Attic24

Cosy Neck Warmer :: Ta-dah!

I bought this yarn quite a while ago but hadn't had chance to work with it until recently. It is a lovely, soft yarn and I  can highly recommend it. Details as follows ::

Cotton On by James C Brett.

50% cotton / 50% acrylic

DK weight, worked on a 4mm hook.

50g balls, very reasonably priced (I paid £1.85 a ball for mine), plenty of online retailers stock it, just google to find them.

I used 12 colours, although the two bright pinks are almost identical. It's a very pretty, fresh palette, even the neutrals are pretty.

Both my Little People have these Buff neck scarf thingies, they are very popular here in the UK. They are officially labelled as "multifunctional headwear" as you can do all sorts of things with them to go stylishly on your head, but my LP wear them round their necks. And up over their lower faces when it is very cold and blustery. They are simply long, stretchy tubes with no seams. Whilst on holiday in Dorset, I really, really wished that I had something like it myself as it was very cold and windy.

It was whilst on holiday that I started making my cosy neck warmer, just like that. I had the need for one, the vision of how I wanted it to look. I had a quick play with stitch ideas one afternoon, and it happened just like that.

This is such a simple stitch, so so so simple. A bit like the granny stripe with clusters of three stitches but worked using shorter double crochet instead of trebles. It creates a very neat looking sort of woven effect....



....but it is stretchy look. A bit like mesh (but far prettier).

Best of all, it is an absolute breeze to work up. Very easy, and very speedy. And lots of lovely colour play.

This is how it finished up.................ta-dah!!!!

Because I made it out of cotton, it isn't particularly fluid or drapey, but it is beautifully soft and warm. It feels wonderful next to my skin.

I've worn it pretty much continuously since I finished it. It's one of those things that gets put on when I go out in the mornings and ends up staying on all day.

I made it to fit quite snugly around my neck as I like this style better than the drapey sort of cowl designs that are out there. Yeah....I made it snug. It tugs my ears half off, but I'm hoping it'll stretch slightly with use.

I'm sorry about the rubbish photos, I just couldn't manage to get a decent image of it in use. Jeez, my hair needs cutting. But anyhoooooooo, you get the idea. It is a cosy, snug bit of warm prettiness and I am very, very happy wearing it. I actually prefer wearing it with the top rolled over, but you will just have to imagine what that looks like as I'm not doing any more mug shots.

The pattern? Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

The tutorial? Already done and dusted.

How's that for a surprise? No waiting around this time, go straight to your stash, select the softest, cosiest yarn you own and whip one up.

Whatcha waiting for?!

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Adjusting Just Fine

Thank you all so much for taking the time to write to me this week, your understanding words have been so very much appreciated I can tell you. The post holiday Adjustment is going ok I think, well I feel a little brighter today at any rate.



We took an easy family trip out on Sunday morning, a few miles out of town to one of our favourite places for Fresh Air + Views. It was a very straightforward outing which involved a short drive, a short walk, and a short refreshment stop. Landscape appreciation, coffee and chocolate, deep breathing, laughter and chatter. It was good.



I have been busy this week and I've done a lot of walking. On Tuesday I had a meeting for Yarndale, which involved a gorgeous stroll through the park and up over the hill to the auction mart on the egde of town. The landscape is all of a sudden shaking off it's winter colours and greening up again, and I am very, very happy about that. I got so fed up with the washed out, mucky winter colours. Yarndale things are looking really great I have to say, and we now have over a hundred and twenty exhibitors booked (oh the growing list is sooooo exciting!).

Walking back through the park I was bowled over by the yellow carpet of celandine flowers in the woodland....so pretty.

I noticed that leaf buds are budding too, and it is very reassuring to see that Spring is really starting to peek in. I just wish it would warm up a touch, it is still surprisingly chilly here in my patch.

A little bit of pegging out always lifts my spirits and it's one of my favourite domestic chores (along with making my bed).

Something else that lifted my spirits this week was a gorgeous package of yarn. Well it wasn't so much a package as a huge great big box....there were layers of yarn beneath what you can see above. Yes multiple layers!!! It's almost too exciting for words, honestly, un-belieeeeeev-able. More about that deliciousness coming very soon, I've got lots to show you.

This morning I managed to  finish my latest project and I've got quite a bit of Cotton On left over. Not sure what to do with it yet, but I'm sure something will spring to mind. Will make a little Ta-dah post as soon as I've managed to photograph the article properly. It's a little tricksy to capture on camera as it's something wearable, but I'm working on it. I just had a look at the pictures I took today and my overwhelming thought was that I really badly need a hair cut. Unkempt is the word. Can't have my bad hair upstaging the crochet, that would never do.

Today has been a gentle, quiet, pottering sort of a day and miraculously consisted of six (much needed) child free hours (gosh how I love and appreciate my wonderful in-laws). I spent part of the day pootling in town, part of it pottering at home, and part of it working in the studio. The latter destination was such fun! I made my first tutorial there this afternoon, and even though it was piddling with rain and rather grey outside, the light at my desk was still fantastic.

While I was there, I opened up my cupboard cos I realised yesterday that I forgot to show you it's Mod Podged Liberty inner. Happy happy.

I took this picture about an hour ago, at 8.45 pm, hanging out of the Attic window (the sloping velux at the back). I hope we are in for some Shepherds Delight tomorrow, I would be happy 'bout that.

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Ps....would you like a Yarndale bag featuring our amazing Patchwork Sheep? They are available to buy on the website, £4.50 to UK destinations, and £8 worldwide, with FREE P&P. Perfect for toting about your yarn. Mine has been everywhere with me today xx

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Studio Furnishings

What do you think of this piece of furniture I wonder? Are you like me who thinks it is beautifully mellow and full of character and history and deserves to be loved and cherished? Or are you like J who thinks it is a right ol' hunk o' junk and is only fit for firewood?

A few months ago, we were returning home from an outing one Sunday lunch time and out of the car window I spotted it. It was sat outside a local restaurant near where I live, and it caught my eye instantly. Later that day, on a complete whim, I walked down to the restaurant and boldly went in to ask about it. I asked whether by any chance they might be wanting to get rid of it (it was standing beside the bin), and the reply was music to my ears. Yes, they said, do you want it? You would be doing us a favour, they said, we'd rather you took it and saved us the trouble of putting it into landfill. Landfill???!!! Shock horror!!!!! No no no no no, pleeeeeease let me take it, I will love it and cherish it and give it a good home.

So with some help from lovely friends, this wonderful piece of old furniture came to rest in the Attic24 cellar for a while, and gradually as time allowed I set to work on it. The top was badly stained and covered in what looked like a restauranty mixture of black coffee, red wine and melted candle wax. I gently scraped off the surface layer but it was still badly stained, so I sprayed it with a strong bleach/mould removing cleaner and scrubbed it right into the grain of the wood with an old toothbrush. Left to dry over night, it came up remarkably well. Still retaining it's age and character, but looking a lot more respectable. I gave the door and drawer fronts a good clean with some sugar soap, but left them pretty much untouched. Now for the inside.....

This old piece of stained paper was lining the shelf inside the cupboard, and as soon as I saw it, it reminded me of Liberty tana lawn. As you may remember, I had just had some real success with Mod Podging my memo board, so I thought I could do the same sort of thing with the cupboard and drawer inners. Oh yes! I could line them with Liberty tana lawn, why not?

I have to tell you, I loved buying this fabric. I have always wanted to buy some of these fat quarters but had never had a project in mind until this. They come from a local shop and are heavily discounted, due to some very slight faults in the print in places. But they were perfect for the job.

Just perfect.

It was pretty good fun....

....mod podging drawer bottoms is sooooooo easy. Cut the fabric a few centimetres larger than the drawers, give it a thorough covering of MP (first the drawer bottom, then a thin layer on top of the fabric to seal it). Then once it's all completely dry, the excess is easily trimmed with a sharp craft knife.

I did each drawer in a different fabric, plus used three different fabrics for the cupboard shelves and inside of the cupboard door. Do you like the handles? They are ceramic. Isn't the whole thing completely charming?

Of course, I had no doubt that this amazing piece of old furniture would look incredible in the studio. It looks as if it has always been there.

The old oak book shelf sat on top was a great buy from a local eBay seller, and will eventually be used for displaying lots of pretty goodies.

The drawers just make me go weak at the knees and every time I visit the studio I can't resist opening them to take a peek.

This humble piece of furniture has made me very happy indeed. You can see my basket up there too look, it cost £5 from a local second hand shop.

It's quite large, measuring 32cm across the bottom and about 40cm across the top. I want to keep yarn in it, so decided to make a liner for it to stop the yarn snagging.

I made a basic circle to cover the bottom.....

.....then simply stopped increasing to make the sides go up (much the same as my bag pattern). I added in some increases towards the top edge to make sure it was going to be wide enough....

...then I simply stitched the lining to the basket. Yeah, honestly, it really was that simple!

I just sort of made little stitches through the gaps in the the basket work, every few centimetres or so to secure it in place.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm, it looks good?! And er........ta dah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I really got into those colours, so sweet and pretty and fresh. Even the neutrals are pretty I think.

It's a lovely yarn to work with, a DK weight 50/50 cotton/acrylic mix called "Cotton On" by James C Brett. I bought mine online from here, but I know many online yarn retailers sell it. It's very reasonably priced, and delicious to work with, very warm and soft and pretty.

I've been making something else with this yarn too, which I hope to share with you very soon. I'm having a little struggle on the edging of this Other Thing, but almost there. I think you're going to like it.

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Adjustment

This past week has felt very, very long and very full. Getting back into the swing of life after a two week break takes quite a bit of adjusting to, and sometimes I have to stop myself from sinking into a bit of a sulk with it. I really love the ease of being home in the holidays, the break from routine, the relaxed attitude to food, activity and the clock. It's usually only the first week mind you, then I am back on track and pretty happy with six weeks of being scheduled.

We had our first picnic tea of the year on Monday last week after a family visit to the dentist. We go out of town to our dentist, a small, friendly practice in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales village of Grassington. Afterwards, we often stop off for tea in one of our favourite pubs, The Fountaine Inn at Linton. That's it above there look, it is so impossibly picturesque and the food is wonderful. However, the weather on Monday was warm and sunny (hoorrraaaay!) so we decided to picnic on the green instead.

We settled down beside the river and enjoyed a lovely, simple al fresco meal (delicious Cornish pasties from a local baker with a large bowl of crunchy salad, then fresh strawberries from the market and some delicious chocolate covered cereal bars). It was lovely, and a great start to our week.

I managed to sneak a little bit of time in the studio last week, just a smidge of time in a busy week, but it was great. A little window of creativity making me long for more. September. I will be here every morning in September. Hold onto that thought.

I finished my basket liner on Friday too, just waiting for some decent light to photograph it so I can show you. I've got some more furniture prettifying to share with you too, oh those Liberty lined drawers are a bit heart-fluttery!

There hasn't been an awful lot of time for simply sitting quietly just lately. My days are long and busy, both at home and with various Little B things and Yarndale things out and about. I really appreciate the small pockets of me-time that appear occasionally. Like I say, quite rare, but you can be sure I make the absolute most of it. I whizz around the room like a dervish straightening blankets, plumping cushions and tidying away objects before I flop down and reeeeelax. Sometimes it's only ten minutes or so, but yes, I do appreciate those times very much.

I've been reading during these little patches of quiet time, which is quite unusual for me, as I am not a reader. Well not of novels anyhow. I much prefer magazines and homey/creative type books (still in love with this beauty and dive into the delicious pages day after day), but from time to time I do like to immerse myself in some light fiction. I have loved this book (Coming Home by Rosamunde Pilcher), all one thousand pages of it. Described as "serene and beguiling story telling", it's been a real pleasure to get lost in the details of someone else's imagined world.

I am love love loving the lengthening days here as we gently edge into Spring. It's such a relief to know that Winter is finally behind us now, gosh what a long haul it's been.

I'm not often out in the evenings, but on the odd occasion that I am, I find myself completely mesmerised by the colours and the light. So beautiful, with that pinky golden glow touching upon everything.

I confess I am finding life a little tricky at the moment, I wonder if it shows in my writing? The words aren't coming out very well, I've been trying to write up this post for many days, a bit here, a bit there. I am so short of time always, and often flat out tired in the evenings which is my only writing/blog time when the days are full of life.

Adjustment. Yes indeed. Hope it doens't take too much longer for it all to even out again. I feel like I could really do with another holiday.

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Edit to add :: re Rosamunde Pilcher...I have read and re-read The Shell Seekers countless times over many years, it is my go-to comfort read. I've also read September but the Shell Seekers remains my absolute favourite, I just love the descriptive writing so much. I've just ordered The Empty House and can't wait for it to arrive :0)

 

 

 

Riverside Pleasure

One of the things I most love about being on holiday is the large amount of time we spend outdoors as a family. Whether we are by the coast or inland, in a house or Connievan, it feels great to simply be outside in the fresh open air together. Pottering, pootling, playing, picnicking. Walking, running, jumping, balancing. Lounging, laughing, chatting, pondering.

Since coming home from our holiday in Dorset, J and I made a joint decision to take a few hours out of every weekend to be together as a family, out and about. A weekly outing of some sorts. It's an easy thing to say in words, but not at all easy to make it happen. It takes planning and preparation, effort and enthusiasm. But it is perfectly do-able if we are determined to make it happen and ignore the plaintive resistence from our offspring. The trick is to get out of the door as early as possible, with a promise to return home in time for lunch. A few hours kids, that is ALL. It won't take long, promise.

Of course, once we are actually on our way, it all becomes much easier, especially if we keep the journeying short. We are very, very lucky to live close to such glorious countryside, and there is no shortage of nearby places to go. On Sunday morning we chose Riverside. Miraculously, we had parked the car by 9.15 and set off to walk along an easy footpath beside the river Wharfe. We were headed for that small river beach on the left side of the river, but chose to walk along the right hand side first before crossing over via a lovely stone bridge.

This is a beautifully built bridge, quite grand compared to the little rustic ones we usually come across in the Dales.

The footpath passes under a stone arch....

....then steps take you up to walk along the top of the bridge and down the other side.

Here is the beach look, a lot smaller than usual due to the river water being quite high. But it is a perfect place to stop, rest and have a play.

A mixture of sand, pebbles and grass, it's not that dissimilar from being by the sea, although obviously the sounds are different. No waves breaking, but there is the equally pleasing sound of bubbling, gurgling water as the river flows and tumbles over rocks and pebbles. And the sound of the wind in the trees is blissful. Bird song too, more peaceful and tunesome than the squawk of seagulls.

The Little People absolutely love riverside play. There are grassy hillocks to climb and turn into castles and fortresses. There are flat stones to skim across the water, and there are smooth, rounded pebbles to stack into towers. Actually, this tower was my own work. Well, I did have my Little Assistant helping me, but his help was mainly verbal. Chatter, chatter, chatter.

Just like on a coastal beach, there is often treasure to be found on river beaches.

River washed glass.....

....and fragments of pottery. None of these treasures were found by me. They were found by J and the Little People and sweetly gifted into my outstretched hand. They know me well.

We spread a little picnic blanket on the grass and enjoyed some mid morning refreshment. White bread rolls spread with butter and jam, chunks of dark chocolate and a flask of fresh coffee.

J and I sat a while and watched our Littles play. I think this has to be one of my favourite pastimes, and it fills me with such happy pleasure to watch my children play outdoors. I love their physical energy, their inventive games interwoven with stories. I just love to see them content and happy with the natural world (and each other) to play with.

It was a windy day on Sunday, but on the beach we were relatively sheltered. Gradually we noticed that the clouds were being blown across the sky and the sun began to peek out. It was absolutely blissful to feel the warmth of the sun on my face.

J went off to the waters edge with Little Man who has developed a remarkable talent for stone skimming. I continued my lazy appreciation of all that I could see, hear, touch.

I lay down (another of my favourite pastimes) and watched the sky.

I watched the scudding clouds race across the blue sky and I listened to the wind in the bare branches. And I listened to the sound of my family chatting, shouting, cheering, laughing.

It was wonderful.

After a while I got up and took a little wander. Admired some tiny yellow flowers....

....and the pure clarity of the river water. Sunshine, ripples and dancing shadows.

A great place to play for sure.

Just before 11 now, and by mutual consent we all decided to say goodbye to the river beach. The wind had suddenly whipped up a notch and despite the sun it felt very cold.

On the return walk, Little Lady found this amazing birds nest at the side of the river bank. She was absolutely bowled over by it, the first birds nest she had ever seen. We placed it back where we had found it, although we did bring the feather home with us to add to my collection.

Such a lovely few hours, such simple pleasure and happy family time. We had the best of the weather too, as by the time we were driving home across the hills, we could already see the rain heading in over the valley. And not long after we arrived back home, it absolutely chucked it down.

I am writing this and thinking to myself that I really hope the memories of that morning have entered into the hearts and minds of my Little People and lodged hard and fast. I so so so wish for them to remember it all, to treasure the memories just as much as I do. Fingers crossed.

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March 2013

My March mosaic, only a couple weeks behind schedule which is pretty good for me these days.

The March weather was not great, and my pictures tell the story of a month spent mostly cosying up indoors. Chocolate and flowers and buttery toast and buttons and yarn. And the Studio. Yes, March will be remembered for the Studio Story I think, it occupied so much of my time and thoughts throughout last month.

April is becoming the month of the House. Lots happening here behind the scenes, discussions about renovations and walls and doors and wires. Builders, electricians, scary structural people. Biggish changes. I am feeling excited and nervous and joyful and tearful all at once. House talk makes my emotions bubble up rather alarmingly. But it's good! It's all good.

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Winter/Spring

It is still unbelievably wintry here in my patch. It remains very cold, only just above freezing, and jeez there is still snow sitting on the hills. I keep looking out at the view and willing it to start greening up a little, to look at least a smidge as if Spring is round the corner.

On Sunday the air was all of a sudden very slightly warmer. Still grey and wintry looking, but just about possible to shed an outer layer and stride out without shivering. After some tremendous effort, all five of us made it out the door on Sunday morning, all at the same time, to go and do the same thing together. Increasingly hard to make this happen these days, as the Little People have their own social agenda and tend to dig their heels in re Family Outings. I was glad I dug my own heels in on Sunday and forced The Walk, for it was a good one. We walked up a steep grassy field to take in the view. Always a good thing to get up high and remember where you live. There's the Attic Window look....fourth one down! You see it? That's home!

After the steep, grassy up hill climb, there is a steep, grassy downhill run, then a stile, then a track into the woods.

It's a lovely, simple circular walk (well technically it is lollipop shaped), providing greenery, gentle exercise and fresh air. The greenery was a bit thin where the trees are concerned, but look.......

...the banks of wild garlic have started to sprout fresh, vibrant greenery! Yippeeee!! That surely must mean that we have entered early spring!

I think we walked for about two hours. It was slow going due to Little B only having Little Legs, but he walked the whole way round with enthusiasm and happiness radiating out of him. He is such a sweet outdoor boy.

The relative warmth of Sunday was short lived, and the past couple of days have seen us back to shivery cold. The heating is permanently on and we are wishing we hadn't run out of coal and logs. The blankets are still in full swing, hot water bottles still warming the beds at night. Hasn't this been the longest winter?

I am glad for my colourful, cosy home, as despite the current messiness it is a warm, happy place to be when the weather is cold. I'm still going with the Spring bulbs indoors, I love having them on the mantel. My lovely mother-in-law bought me this latest pot of hyacinths on Saturday and I'm looking forward to the pink flowers and heady scent.

I have been adopting my usual slapdash method of parenting this week with the Little People being home from school, particularly with foodie stuff. We tend to graze in the holidays, although after all the indulgence of Easter last week, I am making a conscious effort to provide healthy grazing fodder for us all. No more chocolate, crisps or sugar laden bakery products for a while....I've replaced them with a large selection of fruit, wholemeal bagels for toasting, and hummus with crudités and breadsticks.

I've been having a bit of en egg fest of the healthier variety this week too and treated myself to these pale blue beauties. They are an extravagance really (£1.99 for six eggs), but oh they are wonderful. They are made by very clever chickens called Old Cotswold Legbars, and I adore the soft colours of the shells.

Inside, the yolks are a magnificent orange colour and taste divine. The past few days I've been up early with Little B for tea and toast, then making myself a brunch around 11.30. Poached eggs on toasted wholemeal bagel. Deeeeelish. If this has picture has made you long for a poached egg, you can read more about my poaching exploits here.

I've had plenty of hooky time these past few days as the Little Peeps have been very good playing amongst themselves. As is usual for us in school holidays, we've had small hoards of visiting children in and out all day, and I just count the pairs of shoes in the hallway to see how many are in (total of 8 yesterday, although not all at the same time). I'm finishing up a new project which I started whilst on holiday, and it's giving me a huge amount of pleasure and satisfaction. I managed to work out the mathematics for the design yesterday by drawing it all out on paper, so there will be a new pattern to offer you very soon....I hope you're going to like it. Yellow tulips too this week, they look lovely in my button jug.

Haha....I had to include this picture, kind of a visual confession! I found half a bottle of sloe gin in the cupboard left over from Christmas, and for some obscure reason yesterday (around 4pm) I just fancied myself a wee tipple. It felt incredibly naughty.....drinking gin in the afternoon with a house full of children, what irresponsible behaviour?!!! But oh my, it was absolutely wonderful. I only had that one weeny glass and I sipped it slowly over the space of about 45mins while I did a bit of crochet before cooking dinner. I had this blissful warm glow afterwards, I felt like I was radiating warmth. Which was pretty good considering how cold it is at the moment. Never mind layering up with clothing, just crack open the gin bottle! Eh-hem. Well, it was just a one-off spontaneous thingy, so don't be worried.

Right then....on that naughty note I will love you and leave you for now, and go make a stack of buttery toast for my hungry children. Back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

 

Dorset :: Spring 2013

I really love the first-trip-to-see-the-sea that we always make on our first morning in Dorset. As you can see, this year the sky was very very blue, the sun was very very bright but I tell you the air was very very cold indeed. It was absolutely freeeezing.

The weather stayed bitterly cold all week with a terrific wind blowing, but it didn't stop us getting out and about. We wrapped up in warm layers and made the most of being outdoors in the countryside and beside the sea.

The harbour at West Bay was as lovely as ever, full of jaunty, boaty goodness.

I love this little patch of a place so much, my childhood memories come flooding back each time I revisit.

 And of course, it is pure delight to witness my Little People layering their own childhood memories on top of my own.

We ambled out along the pier, J and I strolling, the Little People zooming on their scooters, and Little B running, climbing and jumping. It was very bright and breezy. Oh that breeze was something else. Thank goodness for my hat, I really loved my hat last week (well I love it every week).

After being buffeted along the pier and back, we headed back around the harbour to seek out some refreshment. The Watch House cafe is situated right on the shingle beach and is a pretty wonderful place to spend time eating and drinking. We braved the wind and sat out on the decking, soaking up the sunshine and listening to the waves crashing onto the shore.

Revived by my carrot cake and cappuccino, I ran down the shingle bank with the Little People, wheeeeeeeeeeeee all the way down to the sea (it's a steep bank! and I really did go wheeeeeeee!)

We walked back and forth, playing silly games and inspecting the flotsam and jetsam.

I love to see footprints in the freshly seawashed sand, especially my own.

