Attic24

One Owl & Two Piggies

Twit-twoooooooooooo! I would like to introduce you to a new friend who has come to live with me in the Attic. Isn't she pretty? Miss Dotty has been here just over a week and I am already rather in love with her colourful, dotty-spotty presence around here.

I knew just where she was going to roost. Above the jugs, below the coffee pots, in front of the books on the shelf second from the top. Perfect. She is very happy there next to my Jane Cat, I can just tell.

I'm sorry for the fuzzy-wuzzy photos, the light levels at this time of year make it hard to take decent pictures. But I really did want to introduce you to Miss Dotty, wanted to tell you that she was made especially for me by the wonderfully talented Caroline. Some of you may remember Caroline, she is the lady who set my heart a-flutter in the Spring when she made her delightful mixed media caravan collage and took me along for the ride. Some folk are just so talented aren't they? Not only does Caroline make the most amazing mixed media collages, but as you can see she is also a whizz with fabric, needle and thread too. Her owls have become very sought after as they are made in limited numbers, so I feel very lucky to have Miss Dotty.

These look like my kind of fabrics don't they? This collection is almost identical to my own, only it belongs to Caroline. We have remarkably similar Creative Minds it seems.

These fabrics are all destined to become gorgeous twit-twoooooo's in the next few weeks, I can already imagine how beautiful they will look. If you think you would like to give an owl a home for Christmas, then please do bob along and pay Caroline a visit, her contact details are all on her website. She will be making up an email list of anyone interested in knowing as soon as they are listed in her shop. See, I told you they were sought after.

Now then, shall we talk Piggies? Want to see the two Little Piggies who have taken up residence in the Attic?

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!! These are six week old baby guinea pigs and they are the cutest, most adorable little things imaginable. Haha.....were you expecting homemade piggies? Crochet ones perhaps? I think I may have surprised you with the Real Deal??!!!

Let me introduce you to our new girls......

This is Pip :: a little shy still, but she is quietly confident, calm and gentle.

And this is Lola :: quite a scatty little thing, she has an inquisitive nature and playful personality.

Ever since we visited the Children's Farm in Dorset during the summer, there have been persistent and very persuasive pleas for guinea pigs. I kept guinea pigs as a child and have some very fond memories of the experience, so I felt that perhaps the time was right to finally say YeS to the pet plea. YES.....lets do it! Lets be a family who Has Pets!!

We picked them up a week ago, and they have brought a huge heap of happiness to our household. The Little People are so enchanted by them, and I have to admit I am too. I really love them. I love love love the noises they make, and I love their happy little personalities. I love that they love food sooooooooo much!

For the time being, we are keeping them indoors, and it's lovely to observe them throughout the day and see them settling in and getting used to us and our noisy ways.

We handle them several times a day and they seem to quite like their out-of-cage time. Little B is still a wee bit noisy and fidgety with them, but he is learning fast...he really loves them though. Well we all do. Little Lady is positively beaming from ear to ear with her new Pet Ownership role.

I've been wondering whether it is a little bit too crazy to want to crochet them a snuggle blanket? Just a small one? Can I? Pleeeeeeeeeeease????

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Pom Poms and Pretty Things

A few weeks ago during the school holidays the Little People and I started making pom poms. It was entirely their idea, and I was entirely happy to oblige. I mean, how could I not? Little People asking to get crafty and some great old fashioned nostalgic yarn play, it's all good! I was was about to go to the recycling bag and dig out some cardboard to fashion some pom pom making kit, when I remembered a friend telling me how to do it The Easy Way. This particular friend is a primary school teacher and knows a lot about easy crafting with young children, so we gave her method a whirl. In a nutshell, instead of using any form of cardboard you simply use your fingers, like this. The simplicity of it meant that even Little B (who is not quite three years old) could have a go, with some help at the tying and cutting stage.

The Little People churned out a surprising number of pom poms using up odds and ends of aran weight yarn from my stash. Some of the pom poms turned out a little raggedy, but the fun that was had on that cold, damp Monday morning more than made up for the unkempt results.

