Attic24

Dorset Summer 2012 :: days 1&2

:: DAY 1 ::

Weather report ~ sun and blue sky, pale hazy turning to deep azure. Seriously hot.

Our first day in Dorset always consists of a trip to the sea, it's an absolute must-do as far as I'm concerned. Usually we head to West Bay harbour and pootle around a little, but this time we headed a little further around the coast to the beach at Burton to take advantage of a glorious summers day. I actually forgot to take my camera (well more precisely I had the camera but had forgotten to put the battery back in it) so have no pictures of this day, you'll have to make do with my words. The sun was really hot, honestly, it quite took us by surprise. Had completely forgotten what hot sun feels like, it was bliss! We put up our beach tent and set up camp, and there we stayed for the next five hours. Lounging around on blankets, eating a picnic lunch, digging holes in the shingle, searching for sea glass and paddling in and out of the sea. A short stroll for ice creams, nothing too strenuous. It was the loveliest start to our holiday, we just couldn't believe our luck with the weather. Sunshine! No rain!!! Yaaaayyyy!!!!!

:: DAY 2 ::

Weather report ~ cloudless, clear blue sky. Scorchingly hot, 90°F.

After a very lazy Day 1, Day 2 was destined to have much more in it. It was a day with a Plan as we had somewhere special to go. Some time ago I took advantage of a special offer and pre-ordered a combined ticket for Abbotsbury's three Tourist Attractions. First up was the Subtropical Gardens and we were all looking forward to it, we've been a few times in the past although the Little People could only vaguely remember it.

It's a stunning garden whatever time of year you visit, but last week's incredible summer weather made it even more so. The intense blue of the sky and the bright sunlight transported us out of England and it really felt like we had somehow been magically whisked abroad.

Very funny looking at the pictures I took on this day, there are many containing blurred action shots of the Little People. They barely stood still the whole time we were there, and not for the first time I marvelled at their enthusiasm and energy. It seemed boundless, even on this scorching hot day. On the opposite end of the scale, I felt like I was winding down almost to a stand still, and spent much of my time trying to absorb some cooling, refreshing air from all the lush greenery.

I really loved the lush leafiness of the gardens, it provided a welcome respite from the heat of the day. Many of the pathways meander in and out of dense shrubbery and are shaded by a thick green canopy of leaves overhead so it wasn't quite so hot as the out-in-the-open bits.

The Little People loved that the pathway leading to our picnic spot was marked as a Secret Walk. It's not especially secret, merely a path leading to a gate at the edge of the gardens which takes you up a steep grassy slope to a magnificent coastal view point.

This is the view that greets you as you huff and puff to the top, isn't it gorgeous? This is looking West along the sweep of Lyme Bay....

...and this is the view East along the stunning Chesil beach. You can see the Fleet Lagoon there, with the slice of shingle beach separating it from the sea.

We managed to find some shade under the hedgerow to eat our picnic, it was such a lovely spot with butterflies fluttering all around us and the sound of gentle birdsong. The Little People were kept busy trying to catch grasshoppers in between bites of their sandwich.

After lunch we strolled back down into the gardens and continued our journey. Down through the Himalayan part of the garden, and into the bamboo forest.

It was cool and shady and beautiful.

Out of the shade and into the bright afternoon sun, it's time for the Hydrangea Walk.

I'm still not sure about hydrangeas. Actually, I am sure....I don't much like them. No particular reason, they just don't float my boat.

I did spend time admiring all the colour variations, and I did try to like them just a little bit more, tried to appreciate their papery beauty. But nope, they are not for me. I am a brash Dahlia Girl really, I think hydrangeas are just a bit too refined and subtle for me.

I took some hilarious photos of the Little Peeps posing under these ginormous Gunnera plants, I think these outlandish leaves definitely ranked amongst the Best Bits for them.

The afternoon stretched ahead as we continued to wander around, it's hard to convey how unbelievably hot it was on this day. The dappled shade under the trees was so inviting, I felt like I wanted to lay down there and not move another inch.

We all love this pond, and it was remembered fondly from previous years. The Little People ran straight to the fish food dispenser with their 20p's, and it was super sweet watching Little B join in. I did try to photograph the fish (some huge koi carp and lots of smaller goldfish), but they would not co-operate. Plus I did rather have my hands full trying to prevent Little B from throwing his whole body into the water.

I think this is my favourite bit of the garden, it's a hot, dry sunny bank that leads down from the pond in a series of terraces and steps.

The flowers are so incredibly bright and vibrant here, and the scent also lovely....herbs and pine resin and hot dusty earth, it reminded me of many summers spent on the Greek Islands when I was in my twenties.