And I love sitting my bottom down on sunwarmed shingle and immersing myself in the sights, smells and sounds of the sea.

But bestest of all, I like to lay myself down and have every single bit of my body in contact with the beach. I like it very, very much. I love being horizontal on the beach, like really adore it. The Little People tell me I'm a weirdo for lying down when not one single other person on the entire beach is lying down. But I tell them I do not care because I love it and that's all that matters.

When I was a little girl I used to be so in love with that pink house on the edge of the shingle. I used to fantasize about living there, about sleeping in that room with the little window in the rooftop looking out to sea. Wouldn't that be something?

Last week we visited our most favourite places, the places that we are drawn to time and time again during each of our visits to Dorset.

This is Eggardon Hill, a scenic high up place with deep ancestry. Usually the view looks glorious at Easter time, all green and golden, but this year it was extremely bleak looking.

There was a howling, biting wind and it was incredibly cold, but we had the best time up here. Somehow the extreme weather made it feel very exhilarating. It was wild! The Little People ran headlong into the force of the wind, marvelling at how it made their bodies work twice as hard. They ran up and down, up and down. It was such fun to watch them.

Although the temperature made it feel very much like the depths of winter, there were welcome signs of spring in the hedgerows. The little clumps of pale yellow primroses made me smile whenever I saw them.

We ventured out every day, and felt lucky that it stayed dry all week. It's pretty straightforward to cope with the cold really, adding extra layers under coats and keeping hats and gloves firmly in place.

The beaches were pretty much deserted and that suited me just fine. We enjoyed some wonderful, blustery walks along the shore at Burton with only a few hardy dog walkers for company.

My holiday hooky gave me a lot of pleasure last week, it was lovely working with these super-pretty and very spring like colours when the weather was so un spring like. This is a fabulous yarn called "Cotton On" by James C Brett, and I'm using it to make a liner for a new/old wicker basket I bought a few weeks ago. I should have it finished soon, I'll show you when it's done.

Funny looking at these pictures cos it looks like it could be scorching hot doesn't it? Don't be fooled, it was blinkin' freezing.

Despite the bitter cold, we packed a picnic and headed to St Catherines Chapel for an alfresco lunch.

I write about this place every year, so you probably know about it by now. You will know that J and I lay a blanket down in the shelter of the wall there under the window and allow the Little People to run riot.

We listen to them hollering inside, watch them appear and disappear as they circumnavigate the building a hundred million times at great speed.

It's such a beautiful, peaceful, contemplative place, and I frequently wonder what it would feel like without the boisterous, noisy soundtrack of my children? Would there be silence? The sound of doves cooing gently (there were two white doves nesting inside the chapel)? The sound of the wind?

I wonder if there will ever come a time when they visit this place and don't yell or run?

The sea is always a remarkable turquoise colour when seen from St Catherine's Chapel. I LOVE that colour so much, it is the colour of my soul you know. And lunch tasted delicious.

We had a good week. It was lovely to spend time with my family, and there is much that I haven't shared here. Lengthy pub lunches, lazy afternoons and evenings by the sea. Woodland and riverside walks, toy shops and wool shops and playgrounds. Time spent with parents, siblings, nephews. Time spent chatting and playing with the Little People.

The Little People played together really well for the most part. No television, no internet, no gaming devices. Just themselves and the space they found themselves in. It did us all good to be removed from technology for a week, although at times I did find myself wishing for it. Just a little.

Back home now, and surprisingly I am not pining for the sea. Very unusual! I was glad to come home actually, glad to return to our cosy, messy, scruffy, warm, colourful home.

J is back to work this week, so I am home with the Little People, easing myself gently back into homely routine. Which mainly consists of dealing with the endless dirty laundry and attempting to tidy up a little. Sigh. I wish I loved housework as much as I love holidays.

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 Edit to add :: a couple people have mentioned the current ITV drama "Broadchurch" which was indeed filmed on location at West Bay. I've only watched the first episode, it was a little unreal to see David Tennant strolling about in "my" patch!!!