I have to admit that although I loved the scruffy pom poms made by Little Hands, I began to hanker after some perfectly round super-neat ones. Proper Pom Poms. Fluffy and cute as opposed to raggedy and unkempt. I managed to dig up some long forgotten information from the tangle inside my Creative Memory, and went in search of magical Clover pom pom makers. I found them in various sizes, from Teeny Tiny up to Rather Large, so I opted for Small.

They come in packs of two, the small ones measuring 35mm and 45mm, you can find them here.

They are a complete doddle to use. You simply open out the semi-circular plastic bits and get winding.

Wind one side evenly with yarn until it looks all woolly and chubby, then fold it back in. Do the same on the other side so that you have two yarny semi circles sitting opposite each other.

The next bit is ace...you just snip around the circle with sharp scissors, snip-snip-snip. Just like that. Nothing falls apart. Nothing goes wrong. There is no cussing. WoW!

Time to tie now, get a short piece of yarn to slip between the two halves and make a tight knot. Easy! Oh-so-easy! Then all you do is unfold the semi-circular plastic bits and pull the two halves apart to release the pom pom.......

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

This Pom-Pom maker is absolute genius, if a bit addictive. The small pom poms are very quick and easy to make as it doesn't take an awful lot of winding to produce really wonderful, fluffy little balls.

It'd be good if they had a use though eh? I've had them sat very sweetly in a plastic tub for the past few weeks, but they are destined for Festive Decorative Work eventually. I had originally thought about making some sort of pom pom and crochet garland, but that idea was completely abandoned when I came across this..................

............................it's a page from Prima Magazine (December issue).

Want to take a closer look?

Oh! Isn't that image just so perfectly beautiful? It made me gasp out loud with pleasure when I first saw it over on the Selena Lake blog. Selena often does the styling for Prima magazine, and I am such a huge fan of her work. It seems to me as if she has somehow had a sneaky peak into my heart and soul and created these images just for me.

Let me show you the pages that follow, you'll love them I'm sure.............

The feature is about creating hand made decorations and displays, and the style is very "Selina"....if you've seen her incredible book Homespun Style (which I love love love) then you will know what I mean.

There are bright and cheerful displays and gorgeous homemade wrapping ideas.

Beautiful iced biscuits and handmade stockings. And there are giant paper balls. Oh gosh. I would really, really, really love some of those in the Attic.....a tad expensive at a fiver a pop, but I guess they would last for years if I treated them nicely and only strung them up at Christmas? I have been looking at them online almost every day, wondering if I can possibly, in any way-shape-or-form justify the expense of them. I am still undecided.

But anyhow, lets not obsess about paper balls, cos I need to take you back to see that beautiful wreath.....

.............wow. So, so beautiful, isn't it? I was so charmed by this wreath, and very grateful to Selina for giving details of it's creator on her blog. It's the work of someone new to me, a very lovely Dutch lady called Maartje who makes all sorts of scrumptious things under the name of Silly Old Suitcase. Her work is so unique :: a wonderful, quirky mix of vintage treasures, crochet, patchwork, stitching and beading. I fell in love with her style, it made my heart flutter to see so much colour, creativity and unique personality.

This is another of Maartje's amazing wreaths, slightly different to the one in the magazine.
And I love this one even more than the first one, it's such a glorious, colourful festive mix! Pom poms, crochet, baubles, ribbons, lace, berries and flowers. YES! It has Pom poms!!!!!!!!!!

So you can see where this is going can't you? You can now picture me leaping about, getting all giddy at the idea of creating my very own Festive Wreath full of woolly goodness. A truly good justification for my pom pom making addiction if ever there was one. I shall show you very soon where I'm at with it, but first I need to tell you a little bit more about Silly Old Suitcase.

As well as wreaths and bunting and other cutesome decorations, Maartje makes the most wonderful jewellery. I spied the above necklace in her Etsy shop and thought my heart was going to burst at the sight of all those beautiful, joyful colours. But sadly for me, this necklace is quite long and I have trouble with long necklaces. I just can't wear them without feeling irritated by them. They dingle and dangle and get snagged on things, and they are an absolute magnet for Little B who loves to fiddle and meddle with any lengthy dingly dangly things about my person. Long necklaces, scarves and apron strings are just so tempting for his Little Fingers and imagination.

So  this is what I did. I wrote a little note to Maarjte, telling her of my my love for this necklace and explaining my difficulty with it's length. I enquired, in my most politest and persuasive voice, as to whether she might be able to make me something similar but shorter. And being the sweetheart that she is, she agreed to my request and within a week, a happy little packet arrived in the Attic....

....oh happy day!

The necklace tumbled out of the wrapping into my hand and I wanted to cry with happiness.

The beads are so vibrant, they remind me of childhood sweets and sunny days. They shout Happy Things to me when I look at them!

It's a happy necklace for sure, and I adore wearing it. Thank you Maartje, thank you so much for the happiness you sent my way.

And if you don't already know, there is a super-sweet blog waiting out there for you to go visit....do bob by and say hello to Maartje won't you?

Oh, I almost forgot, there is something else about Selina Lake I wanted to say.....yes, it's a calendar! Joy of joys, the 2013 Mollie Makes calendar has been designed by Selina, yippeeeee!!

There are twelve stunning pages to take us through 2013, it really is absolutely beautiful. You can get it free with the December issue of Mollie Makes magazine which is in the shops now.

Right then my lovelies, it's been a pleasure chatting and sharing with you as always. But really, I do need to get back to my pom poms now if you don't mind. My fingers are twitching.

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The Usual Stuff

♥ the usual gazing out of the attic window (I never tire of it) ♥



♥ the usual delicious morning coffee (mmmmmm) ♥



♥ the usual over excited back yard flower snipping (in mid November!) ♥



♥ the usual heart-skippy bathroom posy appreciation (yippeeee!) ♥



♥ the usual weekend hooky stuff (more tutorial making) ♥



♥ the usual creative Mummy play time (a silly-sweet moment) ♥



♥ the usual rush of happiness (caused by multiple blankets + sunlight) ♥



♥ the usual endless snack providing (two year old builders get v hungry) ♥



♥ the usual creativity for the Little People (Christmas stuff already?) ♥



♥ the usual stroll through the park (braving the cold) ♥



♥ the usual joy as I accompany a chattery Little B (we held hands and ran) ♥



♥ the usual walk home from the park along the canal (so peaceful) ♥



♥ the usual wonder at the beauty of still water + reflections (sigh) ♥



♥ the usual delight in cosying up in bed (almost there now, it's been a long day) ♥

Sharing some snap shots taken here and there across my weekend as I went about doing The Usual Stuff. Mothering, creating, relaxing, strolling, reading, slurping, prettifying, playing, snuggling, gazing.  It's all so ordinary, the stuff I do most days as I go about the business of being a mum/wife/creative wotnot.

My blog most probably contains dozens of weekend picture-posts like this one, full of nothing in particular, yet full of everything that is Me. It's who I am, and it's what I do. And I wouldn't change it for the world.

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Making Tutorials

I love making my tutorials, like really love it. I set up my work station (a tray with a piece of white paper, camera, yarn, hook, needles, scissors) and settle myself into the Big Chair in the light of the bay window. It's cosy, happy work. It makes me feel as if I can somehow reach out to all of you who love to crochet and invite you to sit and hook along with me in my living room. I feel like I'm sitting next to you chatting away, showing you the more complex bits that don't translate well into Ordinary Pattern blurb. The bits where I need to say "look, put your hook right here", or "hold the flower just like this and bend the petals forward a bit", or "don't forget to crochet over your ends!"

Sometimes my working conditions are a little chaotic due to the spontaneity of my Chief Assistant.

He  likes to carry out unexpected Quality Control checks on my yarns. He also likes to assist with the photography. He is very big on health and safety and is obsessed with making sure my scissors are always safe. He also quite likes to help provide the essential cosy vibe by sitting right on top of me.

What can I say? It's fun. It's rewarding. And I love it.

The procedure of making a tutorial is in essence quite simple. The design has already been done, the pattern worked, re-worked, tweaked and re-tweaked. I know exactly what I am doing by this point. Yeah. Go me! Hook, stop, camera, hook, stop, camera! Easy peasy.

But making tutorials is a serious time eater. They take a surprisingly long time to create even for a simple thing like a flower. Hours and hours go into the making and the photographing, then the uploading of pics and the detailed writing (forty seven pictures! Two thousand and seventy two words!). I do it over a number of days, as and when my family commitments allow. The photography has to happen in the daytime due to needing good natural light, but most of the hard work  is done for a few hours each night once my Little Peeps are tucked up in bed.

For me though, it's a little bit of  magic when I manage to make it happen. I love to feel like I am sprinkling a little bit of colourful joy into the world.

It's my Happy Thing.

So, the tutorial for these Triple Layer Flowers is now finished and can be found HERE.

Thank you with all my heart for the heaps of enthusiasm and excitement you always share with me. Very, very much appreciated. Have fun with the pattern, let me know how you get on!

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 Edit to add :: In answer to many queries, yes, the Bower Bird tutorial is coming very soon...will be working on that over the weekend  and into next week so that you'll have it in plenty of time to make some for Christmas gifts or decorations ♥

 

 

 

I made A Hat :: Ta-dah!

 

I have wanted to make a hat for the past few head-freezingly cold winters, but have always been a little bit too self conscious to do anything about it. I have a small head and wasn't sure what type of hat would actually suit me, and sometimes the more you think about something, the harder it can seem. There are soooo many patterns to be found on t'internet aren't there? I've looked at a gazillion hat patterns in the past few weeks, but just couldn't decide what to do. Nothing inspired me, nothing really seemed quite right for me and my diddy little child sized head somehow. Child hats too childish. Grown up hats too chunky/slouchy/trendy/naff/peaky/nerdy. So I did what I often do and dived in feet first with hook and yarn and embarked on my very own Lucy-hat.

I kind of had my bag in mind (!) crazy as it sounds. I thought that I could make a flat circle, then stop increasing to make the sides happen. Then possibly a little bit of a flare at the bottom edge. Not quite a beanie, and not quite a cloche. Something in between.

I used Rico Essentials Merino Dk, on a 4mm hook.

I worked 8 rounds/6 inches of flat circle in UK treble crochet (US double crochet).

Then I stopped increasing and worked 9 more rows of trebles. I kept measuring it on my head as I worked, trying to judge how tall to make it.

After the 9 rows, I was kind of down to where I thought a band would look nice running around, so I switched colours and worked two darker rows with a spacer row in between.

Then another row of straight trebles. The hat was about an inch above my eyebrows at this point, so time to introduce a weeny bit of a flare/brim. Just a small one. I added in some increase stitches in this row :: I worked 3 tr's then an increase, 3 tr's then an increase etc. Just enough to widen the bottom without making it ruffle.

The bottom edge started to naturally curl and roll up, but I really liked the effect of it, kind of a happy accident really. So to make allowance for the roll, I worked 3 more rows of straight trebles. And that was it. Done. A hat! I made a hat!!

Now, this is a Lucy-hat, so it wouldn't really be finished without a little extra embellishment, would it? I mean, I resisted the (tremendously strong) urge to work in multi coloured stripes (only two colours!), but there was definitely a little more pizazz needed.  I started by taking a long double strand of green yarn and working a simple running stitch around, weaving the needle in and out of the crochet stitches. Oh boy, such huuuuuugely satisfying work! LOveD doing that row of stitchy/weaving!

Time for a coffee and a ponder on what more was needed.......

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm. That coffee is sooooo good. 

It came to me then :: a flower was needed. A happy kind of multi-layered flower. Not too small. Quite flamboyant. Leaves? And some buttons maybe? Yes, yes. It'll be a bit quirky, but it will really make the hat.

I hooked up a few flower samples, some too big and floppy, some too curly and tight. But eventually I got it about right......

Oooooooooooh! Pretty flowery goodness! I also made some leaves using the pattern I designed for the Happy Flower decoration, they worked out just right size-wise.

This is how it looked when it was stitched in place.....

.....so happy with how it turned out! It certainly is very Lucy-esque don't you think?