Ahhhhhh refreshment! I was soooo ready to sit down in this fabulous outdoor café, flip off my sandals and partake in a bit of restorative munching and slurping under the shade of a large umbrella.

Mmmmmmm mmmmmmm. Lovely.

The last part of our visit to the gardens consisted of a wistful browse through the small but beautiful garden shop, and a lengthy stint in the playground. There is a very long tall slide there, and it was quite difficult to extract our two year old from its delights.

I think this particular day (Monday 23rd July) was my favourite of the whole week, and one of the reasons I loved it so much was its length. It went on and on and on and on. Many, many hours of sun drenched pleasure.

We are into the evening now on the same day as the subtropical gardens, and we are down at Eype beach to cook and eat dinner. It is about 6pm in the above photo, and still rather hot and gorgeous as you can see.

I love love love coming down to this small beach in the evenings, it's become something of a little ritual for us if the weather is right for it. Other families are here doing the same thing as us, lighting up barbecues, dipping toes in the water and generally enjoying a relaxing, happy end-of-day.

We make camp, oh how I love doing this! Our beach tent goes up, blankets are arranged, ice and beers go into a bucket and then it's time to simply sit and stare. It's heavenly. The sea is calm, the air is warm, and soon the scent of smoking barbecue coals fills the air.

We tend to eat simply when we're out and about, with J in charge of cooking the Aberdeen Angus beef burgers and me in charge of the accompaniments.

I make Greek Salad and open a tub of tsatsiki. Rip up some chunks of fresh bread. Job done. Pass me another cold beer will you?

As we sit and wait for our burgers to cook, we witness a most amazing sight. Can you see in the above photo the dark shadows in the water? A large shoal of mackerel passes by in the midst of a feeding frenzy, and the sea is positively alive and jumping with the sprats that they are scoffing. We watch amazed as fishermen up and down the beach run to the waters edge, cast out their lines and pull in half a dozen mackerel within seconds. How great is that? Almost makes me want to take up fishing.

The sun is making it's journey slowly but surely towards the horizon, casting everything in it's golden glow.

We sit and chat and drink beer, and it is all so near perfect that my heart feels like it wants to leap out of my body and into the sea.

It is beautiful, oh so beautiful down here on the warm pebbles at this time of day.

8.30pm and our camp is in shadow now. Although it is still warm, we decide to light up a camp fire.

I set off down the beach with the Little People to collect driftwood and indulge in a bit of pebble therapy.

Small pieces of driftwood are fairly easy to come by on the beach and we soon have a couple of buckets to take back.

The rock table makes a perfect setting for our campfire, and a sleepy Little B at last decides he might quite like to sit still with Daddy.

The Little People are not sitting still, of course they're not, how bizarre to think that they might! I cannot quite remember what they were up to, but it involved a large peice of wood and much running and shouting. My heart did that jumpy thing again as I watched them play, soo happy.

Time check :: 9pm now, and for the first time that day I begin to feel very slightly chilly on my bare arms. The fire's going a treat and it's quite wonderful to snuggle up near it's warmth and wrap a blanket around my shoulders.

There was a beautiful crescent moon hanging in the sky that night. We stayed down near the shore until almost 10pm to wait for the first evening star to appear so that we could make our wishes upon it. It was so exciting when we first saw it! Even Little B, in his sweet baby voice declared he was making a Star Wish. He scrunched his eyes up tight and listened to his sister say the rhyme "Star Light Star Bright, The first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, Have the wish I wish tonight".

I did too. I closed my eyes and made my wish upon that first night star. It was absolutely magical.

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Home Again

We are Home Again and I would love to tell you that I am happy to be here, but truly I would rather still be sitting beside the sea. We got back late on Friday night and I'm right bang in the midst of the inevitable post-holiday slump. Surrounded by mountains of mess, piles of dirty clothes, demanding (overtired) children and a grumpy (back-to-work-tomorrow) husband.

Ah well, it'll pass. It WIlL PaSs. At least this next week will be a quiet one at home for me and the Little People and I might be able to sum up the will to start sorting things out around here. I will attempt to perform some heavy duty Home Blessing, pull my heart and soul away from the seashore and fall back in love with my home and it's place amidst the hills of Yorkshire. 

I transferred all my holiday snaps from my camera to the laptop last night and was amazed to find 447 of them! Gosh, what a lot of visual memory making I performed last week! I'm really looking forward to sharing some of them with you during this next week, but in the meantime, here are a few random pictures.........

As you can see, we were incredibly blessed with the weather last week. It was absolutely beautiful with day after day of deep blue skies and hot summer sun. It felt like we had been given a precious gift, a perfect week of High Summer and oh we did appreciate it! It was a wonderful holiday, truly wonderful. Looking forward to telling you all about it.

Back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

 

Creative Swapping

The lovely Country Living magazine remains one of my all time favourite treats. Month after month it delivers an incredibly beautiful does of inspiration. The homes and gardens that sit within it's pages take my breath away. The wonderful ideas for decorating, cooking and homemaking inspire me no end. I've been reading this magazine faithfully since 1998, so I think you could say I am most definitely a faithful follower.

Back in May (which was the June issue) the magazine started a new feature called "women and their sheds"...wow what a terrific and inspiring idea! Knowing a little of what can go on in Creative Sheds throughout Blogland, I was instantly high on excitement over what Sheddy Goodness would be revealed as the summer months rolled by. First up was the shed of Esther Coombs, you can find some great pictures of this feature on Alun Callender's blog. Part two came last month in the July issue, and you can see the pages up above there......do you recognise that lady? Do you know her?

This is her most beautiful garden shed, a wonderful beach hut/shed/studio hybrid nestled amidst a sea of glorious flowers. It belongs to Emma Mitchell, a super talented jeweller who also writes a very lovely blog called Silver Pebble which you may know.

Shall we take a peek inside?

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh! How delicious!

Emma has transformed the inside of her shed into such a calm and beautiful working space, it has such charm don't you think?

Now if you are not already familiar with Emma's beautiful jewellery, do go and have a little look at her gallery. Her work is truly wonderful, and I love her style very much. I love the simplicity of the designs and the truly handmade nature of what she does. I love the teeny-tiny scale of her jewellery and the exquisite detail in every single thing she makes. I love the subject matter. Well, I just love it all really.

If you pressed me to choose a favourite item of Emma's, it would without doubt be one of these amazing little charm necklaces. She describes them as "beaded garland jewellery - you know, the delicate, jingly, pretty jewellery where beads hang from a chain. It’s like tiny, slightly tinkly, beady bunting." What's not to love?!

Two months ago, Emma offered the above four necklaces as a very generous giveaway, to celebrate her four years in Blogland. Oh my. I sososososososoooooo wanted to win! I wished incredibly hard for my name to be chosen so that I could miraculously own and wear the one with the silver pebble and sea shell. That was my favourite. I fell head over heels in love with it. I visited Emma's blog 67 times a day to see if she had made the draw, to see if I was a Lucky Winner.

Then out of the blue an email came to me from Emma telling me that sadly I did not win. I felt like I wanted to cry. But wait..........the end of Emma's email contained a gem of an idea and immediately my heart skipped a beat or two. She suggested that perhaps I would like to partake in a Creative Swap?? She could make me a necklace and I could make her a hooky something.

OH YES PLEASE!

And there began a delightful creative journey for both of us. A month of emails back and forth as we worked on our projects for each other. Emma asked me to make her a bag, and she asked for it to be made in Coastal Colours. So I formed a collection of aran weight wools that spoke to me of salty sea breezes, crashing waves and summer skies, of smooth pebbles and driftwood, of coastal sand dunes and cool horizons.

I was so thrilled to be working with these colours, as they are my true soul colours.

I began hooking straight away and immediately loved the way the colours worked together.

I worked on the bag in any spare moment. Sat outside while Little B played, at the cafe with a cappuccino, at the pub with a strawberry beer, snuggled on the sofa in the early mornings.

And as the stripes grew and grew I was thinking salty sea thoughts. I was daydreaming of past holidays, of happy times spent by the sea. I thought of pebbles and seaglass and the sound of the waves. And I was also thinking of Emma working away on my necklace, wondering what she was up to. I knew there would be a silver pebble (her trademark) and I knew there would probably be a button or two. I also knew (as I had begged for it) that there would be some amazing seaglass. I was unbelievably excited thinking about all these things while I worked.

The bag grew as the days and weeks flew by until I decided the proportions were right and it had reached the right size. I made a scallopy border around the top edge and I made straps. And then when I was about to start work on the decorative flowers Emma threw a little spanner into my creative works. She asked if instead of flowers she could have circles, sort of pebbly sea-circles. Oh! Well....ok then, I will give it a go, I will see if I can make some pretty circles.....

The circles were fun to make, and after a little bit of trial and error, I found a way to make them work as part of the overall bag design. They were needed both as decoration and as a way to hide the end of the straps where they get stitched to the bag.....

....I think they turned out beautifully. I went in search of some special buttons to add a final flourish and found these amazing mother of pearl ones in a local shop. The colours were perfect.

Would you like to see how it all turned out?

YEs, of course you would!

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

I felt good ecstatic about it when it was finished, and everyone I showed it to seemed to love it. I still felt a little nervous though, I don't very often make things for other people and I really wanted this to be extra special. I wanted Emma to love it as much as I did.

