Attic24

Weekend delights

Helloooooo!! Ahh Monday again, hopping and skipping into a new week and all is well.

I like Mondays :: typical of me to go against the norm eh, as so many people commonly complain about this particular point in the week. I enjoy the calm that greets me at 9.30am on a Monday morning when I walk back through the front door after the school run/market/shops. I like the space and solitude after the weekends which are often chockerblock rammed full of, of...of? Well of kids and toys and mess and noise, music and television and shouting and singing, laundry, cooking, outings, demands. You know, all that stuff-of-family-life, the stuff that needs to be done when one is a Mum-of-two and a Wife-of-one.

We just had a great weekend as it happens, really top notch. One of the best things about it was that it started early (Friday night as opposed to the usual Saturday morning), and as a result the weekend felt enoooorrrrrrrmously lengthy. And slightly disorientating in a very pleasurable way. You know that feeling when you wake up with a start on Sunday morning convinced that it is in fact Monday, then chuckle to yourself heehee when you realise that it's still the weekend...Love that feeling.

Yeah we drove to the coast on Friday night. Packed a small bag of overnight essentials, and off we went to Blackpool. It was all very spontaneous and quite exciting really. J was going there anyways to attend a 40th birthday bash of an old school friend, it had all been arranged and booked weeks ago. But right at the last minute, we decided I could perhaps telephone the little hotel and alter his booking from a lonely single room to a fun-filled family room. And so it was that on Friday night we all found ourselves on Blackpool's North Shore, in a small, neat little hotel, feeling quite holidaysish. J went off to his party, leaving me and the highly excitable Little People in the hotel lounge drinking wine/lemonade respectively and having a jolly good time together in unfamiliar surroundings.

I love taking the Little People away for the weekend, there is something so joyful about sharing their excitement in new experiences. Watching them explore, seeing them delight in running up and down stairs, in and out of doors, bouncing on unfamiliar beds, climbing up onto deep windowsills behind curtains to make "dens". I was more than happy that night to let J go out and party with his old school buddies, while I stayed in the hotel watching a little tv, sipping my wine and letting the Little People do their thing.

We had an early start to Saturday morning (err, 5.05am, yes, thats quite early isn't it?)..but no matter, it was OK. We were out in the freeeeeeeezing cold shortly after 8am, being blown along the deserted promenade of the North Shore in a ferocious wind. Bracing is the word. The sky was blue, the sea was grey (it always is here abouts) and the air was sharp. And it was fun! J, feeling a little delicate, stood and watched as the Little People and I raced along the prom (no gentle strolling for us, we go with Pace), slowing down to skip and catch breath then more running....I am not athletic you understand, no, not accustomed to running normally, but oh I do love to dash about like a big kid when I am beside the sea.

Back to the hotel at 9am for a scrumptious breakfast, then straight back out again and into the depths of Blackpool we go. It's not a place I care for a great deal, it has to be said. Blackpool is  a typical old fashioned English seaside resort. Tacky, bad taste, shabby, garish. Huge amusement arcades, rundown tourist attractions, neglected shops. It lacks charm in my opinion, but hey, the sea is there (even if it is a dirty shade of grey) and I try not to let myself feel disappointed at the ugliness of the place.

The morning was spent at Blackpool Sealife Centre, which was great fun actually. Something wonderful about observing fish (some very big fish there were too), sharks, seahorses, coral reefs and our favourite rays....the Little People really did enjoy every minute of it. Afterwards we drove out of Blackpool, further down the coast to Lytham St Annes , which is altogether more genteel and picturesque than neighbouring Blackpool. Here we strolled along the prom and then settled ourselves in a cosy pub with a sea view for a late lunch.

Then finally towards the end of the afternoon when we were all tired out, we set off  homewards...oh such a fun day being beside the sea!

 

Sunday was altogether more run-of-the-mill, more leisurely, more homely, more predictable. And I was so happy with that. Love love spending time at home, pottering about, enjoying the pleasure of nothing-in-particular.....

