Attic24

Staying Home

I've had a very slow, restorative day today. I've not been feeling great so I settled myself horizontally on the sofa for much of the day with a hot water bottle on my stomach and a blanket or two wrapped around. Before I allowed myself to flop I tidied up in this room, it gets itself into a shocking state across the weekend with five of us all in here, plus various visiting children added into the mix. Really I didn't want to bend and stoop and pick up, plump and straighten and rearrange. I really resented doing it today actually. But I longed for some sort of visual calm and order so I Just Got On With It. It was worth the effort in the end.

I was grateful for a quiet (ish) house as Little B was off with Daddy visiting his grandparents, and although I ended up with four Little People in the house, they chose to play upstairs in bedrooms leaving me to slug about in my jammies downstairs. I managed half a row on my ripple. And half a magazine (it was a good half). But mostly I've just been still, doing nothing but drinking tea and looking around the room. Thinking how much I love being here, especially when I'm feeling a bit under the weather. Sometimes just Staying Home feels like the greatest luxury.

I lit the fire around about 3pm, it's been bitterly cold here this past week and we are expecting snow anytime soon. I didn't much feel like cleaning out and lighting the fire, but at the same time I longed for it's warmth and comfort. So I Just Got On With It. I cleaned, set, lit and tended until it was happy and established, and then I flopped back to my sofa. It was worth the effort.

I'm not sure what this post is about really. I just thought these few photos looked so warm and cosy and homely and I wanted to share them. We've had so many of these sorts of weekends lately that I keep thinking really it's about time we Went Out Somewhere and stopped being so lazy and indoorsy. But if it's the place we really want to be more than anywhere else, then that's ok isn't it? We can be active and outdoorsy when the temperature rises. For now, Home is where it's at.

x

 

 

 

 

Crochet Herb Pot :: Ta-dah!

I had a bowl of hot soup for lunch on Wednesday. It was "Moreish Mexican Chilli Bean" soup and was delicious, mmmmm. I would like to tell you that it's a terrific homemade recipe that I knocked up, but I would be fibbing. I don't really do homemade soups, I just cannot face all that chopping and prepping. So I go with the Opening The Carton approach.

There. Hot soup that taste's (almost) like homemade in a couple of minutes flat. After lunch whilst I was in the kitchen tidying away, I was hit with an idea. It came visually flying into my mind, whoooosh (which is happening a lot these days, love love loving all the Creative Vibes I'm getting!)

So instead of flattening the carton and slinging it in the bin, I rinsed it out, measured it, double checked the measurements, then set to work hooking up a jacket to wrap around it. I used exactly the same method as I did for the tuna tins, only of course I made many more stripes. I had a huge amount of fun playing with the colours, working the stripes through a sort of earth~grass~sky~clouds type of idea.

But as lovely and delicious as the stripes were, I had something else to add.

A flower. A simple circle, with a stem and two leaves. A few buttons for extra detail.

I stitched the shapes to the stripes using ordinary sewing cotton and tiny stitches so that they were invisible. I stitched the stem first, then the leaves, then the flower on top. Afterwards, when everything was attached in place, I used the Rowan cotton yarn and a darning needle to add a bit of chunky decorative stitching on top. Little straight stitches radiating out from the flower, and a line of backstitch running up the centre of each leaf.

I love decorative stitching. Whenever I do it, I always tell myself I should do more of it (I thought this when I stitched my Jolly Festive bunting letters)

There you go, there it is with all the stitching finished.

So. Can you see where this is going?

You know this is a wrap for my empty soup carton. And you know if you took note of the post title that this is going to have something to do with herbs, right?

Fresh Parsley to be precise. I'd love to hear how you buy fresh herbs in other parts of the world? Here in the UK, we have a choice. We can either buy a pre-packed cut bunch of them, or we can buy fresh living herbs growing in a pot, like the parsley in the picture above.

I like the idea of living herbs, but truthfully they are very flopsy, leggy little plantlets in an insubstantial plastic square pot. They flop and droop and look all sad if you take the plastic wrapper off. So my idea was to make a pretty container for them to stand in. Something tall enough to hide and support the thin leggy stems.

And the soup carton happened to be the perfect size and shape. Absolutely perrrrrfect.

Before I could slip the parsely pot inside it's new home, I took some scissors and trimmed the rim of the pot off. It was just a smidge too big to fit with the rim left on. It was easy to cut as the plastic is very thin indeed. I was all prepared to do battle with the scissors, but no need.

So shall we have a little ta-dah moment now?

