconnected from life online and spent some wonderful time with Little Lady just the two of us. I'll tell you more about that another time as my writing voice is still a bit croaky. It's sometimes harder than you might think to come back to blogging after a break, so for now I'm keeping it simple and sharing some simple photos from the here and now. 

J and I ventured out into the freeeeezing cold for our usual walk at seven o'clock this morning. There was a stunning full moon shining bright as we set off, the last full moon of the year. I still really love being out and about at this time of the day while the town is still quiet and sleepy, and of course in winter there is the added bonus of seeing the sun rise which always feels very special.

Later on in the morning I needed to call at the supermarket and decided to walk down through the park instead of taking the road.

When I mentioned it was cold I really wasn't kidding, it was minus three degrees in these photos taken mid morning. 

 But look how beautiful it all is, ooooo, these bright, sunshiny, cold, frosty days in December make me so happy!

The canal was frozen for the first time this season, and I suspect that it's going to stay icy for a little while yet. Even though I am a summer loving soul, I do really appreciate it when the weather does the exact right thing for the month we are in (I call it "seasonal correctness"). Today was exactly that, a day that felt truly Decemberish and the simplicity of it made me really happy.

I came home from the supermarket with the food that we needed, plus one or two extra items that wriggled into my basket by accident. A wooden box of leafy clementines and a beautiful bouquet of flowers - the latter was an absolute bargain and therefore totally irresistible. Would you believe me if I told you this bunch was originally priced at £18? Seriously, I kid you not. I rescued it from the reduced bucket and paid the bargainous sum of £2.70. To be fair they were a bit on the wilty side when I bought them, but with a fresh drink of water they have perked right up so I feel pretty delighted to have them on my table.

Being rather disconnected from online these past few weeks, I've inevitably fallen behind with a bit of admin. I spent the afternoon sat at the table drinking hot water with lemon and honey and getting caught up with emails, accounts and organising my photos. I hate leaving my photos swilling about in the online cloud, and feel much happier once I've downloaded them and organised them into folders on my laptop. It's usually something I do every couple of days, so I'm glad to have finally caught up with the last month. 

The kitty has been glued to me the past few days since I came back from holiday, she really does seem to miss me when I'm away. Every time I sit down, she is right there attempting to sit on top of me and pin me to the furniture. 

Ahhhh, do you know what, it's so good to be back here chatting with you again, I'm enjoying stringing my words together and sharing snippets from my day, the things that have made me happy. I was looking at my photos earlier as I was organising them and realised my blogging diary has so many gaps through October and November - sigh - I try hard not to feel bad about it, but I do sometimes feel like I'm failing when my blogging becomes erratic. There is then the dilemma whether to try and perform something of a catch up, or to just leave the words and images in the past and carry on marching forward with current stuff. I don't know really - what do you think? 

I'd love to hear from you in the comments - tell me what's what, what's making you happy, whether you'd like to see November bits from me or whether you are all wintry now and racing forward to Christmas? Nothing festive happening here yet aside from some mini mince pies in the house, I really am behind with life it seems. Ah well - I'm doing it my own slow way, and I think I'm OK with that xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx