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Hello my lovelies
Just popping by to let you know that I'm gently closing the Attic window so that I can take a much needed break. I need a complete rest from the computer and internet, but I promise I won't be gone long. I'll re-open the view in a week's time.
See you soon...
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Popping by to share some little snippets from the past week as I've been attempting to slow myself down and appreciate the here and now amidst the changing seasons. The gentle light, the glowing colours, the drift of leaves as they descend from the trees, the very feel of Autumn in the air. It's soft and mellow for the most part, and as I walk from school to town to home I find I'm beginning to enjoy the onset of Autumn. I'm even wearing woolly socks today which feels rather blissful actually after many months of bare feet, and they are bright scarlet (my socks not my bare feet).
Things in the back yard are slowly winding down, although I've just discovered that the clematis I had long thought was a gonna has suddenly sprung into belated action and is covered in several promising looking buds! I'm guessing it must be an Autumn flowering variety then, no wonder it was looking so dead during the summer. I cannot wait for the buds to open as I haven't a clue what the flowers will look like (I had even forgotten I had planted it), happy days. I'm absolutely delighted that my pots have done so well this year and that each week I've been able to pick a small posy to bring inside for the table. It makes me incredibly happy to do this simple thing, and has inspired me to try and plant even more lovely things in my back yard next year. We have a small squash sitting on the table at the moment, just because I saw it in the supermarket and loved it's shape and colours. Little B's pumpkin is currently the size of a smallish tomato so I don't think we need worry about the word "mammoth" just yet. He remains pleased as punch with it's progress though, which is just ace.
Right, I need to dash out soon and collect the aforementioned pumpkin-child from school. Thanks as ever for popping by and sharing my humble comings and goings. I'm working on some Yarndale write-ups this week and it's proving to be an emotional experience....wow, those mandalas! Just Wow.
More soon...................xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I've been waiting for what seems like the longest time to share this beautiful colour story with you, and now I am more than a weeny bit excited! Although this particular blanket journey has been long (and slightly unusual, I'll explain in a bit) I feel as thrilled by the pretty colour palette today as I did twenty one months ago when it all first began.
The picture up above is a bit blurry and I'm sorry about that - I've just unearthed it from my January 2013 archives. I chose these two new blanket packs at the same time way back at the start of last year. They were meant to go together you see. You might recognise the fifteen colours on the right hand side as I used them to make my coast ripple blanket. On the left are the fifteen colours of the blanket I'm calling "Cottage". Don't they look good together? Both these blankets sing a Summer song to me and are loaded with my own summer memories. I don't need to waffle on again about the coast colours, but the sweet summer Cottage colours, well we can talk about those now, can't we?
As the name suggests, the Cottage colour pack is inspired by summer cottage gardens. Think of mellow terracotta and old stone, fragrant herbs and pretty summer flowers....sweet peas, lavender, clematis and roses. When I picture a cottage garden in my mind, I start dreaming of warm, sunshiny days, cool green grass, pale blue skies and a whole load of pinky-purple floral eye candy.
I chose the fifteen colours for this blanket with my heart and I remember it all so well. I went to my local yarn shop one cold January morning, and spent a delicious time pulling out balls of Stylecraft Special DK from the shelves. I spent ages playing with them, arranging and re-arranging them until I ended up with a perfect palette of pretty colours. I wanted to make a blanket that reminded me of the warmth and gentleness of a country garden in Summer, and this is what I came up with...
...the Attic24 Cottage colours....
Top row, left to right ♥ Parchment ♥ Camel ♥ Mocha ♥ Meadow ♥ Khaki ♥
Middle row, left to right ♥ Sherbet ♥ Pale Rose ♥ Grape ♥ Raspberry ♥ Copper ♥
Bottom row, left to right ♥ Cloud ♥ Denim ♥ Lavender ♥ Magenta ♥ Plum ♥
Now there is a bit of a story behind the start of this blanket. Shortly after I'd chosen the colours, I shared them with a very good friend of mine and she fell head over heels in love with them. At the time (January 2013), she was coming through some personal trauma and we had been chatting about the therapeutic value of crochet and in particular the way the ripple pattern could be used almost as a form of meditation (we agreed it really is the most soothing, rhythmic, pleasurable pattern to work). She was without a crochet project at that time and asked if she could take my colours and work up the ripple blanket for me. She couldn't wait to get lost in those rows of colour and to have something positive to occupy her thoughts and hands during the long, dark winter evenings.
And so we ended up sharing the joy of this blanket journey together, and it became a true friendship blanket. I would choose the colours (randomly selected, as is my usual habit) for just a small section at a time and jot the sequence down on a piece of paper. My friend would then have a "colour map" to work from and once each section was made, we would get together over coffee and lay the blanket out on the floor so I could have a play and choose the next sequence of colours for her to work with. With each week the blanket grew a little bigger and my friend and I fell a little more deeply in love with those pretty colours.
After four months Spring had arrived and the blanket was almost finished. I had loooooooads of ends to darn in by then and also I just couldn't decided how to tackle the edging either. I ummed and ahhed and deliberated and finally I simply decided to leave it be for a while and come back to it at a later date. The almost finished blanket got folded up and put neatly on a shelf in my studio.
Fast forward more than a year later, and by this time my beautiful coast blanket had not only been started but made and finished with a lovely simple, neat edging.
I gave myself a talking to and decided that I should really get round to finishing up the almost-complete cottage blanket. After all, I only needed to darn in those ends (aaargh!) and complete the edging in exactly the same way as I had done for the coast blanket (following my very own tutorial!). Plus Little Lady had taken a real shine to this pretty crochet blanket and was pestering me to finish it so that she could have it on her bed.
It was wonderful to finally get myself on the edge-of-the-edge, I enjoyed it enormously and couldn't wait to see the blanket all finished.
I think it's true to say that these colours do make me very, very happy indeed.
They are soft and pretty, but also vibrant and strong. They sing, don't you think?!
I love it very much....it's just so.....pretty!
oooooooo, I almost forgot to say it.................
Ta-dah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So the Cottage blanket is made in exactly the same way as my Coast blanket, with the same number of starting chains (213), the same number of Stripes (84) and the same edging. The finished blanket measures approx. 4ft x 6ft (120cm x 180cm) which is roughly the size of a single bed.
You can find the complete tutorial here on my blog for free, I've called it Ripple Blanket Know-how.
Hey, would you like to see some more pictures of the Cottage Ripple blanket? At the beginning of September I took it out and about with me for a little bit of a photographic adventure.....
.....up the road to my lovely neighbour's back yard so that I could use her beautiful sky-blue chair as a prop (thank you Helen!).
Then off I went around and about town, looking for a suitably pretty location to show off my Summer-coloured ripple.
I came across this old gate next to the church and thought it would suit my blanket perfectly. Let me tell you, it's hard to look casual yet purposeful when you are attempting to drape a blanket over an old gate. I'm not sure what the two ladies thought when they walked through this narrow alleyway and caught me in the Arranging Act (the word BoNkErs springs to mind).
This gorgeous summer garden also belongs to a local church in town, it's always so tranquil here and that bench just called out to me and my blanket.....
....I think it looks very at home!
So that's the sweet story of this blanket that started it's journey one cold day in Winter at the beginning of last year. It's been fun to share it with you after all this time, and we are really enjoying using the blanket here in the Attic too (that's when Little Lady cares to share it, she has hogged it rather shamelessly since it was completed)
As with my Coast Ripple, I thought it would be helpful to share my colour sequence with you, if you fancy making yourself a pretty Summery blankie like Little Lady's Mine.
Cottage Blanket colours :: remember to work 2 rows of each colour....
|
1.Grape |
22. Cloud |
43. Parchment |
64. Copper |
|
2. Lavender |
23. Pale Rose |
44. Cloud |
65. Magenta |
|
3. Copper |
24. Mocha |
45. Denim |
66. Pale Rose |
|
4. Magenta |
25. Parchment |
46. Meadow |
67. Camel |
|
5. Meadow |
26. Khaki |
47. Camel |
68. Cloud |
|
6. Khaki |
27. Denim |
48. Khaki |
69. Denim |
|
7. Camel |
28. Plum |
49. Mocha |
70. Raspberry |
|
8. Parchment |
29. Magenta |
50. Pale Rose |
71. Mocha |
|
9. Sherbet |
30. Camel |
51. Raspberry |
72. Parchment |
|
10. Pale Rose |
31. Meadow |
52. Copper |
73. Meadow |
|
11. Plum |
32. Sherbet |
53. Denim |
74. Plum |
|
12. Raspberry |
33. Mocha |
54. Sherbet |
75. Copper |
|
13. Cloud |
34. Khaki |
55. Lavender |
76. Magenta |
|
14. Denim |
35. Copper |
56. Plum |
77. Camel |
|
15. Meadow |
36. Pale Rose |
57. Magenta |
78. Khaki |
|
16. Mocha |
37. Plum |
58. Cloud |
79. Cloud |
|
17. Camel |
38. Lavender |
59. Parchment |
80. Raspberry |
|
18. Copper |
39. Sherbet |
60. Mocha |
81. Lavender |
|
19. Raspberry |
40. Magenta |
61. Meadow |
82. Denim |
|
20. Grape |
41. Raspberry |
62. Sherbet |
83. Sherbet |
|
21. Lavender |
42. Grape |
63. Khaki |
84. Grape |
Border colours
You can find the Cottage Ripple yarn pack in my shop at Wool Warehouse* HERE. Each blanket pack contains a free printed pattern, but remember the pattern is also still avilable for free on my blog HERE.
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* a note about my blanket packs :: I love working with Wool Warehouse, they are a dedicated team of yarnoholics who share my passion for colour and crochet. I love that together we have enabled so many of you throughout the world to enjoy making beautifully colourful blankets that don't break the bank. I've been using Stylecraft yarn for making blankets for over 4 years now (the original Attic24 colour selection was first shared on my blog in May 2010), but I am only now this year (since May 2014) beginning to earn a commission from the packs sold through Wool Warehouse.
I would also like to make it clear that I do not work for Stylecraft Yarns. I use the Special DK because I genuinely love it for blanket making, and not because I am sponsored to use it. I love it for three reasons :: it comes in 60 wonderful colours (sixty!), it makes great, soft, durable, washable blankets and it is very good value. I have a genuine love of this yarn for those reasons and I'm sorry if this is boring or repetitive.
Thanks as always for the enthusiasm and encouragement you give me with my on going blanket-making obsession :) I know you understand my addiction perfectly well and it makes me so happy that you "get it" and enjoy sharing it with me. Thank you, thank you.
x
Hello my lovelies, I just wanted to wave hello and say how very, very, very much I have been helped by your supportive and kind wishes you've sent for both my Mum and myself. Thank you ever so much, for all the kindness and virtual hugs, I have been really comforted by the collective feel good.
News from Dorset this week is better than we had hoped, with test results coming back and showing us that things are not quite as bad as we had feared. We are just taking it one day at a time and hoping for the best.
I would like to ask those of you who are criticising me at this time, please try not to be too judgemental here. My family background is complex, difficult and very private, suffice to say I have an unusual relationship with my Mum following a pretty tough childhood. I am trying my best to come to terms with a very emotional and tricky set of circumstances at the moment. None of you know how my life has been in the past, so please just accept that I am dealing with all this in my own way and in my own time. I will go and visit her as soon as I am able, and really that is all I can do, aside from the prayers and daily phone calls.
Anyhow.....I don't really want to dwell on all that, just wanted to update you and to say thank you.
Back soon!
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I am having a huge amount of difficulty finding enough words to chat at the moment, so please do forgive me if this post is a bit flat, or not what you would usually expect from me here.
Truthfully I've had a tough few weeks dealing with some unexpected curveballs. Wham, out of nowhere they have come, hitting me hard and knocking me off my feet for a while.
I've been trying to take care of myself whilst dealing with rather a lot of stress and worry. And sadness too. My poor Mum is very ill again, I had a call early last week to say she had been taken into hospital and although she is home now things are really not looking good. I am very worried for her and I am also 300 miles away which makes things extra difficult. Oh well, I am trying to hope for the best and will see if there is any way I can travel down to Dorset for a quick visit sometime very soon.
The weather here has somehow echoed my mood and it's been dull, grey and wet for much of the time. Autumn is creeping in, bringing it's damp and cold and I'm not particularly happy to be packing away my flip flops. In fact, exchanging flip flops for wellies has been pretty rubbish actually.
Some good things though....I have unexpectedly discovered a growing admiration for hydrangeas, after so many years of not caring one jot for them. I certainly wouldn't say I am smitten, but I have really found myself looking at the beautiful subtle colours of my neighbours blowzy bushes and finding myself liking what I've seen.
Yesterday, the rain eased up for a few hours and I went out foraging for Autumnal feel-good. I walked through the park, along the canal, around my neighbourhood, into town and back again, plucking little snippets of fallen nature from pavements, searching under the trees in the park and sneaking a few colourful oddments from bushes and trees as I walked past. I love how the drying, fading hydrangea flowers bring some beautiful pinks and blues to the Autumn Rainbow. I had a fun morning yesterday, playing with my gathered bits of nature and my camera and enjoying myself hugely. It took my mind away from the fretting and allowed me to free-fall through a wonderfully creative morning full of happiness. I'll share my photos with you in another post, they need their very own little ta-dah I think.
Autumn inspiration is once again creeping into my yarny world too, almost without me realising it. These are colours for a new blanket just beginning on my hook...........
.........I hunkered down in the studio on Monday whilst it poured with rain outside and counted that foundation chain veeeeeery carefully (198, no more, no less), then away I went with the first exciting row. Beginning a new blanket is one of the most exciting things in the whole wide world, and it never fails to make me insanely happy.
In fact, this past week I can honestly say I don't know what I would have done without crochet and colour in my life, it has lifted my spirits when I have felt very un-liftable. I have spent a lot of time close to home this week, but the little snippets of time I've had at the studio have been colour-soaked, creative and therapeutic.
Last week wasn't so good. Another curveball that I really, really didn't see coming and it knocked me completely upside-down for a bit. Very suddenly and unexpectedly, my friend Tracy came to tell me that she was leaving the studio. You may remember our story, it's been 18 months since we were both on our hands and knees scrubbing that old floor together and making this room come alive. It feels very empty without her there.
I have been very sad about her leaving, and due to the worry with my Mum, plus the extreme tiredness post-Yarndale, I was far more emotional than usual and spent a whole day bawling my eyes out. Poor Tracy, I know this hasn't been an easy decision for her and she probably wasn't expecting me to be so dramatic (that's not my style at all, I am usually able to take most things in my stride), but anyhow. I do totally understand her reasons for taking her handmade business back to the familiar comforts of home, and so I am trying hard to accept it and adjust. In fact, this week I have begun to sit down in the studio and take a good look around this precious room and realise that it'll be OK. The abruptness of the change has upset me, but I am starting to find the positive in it and move myself gently forward. I'll have more space to spread myself and my colourful clobber out in, more shelves to fill with yarn, more walls on which to hang bright, happy, creative things.
Every (dark, grey, wet) cloud has a (shiny, bright, happy) silver lining.....
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ps I'm off to London to the Knitting & Stitching Show tomorrow, I'm rather excited! Next week I'll be back here in the Attic to tell you all about Yarndale, I know many of you are waiting for pictures. Sorry I haven't been up to doing it this week. x
Pheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.
That's the sound of me breathing out after weeks and weeks of hectic rush and more than a weeny bit of stressy nervous tension. Much like last year, I am finding myself in recovery and taking my sweet, slow time to acclimatise to Life-After-Yarndale. It's like I need to re-learn how to slow down, how to stop fretting, how to relax, how to just be normal again.
But OHMYGOSH, what a fantastic, amazing, exhilarating, exhausting, exciting, WONdErFul weekend we had, it was just b-r-i-l-l-i-a-n-t. I had such a lot of fun!
Today I took some much needed time out, a luxurious day spent alone with J, walking our children to school along the misty canal, then off out of town for a walk in the glorious Yorkshire countryside. The weather was perfection - warm, clear and bright, the perfect mix of Summer and Autumn. We pootled along the river at Bolton Abbey, stopping for coffee and cake sat outside in the morning sunshine. It was such a tonic and I feel I am almost (almost) back to my normal upbeat, happy-cheery self. Ready to get back to my studio, back to this precious blog-space, back to some fun and colourful crochet. Life is good. Life is G♥O♥O♥D!
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ps will share lots more about Yarndale with you next week, I've got lots to show you! x