Ok.

Here it comes...............

Ta-DAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One crochet herb pot. Complete with insect life. Aww I couldn't resist adding the little bee button, I've had him sat in my button box for such a long time with no real hope for his future. The bee came as part of a mixed pack of small insect buttons which I bought (along with quite a few others) many years ago. They're called "Dress It Up" buttons and there are hundreds of designs to choose from. Easy to find them online if you like this sort of thing (which I really do)....see here for bees and other critters.

I'm really, really happy with my herb pot. Like ridiculously happy with it. 

I love it cos it turned out just the way I had in mind, and it does the job so beautifully. And I love it cos it's sparked off yet another idea............

........I'm thinking about a long, rectangular stripy cushion with a whole row of appliqué crochet flowers. Kind of like Caroline's paper flowers but in crochet form. A flower garden cushion. Oooooooooo how exciting!!!

Buzz buzz buzz. So many ideas buzzing in! Where on earth are they coming from? I could really do with a bit of a let up now so that I can settle back down with my ripple.

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ps :: about the soup carton. You don't have to use a soup carton. It could be any sort of carton with the right dimensions. In the UK, we have almost identical sized cartons for many of our liquid products  including fresh fruit juice and long life milk. I know this cos I went round the supermarket with Little Man's animal ruler to measure all the cartons I could find. Yeah I know.

x

Edit to add :: the yarn I used here is Rowan Handknit Cotton dk. It's a lovely, soft cotton yarn in beautiful colours, and I love it for decorative projects because it holds it's shape so well. It produces a soft but slightly stiff material, unlike the Rico Creative cotton which produces a soft but floppy material, if that makes sense. I've also gone down to a 3.5mm hook instead of the usual 4mm to make the stitches nice and tight.  Rowan yarn is quite expensive at around £3.60 for a 50g ball. But I adore working with it and will always have a basket of it in my cupboard. I sometimes look on ebay to buy up odd balls of discontinued colours which are often much cheaper. I would be interested to know what cotton yarns are available in the US which might compare? x

 

 

 

 

 

Wrapping the Rubbish

I'm sorry but I've no time to blog at the moment.

I am far too busy making crochet jackets to wrap around my rubbish.

This latest idea is going to be So Good when it's finished, I'll show you tomorrow.

Yay for recycling the waste and making Pretty Things!

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Mini Crochet Bunting Strings

At the moment I feel like my Creative Force has developed an entire mind of it's own and is running me at Warp Speed. Ideas and Must-makes are spilling out of me faster than I can cope with. It's both exhilarating and exhausting.

Just to keep you up to date, I've left the tins for now and am working my way through an obsessive Mini Bunting phase. I've always loved strings of colourful bunting flags, I guess you'll know that if you've been visiting the Attic for a while. I made my crochet bathroom bunting three years ago now (ooooooo check out this post...almost exactly three years ago To-The-Day, how freaky???!!!!! Mid January must contain very strong Bunting Vibes!!!).....wow. I've lost all train of thought now, I just freaked myself out with that discovery.

Ok. Think. Yes. Bunting making. I've been falling in love with mini bunting of late, it's been leaping out at me as I journey through the land of Blogs and Pins. A few days ago I arrived at a gorgeous new-to-me-blog called Heart Handmade UK. Now I come to think of it, I got there whilst searching for Washi Tape inspiration, yes, that was it. Heart Handmade UK is a beautiful visual blog written with passion and love...I've not had the time to really dive into the archives but I really love what I've seen and read so far. It's full of wonderful and inspiring discoveries, and the overall visual style is very "me". Lots of colour and creativity with a dash of quirkiness! There are so many wonderful links there to follow, you will be off on an amazing journey with this blog I can tell you. One such link took me to a Dutch Blog called Zilverblauw, and that's where the mini bunting jumped out at me. That was it then, I just had to make my own. I couldn't wait any longer. 

I literally lept away from my desk, grabbed my little box of embroidery threads and a slim 2.5mm hook (conveniently still sat there following the Jolly Holly making), and set to work. Just like that. I chained a chain in green bamboo cotton first. I decided on 1 chain gaps between my little mini coloured triangles, so my foundation chain was made in multiples of 7 (6 chains for each triangle and 1 chain for each space between). Once the foundation chain was made I started at the right hand side and began to work weeny triangles directly out of the chain, as follows....

Row 1 :: draw a loop through the first stitch, chain 2. Work 1dc in each of the next 5 chains (remember to crochet over the top of your tail ends so you don't have to darn them). Chain 1 and turn [6 stitches].