: a cup of coffee and time to stroll in Magazine-wonderland, oh it was lush!! I adore the Easter issue magazines soooo much, need to chatter to you about that in a separate post I think ::

:: the pleasure of hanging laundry out to dry on the line for the first time this year, followed by  the hugely enjoyable experience of getting into bed on Sunday night and sniffing and snorting the pillowcases, breathing in that freshly-laundered-air-dried-cotton scent ::

:: noticing the first fresh green shoots of chives re-appearing after their winter sleep, followed by a hugely enjoyable time spent browsing gardening books and dreaming up all sorts of gardeney floral/herbal plans for my little back yard this year ::

:: late afternoon, having worn crocs all day with bare feet, I begin to feel chilly. I go and find a pair of the most beautiful hand-knitted socks to pull on, made for me by a lovely, generous visitor to Attic24 called Susan. These socks give me so much pleasure, there's something simply wonderful about snuggling cold toes into warm socks and settling down on the sofa for a spot of crochet ::

:: crochet, yes, of course. how could my weekend not contain any hooky goodness? Yesterdays hooking was a little experimentation after this new book arrived on my doormat a few days ago. I'll write more about this book at another time, surfice to say for now that it's beautifully photographed and oh-so-tempting, but the patterns are oh-so-damn complicated! I almost gave up with it, but jeez I refuse to be beaten by a bunch of goobledeegook words! So with some serious concentration, a little bad language and a bit of perseverance, I eventually got the hang of it. Had to get my head round working Triple-treble stitches, Double-treble stitches, carrying stitches across, working out of the base of stitches, working up and down the stems of stitches, making chain bars, taking the hook behind petals and working from the back etc etc etc. But then again, I was in the Advanced Design section. And I did indeed manage to create not one but two Advanced Flowers ::

Not quite sure what to do with my advanced flowers yet? At the moment I am enjoying just fondling them, but might try and dream up some sort of floral something-or-another to make use of them. Perhaps with a little insect life thrown in too (there are patterns for crochet butterflies and a bumblebee in this book, too cute for words really).

Hope you all had a great weekend, whether you were home or away...I wonder what Weekend Delights you enjoyed?

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One Year

Hello, thanks so much for calling in to the Attic today, I'm really glad to have your company because today we are celebrating!

Yes indeed, dancing about in the usual ditsy, excitable fashion (well thats me doing the dancing, not you, although feel free by all means to join in), making a mess in the kitchen with the brightest icing I could manage, smarties and stripy candles too. Singing Happy Birthday to the furniture, lighting and blowing out candles, drinking coffee and generally being really rather happy. That's been the extent of my morning, and for all that it amounts to (ie kitchen mess, some photos, some beauuuuutiful buns and not a lot else), I feel fulfilled and contented, cos it's been a Great Morning. Doesn't take a lot, as you well know by now, to keep a smile on my face and a jolly spring in my step.

Today, I'm celebrating the fact that Attic24 has been sitting in it's little patch of cyberspace for One Year. I believe it's officially called my Blogiversary? Uh-huh, one whole year ago I sat down at the computer and decided that was the day I would become a Blogger.

The above photo was the first one to be uploaded to accompany my very first little sea green words last March. My first tentative, rather shy steps into Blogland. Back then I had no idea, NO idea what to expect from writing a blog. I knew that I desperately wanted to do it, wanted to be a part of this giving, sharing, creative, friendly community that I had discovered.

But back then I had no real way of knowing what would happen, how I would come to be so excited by the world of blogging, how Big it would become. Because to me it is Big indeed. The emotions that blogging generates are big, and the part it plays in my daily life has become big also. At times it has been almost overwhelming and I have found myself in tears over the sheer emotion of it all. But it is all good. All of it. Every single, tiny scrap of bloggy related goodness fills me with happiness.

So what can we say about this past year at Attic24? Has anything changed? The above photo was taken this morning, and I think this just about sums it up really :: nope, not a lot has changed around these parts in the past year. Still quite a lot of the same stuff going on this March as there was last March. The same cornishware bowl with primulas. The same table cluttered with stuff. Crochet things happening, mess in the background. The main difference is that I take looooonger to write these days, I am so wordy now compared to then! 

I guess you could say I gradually found my writing voice, and I found that I like the sound of it as it comes tumbling out of that whirlygig tangled place that holds my thoughts. I enjoy being able to articulate the thoughts, feelings, activities, observations, delights, frustrations, discoveries and creatvity that form and shape my little world. I like sharing it. And that my friends is what it comes down to :: the sharing. I just love love love to share out these things, delight in it, dance around in it, it thrills me to be able to put all this stuff-of-daily-life "out there", to preserve it, record it and share it.