One other thing I decided to do was to make a fabric lining. I chose a beautiful pale duck egg blue linen, and finished it off with some spotty ribbon along the top edge.

It turned out that I finished making the bag and Emma finished making my necklace at almost exactly the same time. We agreed that it would be fun to post our parcels on the same day so that we could kind of both be in a position to open them simultaneously. Oh my goodness, it is so hard to convey the utter excitement/nervousness of this whole bit of the swap! The feelings that it provoked in both of us was so funny! We kept emailing to make sure we would open our parcels together, and there was a point where we had both received the parcels, but hadn't yet found the right time to open them.

My parcel from Emma surprisingly contained two little brown boxes. Two?! The first one I opened contained these incredible little silver and enamel flower earings. WOW! So unexpected, an extra little gift that Emma said reminded her of me with their colours. They are truly beautiful.

The second brown box contained my necklace. The very sight of it made me want to leap through the roof.

How to describe the beauty of it to you? Each and every charm (there are sixteen in total) is amazing.

There is the most beautiful sea glass.

There are sweet little sea-washed stones, and there look is the silver pebble which Emma made using silver clay.

More seaglass, sweet little vintage mother of pearl buttons and a silver button charm made by Emma. Honestly, this necklace is pure perfection.

It is so incredibly beautiful. And it is truly mine. I said to Emma that it feels like she took my very soul and strung it on a silver chain. My love of the sea, my childhood, my own enduring obsession with collecting small treasures, it's all there.

Wearing this necklace is a dream. I asked for a short 16" chain as this is the way I like to wear my jewellery - quite high up round my neck so that it sits on my skin and doesn't get lost in my clothing.

I love the feel of it round my neck, it's surprisingly heavy. It feels like happiness.

♥

Emma's beautiful jewellery is for sale in her Etsy shop.

She is also a genius at working to commission, so do please feel free to contact her for a chat if you would like a special something made (more info here)

And of course her blog is pretty special too, I am currently drooling my way through her past archives.

Isn't creativity wonderful?! Yaaaaay for HaNdMaDe ♥

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ps...this evening we'll be heading 300 miles south to the Dorset coast. I can't wait to wear my necklace whilst strolling along the shoreline.

Will be back in a week's time ♥

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Enjoying...

...the jam jar of home grown flowers on my table.

...my pot marigolds beginning to bloom at last.

...my sweet peas flourishing with all the rain we're having.

...selecting the last two colours for my ripple blanket stripes (yipppeee!)

...some quiet but frantic hooky time (that was the Very Last Row I was working on!)

...a Sunday morning walk in the sun dappled woods (yes there was a smidge of sun)

...woodland textures, the scent of damp earth, the little patches of sunlight.

...the lush greenery at this time of year.

...the pile of ends that tells me my blanket is so nearly complete.

...finishing up a fabulous sea-inspired hooky make for a Lovely Lady.

♥

Summer flowers inside and out. Lots of exciting hooky time (I'm about to be on The Edge people!). A family walk in the woods followed by cappuccino's and icecreams in the the little cafe. My weekend was full of good things.

Life at this time of year is always very hectic, thank goodness we are now in the last week of school. I am tired, and so ready for a holiday and a change of pace....we go down to Dorset to spend time with my folks on Saturday and I cannot wait.

I'm really, really looking forward to finishing my ripple blanket, I am nearly there!! I'm very excited cos I've designed a new edging which I think is going to be fabulous. I'm also really, really looking forward to sharing some of the things which have been going on a bit secretively in the background of late...the above mentioned sea-inspired crochet should be ready to reveal in a few days as I've mailed it off to it's recipient now. I'm also working on something else  mega exciting which I am so looking forward to sharing. Need to do some more knitting for that before I can elaborate, but let me tell you it is something rather new and special that I've recently become involved in.

So much to Enjoy. So much to be thankful for. More soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

Elderflower Cordial

I have wanted to make Elderflower cordial for the longest time. I absolutely love it and due to the high price of the commercially produced stuff it's something of an infrequent treat when I've got pennies to spare. Come to think of it, I've absolutely no idea why it's taken me so long to get round to making it? One of life's mysteries, but most likely connected to my incredible Lazy Gene and uber-strong Procrastination Tendencies. I very often have Big Thoughts about doing all sorts of productive, creative things, but the following through with action just doesn't always happen. Oh, and the other thing is that I am quite allergic to elderflowers, or rather the vast amount of dusty pollen they contain. Cath Kidston tissues at the ready for this venture.

