Attic24

Moorland Blanket CAL :: Part 4

Good morning my lovelies, how has life been this past week in your little nook? Here in the Attic my days have been deliberately and deliciously sloooooooowwwwww. It's been my choice, an instinctive need for a little bit of hibernation and quiet alone time. I've felt ever so slightly flat but then it's been a very grey, super-cold, wintry January week and I've noticed how much my mood is so often plugged directly into the weather. It's as if my very soul has been foggy and grey this week.

I miss the summer months so much, the warmth and light, the happy feeling of freedom that comes with long, warm, sunny days. I find Winter hard going, although I do try and keep myself positive in these cold grey days and appreciate that Seasonal Change is a good thing. 

Working on these wavy stripes has allowed me to mentally drift around in a whole world of summery colour, and I've been walking the hills endlessly in my mind as I spend my hours with hook and yarn. The colours this week will veery gently begin to lift and change and you will see the deeper shades of purple and green make way for lighter ones. We say goodbye to the earthy browns this week too as we move closer to the distant hills.

It's such a wonderful thing to feel transported to another time and place, to remember just what it feels like to unfold a blanket among the green moss and grasses and lie back to watch the clouds move overhead and feel the sun warming my face. It's contentment and bliss and a quiet joy to watch this blanket grow, to allow my mind to idle along dusty tracks and softly rolling hills as I hook my stitches.

It's always a fun time when I put down my hook and lay my blanket out for inspection each week. It truly delights me the way these stripes are happening as the blanket grows, they move and undulate beneath my eyes and the gentle shift in colour and tone makes my heart beat wild with delight. It's one of my greatest pleasures in life to witness a nugget of an idea come out of my Creative Mind and into the full glare of reality. My Creative Mind is very, very good at visualising colour and pattern, but sometimes the real thing is just so very much better than the imagined thing. It makes me happy beyond words when this happens.

No Blanket Inspection happens in the Attic without Tilly these days, she is a constant in my life when I am home. She is a nosy, into-everything kitty and a bit of a diva so it goes without saying that she has an incessant need to be at the centre of absolutely everything I'm doing. Blanket admiration? Yup, she will be right there, front and centre.

This week over on my Facebook page I asked if anyone would like to share pictures of where they crochet their Moorland blankets and what their view might be as the hook these wavy stripes... oh so many beautiful, cosy, heart warming images! It made me feel very emotional thinking about how much warmth and pleasure our collective stitches are bringing to homes (and beaches/aeroplanes/trains/swimming pools/spas/cars/work places!) around the world.

Inspired by my own cat-bombed photos, I've picked out some really lovely images of your gorgeous four legged friends sharing the Moorland journey this week.............

Awwww, so precious!

One other photo which really made my heart sing this week was this one........

.....these beautiful hooky ladies in Fife, Scotland meet every fortnight to work on their Moorland blankets together, isn't that just the loveliest thing? Hello lovely ladies, I am waving to you from the Attic!!

In fact, I am waving and blowing kisses to each and every one of you as you journey along with me, wherever you are in the world, I so appreciate your company.......mwah xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

And now, lets get down to the stripes for this week - your last stripe from Part 3 should be Sage - that was stripe number 60.

And here is the colour information for Part 4 : stripes 61-80, working from the bottom upwards.

Remember each stripe is worked in two rows, so 20 stripes = 40 rows of crochet.

*Please note - stripes written in *red text* are additional stripes to be worked only if you have 2 yarn packs and are making a double bed size blanket. If you have one yarn pack, please ignore the red!

61. Walnut

*Mocha*  (optional for large size)

62. Grape

63. Violet

64. Plum

65. Wisteria

66. Grape

67. Sage

68. Pistachio

69. Mocha

*Meadow*  (optional for large size)

70. Plum

71. Wisteria

72. Cypress

73. Khaki

74. Grape

75. Wisteria

*Violet*  (optional for large size)

76. Cypress

77. Pistachio

78. Sage

79. Violet

80. Grape

Here are the links you might need ...

❤ Moorland Blanket CAL : Part 1

❤ Moorland Blanket CAL : Part 2

❤ Moorland Blanket CAL : Part 3

❤ Neat Wave tutorial

❤ Moorland CAL : Introduction

❤ Moorland CAL : Q&A

❤ Moorland Yarn Pack

Have a really super time meandering over the heather clad hills this week, Part 5 (stripes 81- 100) will be here on Friday 3rd February.

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....more little snippets from the Attic...

Colourful Competition Update

Bluebell Time

Keeping Track

Winter Wreath Progres
s

Winter Wreath :: the beginning

Moorland Blanket CAL :: Part 3

 

Ahhhhh, it's Friday morning, and doesn't it feel good?! I really, really look forward to our Friday catch up here in the Attic, it gives me a tremendous feeling of joy to think of so many of you from all over the world popping in to chat and crochet. I love to think of us all connected by our yarn and stitches as we gently journey through our blanket stripes, it gives such a deep and pleasurable feeling of belonging don't you think?