Err...........think I should say a skippy proud Ta-dah?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have to tell you, I adore the flower I created. Love, love, love it. I wondered for a little while whether I should have played safe and made the flower in shades of blue to co-ordinate rather than contrast with the hat. But where's the fun in being co-ordinated?! Much better to go for an all out bit of zing.

It's a Good Hat, it fits my head well. It feels snug and warm. And I feel comfy and relaxed wearing it, which is a big deal for me.

Very, very hard to get a decent hatty picture of myself, but I did my best. Actually, I feel a bit foolish showing you cos I'm certainly not trying to say Hey Look At ME! But.....but I am quite honestly proud of my hooky hatty efforts.

I've worn the hat every day since I finished it. Every day. I've had lots of compliments. And most importantly, the Little People seem to like it and aren't remotely embarassed by their quirky mother in her hand made hat. Phew.

I've been making some more of these pretty layered flowers as I have a large crochet Christmas Wreath in mind...I'm thinking similar to the May Rose Wreath, but with a mixture of flowers, holly, mistletoe, berries, baubles, bells, stars...and maybe a bird or two.

If you'd like me to, I'm going to write up the pattern and make a tutorial for this flower in the next few days. And speaking of tutorials, am also hoping to write one up for the Bower Bird very soon as well....am currently sampling a slightly smaller, fatter version suitable for use as a Christmas Decoration.

Gosh, I do l♥ve doing what I do.

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Autumn Half Term

Last week we were at home for half term hols, and it was pretty much an entire week of indoor slobbery. Pyjamas till lunch time (sometimes all day), easy food eaten as and when the whim took us (lots of buttery toast at all times of the day). Screen time for the Little People if they chose it (lots of films, and some gaming time too), cripes, my parenting was ludicrously slapdash last week. I simply allowed the rhythm of the week to flow over and around me, letting the Little Peeps do exactly what they chose to do much of the time. No rules. No outings. No direction. It was rather liberating, if a little chaotic, and it certainly made for a pretty content household.

Do you know, I can't remember a single school holiday in the past five years when at some point or another a blanket den wasn't made. It is so very much a part of what the Little People do during holidays that I know I will feel very bereft when it suddenly doesn't happen any more. I chuckle to myself when I see them pegging up my blankets :: there is a small part of me that wants to rush over and grab them back, yelling the words Precious and Cashmere, but really it pleases me deeply that these blankets are so well loved and used.

They have no idea how much it makes me squeeee inside when I watch them play this way. The game that followed in and out of this den-build (Little Lady and Little B) was sweet beyond words.

Hey, you can see our new sash windows in the above picture, I remember that I haven't really shown them to you yet. We are really thrilled with them, they look beautiful and make the house feel very light and warm inside.

I took a picture of our bay window from outside for you to see, but it was devilishly difficult to photograph. The window is a long way off the ground, so I balanced on the wall and held the camera up above my head to show you, well, you get the idea. Wooden, double glazed, spring-loaded sash. Hand crafted by a Very Nice Man called Daryl. Painted by an Equally Nice Man called Tom.

This is the bathroom window which has a very simple type of stipply privacy glass in it. The upstairs windows have these nifty little safety catches fitted to make them child proof (the bottom window can only be lifted up a small way, with a small gap, smaller than a child's head), but occasionally when Little B is out of the equation, I glide'n'slide and open them up. I stick my head right out and breathe in the fresh damp air. Just for the hell of it. Cos I can, and cos it feels marvellous after so many years of inaccessible top opening windows.

Sometimes, like at the end of last week, it becomes entirely necessary to open the windows and air the place a bit, even though it was ridiculously cold at the time. At the end of last week I began with some Home Loving routine and went a bit bananas in the bathroom. I scrubbed and bleached and sprayed and wiped and rinsed and scrubbed some more. It was in dire need. Next week I'll be in the Master Bedroom (remember last year? I wonder how many items are on top of The Drawers this year?)

One of the highlights of my half term week was the arrival of a big box containing the above shiny new machine. It seems that I didn't have to wait for Father Christmas after all, cos my wonderful, generous husband took it upon himself to treat me to a Nespresso machine. I feel a little sheepish writing about this, cos I admit that I feel dreadfully spoilt. But well, there we have it, it's not my fault that J has a huge generosity streak. And I can promise you that I do appreciate how very lucky I am. I really, really do. The great thing is that J has been loving this new machine as much as I have, so I don't feel so bad about the expense of it.

These are the capsules that came with the machine, sixteen different varieties of coffee to play with. It's been a huge amount of fun "brewing up" with them, getting used to the subtle differences in each colour, sorry, I mean blend. Still need to get to grips with the coffee lingo.

I like to drink my coffee with a good measure of hot milk added, there is such a lot of pleasure and comfort to be found in a hot, milky coffee. It has provided me with some daily feel-good, especially as the temperature really plummeted during much of last week. Good, tasty hot coffee on a freezing cold morning....very mmmmmmm indeed!

It looks more like winter than Autumn doesn't it? We woke up to frost across the rooftops and hills on many mornings last week, but it has been lovely all the same. Lovely to stay cosied up inside, not really having to be anywhere or do anything that involved stepping foot outside. Home was definitely the place to be last week.

On Monday (the last day of the hols) we did venture out though, went off on a bit of a jaunt. We took the train with Heather and that cutesome little bundle of hers and went across to Saltaire. It was a lovely, lovely day, thoroughly enjoyed by all concerned.

We went to Salts Mill (of course) for a fabulous browse around the galleries and shops there. The Little People loved it, as much now as when they were even Littler. Being three years older than when we were last there, they absolutely delighted in the books and art materials. Sooooo many cool, brilliant, fun and fabulous books! They each got to choose one to bring home (they chose this and this which have been brilliant) and I bought a couple of greetings cards and a beautifully illustrated animal picture book for Little B. We had some refreshment in the wonderful Salts Diner (above) before heading back outside into the clear, crisp Autumn sunshine.

The light was so beautiful on that day, it made the colours of every single thing seem to glow.

I was mesmerised by the reflections in this part of the river Aire, the clouds-in-the-water pleased me so much! We were on our way down to the play park, and were delighted to find that it has had a complete overhaul since we were last there. It was ace! Heather and I sat on a bench in the sunshine whilst TTB slept in his pram and my three played.

Little B had such a great day, what with train rides, books, ice cream and a play park, he really did have fun. We returned home around 3pm and the little fella was completely exhausted, bless him. He snuggled himself down in his favourite place and went off to the Land of Nod for a while.....it was a good job cos we were to be out again later that day......

....Monday night here in the UK was Bonfire Night, and as has become our family tradition, we wrapped up warm and went off to Bolton Abbey to celebrate in style. This is a large, organised event with hundreds of people attending. There are refreshments, music, children's entertainments, small fairground rides etc and there is always a humongous bonfire (topped with sofas which the Guys sit upon).

The fireworks are spectacular and set to music.

It was Little B's first experience of Bonfire Night, and although he was excited, it was a little overwhelming for him.

I have to say, it was terrifically loud. But in a good way. Gosh, I do love a good, loud, flamboyant firework display.

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Autumn Woodland

Waking up on a gloriously sunny, bright Sunday morning....

....prompts us to head out for a stroll. We walk along the canal....

....until we reach the small beck. The reflections of Autumn are breathtaking.

Into the woodland we go, strolling in dappled shade....

....under a sunlit canopy.

The trees are still holding on to their Summer greenery....

....but the Autumn colours are slowly creeping in.

How wonderful to look up as I walk! Makes me feel so happy to be outdoors....

....watching my sweet family walk, run, chatter and laugh.

A moment of rest beside the pond....

....then a steep climb up out of the woodland to the sunshine bright fields.

♥ We did this beautiful walk through the woods just over a week ago at the end of October. It was such a glorious morning, so bright and beautiful and perfect for a Sunday woodland walk. I look at these pictures and they make my heart sing. So much good stuff. The Little People spent the whole time trying to catch falling leaves so they could make a wish. I can still vividly remember the sounds of their shouts, squeals and excited exclamations. It was the sound of joy ♥

 

 

 

 

October 2012

Mmmmmmmm, a bowl of steaming hot porridge with sultanas, chopped banana and a generous drizzle of golden syrup. That was my lunch today, I had such a terrific craving for it at lunch time and it was absolutely delicious, so cosy and warming, real comfort food on a cold, rainy day.

The light levels have been so, so low here this week, with heavy grey skies and intermittent rain. At the weekend our clocks went back an hour, so no more Summer Time and such an early close-of-the-curtains in the evening now too. Our lamps are working hard, both in the early morning and throughout the evening, and I have a makeover in mind for our old, plain cream Ikea job there. I'm thinking something decopatchy to match my dining table lampshade, but with extra crochet and button trim pizazz. I am also thinking about a stripy crochet wrap-around for the stick bit of the lamp, ha! It's gonna be a bit whacky! I can see it very clearly in my Minds Eye, so watch this space....

The blankets are working hard too, their workload goes hand in hand with the lamps. Which reminds me, I really must get round to finishing off the ripple. It just needs a bit of a border putting in place but I've been procrastinating over it and doing other things instead. It bothers me that it's over a year since I started it, and yet it hasn't had it's moment of ta-dah glory yet cos of the missing border thingy. So slack of me I know. Soon though.

One thing about this time of year that I really love is the way that the Little People come back to their indoor pursuits. The bad weather and dark evenings force them to play more indoors, and although this suits Little Lady very nicely, the boys struggle a little. But it's been a really nice thing about summer's end (for me anyway), and I've been encouraging all sorts of creative pursuits. Colouring books have come out, new sketch pads and pens have been purchased, spirograph has been given a whirl and recently the hama beads have been rediscovered. One very happy Mumma here, as I love to watch my Little Peeps busy with their creative fingers.

The Very Large Tub of Lego has been back in action too, much to Little B's delight. He's still a bit young to really build with the small lego, but he's not bothered so long as he can somehow be included. As you can see, he just tends to jig around on the periphery making lots of excited chatter, but it seems to keep him very happy. He is also very accomplished at Lego Demolition, and will dismantle a carefully built vehicle with alarming dexterity. All good fun.

Crochet is not in any way a seasonal pursuit for me as you well know, but I do really have a major crush with blanket making at this time of year. It just fits the Autumn season so perfectly, especially if there is a crackling fire nearby and a hot mug of tea to hand. I am still working slowly on my Granny Patchwork blanket, fitting a few squares in whenever I get chance. The funny thing is that I started this blanket as a way of de-stashing my Stylecraft leftovers, and of course the inevitbale has happened and I am running out of the stuff. Ahhh, shame, it looks like I shall have to restock in order to complete the de-stash project, does this count as a success or a failure?!

I am still wholeheartedly addicted to my monthly magazines, and have been enjoying the Autumn editions very much. Usually I find they get me down a little with all the brown and all the indoorsy stuff, but I am finding them inspiring and cosy this year. I particularly enjoyed Sarah Raven's write up about tulips in the November issue of Country Living...I am very inspired to try this exact planting scheme of hers in some big pots.

I've been thoroughly enjoying my little garden posies throughout October, such a sweet and colourful reminder of Summer. Sometimes I have them on the dining table, sometimes, beside my bed and sometimes (like now) in the bathroom. Wherever they end up, they bring so much joy to a room, even though the ink bottle is only small and the snips of flowers very modest.

This picture was taken a few weeks ago, the Prosecco cork a sweet reminder of a 4pm Friday celebration with friends when The Results were through. Very happy to report that Little Man passed the 11+ exam and will be heading to an extremely well respected boys grammar school next September. Happiness and utter relief all round. Silly 11+ system.

October often feels like a transitional month, with one light foot still in Summer camp, and one woolly-socked foot in Autumn camp. We did have a couple spells of bright sunny weather in October, although the memory of them is buried under the general damp mist and rain that hung around for much of the month. I stopped hanging out my laundry to dry in September when the window-fitting men dismantled my washing line, but my neighbours across the back street are still hanging theirs. The view of my elderly neighbours pyjamas and underpants is an oddly comforting sight, although I'm not sure I should really admit to that. A laundry-filed washing line just speaks of cosy domesticity, and I always delight in seeing it.

The colours of Autumn are very evident in my neighbourhood now.