This year I noticed a real abundance of elderberry trees/bushes in my neighbourhood throughout June, they seemed to be everywhere I looked and were smothered in flowers. A few weeks ago I had been chatting to a friend about wanting to make elderflower cordial, and she gave me a brief run down of the recipe as she remembered it. Twenty Five flower heads she said. Plus lots of sugar and some lemons. Sounded simple enough, and I figured that twenty five flowers would be fairly easy to harvest.

Not sure what prompted me finally to go forth and Make It Happen, maybe I wanted to do something so very Summery to combat the un-summery weather. Maybe I was just plain bored one damp, overcast Sunday morning. Bored and thirsty perhaps?

Despite the ridiculously unseasonal weather, I really enjoyed my early morning picking trip to the park. I find elderflowers incredibly pretty, they really are beautiful when you study them in close-up.

As anticipated, I had soon gathered twenty five pollen-filled flower heads into my basket. It didn't take long at all and I wished that it had lasted longer. It was definitely the bestest bit of the whole Cordial-making experience (although consuming the finished product is pretty darn good). I felt so pleased with my efforts as I tramped back up the soggy hill with my hedgerow booty swinging in my basket. How wholesome and productive to venture out and gather natures harvest to do fantabulous homemade things with!

Ahhh, long summer grasses, swaying gently in the breeze......you would never believe from this photo how cold it actually was on that first day of July). Freeeeeeeeezing it was.

Just had to share these roses with you, I pass them on my short walks to and from the park and have fallen in love with them over and over again this summer. I so wish that they were mine! Need to purchase and plant roses at number 24. It's a Must-do. Is rose-planting an Autumn pursuit? Any rose-lovers/growers out there, please do pass me some rosy-growing info!

Right then, pull my thoughts away from gorgeous, delightful, fragrant, smoochy pink roses and back to the sneezy, creamy white elderflowers. I loved the look of them inside my strawberry oilcloth lined basket. So pretty.

If you read any recipe for making elderflower cordial, it will always tell you to wash the flowers in water first to get rid of any critters. I didn't actually do this (plain forgot), but I did give the flowers a good shake and an inspection as I pulled them one by one out of the basket. I was completely mesmerized by this spider that crawled out, it is the exact colour of the alchemilla that's frothing away in my front garden. It's the first time I have ever encountered a lime green spider, it was a lovely little critter indeed.

I have to tell you that there are a gazillion-bobillion recipes in the world for elderflower cordial and they seem to vary wildly. Although the main ingredients (flowers, sugar, water, citrus fruit) are pretty much the same in each recipe, the quantities and proportions were staggeringly different. I flicked through about a dozen variations on the internet and perused a few in my books, eventually settling on this one by Sarah Raven.

Sarah's recipe has rather more citrus in than other recipes (2 lemons, 2 oranges and 2 limes, although I left out the limes cos of not having any in at the time). I love citrus flavours though, and I also loved her no-nonsense method.

One other ingredient she also uses (that I miraculously did have in) was citric acid. From what I know of this ingredient, it's a natural product that's mainly used in wine making to act as a preservative. It might possibly also give a little extra fizz-kick to cordials, although that's just a guess. It's perfectly possible to make elderflower cordial without it, but I think it does make it taste better. You can buy it easily online, even Amazon sells it (well Amazon does sell just about anything these days).

So this is Sarah's easy-peasy method :: water and sugar in pan, bring to boil. Add in flowers, bring back to boil. Remove from heat, throw in sliced fruit, stir and leave for a few days. Easy or what?

I left my concoction to infuse for 3 days for maximum flavour to develop. Then I strained it through a muslin bag into a big jug and poured it into two empty 1 litre soda bottles. 

The Little People were suitably impressed with my efforts and couldn't wait to sample it. The cordial is quite strong and needs to be diluted with water :: we made it first with normal tap water, then later with some bubbly soda water.

It really is delicious. Delicate, refreshing and oh-so-summery. I just wish I'd made more of it now, but there's always next year.

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A Jar of Summer

Fantastic News!!!! Today the sky was blue! There were cute little fluffy white clouds! There was actual, real, bonafide sunshine! There was also rain this morning, but after the rain had been and gone we were left with a beautiful gem of a day. Thank goodness! It's been wonderful to go out without a rain coat on, to feel some gentle warmth in the air, to feel light and happy and summery all of a sudden.

To celebrate, I picked flowers. Flowers with no soggy petals, flowers that looked and smelt of the sweetest summer day.

This little jar contains a mix of summer flowers from my back and front garden.

Alchemilla, sweet peas, nasturtiums, honeysuckle, rose and blue marguerite. Oh, and that clumpy green foliage on the right is an unopened hollyhock flowerhead which a mean and nasty slug/snail chewed through. Yes, there was bad language, a whole stream of verbal abuse came forth. I don't expect the flower will open in my jar, but you never know. Pesky molluscs.