I dug back into my photo archives and found a whole slew of Moorland images from the summer of 2012 when we caught the heather right at it's peak...oh the colours! I'll share a few more throughout today's post, just so you can enjoy feasting your eyes on the inspiration behind the stripes you're hooking and (hopefully) loving.

I wonder how you are enjoying your blanket journey two weeks in? Did you rejoice just a little when you landed on the first purple plum stripe? The subtle colour shifts within this blanket are just sublime, and I can't wait to show you how this week's section looks. It's goodbye Lime green, and ooooo helloooooooo sweet Violet!!!

Before we do that though, I want to show you some more images that were shared to my Facebook page this week. I've been so inspired seeing my Neat Wave pattern worked in some truly delicious colour combinations......

Catherine is using my Moorland colours but working them in a random stripe order. I'm hoping to be able to see more of this blanket as it grows as I've been wondering myself how this would work out - it's looking lovely so far.

Penny has chosen to work the same colours in an ordered repeating stripe which shows you just how beautiful the Moorland palette looks as a whole. 

Monique is using my Coast yarn pack to create a delicious sea-inspired blanket - the Neat Wave pattern suits these colours extremely well doesn't it?

Tracy is using my Cottage yarn pack, and following the same random colour order that I used in my Cottage Ripple blanket.

Sue is using my Cupcake yarn pack to make a very pretty wave blanket.

Sally has based her colours on her local hills in New Zealand. She says "it's not too different from your moorland colours yet, just a wee bit of brighter green and rocky outcrop sneaking in, but soon it will be all golden and rusty orange" - sounds lovely!

Sandra has picked out a striking palette of "hedgerow colours".

Veronika's wavy stripes are singing a beautiful and sweet song...

Ellie has chosen to mix shades of purple and mauve with some lovely subtle, natural colours..

Petra is taking herself on a stroll along the beach (I love this!)

Diana is working with some stunning colour combinations inspired by the sunset..

Hazel is making waves inspird by the subtle shades of sea glass..

Murphy is making this super sweet cot blanket for one of her twin grand daughters..

Adele has chosen to mix some soft, solid colours with some very pretty variegated yarn with stunning results.

Thanks so much to everyone who has taken the time to share pictures of their blankets on my Facebook page, it's been wonderful to see all the happy creativity emerging and taking shape this week.

For part 3 of the Moorland CAL, we'll be working on stripes 41-60 (there are 115 stripes in total). Once this section is completed, we'll be just over half way, doesn't it look fab?! You should start to feel less overwhelmed by all those greens down at the bottom now as the heather really starts to come into bloom.

At this half way point you will also be able to feel the lovely drape and texture that the Neat Wave pattern creates - I am thrilled with how closely this really does mirror the gentle waves of colour and texture seen in the Moorland landscape......

.....as the hills roll away softly into the distance. I've been thinking a lot this week about the pleasure of walking in the countryside, specifically hill walking and the joy of long distance views. I do feel very, very blessed to have this on my doorstep, and I try hard to never take this for granted. 

I hope that as you sit quietly and crochet your waves of colour, that somehow the essence of the lovely Moorland landscape will ebb into your stitches and inspire some lovely feelings. I hope that doesn't sound too fanciful or stupid, but I do really believe that in crocheting a blanket we are doing so much more than just producing a piece of yarny textile. We are creating memories of time and place, preserving all sorts of emotions and thoughts in each and every stitch. Precious indeed.

 

So lets get down to the stripes for this week - your last stripe from Part 2 should be Walnut - that was stripe number 40.

And here is the colour information for Part 3 : stripes 41-60, working from the bottom upwards.

Remember each stripe is worked in two rows, so 20 stripes = 40 rows of crochet.

*Please note - stripes written in *red text* are additional stripes to be worked only if you have 2 yarn packs and are making a double bed size blanket. If you have one yarn pack, please ignore the red!

41. Mocha

42.Plum

43. Violet

44. Khaki

45. Mocha

*Walnut*  (optional for large size)

46. Meadow

47. Plum

48. Violet

49. Cypress

50. Mocha

51. Walnut

*Sage*  (optional for large size)

52. Violet

53. Meadow

54. Cypress

55. Plum

56. Violet

57. Khaki

58. Mocha

59. Plum

60. Sage

Here are the links you might need ...

❤ Moorland Blanket CAL : Part 1

❤ Moorland Blanket CAL : Part 2

❤ Neat Wave tutorial

❤ Moorland CAL : Introduction

❤ Moorland CAL : Q&A

❤ Moorland Yarn Pack

Have a fantastic week with yarn and hook, Part 4 (stripes 61-80) will be here on Friday 27th January.

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...more little snippets from the Attic...

A Colourful Competition

Notes from the Studio

A Yarn Thing

A Winter Walk

I can't say that the weather here at the moment is inspiring me to get out and about, there really is way too much greyness for my liking. It feels as if the air is being pressed far too close to the earth, forcing the clouds to float amongst the landscape instead of up in the sky where they belong. I don't like the way this makes me feel, don't like that the days are so dank and lacking in sunlight, don't like that I feel squashed by the sky all the time.

On Monday J had the day off work and we had decided that whatever the weather it would be a day for us to take a Winter Walk. Ever the optimist,  I held an upbeat, positive outlook in my heart, really believing that I could somehow conjure up a bit of sunshine just by wanting it so badly. No such luck, the day was Grey with a capital G. Never mind, we still set off, determined to enjoy our walking time together, even though the Crag that we were going to climb (pictured above) was hidden in the clouds and barely visible.

After walking for a few miles we noticed the sky was clearing just a little and as we approached the foot of the Crag we could actually see the top of it again. Such a relief, as I had visions of us stumbling around up there, forever lost in a sea of damp mist.

We've done this walk quite a few times and the path is clearly marked, but after the snow and rain we've had during the past week it was seriously muddy and hard going. 

As I huffed and puffed my way slowly upwards, I thought to myself that there is something very satisfying about setting out to climb to the top of something high. 

The physical exertion combined with the rewarding and ever changing views makes for a certain contentment deep in the soul.

To be honest, I had been secretly worried about taking on this climb as I am anemic again at the moment and my body isn't working quite as it should. But I amazed myself and didn't struggle all that much, even though I was blinkin' exhausted by the time I reached the top!

I am fascinated by this rock which sits atop the Crag - I wish I could show you a person stood next to it as it is absolutely huge.

It was eleven am when we reached the top, so we settled ourselves down on a picnic rug with our backs leaning against a large rock and took in the vista. The clouds were still hanging low over the valley but the landscape looked fresh and clean.

We had flasks of hot fresh coffee, and enjoyed an early lunch sat up here amongst the damp rocks - it was sooooo good! J and I have a particular lunch that we pack up to take on our walks, would you like to know what it is? Well, we make sure to stop in town before setting off to pick up a couple of award winning pork and apple pies, oh they are just divine! Along with a mouthwatering pie, we always have a small handful of sweet cherry tomatoes, a crunchy apple and a small slab of chocolate. It maybe sounds a bit strange, but honestly I just love every mouthful.

Eating lunch with gulps of fresh wind-whipped air and a green view makes my heart swell.

Soon it was time to start heading down the other side of the Crag....

....there was just as much mud on the descent as there was on the assent, so it was rather a comical, slippery business.

But the colours of the landscape filled my soul, and I found myself thinking a lot about my Moorland Blanket as I walked. This is the very edge of the same moor that inspired my current blanket design, and even though the colours are more muted in Winter, it's still very beautiful.

I noticed that the mosses are having an absolute fiesta in this damp climate and are growing their little mossy hearts out up on the moor. So vibrant, and so very, very, very green! I love moss so much, there is something very endearing about this lowly and humble plant species. I hope that doesn't make me too worryingly weird.

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...more little snippets from the Attic...

Wreath Love-love-love

Midwinter Landscape

Things I Know

2016 :: A Year in Pictures

Today I'm sharing my journey through the twelve months of 2016.....enjoy the visual feast!

♥ January ♥

♥ February ♥

♥ March ♥

♥ April ♥

♥ May ♥

♥ June ♥

♥ July ♥

♥ August ♥

♥ September ♥

♥ October ♥

♥ November ♥

♥ December ♥

It's taken me many hours to compile these monthly mosaics as I got ridiculously distracted along the way - I found myself meandering down memory lane, and it has been a  very happy stroll indeed. Two thousand and sixteen was a pretty full and busy year for me, and truthfully it hasn't been the easiest twelve months. At the start of the year I struggled health wise when I discovered I was anemic, and it took a good four months before I felt my normal self begin to return. But despite the rocky start, 2016 was a year of great contentment and fulfillment for me as I pootled through my weeks, juggling family life with my Yarndale commitments and my enduring crochet obsession. 

We enjoyed some really lovely holidays last year, including two visits to Dorset, a glorious Summer week in Northumberland, two short stays in St Annes, and a long weekend in October where J and I escaped to the coast just the two of us. Those coastal visits were so precious, but really nothing compares to the joy of simple days spent at home. 

One of the highlights of 2016 was the arrival of our kitten Tilly. She came to us in July, a ten week old cutesome bundle of kitty energy. Being a tortoiseshell, she has a huge personality (ever heard of Tortitude??) and she has certainly made herself at home with us here in the Attic.

Attic24 will be nine years old in March, and this is my ninth yearly review. It's hard to put into words how much I love creating my blog, and how amazing it is to be a part of this kind, caring and creative community. Thank you so much for joining me as I journey through my days, I appreciate your company more than I can say.

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ps if you are still in need of a colour fix, there is an abundance of it in my previous reviews!

✿ 2015 ✿ 2014 ✿  2013  ✿  2012  ✿  2011  ✿  2010  ✿  2009  ✿  2008 ✿

 

...more little snippets from the Attic...

Up Hill and Down Dale

Dorset Summer 2015

Back Home

Things I Know

2016 :: a Year of Crochet

A little bit late I know, but before we get too far into 2017 I really wanted to share a visual reminder of all the hooky that happened in the Attic during the past twelve months.

Enjoy the colour-fest!

♥ January ♥ 

I started 2016 with the tail end (literally) of my Sunny Log Cabin Crochet-A-Long - lots and lots of darning in ends and stitching those gorgeous big squares together.

♥ January ♥

I enjoyed a beautifully vibrant and Sunny Ta-dah moment in mid January when my CAL came to an end and my five foot square blanket was finished. 

♥ January ♥ 

I decided to re-make my original Granny Stripe blanket at the start of 2016, changing the dimensions and adding an additional block of stripes. 

♥ February ♥

I started making my Cupcake blanket in February, using 15 shades of Stylecraft Special DK inspired by the pretty colours of iced cupcakes. 

♥ February ♥

I finished my original Granny Stripe re-make with a slightly different edging - I really must share this with you (I only just realised this never actually happened!) 

♥ March ♥

A very pretty Cupcake Stripe Blanket Ta-dah!

♥ March ♥

I started working on the new mascot sheep for Yarndale 2016.

♥ March ♥

I made a string of Baby Bunting using leftovers from the cupcake blanket - another pattern/project that is on my to-do list to share with you very soon.

♥ April ♥

I started obsessing about big mandalas again in April, using brightly coloured cottons to up-scale a thread doily pattern.

♥ April ♥

I finished making the 2016 Yarndale mascot sheep - we named her Flora and she turned out to be very photogenic.....

♥ April ♥

....here she is, looking beautiful on the Yarndale postcard.

♥ April ♥

Colourful Spring Leaves flew off my hook in April - I made these to decorate the jug of twigs that sits on my mantel.

♥ May ♥

I felt inspired to start making a Summer Wreath - I finished the stripy base but sadly didn't have time to make enough flowers to finish. Another project on my t0-do list for 2017.

♥ May ♥

I made this little Little Mouse Wreath as a gift - you can read more about it here.

♥ May ♥ 

I began a very colourful blanket to use up lots of scraps of Stylecraft Special DK. During the month of May I was obsessed with these granny squares!

♥ June ♥

The Colourwash Granny Blanket is finished - Ta-dah!

♥ June ♥

I designed a crochet pattern for Yarndale's Creative Community project - These Woolly Sheep were a tremendous success (the woolly sheep pattern is here, and more info about the charity project is here).

♥ July ♥

I designed these Little Owls for the 2016 Yarndale brochure.

♥ July ♥

More Baby Bunting triangles using up leftovers from the Granny Stripe re-make.

♥ August ♥

More creative work for Yarndale as I designed and created the 2017 mascot sheep with help from my hooky Yarndale buddies.

♥ August ♥

And here she is, gently grazing in her green field. We haven't named her yet.....any suggestions??

♥ August ♥

Behind the scenes, August was all about the heather here in the Attic as I started to design and sample for my Moorland Blanket.

♥ September ♥

I completed my set of three Weekend Bags ready to launch the yarn packs at Yarndale. In October I wrote up a huge tutorial for this project and shared it all here on my blog.

♥ September ♥

I completed two mandala hoops to be displayed as part of the yarn bombing at Yarndale - they looked amazing hanging from the tree branches!

♥ October ♥

Still obsessed with the mandala hoops I couldn't resist making another one. I wrote up a mini how-to tutorial too, after so many people requested the information.

♥ October ♥

The obsession continues as yet another giant mandala starts to take shape. This is still a WiP but very close to being finished. 

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♥ November ♥

I made this cute piece of crochet to photograph for the cover of my Erin Condren Life Planner. You can read more about it here and find the pattern for the Flora Flowers here.

♥ November ♥

This was a month of deadlines for me, as I worked away at a two very special design projects. I'm sworn to secrecy until next month, but I am very excited about them! For one of the projects I used some shades of Stylecraft Batik DK which was a dream to crochet with.