I never expected to feel so excited about blogging, about writing and sharing photographs. But to me it is really exciting. Every day, with every post I write, I feel a huge buzz of creative excitement. Sure, it's addictive, and yes it takes up quite a decent part of my free time to post as often as I do, and at the length that I do. But it has become essential to my well being. I find that if I don't post, I get a kind of "clogged up" feeling. I find that ideas and thoughts and stuff begins to get jammed with no way of being let out, and that makes me feel very disorientated. Writing this blog has given me an outlet, a way to take all the itsy bits of visual, mental and creative stimulation that streams into my chaotic brain and share it out so that I don't feel like I'm going to go PoP! Does that make sense? Its quite hard to put into words, but hey, I'm giving it a damn good go, and hope you get what I'm on about.

So, I've been pondering on what I can do to celebrate this little milestone here in the Attic. Cake? Of course, you can't have a celebration without cake. Gifts perhaps? Yes  I can do gifts too. But before we go and get all gifty and cakey, lets have a look at some pretty pictures shall we?

I'm aware that Attic24 has become known as the place where people come to "brighten their day", that my obsession with colour has become well known. So in honour of that fact, I've spent a little time this past week putting together some mosaics for you.

An Attic24-year-in-pictures......

:: there have been flowers, oh so many flowers ::

:: there has been baking, lots of baking ::

:: there's been the view from the Attic, in all weathers ::

:: there have been many cups of tea and coffee shared ::

:: celebrations too, the high days and the holidays ::

:: there have been outings, visits and jollies to share ::

:: there have been shopping trips and pretty purchases ::

:: and  crochet, yes there's been a great deal of hooky goodness ::

:: and there's been bog-standard, everyday domestic home life too ::

It might interest you to know that over the course of the last year, I've taken 3,485 photographs and a good many of those have been shared here on the blog.

There have been 242 posts written.

And you my friends have also been busy, leaving me a delightful, astonishing, wonderful, fantabulous 5,416 comments.

For the latter, I am truly, utterly thankful. For the friendship, encouragement, enthusiasm, humour and generosity in every word that you write to me, I am Thankful.

So....shall we proceed to the gift-giving now then???

Above photo is of my hallway this morning, right near the front door. That's my latest textile picture hanging there look. Looks quite jolly? Pretty even? Want a closer look?

There you are. I made this picture during yesterday, and  in truth, it did not happen easily. I am out of practice with making textile work, and I so wanted this picture to be perfect, for you to like it, love it even. I'm glad to say that in the end, yes it did come together pretty much exactly as I had imagined it in my mind and I am quite delighted with it actually.

Tiny pieces of fabric cut and stitched by hand and machine, with care and love. As a gift of thanks from me to you.

I have also been hooking some flowers to make more of these posie-brooches. Excepting eh-hem I have to confess I haven't quite finished making them yet.

But I figured you could overlook that little fact, because you are generous like that I know. So........if you would like your name to be popped into the hat for a chance to win this Blogiversary giveaway, all you have to do is leave me a comment at the end of this post. You don't need to say anything specific, just a few words cos I do so love hearing from you.

There is only one picture to give away I'm afraid, but I'll try and make as many posie-brooches as I can manage. I'll leave this open for a week, so you have until next Friday 20th March.....oh lordy, the fun never ends does it, I am bursting at the seams with all this feel-good happening around here!!

Now then, all that remains for me to say is, as ever, THANK YOU for being so damn nice and for taking time out of your day to pay me a visit. You are the Best.

Oh yes the cakey stuff, I almost forgot...would you like a bun?? Go on, help yourself, I'll go put the kettle on...........

See you next week, enjoy your weekend (I'm off to sea, again, I shall surely explode with excitement!!)

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Hooky Business

Today has been marked on my calender as being a Big Day.
Today I woke up nervous and excited.
Today was a day for some Hooky Business.

I pottered round early this morning making piles.
Piles of blankets.
Piles of cushions.
Big projects and small ones.
Completed projects and half finished WIP's.
A little mountain of colourful, creative crochet.

My basket of yarn is ready to go.
My stripy bag of yarn too.

Cushions and blankets, books and hooks, bagged up, waiting for action.

I am nervous, yet I am also excited.
Did I mention today was a Big Day for me?
Did I tell you why?
No...silly me, I think I forgot to mention the reason why today was a Big Day.....
But you probably guessed anyway.
Probably you can imagine me....
....ants in my pants, giddy and buzzing from the tip of my head down to my toes.
Trying to feel confident.
Believing I can do it.

Yes, today was the first of a series of small workshops I am teaching.
hooooooohhaaaaaa!!!!!! Yes, I actually did it!!!!!
This morning I taught a small group of lovely ladies to crochet.

Together with my wonderful friend Lovely C, we commandeered a corner of the cafe and set up hook-camp.
Coffee and cake, chatter and laughter, browsing of books, oohing and aahhing over the colourful  hooky goodness spilling across tables and chairs.
Then down to business and teaching begins.
Yarn and fingers and hooks, tricky at first, but slowly slowly across the space of a morning, chains and treble crochet stitches are mastered and the beginnings of Granny Squares emerge.
There are yelps of joy and much excitement.
I am jubilant, I am so very, very happy (and relieved).
That I have helped a few more people set out on the road to crochet happiness makes me feel sooooo good.
Its the sharing thing, I just love it.

Hmmmm.....Well, I've got to rush off now and go jump up and down a bit, run up and down stairs a bit until I can wear off some of this fidgety excitement that's still bubbling away inside of me. You don't know how hard it is to sit still at the pc and write a post when I feel like this, it's quite possibly been one of the hardest bits of my day!!!

But before I go, just need to mention a teensy tiny thing.....
I'll be away from the Attic tomorrow, but hope that you'll be around on Friday to join me for a celebration.
There's gonna be cake.
And gifts.

Yes, Attic24 will be ONE year old.
See you Friday for a colourful Blogiversary, don't miss it!
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Edited to add :: very many thanks for all your wonderful comments left on this post, you make me feel like I'm on top o' the world!

 

Words on a Simple Life

Late on Sunday afternoon, when the rain briefly stopped raining and the sun peeked out, we pulled coats on and strolled ten minutes up the road to visit our town's local castle. You know how it is, you live somewhere a while and quite often don't really think to do the touristy things sitting on ones own doorstep. Don't really think to pop along the street and have a mooch around a 900 year old medieval castle (one of the most complete and best preserved medieval castles in England, apparently) which stands very conveniently at the top of the High Street.
But on Sunday the castle was open for free to residents of the area and so along we toddled, and mighty fine it was too.
As with all fine Tourist Attractions, as well as the ancient attraction itself, there is also a lovely looking tearoom and a souvenir shop. It was the latter which we decided to call in to, even though visiting these sort of shops with eager Little People can be something of a strain. The Pester Power is enormous, the sudden desperate need for Castle Pens, fridge magnets, badges is urgent. I got away with limiting the purchases to two very small soft cuddly toys @ £1.50 each and a bag of chocolate raisins, but boy, it was hard work getting Little Fingers to leave the other merchandise alone.

Anyhow, I am babbling, I am sorry....get to the point Lucy, chop-chop!  Yes the point of this is to tell you about a little book I spotted in the castle souvenir shop and purchased for myself. Its called "Words on a Simple Life", by Helen Exley and can be found here along with other delightful sounding titles in the same series.

If you click on the top picture there, you'll be able to read the description written on the back of this dinky little book :: it's basically a collection of images and quotes, celebrating the "quiet joys of life".
Now this is not normally something I would go for, I have never owned any books of this nature before. But something about this little golden book really touched me.
I keep coming back to it's pages, keep reading and re-reading the words :: words on a simple life. These words are so appealing, so meaningful, so wise, they touch my heart. Yes, they do!

Take these daffodils for example. So very simple.
A bunch of 20 stems cost less than a pound.
They can be purchased without guilt, brought home and enjoyed wholeheartedly.
To me, they capture the essence of living a Simple Life.
The joy they bring me is immeasurable. Priceless.

I have split them up and distributed them around the house....

....simply displayed in an empty milk bottle on the hall shelf to make me smile as I pass through one of the most stressy times of my day (getting Little People out the door at 8.30am with polished shoes and all relevant school paraphernalia).

I've also put little bottles holding a few blooms on the kitchen and bathroom window sills, for providing joy when ones hands are in the kitchen sink and brushing teeth.

And beside my bed too, for providing joy when I drift into my dreams at night and greet the day each morning.

It seems somehow so luxurious to have flowers beside ones bed, don't you think? Yet so simple at the same time. I would urge you to go out today and buy yourself a small bunch of flowers to put beside your bed, Arrange them in a little jar, a pretty mug,or a small vase and enjoy the pleasure they bring.

I thought over the coming days and weeks I might share some of the quotes with you from this little book. Some are very short, just one sentence, some are longer. This is one of my favourites, it was written by a man called Thomas Dekker (c 1570 - c. 1641), so he was around dispensing wisdom a pretty long, ancient time ago...

"To awaken each morning with a smile brightening my face;
to greet the day with reverence for the opportunities it contains;
to approach my work with a clean mind;
to hold ever before me, even in the doing of little things, the ultimate purpose toward which I am working;
to meet men and women with laughter on my lips and love in my heart;
to be gentle, kind, and courteous through all the hours;
to approach the night with weariness that ever woos sleep and the joy that comes from work well done -
this is how I desire to waste wisely my days."

Have a great day everyone, waste it wisely.....
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Weekend Statistics

Number of Ripples crocheted :: 5
Number of Granny squares crocheted :: 4

Number of Daffodils purchased :: 20

Number of rooms now containing daffodils :: 4

Number of magazines browsed :: 3.5

Number of hours spent in Magazine-wonderland :: 4 at least

Number of gasps at inspirational pages :: 37 minimum

Number of things on my mental to-do/to-purchase/to-copy list :: 22, possibly more

Number of blankets optimistically unpacked from car :: 2

Number of attempts made at drinking coffee al fresco :: 1

Number of minutes before rain fell and scuppered coffee al fresco :: 7

Number of bad words uttered by me with reference to the weather :: 11

Number of Summer Garden blocks blocked :: 2

Number now in "completed" pile :: 22

Number of choc chip cookies baked :: 18

Number of choc chip cookies scoffed by me :: officially 1, unofficially 3

Number of coffees drunk :: 4

Number of easter decorations made by Little Man :: 2

Number of easter decorations made by Little Lady :: 0

Number of hama bead stars made by Little Man :: 1

Number of hama bead stars made by Mummy :: 4

Number of rain showers :: 11 at least (can you see that rain pouring?)

Number of icy hail showers :: 2

Number of times caught out in icy hail showers :: 1

Number of cakes baked :: 1

Number of slices eaten :: 0.75 (it was a bit too eggy)

Number of local Castles visited :: 1

Number of rooms in Castle :: too many to remember

Number of years Castle has been around :: 900

Number of "don't touch"'s and "no"'s in Castle shop :: ooo 15 at least

Number of Gin Cocktails made and consumed :: 2, both utterly gorgeous.

Number of cuddles :: mmmmm lots

Number of fires lit :: 2

Number of films watched :: 1 (Over the Hedge)

Overall Weekend Score :: 9.5 / 10

(0.5 deducted for swearing at the rain and over-eggy cake)

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Granny-Joining

Just to quickly let you know that I've finished the tutorial for crocheting Granny Squares together....it's in the usual place over in the left sidebar as a page, or you can click here to find it.
I hope it makes sense and I hope you can follow it successfully, its one of those things that seems very simple when one is doing it, but is unexpectedly tricky to explain!

If you experience any wobbles getting your Grannies to go together without fuss (and they really should oblige, shouldn't they?), please do let me know by leaving a comment and I will do my best to help out.

Happy weekend everyone, have fun :o)
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Love-love-loving Today

:: still love-love-loving the anemones, one week on ::

:: love-love-loving their amazing full-flowered natural beauty ::

: :love-love-loving the third "batch" of narcissi flowering in the crochet jacketed jars (mentioned this week on Craftzine blog too)  ::

:: love-love-loving wearing a stripy top whilst crocheting stripy goodness in a sunny spot ::

:: love-love-loving the sofa after the Little People have been playing leaping/jumping games this morning. Piling up cushions and blankets to soften their landing, it made me smile ::

:: love-love-loving the crocus beginning to open in today's sunshine ::

:: love-love-loving coming home from the supermarket with three more gorgeous 59-pence Primulas ::

:: love-love-loving getting them out of their plastic pots and into these old terracotta ones ::

:: love-love-loving them at the top of my front steps, sitting in the sunshine by my front door. Hope that Naughty Barbie will not kick these over ::

:: love-love-loving being inspired by the free Tesco magazine, ripping the pages apart (how amazingly satisfying is it to RIP paper??!) and making a seasonal inspiration collage ::

:: love-love-loving the look of this recipe, also from the Tesco magazine. That's the Weekend Cake sorted then ::

:: love-love-loving this recipe for a weekend drink....guess what's going to be in my shopping basket later? Guess who might end up a little bit sozzled? ::

Hope you are love-love-loving your today too....
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Grannified

I've just spent a wonderful time here in the Attic24 house with old friends. The sort of friends who will willingly drive 40miles over the hills to come and spend a few hours with me, because they have a few hours to spare. The sort of friends who are such good company because they  know me so well. We could easily chatter the day away over cups of tea and homemade caramel shortbread (now remind me to give you this recipe, it's fantastic), and I am so very  thankful for such friendship.

We used to spend so much time together when we were first friends, when our first babies were little scraps and as first time Mums we were desperate to find others in the same wibbly-wobbly boat of early Motherhood. Those weekly Mums-n-Babies meetings were life savers at a time when life could be quite challenging. And now 6.5 years later, each of us with two children, we don't get chance to meet very often, especially as I upped sticks and moved across the hills to a new town. So it's always a happy time when we can get together and do pretty much what we did back then (we are expert tea drinkers and chatterers), only minus the extra noise, mess and distraction of babies/toddlers.

Two of these friends are also my original crochet buddies. We learnt to make Granny squares together at the end of the Summer in 2007, and as we bought the same yarn from the same little local shop, our respective Granny blankets started out looking remarkably similar. As D took a little more time to complete hers than me (er, that will be a year longer will it D?), she is just now completing the edging and bought it with her to show me today. Oh how lovely to see these two Grannified blankets together! It was quite a moment when my green-edged creation met D's purple-edged creation. One hundred and seventy six squares between them, and I couldn't resist a photo to share with you all.

Granny Squares do something to me that I can't quite explain :: they make me feel nostalgic, happy, cosy, warm and fuzzy. They are so simple yet so totally captivating, the perfect example of homespun, handmade creativity and beauty. They form a reminder of childhood days and family homeliness.

Granny Square Blankets, I like them new, I like them old. I like modern versions and vintage versions, although I don't own any vintage granny blankets, not for want of trying to find them I might add. I've just never been lucky enough (yet) to stumble across one, except for a very garish acrylic one that i couldn't bring myself to purchase.

Yes, I pretty much like them any which way they come, and every time I catch sight of one it's like an electric spark goes shooting through my consciousness.

The above image is a snap taken from the Saturday Guardian a month or two ago. I had a lovely heart-skippy  moment as I immediately zoomed in on the pink granny square cushion to the left of the sofa there. I loved the whole room because of the delicious colour of the painted plant stand and that pink crocheted cushion.

This is a snap of a magazine page, think it's Country Homes and Interiors, a winter issue obviously. It was a spread about making food for a winter picnic. I did quite enjoy reading about the food, but it was the "Vintage Accessories" which really pleased me the most here. How wonderful that Granny Blanket looks against old wood and snow!

If like me you love the humble Granny Square, either modern or vintage, there are oooodles of images over in Fabulous Flickrville to ooh and ahh at. In fact I am just about to while away an unfeasibly long time I expect trawling through on your behalf.....excuse me just a moment while I toddle off and go get us some Grannified Inspiration.....

Oh yes, what about this for starters? Isn't that just WOW??!!

Then there's your genuine vintage ones here and here....

....and your modern day beauties here and here and here.

All so inspirational and desirable, can't you feel yourself itching to go churn a few out? Like Right Now???

 

Just need to mention that yesterday afternoon when the sun came out briefly, I spent some time hooking and photographing and beginning to write out a tutorial for my method of joining granny squares together. Thank you for being patient on this one, I know a few of you have been waiting for it. I haven't quite finished yet, but am hoping to get it done to post up tomorrow. 

In the meantime, can I just say, as always, how much I continue to love having you visit with me in the Attic. Your comments of late have been awesome, and I read every single word of what you all have to say with true heartfelt delight. I'm only sorry there aren't enough hours in the day to enable me to send replies back to thank you you all individually, but please know that I am so thankful for your words.

Enjoy the rest of your day, see you tomorrow...

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Edited to add :: Thought you might like to see the Granny blanket from my own childhood, made by my Mum many years ago from odd scraps of wool...

 

...much of the wool came from little jumpers and baby blankets Mum knitted for me and my younger brother, which were later unraveled when they were outgrown and the wool re-used to make this blanket. So many memories lie within those stitches. This is  a large blanket, it covers the little single bed in her spare room right down to the floor, and is quite hard to photograph as there is usually one hundred and one things on top of it and no room to manoeuvre! xxxx

To The Sea @ Heysham

Me and the Sea, the Sea and Me, we are very good friends. And like all good friendships there is sweet sorrow when we are parted. I think of our friendship often, and cannot stay away for too long or else a sadness sets in. A sort of melancholy which can only be lifted by a reunion.

The last time the Sea and Me got to hang out together was on my Birthday last year, the 12th October. So more than a third of a year ago, cripes no wonder I've been pining like a love-sick teenager! No wonder I've been feeling slightly deranged and desperate for a reunion, it's been far too long!