Row 2 :: work 1dc in each stitch. Chain 1 and turn [6 stitches]

Row 3 :: 1 dc-decrease, dc twice, 1 dc-decrease (see note at end about the decrease business). Chain 1 and turn [4 stitches]

Row 4 :: work 1dc in each stitch. Chain 1 and turn [4 stitches]

Row 5 :: dc-decrease twice. Chain 1 and turn [2 stitches]

Row 6 :: work 1dc in each stitch. Chain 1 and turn [2 stitches]

Row 7 :: dc-decrease. Fasten off. Darn end in at back.

OK...about the dc decrease, this is how to do it in words......Insert hook into stitch, yarn over, hook back through stitch (2 stitches on hook). Insert hook into next stitch, yarn over, hook back through stitch (3 stitches on hook). Yarn over and draw yarn through All Three Stitches on hook. You are effectively turning 2 stitches into 1.

Also just to mention that the bunting benefited enormously from a light steam press with a medium hot iron on the wrong side once it was finished. I tweaked the pointy ends into a good pointy shape whilst the cotton was still slightly damp from the iron.

See how weeny and cutesome the triangles are?! They're diddy!

This is a super-fast project. I hooked up this little row of 8 triangles in about half an hour. Maybe a little longer with the end-darning. The triangles really are teeny tiny...the sides measure just 2.5cm.

As soon as it was finished I went around the house holding it up to various things to see how it looked. Strung under pictures. Under the hall mirror. Along shelf edges. Around a plain cream lampshade (definitely a winner).

And then finally it came to rest in the twigs. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh yes. That's it. I'll make my twigs into a Mini Bunting Tree!! Need to go stock up on embroidery thread now, cos I've got lots more bunting strings to make and I'm running low on supplies.

Oh sweet, simple crochet, how it rocks my world.

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ps Just a note to say that this mini crochet bunting thing is most definitely not my original idea. I've been hugely inspired by the lovely Kate who recently made herself some and turned it into a necklace. That girl has such style x

 

Tins and Tape

Just a quick posting today as I need to get back to my Most Important Tin Coverage Mission. Don't try and stop me, my Tins need me.

I wrote up the tutorial for you yesterday (find it HERE).....I know it's a very basic pattern an' all, and many of you don't actually need such a picture heavy tute for something this easy. But I LOVE the idea of using simple projects with simple words and a gazillion step-by-step pictures to enable Newbie Hookers.

I've had a few comments about Sharp Edges. Yes, those inner tin edges can be devilishly sharp I agree. I found that my tuna tins opened cleanly and evenly with my tin opener and there were no sharp jags at all. But the pineapple tin (pictured above) actually drew blood. So I used the back of a spoon to press down a few of the nasty, wicked metal jags, then covered the inner edge completely with some pretty deco tape I had in the cupboard. I bought this tape ages ago from DotComGiftShop, and at 50p per roll it was a bargain. You can find it here, and there are other slightly more expensive designs to choose from too.

Talking of pretty deco tape, I had a little search for some on Etsy and OH. MY. GOODNESS.

I found WASHI TAPE.

How dreamy is this stuff???!!!!

Why did nobody think to tell me about Washi Tape before?????

Seriously, it is unbelievably gorgeous and desirable. DIViNe. Smoochable.

The above pictures are from an Etsy Shop called Le Box Boutique, one of many, many shops on the internet selling this gorgeous stuff. I can feel a Potential Addiction coming on. 

Oooooooooooooo♥ooooooooooo Washi Tape Mini Bunting, you are SO in my future.

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Crochet Tin Covers :: Ta-dah!

Oh my. I have to admit that it's given me a silly amount of guilty pleasure keeping you guessing over this creative make. Sorry. Well no, truthfully I'm not really very sorry, it's been tremendous fun reading your comments on my last post, I've enjoyed it so much!

Ok, enough with the teasing, shall we cut straight to the story? It all started last week when I bought my first small £1 pot of spring narcissi home from the supermarket. I buy these every year, you may remember I crocheted some blue and white jar jackets for them a few years back. I'm currently using those jars to hold pens and pencils, so I simply popped the pot into a very cute little 1940's china jug (a recent ebay purchase). But they didn't look right. They wobbled and wibbled.

I thought to myself that what I really needed was a little dish with a flat bottom. Cos then I could keep the narcissi in the very lovely bright yellow plastic pot, but have some sort of un-wobbly vessel to stand them in. I began looking around on the Shelves of Doom to see if I could find some sort of a dish, but nothing appeared. And then the idea hit, it came whizzing into my Creative Mind just like that. It was the shape you see. I had this flat-bottomed dish shape in my mind. And this is what whizzed in........