Aren't they beautiful? So so so beautiful. I look at this modest arrangement in it's little glass jar and the sight truly moves me. I am such a sucker for simple, vibrant flowers.

Whilst gazing lovingly at my Jar of Summer this afternoon, it suddenly struck me that during the past week or two I've been crocheting those exact same floral shades right into the end of my ripple blanket. Aren't the colours remarkably similar? Funny to think that this blanket is now spanning all four seasons :: it started in Autumn, passed through Winter and Spring, and will end in Summer.

Now do you want to see something funny?

Well not funny as such, but definitely illuminating.

I want to show you the power of macro photography, combined with artistic cropping.

The above photos are all so lovely don't you think? They make my heart sing when I look at them. They are all close-up studies of a small object in a small area. There is, of course, a reason for this.

And that reason is quite simply that my house is in a huge, chaotic mess!

Look...............................................................

Crikey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, there's a bit of honest reality for you. It's not pretty around here at the moment.

Righty-ho, lets move swiftly back to the subject matter, that Jar of Summer.....where is it in amongst the mess?

Gosh, that's better. The table is now clear(ish) cos I had to sweep everything off in order for us to eat dinner.

Isn't this a delight? It was about 5.45pm and the sun was streaming in through the dining room window lighting up the flowers. I felt like I wanted to stop time and just sit and worship the visual gorgeousness of sunshine, shadow, petal and leaf.

The colours of nature are truly wonderful ♥

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Summertime?

I keep trying to remind myself that we are in Summer. It's been so crazily un-summery here for so long now that it's easy to get muddled and forget what season we are in.

Last week I went to the park and picked elderflowers to make cordial. It's a beautiful, delicate drink that is the essence of summer. Strange to go and pick these sweet flowers wearing boots, tramping through soggy wet grass under leaden grey skies, wrapped up in a warm fleece jacket.  I should have been skipping across a sun dappled field, wearing flip flops and a vest top! What has happened to our seasons? It's all gone skewy! Resulting cordial was/is utterly delicious though, I will post more on that tomorrow.

Indoors I am holding on to those summertime dreams. I bought a most gorgeous bunch of summery roses last week, sort of whitish petals with a deep pink blush to them.

I popped them into the most cheerful jug I have and stuck in some bright acid green alchamilla from the front garden. They cheer the room up so much, create an instant summer feel-good right there on the table.

I continue to beat the wet-weather blues by hunkering down indoors and being Creative.

Current Creative News in brief.....

♥ I am a thrilling six rows away from completing my ripple blanket!!!!

♥ I am almost finished hooking a secret project that I can't show you till next week when it arrives at it's destination.

♥ I am sampling new flower designs to make a second generation summer flower scarf (first generation flower scarf fell apart after too much daily usage). Hoping to get that under way and write a tutorial for this in a week or two.

♥ I am knitting (Yes, KNITing, with sticks! Me, KnitTiNg!! cripes!)...squares. Knitted squares for yet another secret project that I'll be revealing in due course. It's all rather ridiculously exciting, can't wait to tell all!!

I picked the first sweet peas from my back yard at the weekend. Shook the rain drops off, inhaled deeply, smiled broadly, and scurried in out of the rain with them. Popped them in an old bottle and put them beside my bed.

It's unbelievably wonderful to fall asleep at night and wake in the morning with the delicious scent of sweet pea in the air. Another reminder that yes, it is indeed Summer, believe it or not.

ps This delightful book is my current bedtime reading matter. Counting down (eleven more sleeps!) until we go on holiday to the sea....

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Sociable Crochet :: Part II

Isn't this view divine? Dreamy? Idyllic looking? I would quite fancy waking up to a view like that. Ok, scrap that last sentence and lets say I would completely adore waking up to a view like that. There's that haziness in the sky which tells you it's going to a glorious day. There will be sunshine and heat, for dead cert. Oh what I wouldn't give for some Dead Certain Sunshine right now!

And what about this little street? Do you like the brightly painted wooden shutters, the pretty pastel coloured walls? Can you picture yourself strolling along, taking it easy, breathing it all in?

Come on, lets go wander around the local market and buy some fresh produce for our lunch! We can stop for a morning coffee and sweet pastry in a little cafe and soak up the atmosphere before heading out into the countryside.....

...oooo, this looks like a lovely place to stop for lunch....don't you think it would be amazing to picnic in the dappled shade of these olive trees? Spread out some colourful blankets or ease into a comfy chair, and have a delicious bite to eat. So relaxing. Such pleasure!