So last week sometime, I decide I can take the separation no longer and I hatch a plan. I have a little looky on the internet and try to figure out where I can persuade my family to go which won't involve hour upon hour of car travel and won't deliver the type of kiss-me-quick rundown tacky English seaside resort that I am not keen on. And I hit upon the little village of Heysham.

From internet-information it looks like just the thing :: quirky, quaint, ancient, small village shops, a large expanse of beach, an ancient ruined church, no amusement arcades, no candy floss. I can ignore the fact that there is a huge, ugly power station nearby. I can ignore the fact that there are huge, ugly commercial shipping docks nearby. I can ignore the fact that it is only a hop and a skip down the road from Morecambe (which I have visited before and found depressing)

So on Sunday the first day of March, ten am and we set off. We estimate one hour and twenty minutes to drive to Heysham. It rains as we drive, it is grey, cold and not very nice looking as the rain spatters on the windscreen. Yet miraculously, as we get nearer to the coast the sky clears and sunshine appears as if it has been ordered. We cheer, well I do any road, J and the Little People are quite non-plussed about the whole trip but I am jubilant and quite over excited.

There is always going to be a slightly tense moment when one arrives at an unknown destination with such high hopes. Will it be OK? Will it provide us with a top-notch family day out? Will it delight, will it provide joy and happiness? Will it make us some Good Memories?

I am delighted to report that yes, Heysham did all of the above.

It was fabulous! A near deserted, picturesque, charming little village. A loooooooong sea front with a promenade stretching as far as the eye could see. And  a huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge stretch of sandy beach, also pretty much deserted except for one or two couples and a dog.

Onto the sands we go, it's breezy and fresh, chilly even, but bright and energising, and oh just perfect! I can't tell you how happy I am to be beside the sea again.

The boys go off to search the rockpools for fish and crabs. Us girls are slower, scouring the sands for shells.

I am so blissed out. I turn my face up to the sun, out to the distant horizon, along the shoreline, down to the ripply sands. I hear the cry of gulls, the lap of waves and the shouts of my children as they run, discover, share, enjoy.

The tide comes in fast in Morecambe Bay. It literally races in like a horse. So when J notices quite suddenly that the tide is indeed racing towards us at quite an alarming rate, our playtime on the beach is cut short. But no matter, it's pretty much lunch time anyways.

Now usually we are a family of picnickers. We set off on any outing with a bulging rucksack containing all the food and drink we might possibly need for the day, with the exception of ice cream. But for this trip we decided to Splash Out and instead of slightly squashed sandwiches and an apple, we go for the Pub Lunch option. Such luxury! Luckily for us, Heysham has a most delightful pub, an exceptionally old (many hundreds of years) building, with low beamed ceilings and a large open fire. And very, very good food. It was quite simply a delicious lunch.

After the pub, we set out to explore a bit of Heysham Village. We walk up past St Peters Church perched precariously on the cliff top, it's grounds smothered with purple crocus.

The path winds up through some trees and emerges out on the open cliff where the ancient ruins of St Patrick's Chapel look out to sea.

I love cliff top scenery. Love the yellow of the gorse flowers against the blue of sea and sky. Love the way the grass always seems so green and springy on cliff tops, love the open-ness and breeziness, the views of the horizon, the expanse of it all.

There is a little wooden bench up here, so J and I sit a while with a flask of coffee and some chocolate and watch as our Little People explore. They run, they shout, they hide and seek amongst the chapel ruins. Its joyful to watch, it expands my heart, makes me feel full-to-bursting.

From the cliff tops we meander down through a small woodland. I love the light here, the play of sunshine and shadows. And I love the fresh greens of newly emerging bluebell shoots and mossy rocks.

 

Down from the little wood and back to the village, we stroll around the lanes....

....admire the little rows of cottages....

....the beautifully planted and decorated seaside gardens....

 

....ancient buildings and beautifully coloured front doors.

Heysham is turning out to be everything I hoped it would be, and I find myself delighted by it all.

Even the benches are quirky and charming in Heysham.

Yes, there is great spirit here in Heysham. You can feel it in every nook and cranny. In the wide open seascape and the intimate little lanes. In the ancient buildings and the quirky details.

We shall be returning soon, I can already hear it calling to me. And the Little People demand it too. There's trouble persuading them it's time to go home, they simply don't want to leave. They clutch their found shells and ask quite matter of factly if there's a hotel where we could stay, so we can wait for the tide to race back out again and return to the sands for more.

Soon, we will surely be back again soon.