Our walk to school has become a leafy affair, and on dry days we delight in much kicking and shuffling through piles of fallen leaves. I often think that when you are a parent of small children, it's quite wonderful to suddenly find you can legitimately do all these things again...running and jumping through leaves, splashing in puddles, singing as you walk, balancing along low walls. Little B has re-introduced this simple, physical fun back into my daily life which I am rather grateful for.

We are so, so lucky living here in that we have a really beautiful piece of woodland just a stones throw from the town centre. It's owned and managed by the Woodland Trust and offers a really wonderful reflection of the seasons. I think my favourite time to walk here is in May when the wild garlic is in full bloom, but October comes a close second. Many of the trees here are beech trees, and their coppery golden leaves at this time of year are beautiful.

We walked in the woods a few Sundays ago, a lovely family walk on a sunny morning. Little B absolutely loved it, striding out in his new wellies, enjoying the outdoors and his favourite pursuit of poking a stick into muddy puddles. I took some lovely photographs on this day, I'll share them with you sometime soon before the memory is lost.

I am declaring October to be the official Month of Cheese. Since returning from France, I've had a renewed love of cheese and have been eating it often at lunch time with a bit of crusty bread and butter. I am back with the English cheeses though (on the left is Five Counties, on the right is Wensleydale with apricots), but I think I need to be more adventurous with my Cheese Appreciation lunches. Tomorrow I am going to go and search out some gooey French cheese to remind me of my week away.

Been trying to counterbalance the Month of Cheese with some healthy snacking, especially as my jeans are only just do-uppable at the moment. I do need to shed a bit of excess weight that has accumulated during the course of this year, but darn it, it is baking season now (as well as the cheese thingy) so not sure if I am capable of any dieting malarkey till nearer springtime.

October has also brought about my seasonal candle obsession too, like the lamps and the blankets it's a natural reaction to the lowering light levels at this time of year. I love candles, they never fail to make me feel all sort of cosy and mmmmmmmmm.

Autumn love extends to my faithful hot water bottle, brought out of it's summer sleep sometime last month and now pressed into nightly service down by my feet. I cannot bare to have cold feet in bed, they keep me awake and make me fidget, but I don't like to be too overly hot in bed either (electric blankets are not for me). I love my hot water bottle ritual. Yeah, it's the cosy-mmmmm thing for sure.

Halloween yesterday, did you celebrate it where you live? We do, in a fairly low key way that involves a few spiders and some suitable chocolates. Oh, and definitely always a pumpkin too.....

....I wish I was showing you a picturesque pile of pumpkins on an organic farm or something, but have to admit that this is just the local supermarket. Still glorious though, aren't they?

J actually took it upon himself to purchase the pumpkin a few days in advance of halloween, and he chose a very sweet little specimen for us. He said he picked it cos of the shape and smooth skin (good, good) but the diminutive size of it seemed to have escaped him. I had a little laugh when he got it out of the bag, he was a tad offended I think. But still, we had a family pow-wow over the design, and I set to work.......

....very pleased. Scary but fun. I am not one of those Mums who can leave it to the offspring I am afraid. I did allow them to carry out a little bit of scraping-out (and in Little B's case, some experimental tasting of the seeds), but the carving fun was mine-all-mine.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo spooky! We had a fun but rather wet trick-or-treat outing around our neighbourhood last night, but it was really good. We taught Little B to say "Hap-py Hall-weeeeeen!" and he delighted all the houses we visited. Sweet, sweet boy (he was dressed as a skeleton this year), he is impossibly cute.

Octobers Attic view has seen Summer depart and Autumn arrive.

The moorland is wearing it's parched, dry grass look, and the bracken which covers the side of the hill has now turned brown.

Definitely Autumnal.....

....but the beautiful light at this time of year helps make up for the browness.

So that's October then, all done and dusted and behind us for another year. I'm hoping that November will be a gentle month of homely pursuits as my nesting instinct has finally kicked in (a little late this year, it's usually a September thing for me). So I shall be donning my apron and getting down to some serious housekeeping during these next few weeks. I expect that I will feel a pressing need to tell you all about it. Bet you can't wait.

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