A tuna tin.

Of course! It's the perfect size and shape. Per-fect. I just needed to remove the contents (tuna/mayonnaise sandwiches anyone?) and come up with some sort of pretty cover for the empty tin. Genius!

Now I decided to keep it very simple. I figured that all I needed to do was to make a kind of a cuff that would sit neatly around the tin, much as I did for these jars, remember them? No bottom needed, just the sides to be covered, with a pretty decorative edging around the top.

I could not WAIT to get started, I cannot tell you how stupidly excited I became over this idea. Like I felt I would burst if anyone tried to stop me from doing this thing.

I set to work. I got out my basket of Rowan handknit Cotton (oh how I adore this yarn!), a 3.5mm hook and off I went. Round and round creating rings of colourful, cottony stripes.

I had originally thought about finishing off the top edge with a little scallop or picot, but somewhere along the way I got fixated on the idea of using beads. Not sure where this influence came from, but I felt sure I could have a go at actually crocheting in some beads as I worked. I maybe saw it done somewhere, but can't recall. So I just had a play with it until I worked out how to do it.

And was it successful, this beady finish?

Oh YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes yes yes yes yeppity yeah-haw yes it was!!!!!!!!!

It really worked out beautifully.

Want to see?

Want to see my first tuna tin cover???

Ahhh ok................................................................................................

Ta-dah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Big smile. I LOVE it. It's just so colourful and cute and perfectly simple.

And it goes beautifully with the yellow pot I think.

Pretty and Practical.

Do you like the effect of the beads? Isn't it great? I used plastic beads from a child's jewellery making set, as they are colourful and quite chunky and have big holes for threading. I couldn't use the pretty glass beads that I have as the holes are too small, but I've since discovered an incredible range of coloured glass "pony beads" that are designed specifically for threading onto DK weight yarn. They're available online from a well known Rowan knit designer called Debbie Abrahams....do check them out if you like this sort of thing. I've ordered myself some but they've not arrived yet, I'll show you when I get them.

I figured that these covered tins could be used for all sorts of things, not just to hold plant pots. I've got this overwhelming urge to force feed my family tuna for every meal and make dozens of these sweet little things. For holding coins and buttons and paperclips and jewellery and all manner of Small Things.

So of course once I'd made the first one, I had to make more. Had to experiment a little with the stripes and the top edge and the business of prettifying the hooky.

So out came the buttons. Nothing I love more than to stitch buttons onto crochet.

I made the stripes wider this time too (double rows of each colour) and tried out a scallop edging along the top.

This is the third one I made, finished off with vintage mother of pearl buttons.

Awwww they look so cute all together! I took them up to the bathroom shelf to photograph them as I had an idea I wanted to see them against a blue background.

The blue one with the pearly buttons was snapped up by a visiting friend. She called round for a cuppa as I was making it and declared that she was in love with it and really had to take it home. Who was I to argue? Plus it gave me reason to make another one, cos two's just never enough.

I tell you, these are sooooo addictive. And quick too. By the time I came to make this one, I knew what I was doing and it only took about an hour, I kid you not.

I made up a couple of my teeny tiny flowers, and did four "half leaves".....by that I mean I literally made half of the original leaf pattern (ch 6, begin in 2nd ch from hook and work dc, htr, tr, htr, dc, finish off)

Stitched them all into place and added a couple of buttons.....

Awwwwwwwwwwww! I think this might be my favourite one of all.

A handful of colourful, creative scrumptiousness.

Pretty, pretty.

And useful too....they work a treat with these little plant pots. Just as I imagined when the idea first formed.

♥ Love ♥

I made this rather girly one for Little Lady this morning. Little B was out with Daddy so I took the opportunity to make/photograph a tutorial for you.

I'm so excited about the crochet+bead technique. It's amazing. And it's sparking off all sorts of new creative ideas (I'm thinking round cushions with a beady edging, a beaded bag, and a long, skinny scarf with a beady bottom edge!)

I'm going to try and upload/write the tutorial this weekend for you.

Better get yourself some tins of tuna in anticipation.

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 Edit to add :: someone yesterday (who doesn't like tuna) suggested using pineapple tins instead. Marvelous idea, we are getting a bit tuna'd out here. Tomorrow I'm scouring the supermarket shelves for tins. Cat food you say?