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March

March is here, hooray!! I love March, I love that this month officially contains the First Day of Spring, that in a few weeks we will be changing our clocks and moving into British Summer Time. I love the abundance of Spring flowers that this month contains, including these delightful purple crocuses nestling in my little patch of front garden. Its a joyous time of the year, isn't it, when the very first little inklings of Spring appear?

Although to be honest I did rather enjoy February, it surprised me this year. I often think of February as a rather grey and dreary and well moochy sort of a month, yet I found February this year to be uplifting in many ways. I enjoyed the Winteryness of last month, the winter picnics, the snow, the cosy baking and blanket-making, the valentines hearts and pancakes. I mean who can be moochy about a month that contains coloured paper hearts and syrup pancakes???

 

I stopped by the supermarket this morning on my way home and couldn't resist bringing this little beauty home to number 24.

Shall I tell you how many pennies this gorgeous little pink primula cost me?? Fifty nine.

Yes 59p!!! How could I possibly resist spending fifty nine pence on such beauty and colour.

I have about six of these very old hand made terracotta pots which I treasure. They were given to me by my Mum years ago, and they are perfect for holding little plants such as this. I love  to discard brown plastic and replace it with mellow terracotta. I also love to pop the mellow terracotta inside an old thrifted Cornishware bowl. Such delight for a Tuesday morning! I potter around my home, carrying the prettily potted primula (PPP) around with me, not wanting to put it down. I enjoy the pink of the flowers against the red of my jumper very much. I take an age deciding where to put the PPP, and eventually it comes to rest on the dining table where I'll be able to admire it close up whilst scoffing breakfast/lunch/dinner. A feast for the eyes.

 

I am a few days late with the calender again, I have had a busy few days as it happens. On the 1st day of March (Sunday) we went to the coast and Oh! I was beside myself with being beside the sea! I shall tell you more about that tomorrow I expect.

So I only just remembered to turn the calender pages this morning (Simone, thanks for the reminder!). Above is my organising calendar, telling me to eat cake and drink tea. Tempting me with pretty mugs, a spotty tea pot, a stripy milk jug and delightful cakes. Yes I can do that, I would be delighted to make a tea party happen. Consider it officially on March's To-do list.

 

March on the Ideal Home calender and it's laundry day with a rather charming vintage vibe. Tell me, what is it about images of Utility/Laundry paraphernalia that is so heart-skipping? I have many similar images to this one torn out of magazines in my "inspiration file" and I adore them so much. Piles of pretty linens, a pretty ironing board cover, pegs, linen water, an apron and a laundry basket and I am swooning. Why? I don't know, I honestly don't. It's not that it makes me want to go and deal with the (humungous) laundry pile, but maybe it's to do with the idea of prettifying the mundane, of having every part of ones home/life look and feel charming. Including the Laundry.

 

Ahhhh the Bossy Calender now, and how I love to be bossed about by these pages each month. Did you notice that last months page worked it's magic on me? Did you notice that in February I did manage not one, not two but three winter picnics complete with blankets as instructed?

So March is going to see me Brighten Up with cushions and lamps, which as it happens has already begun....
 
 

I am taking a weeny break from the Summer Garden Blanket (23 blocks now complete) and indulging in a little Ripple action.

 

I couldn't resist the lure of the ripple after seeing it on one or two blogs of late.

I wanted to immerse myself in the soothing rhythm of creating these ripply stripes again.

So I've started making a third cushion cover using the same Rowan DK wool as I'm using for the Summer Garden Blanket...only the colours are far more zingy when workd in this way for some reason. Its giving me a whole lot of thrills making these stripes, playing with these colours.

And you know how I like to get my daily thrills, right? Yeah, nothing complicated :: let me wear red, let me carry a bowl of primulas around the house a bit, let me chatter to the crocuses, let me swoon over pictures of ironing boards, let me sit and ripple-ripple and gaze at the view and I am thrilled. Easy.

March's view from the Attic is quite dull today I'm afraid, It remains very cold, sharp and wintery in my patch with no whiffs of Spring in the air just yet. But I can do Spring-in-waiting. I am patient, I can wait a while longer for Winter to be done.

Hey, fancy taking a trip to the seaside with me tomorrow? Fancy strolling the sands, searching for shells, horizon-gazing and coastal pottering? You do?? Oh good! I'll take you with me on a little trip to the coast then tomorrow :: wrap up warm, it's chilly up north!

Toodle-ooh,  see you tomorrow for sea breezes and sea shells....

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