♥ November ♥

The other secret squirrel design project called for some cotton yarn, and I had the exquisite pleasure of selecting colours from this box of cutesome mini 10g balls. Oh the joy! 

♥ November ♥

I started another stash-busting project, using colourful oddments of Stylecraft Special DK. This is the beginning of a cushion cover, using my Neat Wave pattern.

♥ November ♥

Finally, after months of planning, I was thrilled to launch my Moorland Yarn Pack and introduce my latest Crochet-A-Long blanket project.

♥ December ♥

I loved sharing this colourful Neat Wave cushion - Ta-dah!

♥ December ♥ 

I worked hard creating a comprehensive tutorial for my Moorland Blanket, ready for my CAL to begin at the start of January.

♥ December ♥

Lots of behind the scenes colour play and sampling as I worked on ideas inspired by these dried hydrangea flowers. I'll have a new blanket with some delicious yarn colours to share with you in the Spring.

This is my eighth Crochet Review, and that thought both delights and surprises me - I mean, I know my blog is coming up to it's 9th Birthday, and yet in many ways it seems like hardly any time at all.

I had in my mind to write more about my 2016 projects, but honestly, I don't think there is any need to waffle here. Just to say that I continue to feel an overwhelming passion for creating with yarn and colour, for hooking up projects to use, enjoy, share and inspire. Crochet is IT for me, it fills my world with love, joy and happiness. And yarn.

Thank you so so much, from the bottom of my heart, for joining me on this journey, and here's hoping that 2017 will be magnificently creative and fulfilling for all of us. Have  a happy hooky year!

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ps previous crochet reviews are in my archives if you wanted to go and pootle around a bit!

✿ 2015 ✿ 2014 ✿ 2013  ✿ 2012  ✿ 2011 ✿ 2010  ✿ 2009 ✿

 

 

Moorland Blanket CAL : Part 2

This past week seems to have speeded by in a whirl of everything and nothing, and I can't believe it's already a week since the Moorland CAL began. This time last week I was a bundle of nervous energy, checking through my tutorial a gazillion times, hoping that all would be ok and that there would be no glaring mistakes. Thanks to one or two of you getting in touch, I discovered a few small errors (mainly numbering mistakes) but all was quickly put right and I've been thrilled and relieved to see so many gorgeous wavy blankets beginning to take shape in your hands. I know the first few rows can be a real chew, and I've hoped and wished for a good many of you as I've seen and read about your initial struggles to conquer a new pattern. 

These rows do get easier as the blanket goes on, I promise you that. In the beginning, I found myself often frustrated with my own messed up counting and rows that didn't end up as they should. I frogged my fair share of stitches in the early stages, and I know first hand the irritation and disappointment it causes. Please believe me, it DOES get easier! The more rows you work, the more you begin to feel the pattern working. You feel the beautiful rhythm, the counting becomes second nature, you notice the way each stitch fits in and lines up, you spot the mistakes quickly. It really does grow on you this blanket, it creeps gently in,  takes root and brings satisfaction, happiness and peace.

I also had to laugh when I read about how many of you have been getting fed up with the Lime!! Hahaha, I know, I know! The way I've carefully planned the overall design means there is a lot of Lime in these bottom rows - this is the foreground of the landscape and it needed to be brighter than the rest. The heather is coming in part 2, you will really LOVE the purples!

I want to show a few photos that have been shared on my Facebook page during this past week, in the hope they might help and inspire. Many of you who have been struggling to nail the counting of this pattern have found that marking the pattern repeats with life lines or stitch markers has saved the day. The above blanket belongs to Heather, and her running life lines placed every 10 stitches helped keep her on track.

Stitch markers (here used by Rosalba) are also very helpful if you are struggling with the pattern repeat. Here they are placed every 10 stitches, but you could place them every 20 or 30 if you wished - it means that if you spot a mistake, you only need to pull back a small amount rather than the whole row. You might find you only need to do this for the first set of stripes - I am confident that as your blanket grows, so will your confidence!

I also thought you might like to see some alternative patterns being worked with my Moorland colours - I've been so happy to see people taking these shades and using them in their own way..... 

This is an Eyelet Ripple by Naomi...

Marie is using a Block Stitch to work her stripes in a beautiful repeating order....

Katie has opted for Granny stripes....

Yvonne has used the Cosy Stripe to work her Moorland colours....

Jo is making a really beautiful shawl....

...and just look at all this gorgeous texture in these stripes hooked by Nicky.

And lastly, a real feast for the eyes - Jennifer is using the Moorland colours to make a Sophie's Universe blanket, which is just stunning.

Part 2 of the Moorland blanket will see the greens and browns gradually make way for more of the purple heather colours. The shift in colours is very subtle, but oh so beautiful.....

....I'm hoping that as you work through part 2 you'll be starting to get a good feel of the colour journey, and that you'll enjoy it as much as I am!

Whilst I've been working these rows, I've had a continuous stream of images and memories flowing through my mind as I recall the many walks we've made on the moors amongst the heather. It's so energising and peaceful being surrounded by a landscape stretching out before you, all those layers of texture and colour and light to make your heart sing.

So your last stripe from Part 1 should be Mocha - that was stripe number 20.

And here is the colour information for Part 2 : stripes 21-40, working from the bottom upwards.

Remember each stripe is worked in two rows, so 20 stripes = 40 rows of crochet.

*Please note - stripes written in *red text* are additional stripes to be worked only if you have 2 yarn packs and are making a double bed size blanket. If you have one yarn pack, please ignore the red!

21. Grape

*Pistachio* (optional for large size)

22. Lime

23. Walnut

24. Cypress

25. Meadow

26. Khaki

27. Lime

28. Walnut

29. Mocha

*Cypress* (optional for large size)

30. Khaki

31. Grape

32. Walnut

33. Sage

34. Plum

35. Grape

36. Meadow

*Khaki* (optional for large size)

37. Plum

38. Violet

39. Sage

40. Walnut

After part 2 (40 stripes), your blanket should be measuring approximately 60 cm in height. It should also be starting to keep your knees warm as you work, which is a bonus for us shivering here in the cold of a Northern hemisphere Winter!

I just wanted to reassure you that all CAL posts will stay on my blog for you to access and dip into for always, so please don't worry if you can't begin just yet, the pattern and colour information will be here waiting for when you are ready.

And for those of you who have made a start, please, please feel comfortable working at your own pace. It's fabulous that we are all taking this journey together, but it really isn't a race - I so very much want you to enjoy every part of this blanket you are making, no matter how slow those stitches might be.

Here are the links you might need - Part 3 (stripes 41-60) will be here on Friday 20th January.

❤ Moorland Blanket CAL : Part 1

❤ Neat Wave tutorial

❤ Moorland CAL : Introduction

❤ Moorland CAL : Q&A

❤ Moorland Yarn Pack

Happy Hooking! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

...more little snippets from the Attic...

My Granny Stripe Blanket

Cosy Stripe Blanket :: ta-dah!

Harmony Home Stretch

Up Hill and Down Dale

Notes from the Studio

Enjoying...

❤ Enjoying the look of my mantel this week after Christmas was packed away. Pretty Spring colours and the cutest pot of nodding narcissus bringing  a daily smile to my face. I've kept my scented Christmas candles and couldn't resist holding onto my two dome lights for a little bit longer - I figured they were more about Winter than Christmas and I love the twinkle they bring to the room at night (they were a lovely impulse buy from Amazon here and here).

❤ Enjoying these teeny tiny flowers soooo much, that little dash of yellow makes me feel optimistic and happy.

❤ Enjoying my new planner, my weekly session of coloured pens and pretty stickers, and the feeling of being ever-so-slightly organised with my days makes me feel good. I've got it in my mind to try some more long term planning this year as well, but that's something to talk about in a post of it's own.

❤ Enjoying this jug of tulips on my table, a gift from my wonderful and kind mother-in-law to cheer me up when I was spending yet another day in bed on Sunday. I am almost free of these pesky germs, but they have flattened my battery somewhat and I've been forcing myself to rest as mush as possible. The delicate pink of these petals is impossibly pretty, I gaze at them often throughout the day and sigh with pleasure.

❤ Enjoying Tilly when she is in the mood to settle and snuggle. She is a very lovable kitty, and oh there is honestly nothing nicer than having her warm little purring body nestled in my lap. The above photo is her nestled in Little Lady's lap actually, those two are pretty close.

❤ Enjoying watching the start of my Moorland CAL unfold across the internet, it's been a real treat to read so many wonderful comments and to see so many of you taking off on this journey of yarny colour. I'll be publishing part 2 tomorrow morning, I seriously love sharing with you all!

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...more little snippets from the Attic...

It's All White

This Time of Year

And Relax....

2014 :: Year End Review :: crochet

Winter Robin

Christmas 2016

Christmas and New Year came and went in a bit of a blur for me as I was really laid pretty low for the entire time with a chest full of cough and a head full of snot. It's amazing how utterly tiring it is when one's days (and nights) are spent coughing and trying to eject a mountain of snot into a whole box of tissues. I found it exhausting. I spent a good few days of the holiday keeping myself as still as possible and in a horizontal position, and I was so thankful to have J around to keep the house and Little People ticking over whilst I made myself rest.

Our Christmas day was quiet and rather lovely, a gentle day of enjoying new toys, overdosing on chocolate and cooking/eating a delicious roast dinner. I wasn't well enough to socialise on Boxing Day, so whilst J took the kidlets to spend the day with his family, I took advantage of a quiet house and spent the day lolling around in bed. 

This Christmas has been thoroughly enhanced by having Tilly around, she has been an absolute delight. She's a bold, feisty little kitty who loves to be at the centre of whatever is going on, so she was completely involved in every aspect of our Christmas. 

I don't have a huge number of photos of her yet as she is incredibly hard to capture on camera. I love that she is still slight enough to be able to scramble up and sit on the narrow ledge of the sash windows....

....and every day during the Christmas period she spent time crawling around the branches of the Christmas tree. Crazy kitty.

We enjoyed some delicious weather during the holiday period, lots of beautiful sunny days and cold, cold temperatures.

Despite feeling pretty rubbish, I did manage to get out and about a few times with the family to fill my lungs with cold fresh air and take in the scenery.

We don't manage to get the Teen to come with us any more, but I've made my peace with that fact. What has really surprised me this holiday is how willing the other two Little People have been to go for a few short walks - in fact this particular walk in the woods was met with something close to enthusiasm which gave me a quiet personal little thrill.

It was a beautiful afternoon, and there was a pocket full of chocolate coins to sweeten the process, plus a promise of a detour into town to have a hot chocolate at the end of the walk. But really, they were just happy to be out and about strolling and chatting and I am secretly hopeful that this might possibly be an ongoing change from the sulky reluctance we've become used to. Fingers and toes crossed.

So I'm looking at this picture of a very pleasant looking waterfall, and in my mind I'm remembering the bent over double laughing that was going on at the time. I was walking with Little B and we were talking about Naughty Words, the sort that Mummy often says but which are really not appropriate for six year old mouths. I told him that as a special one-off, he could say as many bad words out loud as he wanted, right there in front of the waterfall. I gave him a few choice suggestions and his beautiful green eyes went as wide as anything and he literally gasped with shock! Then through a heap of incredulous giggles, he cussed out a long string of Naughty Words, ohmygosh it was the funniest thing and I almost turned myself inside out laughing. Just to reassure you, the words weren't that dreadful, they were along the lines of sh*t and cr*p and b*gg*r. Jeez, I am typing this and absolutely snorting with laughter at my computer screen......so so sorry!!!!! Bad, bad Lucy.......

Aaaaaaaand.......a few deep breaths.........hmmm, I love it so much when our weather does what it's supposed to do and presents us with some seasonal perfection. We're enjoying a fabulous Winter this year so far and although there hasn't been any snow we've had lots of crisp, cold, bright frosty days which are my very best favourite at this time of year.

Another day and another short walk - this was one of those slow, slow days in between Christmas and New Year when an incy-wincy bit of cabin fever had set in. It was a spontaneous walk, a decision made and an out-the-door-immediately type of thing.

It was late afternoon, around 4pm and the sun was golden and hanging low over the horizon.

We took a gentle stroll, a light potter around the edge of the water with a little bit of a paddle in the shallows. It was just enough for my still-exhausted bod to cope with, and I enjoyed it very much.

Just before Christmas, we celebrated Nine Years making our home here at number 24 in this wonderful, friendly town on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales. I love living here so so much, and I love that we are giving our Little People a childhood that has waterfalls, woodland and waterside walks in it. Here's to a New Year full of cosy stay home days and gentle, pottering outdoor days...

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...more little snippets from the Attic...

Christmas 2014

Magazine Styling :: Spring Inspiration

Cosy Stripe Blanket :: ta-dah!

Moorland Blanket CAL :: Part 1

Hello my lovelies!!!!!! I'm so sorry I've been away from the Attic for a few weeks, I've not been very well over Christmas and New Year and so spent way too much time either in bed or snuggled on the sofa trying to recover from this stinker of a cold that hit me hard. I'm just on the tail end of it now, and am feeling a little bit more like my usual happy, bouncy self again which is a relief I can tell you. I'll be writing some catch-up posts next week, but today we are here to celebrate the start of my Moorland Blanket Crochet-a-Long, yipppeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wanted to share the above photo with you - this was taken last week as we drove up over the Moorland in sub-zero temperatures, my oh my, it was sooooooo beautiful up there. The Winter Moorland is a gorgeous palette of muted and soft colours, more subdued than the Summer landscape but still very lovely indeed.

But now I want to take you back to late August and remind you of the inspiration behind my Moorland Blanket.................

.........ahhh, that's better!! Feel the warmth!!!!!!! This is my most favourite time to walk on the moors, with blue skies and warm sunshine, light winds and clear vistas. And the colours.....oh the colours of the Summer moorland are a complete delight!