Ok, I think by now you must be thinking I have gone quite gaga, I am off in a dream world, a little detached from reality. This is most definitely not my neck o' the woods. Nah, this doesn't look like rainy, stormy Yorkshire at all! And no, I haven't managed to sneak off to somewhere hot and delicious without telling you. Not yet anyway.

So what is this all about? Where is this magical sounding place? And more importantly, WHERE IS THE SOCIABLE CROCHET I promised you?? Eh???     

Well let me enlighten you. These photographs were all taken in sunny Provence, a picturesque region in the south of France. It's a beautiful area, somewhere I have long dreamed of visiting. When I think of Provence, I think of the incredible landscapes captured by Van Gogh and Cezanne who did much of their painting in the region. I think of azure blue skies, twinkling stars, fields of lavender and sunflowers. I think of bright colour and light, of tasty fresh produce, vineyards and olive groves, of beauty and warmth, relaxation and inspiration.

So what has this got to do with crochet? Well.........this coming October 2012, I'm being given a very special chance to visit Provence for a most amazing holiday there. The week long holiday will provide a chance to take a luxurious break from every day life in the most beautiful surroundings. There will be a tempting mix of local visits (cafe's, markets, picturesque villages etc), cultural visits, and time for pure relaxation. Oh, and of course there will be lots of Hooky Time, yaaaaayyyy!!! As I (a confessed hooky addict) will be there, of course there has to be plenty of time to ease back, chitter chatter and crochet, crochet, crochet. Sometimes we will be in the gorgeous villa with tea and cake, sometimes we will be out in the amazing landscape with a picnic lunch, but crochet will always be at the heart of it.

Now to say that I am "excited" by the prospect of a week full of crochet, food, friendship, landscape, beauty and relaxation, well that doesn't even begin to cover it. I am fizz-popping with joy at the very idea of it, right from the top of my ditsy head to the end of my stripy-socked toes. Every time I am reminded of it (only thirteen weeks to go!!!) I get a shiver of excitement right down my spine. It promises to be such a happy, fun experience. I am SOOOOOOooooooo looking forward to it!

Truthfully I am quite overwhelmed by this whole dreamlike opportunity, and beleive me I do know and appreicate how incredibly lucky I am. Now if you'd like to find out more, please do go and visit the website at Provence Temptations and take a look at the little Crochet Tour video. Feast your eyes on the gorgeous images and the detailed itinerary. The lovely Petah who is organising this whole incredible event will be delighted to hear from you either by contacting her on the website or via Facebook, please do feel free to get in touch with her for a friendly chat.

I feel so very lucky to have found my way into the creative world of yarn, to have found a craft that lends itself so perfectly to social situations. I feel like I've discovered something so precious, and so full of happiness, and I LOVE to be able to share this experience with others. It's bloomin' MarVelouS!!!! So if you've never had the chance to crochet/knit/craft alongside like minded people, I really hope that someday you will find a way to make it happen. It's the best thing. And if you can make it happen with the most idyllic of surroundings, well a little slice of heaven will open up on Earth for you.

Right, I'm off to go find my hook and yarn, I'm absolutely bursting with energy and excitement now and I need to go unwind myself...........

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ps the crochet element of the tour is going to be very relaxed and informal. I'm creating some special yarn packs and designing a new (colourful) project to introduce and work on during the week, but it'll be an easy going kind of approach. Just the way I like it.

http://www.provencetemptations.com/

http://www.facebook.com/ProvenceTemptations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sociable Crochet :: Part I

I'm delighted to be sharing these pictures with you today, it's made me so happy just looking back at them and remembering the wonderful evening they were taken. They provide a really sweet little window into the past, a snapshot of a sublime evening at the end of May. I remember this day so vividly! I remember how hot and busy the day had been (it was a Monday). I remember the happiness when my friend suggested that we move our evening pub hooky to her back yard to take advantage of the gorgeous weather. I remember the marvelous anticipation of a warm, relaxing evening spent outdoors in the company of good friends. I remember the excitement of going to the supermarket to purchase a bottle of Pimms and a punnet of strawberries for the occasion.

I've been to Tracy's house many times before (I showed you a snippet of her beautiful home a few months ago), but I had never been in her back yard before. Her yard is small like mine is, but it is very much fuller than mine is. Walking in through her back gate was like walking in to a perfect little oasis of verdant beauty and calm. So much greenery! Trees and shrubs, herbs, flowers and vegetables grow in abundance, spilling out of pots, growing up the walls and fences. It honestly took my breath away, it all looked so beautiful on that hot, early summers evening.

Tracy had created a beautiful table setting for our crochet evening. Her old garden table had been draped with a beautiful vintage table cloth, and was dotted with lots of little old glass bottles filled with pretty flowers from her patch.

This allium was particularly stunning, what a marvel of nature it is!