Another Edit :: (( thank you)) for all the tin love! I've uploaded the pics for the tutorial but won't have time to write it until tomorrow. In the meantime if you want to get started, this is it in a nutshell ::

You should make a foundation chain to tightly fit your tin (mine was 46+1 for turning). Work in dc (sc for US peeps), in Back Loops Only. At the end of the first row, sl st into beginning chain so that it joins up and looks like circular bangle. Work all future rows with right side facing (no turning) and always end row with a sl st join (no sewing up). Crochet ends in as you go (no darning). Scallop edging as follows :: work one row of dc, then next round in same colour, *skip 1 stitch, work 4 htr in next st, skip 1 st, sl st in next st* and repeat. Beading tutorial will come tomorrow.

By the way I'm moving onto pineapple tins, they're slightly taller = more play with stripes and embellishment possibilities. Also I've now got a mad urge to stitch ric rac braiding onto crochet......I'm thinking ric rac braid+buttons!! My cup runneth over!!!!

xx

(((( THE TUTORIAL IS READY! ))))

 

 

 

 

Creative Mess

Little B sleeps and I sit at the table making a mess.

This is mess of the very Bestest Kind.

Creative Mess.

Yarn. Thread. Beads. Buttons.

Colour. Creativity. Activity. Happiness.

I am hugely happy.

Big swell of my heart and big smile on my face.

I am working through an idea that flew into my head on Monday and refused to budge.

And it's all come together and has worked out and I am so so so SO excited.

I love it when an idea is successfully moved from my Creative Mind, through my hands and into Reality.

I am inCREDibly excited to show you what I've been up to, but I've not quite finished yet.

I can tell you that it's a little hooky something (of course), combined with buttons and beads.

And tuna.

Yes, that's right.

Tuna.

As in the can of fish.

Oh, and flowers too.

Watch this space............

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Edit to add :: the yarn is Rowan Handknit Cotton DK xx

 

 

 

 

 

On the Menu :: Sweet and Easy Curry

I've been meaning to write this recipe up for a while, you may remember I mentioned it in a post a month or so ago? I have this recipe written down on a piece of paper in my precious Recipe File, it was given to me some time ago by J's Mum and is known in our house as "Mothers Curry". I love it because it is so quick and simple to pull together, and the list of ingredients is refreshingly small for a homemade curry. It really is a super recipe and is very family friendly, ie it has a gentle heat with an underlying sweetness so children of all ages seem to love it.

You begin by making up a very simple curry paste. All you do is mix up the above six ingredients in a bowl. Clockwise from the centre we have ::

2 tbs Greek yoghurt

3 tbs tomato purée

2 tbs mango chutney

1.5 tsp garam masala spice (see note below)

1 tsp chilli powder

2 crushed cloves garlic

Now about the garam masala spice....I'm not sure if this is a world wide, universal spice or not? Here in the UK it is readily available to buy in supermarkets etc, and you can see what it contains in the list of ingredients above. If you can't find this spice mix where you live, it is possible to make your own by combining individual spices. I found this easy recipe on the internet, and although I've not tried it, it gets good reviews.

When all six ingredients are mixed, you should end up with a rather unappealing looking orangey brown paste, as above. Don't be alarmed by the way it looks as I promise you it's going to be wonderful.

Aside from whatever your main curry ingredient is going to be (chicken, prawns, chickpeas, lentils, vegetables), you will also need corn oil and fresh coriander leaves (think this herb is know as "cilantro" in some countries?)

Once you've made the paste, it's super-simple and super-speedy to bring it all together.

Heat 2tbs corn oil in a pan, sloop in the paste, bring to the boil and cook for 2 mins, stirring frequently.

Now add in whatever your main ingredient is. I most often used left over roast chicken which is already cooked, but you can use raw diced chicken breast so long as you make sure it cooks through thoroughly. I've also very successfully made this curry with prawns, green lentils, chickpeas and veggies (but not all at once!)...and I notice from the above picture that I also added in chopped red pepper and onion with my cooked chicken. It's all very flexible. If you're using lentils or chickpeas, they should be already cooked. And if you use cooked prawns, wait and add them into the sauce right at the very end so that they just have time to heat through and don't over cook.

Right, so you add in your chicken or cooked pulses or veggies, stir well to coat in the sauce then add 150ml water. Simmer gently for 20mins or so until the sauce thickens and everything is cooked through.

Lastly, stir in 2tbs of greek yoghurt and a good handful of chopped fresh coriander leaves and cook for 2 more mins. Serve as you like.....we have ours with basmati rice and mini naan breads or homemade flatbreads to dip in the lovely sauce.