I chose fifteen shades of Stylecraft Special DK to create my Moorland colour palette :

Top row, left to right ♥ Pistachio ♥ Sage ♥ Grape ♥ Wisteria ♥ Duck Egg ♥

Middle row, left to right ♥ Lime ♥ Meadow ♥ Mocha ♥ Violet ♥ Cloud Blue ♥

Bottom row, left to right ♥ Cyprus ♥ Khaki ♥ Walnut ♥ Plum ♥ Storm Blue ♥

You can find the Moorland Yarn Pack in my shop with Wool Warehouse :

{MOORLAND YARN PACK}

I designed a simple Neat Wave pattern for my Moorland Blanket to echo the view of the rolling landscape.

But aside from the actual Neat Wave pattern, I also decided to try and design a blanket where the colours  of the stripes echo the landscape too. I wanted the blanket to feel like a journey, a visual stroll across the moors in Summer time. The bright greens of summer grasses and mosses, the earthy tones of stone paths and peaty soil, the vibrant swathes of purple heather blooming, and the gentle blues of a summer sky.

This is a deceptively simple idea, but it was much harder to accomplish in reality I can tell you! You can read more about my inspiration and design process in this post.

The Neat Wave pattern itself is pretty simple, using three different stitch heights to create the rise and fall of the waves. Working this pattern takes a little bit of practice and concentration, but there is only very simple counting required and the repetitive rhythm of it is very, very meditative and soothing.

I've created a full picture-heavy tutorial to help those of you who are new to crochet. The tutorial will enable you to make a small sample (shown above) so that you can work out your own tension and settle on a hook size which will work for you. 

Towards the end of the tutorial, I've given guidelines about starting chains and blanket sizes - for the Moorland Blanket CAL I'm using one yarn pack to make a single bed size blanket measuring 120 x 170 cm. I've used a starting chain of 181 for this size (18 x 10, plus an extra 1)

If you've bought two yarn packs and are wishing to make a bigger double bed size blanket, I've given a couple of suggestions for different starting chains, and some information to help you work out the size you need. 

Every Friday here on the main pages of my blog, I'll be giving you a CAL update which will give you the colour information for twenty stripes at a time. There will be 115 stripes in total, which will make a blanket measuring 170 cm.

I'll also give you the option of adding in an extra 15 stripes which will be spread throughout the blanket - this is for those of you who are making bigger blankets with two yarn packs. The extra stripes will make the blanket approximately 20 cm longer (190 cm). Because of the way the colours are worked, it wasn't possible to simply add the extra rows on at the end. I'll write them clearly in red - only add them if you have an extra yarn pack to accommodate them!! I hope this makes sense!!

 

All CAL posts will remain on my blog so you can dip into them whenever you need - please don't worry if you miss a week or fall behind with your hooky, you can go at your own pace. Here is a rundown of the CAL schedule :

Friday 6th January - part 1 - working  a tension sample, choosing the right hook size, stripes 1-20.

Friday 13th January - Part 2 - stripes 21-40

Friday 20th January - Part 3 - stripes 41-60

Friday 27th January - Part 4 - stripes 61-80

Friday 3rd February - Part 5 - stripes 81 - 100

Friday 10th February - Part 6 - stripes 101 - 115

Friday 17th February - Catch up week (darn in those ends!!)

Friday 24th February - Part 7 - the edging and a grand Ta-dah!

A little word about the Moorland yarn colours - before you start, please make sure you are familiar with the yarn colours and names. There are six shades of greens in this blanket, so it can be easy to make mistakes, even if you think you know the colours. Snip some little bits of yarn and stick them to a sheet of paper with their names, or store your yarn balls with their names/labels attached.

NEAT WAVE PATTERN

Here is the colour info for Part 1 of the blanket :

1. Cypress (foundation chain, foundation rows 1& 2)
2. Lime (rows 1 & 2)
3. Khaki (rows 3 & 4)
4. Meadow (rows 5 & 6)
5. Pistachio (rows 7 & 8)
6. Mocha (rows 9 & 10)
7. Walnut (rows 11 & 12)
8. Lime (rows 13 & 14)
9. Meadow (rows 15 & 16)
10. Khaki (rows 17 & 18)
11. Lime (19 & 20)
12. Pistachio (rows 21 & 22)
13. Cypress (rows 23 & 24)
14. Walnut (rows 25 & 26)
15. Lime (rows 27 & 28)
16. Grape (rows 29 & 30)
17. Pistachio (rows 31 & 32)
18. Meadow (rows 33 & 34)

INSERT OPTIONAL STRIPE HERE - Lime (for double bed size blankets)

19. Khaki (rows 35 & 36)

20. Mocha (rows 37 & 38)

I really, really, really hope you enjoy the start of your Moorland journey - this first part is all about the greens, the summer grass and moss, with little peeps of earth and heather as you go. Have fun, and we'll catch up again next Friday....

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Links for more info :

NEAT WAVE tutorial

CAL introduction

CAL Q&A

Moorland Yarn pack