As well as the floral element, there was a scrumptious edible element to the table too. A plate of the sweetest sun warmed cherries, dishes of plump, shiny olives and fat little stuffed red peppers. Bowls of incredibly moreish handcooked crisps. It was all so lovely!

Now on a hot summer's night, there is a definite need for cooling liquid refreshment wouldn't you say? Pimms had been declared the liquid of choice, oh sweet joy as I adore this drink!

This was the first of many glasses that were poured that night, what a beautiful sight hahaha! Now just in case you don't know about Pimms, let me give you a little information. It's a very British drink, gin based with a secret mixture of herbs, invented in London in the 1850's. The traditional way to make it is in a large jug, 1 part Pimms to 3 parts lemonade. Add  some crushed ice together with chopped strawberries, cucumber and orange and a few sprigs of fresh mint. Pour into glasses and enjoy.

I have such great memories attached to this drink. Because you make it in a jug, it begs to be shared with friends. It's easy to drink, summery, fruity, refreshing. And it has magical Laughing Properties. Oh yes indeed.

There were seven of us sat around Tracy's pretty summer table that night. With the exception of Heather, I taught all the others to crochet, and so my friendly little hooky group was formed. We've been meeting on a Monday night for over two years now, and I absolutely love the sociable mix of crochet and chatter, laughter and yarn, beer/wine/pimms/tea and creativity. We share a love of yarn and crochet, but also many other aspects of our life, particularly the precious Mothering jobs we all have. It's a fun group, lighthearted, warm and friendly. On this particular night when the air was so warm and the pimms flowed so freely, oh my goodness did we laugh! At one point I honestly thought I would turn inside out, my tummy was squiggled into impossible knots of laughter. It was five solid hours of absolute fun and merriment. And do you know what? I sat and rippled until gone midnight when the stars came out and I could no longer see the stitches in the dark.

I've been thinking a lot about sociable crochet recently, about the huge importance of it in my life. I marvel at how much the direction of my life changed when I was persuaded to go and purchase that 3.5mm stick of metal and start sticking into some loops of yarn!

Tomorrow I've got a very exciting story to share with you. Please come and join me for "Sociable Crochet : part II"??? I'll pour you a glass of Pimms!

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After the Storm

It was very stormy here last week. The sky was a heavy, moody grey and the air was hot, close and muggy. During June we had many, many days filled with a light but persistent dismal drizzle. It's been one of the wettest months I can think of, and that's saying something considering what April was like. But last week was different.

Last week the rain was BIG. It came in short, sharp, incredible bursts. It absolutely hurled itself down from the sky in torrential downpours.

The above photo was taken just outside the back door on Thursday, at about 5.30pm. The storm had been threatening all afternoon, the air felt thick and the sky was dark. When it finally came, it was  such a relief (especially as we were home and not on the school run). It was exhilarating, exciting, crazy weather and I LOVED it!!! The Little People were similarly thrilled by it, I wish you could have seen them. They ran out into our back yard and jumped and twirled about in it, arms outstretched, faces turned upwards. Little Lady had thought to pop her wellie boots on, but Little B simply went out in a t-shirt and bare feet. I stood in the doorway and laughed and laughed, they were so hugely happy to be getting wet!

Later on Thursday evening when the storm had passed, we were left with a most beautiful evening. The light was amazing, the landscape looked so bright and lush.

I felt a huge desire to go out and look at the landscape (it was 9.30pm by now) so off I went to walk round and about our little neighbourhood.

The storm had left an amazing sky behind it, all rich and golden.

Everything glowed. It filled me with joy.

I walked back along the side of the canal, the water was very still and the reflections were amazing.

The boats come and go all the time on this part of the canal. Often we recognise the regulars, but in the summer there are many new boats arriving that we've not seen before. The purple boat on the left there is new, it looks so homely with it's neat piles of logs stacked on the roof and its pretty tubs of herbs and flowers on board. There is even a row of sunflowers planted there look, I really hope the boat sticks around so that I can see those come into flower, won't that be something? A purple boat decked out with bright yellow sunflowers......yummy!

I totally love this time of year when our days are so beautifully long. Even when the weather is bad (and boy, it has been pretty dire lately) I adore the light early mornings and long, late evenings.

This last photo was taken at 9.46pm, as I was heading homewards. I was only out walking for about twenty minutes, but what a wonderful little slice of my day it was.

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I just wanted to add that I'm sorry I've been gone from the Attic a while, I kind of lost my blogging voice for a bit. Life has been very busy and I've also come down with a cold so not been feeling great. Hoping to be back with you all properly very soon.

ps.. a special message for Amanda who lives in Lancashire....Amanda, please could you be sure to leave me a comment so that I can contact you? Thank you x