What I like most about this meal is watching the Little Ones devour it. Little B makes a heart melting "mmmmMMMMMMmmmmm" noise when he is really enjoying the taste of something. It makes my day when he does that.

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Edit to add :: I just remembered that when my mother in law makes her curry she adds in a couple of chopped fresh green chillies along with the coriander/yoghurt towards the end of the cooking. This gives the curry a more adult-appropriate heat. Actually it usually makes my eyes water and my nose run.

 

 

 

Gentle Activity

:: baking (banana and apricot loaf) ::

:: arranging (the first bought daffodils of the year) ::

:: hooking (trying out a fun new idea) ::

:: darning (oooo I've been a little slack with my ends of late!) ::

:: pinning (oh yeah, the Pinterest bug bit me) ::

:: reading (with sound effects) ::

:: piling (also sorting, loading, unloading, sorting, folding. Three loads) ::

:: snuggling (and providing TLC to an under-the-weather Little Boy) ::

:: gazing (beautiful skies today) ::

:: pondering (sitting quietly in the Attic window seat) ::

:: drinking (a hot afternoon cuppa by the fire) ::

:: cooking (oven roasted garlic and rosemary veggies with sausages) ::

♥

Such a cosy, stay-home Sunday.

A string of quiet, gentle, mindful activities.

Kitchen time and sofa time and Attic time.

Me time and Mummy time and Family time.

Full of everything and nothing-much.

♥

Edit to add :: I'm called Attic24 on Pinterest. I'm just beginning with it so my boards are only in baby stages. But Oh.My.Goodness. What fun!

Another Edit :: The banana bread is fantastic, it's a Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipe and can be found here.  And I bought my gorgeous owl cushion from a local shop, but you can find them at Sass and Belle (prepare for The Major Wanties to hit. Be warned!)

 

 

Circle of Inspiration

One of the things that I am told most often by visitors to the Attic is that they find my blog Inspiring. Isn't Inspiration a truly wonderful thing? Both providing it and receiving it (as I do almost every day of my life) is such a thrill. It's one aspect of writing my blog that I never really bargained for when I started out. I never sat and thought "Well now, what I really want to do here is to inspire the creative folk of the world. I want to become an Inspirational Person". Nope, the thought never crossed my mind for one second. I simply had a desire to write words to go with my photographs. Wanted to try and document my life in a way that made me feel creative and productive. It was all very me-me-me, and to a certain extent it still is. I read a comment on my blog recently saying that blogs are often thought of as "Vanity Vehicles"...oh my goodness, I SO laughed at that, cos there is such an element of truth in it!!!

So yes, I can well understand the desire and delight one feels when one is hit with Inspiration. It can be quite an intoxicating experience, and I do often find myself craving it and going in search of it. And there is plenty of it out there for the taking. The World Wide Web, more precisely Blogland, Flickrville and Pinterest are chocka block full of it. There are oodles of inspiring images, words, projects, recipes and patterns waiting out there, waiting to send those creative sparks flying.

Do you like what I'm showing you today? These lush images of gloriously colourful hooky? They're inspiring aren't they?

I made this dear little blanket yesterday, on a complete whim. Whipped it up just like that.

Actually, I am pulling your leg here, I did no such thing. Sorry.

This gorgeous piece of hooky was made by a friend of mine, a friend who knit and occasionally did very complicated stitchy things involving vigorous counting before I taught her to crochet. Just before Christmas she asked my advice about edging a blanket she was doing. Pulled it out of a carrier bag to show me. OH! Oh oh oh OH HOW BEEEEEEEeeeeeaaaaaaaaaauuuuutiful!

I was completely and instantly smitten with her blanket. I recognised the yarn straight away (good ol' Rico Creative Cotton) but the pattern....oh where did the beautiful pattern come from??? It's yours, she said. Na, I don't think so, I said. Yes it is, I'm sure it is, she said. Well now. She happened to be right actually, it is indeed one of my creations, a sample design I worked on way back at the beginning of 2010 but had comletely forgotton about.

Isn't it wonderful, this Circle of Inspiration??? I love it. Love that I was inspired by an old crochet apron, which in turn inspired my friend to make this blanket, which is now inspiring me all over again to make a blanket of Granny Wheels. With deep dark navy edging. And stripes.

Wonderful Inspiration. Where would we be without it?

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Edit to add :: I never had chance at the time to write up the pattern for the Granny Wheel, but I will try and do it for you in the next few weeks.