Attic24

Time Slowly Flies

It's the last day of February today, and I've been reflecting on this tricky Winter month and thinking about how long it has felt. Not that I'm complaining mind you, I think if I'm honest with myself I find I am enjoying this time of semi-hibernation, relaxing into the long hours spent indoors doing very little. I like to rant a little against February simply because it's not May (!), but really these days have been gentle and kind.

The year is only a little over eight weeks old, isn't that an odd thing to realise? The year is still a baby! So many weeks of possibility stretching ahead, which makes me feel hopeful and optimistic.

I flew up into the clouds last week, quite literally! I often find my mind is in the clouds, but to actually physically be up there was staggeringly brilliant. I absolutely love love love flying. I was persuaded to take the plane instead of the train as a) it was a lot cheaper (I know!!) and b) it is very much quicker and c) because I could. I flew from Yorkshire to London where I was scooped up by my younger brother and whizzed along the miles to Dorset in his snazzy little Mini Cooper Sport. Oh, that car - cripes - the Extreme GoKart Mode made my stomach melt down into my socks and my heart fly up into the top of my head.

 

Dorset was..............interesting. Not quite what I had hoped for on the relaxation front as we had some unexpected family drama to deal with whilst we were there. My family background is complex and baffling, an emotional roller coaster for the most part. It was draining to be honest. But....I was glad to be there, to add some emotional support where it was needed. 

But on my last morning, I said to my brother that I would refuse to get into his Mini Cooper Sport unless he agreed to take me to see the sea. I marshalled everyone together and treated them to a late breakfast, coastal stylie.

Oh yeah............now that was a seriously good decision, sitting in the warmth of my favourite cafe on the beach, inhaling a mug of mighty fine cappuccino whilst filling my tum with the above plateful. Eating breakfast out is a wonderful holiday treat and very much appreciated I can tell you.

The few days I was in Dorset saw Storm Doris pass through, gosh it was windy and wet and downright depressing at times. I hunkered down in my Mum's old cottage and felt the damp chill right through to my bones. But on Friday morning the storm had cleared and the day was utterly delightful, the best kind of Winter weather. West Bay was at it's finest - quiet, fresh and unspoilt. I love being at the coast in wintertime, there is such peace and tranquillity to be found.

I was happy to travel north again though, landing back on Yorkshire soil and having the pleasure of J and the Little People throwing themselves at me as I stepped out of the airport. They missed me, and I was glad to be home again.

Today I was back in my studio, and it felt wonderful. I started the day with coffee and a warm croissant, a little welcome-back indulgence.

I spent the morning pottering about, reconnecting with my creative space. I stuck some pretty stickers into my planner and made some plans with coloured pens. A short to-do list for the week, a longer to-do list for the month of March which begins tomorrow. I love the feeling that my planner gives me - it allows me to think my thoughts out onto paper, to empty some of what's jiggin' about in my mind, to give myself prompts and reminders for the many, many things that make up my days and need my attention. It's about remembering not to forget, whilst appreciating the complete delight of stickers and coloured pens. 

Today was a day of sunshine and showers, both in the extreme. The sun shone so brightly in through my window for a short while, closely followed by a dark grey noisy, torrential downpour. I planned and pottered, arranged some fresh daffodils in the jug on my table and tidied my yarn shelves. 

I thought about my work load for the month of March - a blanket to complete, along with it's printed pattern and full tutorial, a design commission for a magazine, a tutorial to make for some "Baby Bunting", two interviews to write, some promised social media and blog work to complete. 

I feel just the right kind of busy.

Just.

I think that March will feel very much faster than February.

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Moorland Blanket CAL :: Part 7

Hello!! I have been torn in two sitting here uploading pictures for today's Moorland installment, it is such a bitter sweet feeling writing the last part of this Crochet-A-Long. I have honestly loved every single part of designing, making and sharing this blanket, and now it is finally finished (and wrapped around my shoulders right now as I sit at my desk), I am really sad that the journey is over. 

I have to tell you.......I have developed a seriously deep crush on my Moorland blanket, and although I dearly love all my blankets, this one has taken over rather a large part of my heart. Thank goodness I don't have to ever part with it, I really think I would cry if I couldn't smooch with it every single day.

But anyhoooo, enough of the emotional stuff, shall we get on with talking about the final part of the blanket? Today is all about the Border of course, and I am really excited to share this with you. Before we start though, I just want to remind you all to have a look at the final Cloud Blue stripe at the top of your blanket and make sure you followed instructions given in Part 6 of the CAL to make your top edge straight. You will also need to have all your ends securely darned in before you get going along the edge.

I took the above photo to show you what my yarn bag looked like once the 115 stripes in my blanket were complete. It still looks quite full, don't you think? 

It turns out that my Moorland Blanket used approximately 70g of each colour, leaving plenty left over to work the border and possibly a few cushions too (I'm thinking a Blooming Flower cushion would look awesome in these colours). The best way to assess your yarn quantities at this stage is to use digital kitchen scales - if you followed my tension/size guidelines in the Neat Wave tutorial, you should have at least 20g of each colour left to play with for the border.

Originally, I had planned on keeping the Moorland border very narrow, just using two colours (Storm Blue and Lime). The first round of any border is often quite a tricky one to crochet - it has to do a good job at disguising the inevitable lumps and bumps sitting along the blanket edge, as well as creating a neat and straight foundation for the rest of the border rows. For the Moorland Edging, I used double crochet stitches worked into the actual post of the stitches at the end of each stripe. Working into those stitches isn't an easy thing to do, but it is definitely worth the extra hook-wiggling effort. The results are neat and understated and go a long way towards smoothing everything out at the ends of those striped rows.

Once that first row has been nailed down and you have recovered from it (cake helps!), the subsequent rows are an absolute breeze. I love the way the thin rows of colour manage to keep a gentle hold on the Moorland landscape without distracting from it in any way.

In fact, for a few weeks I kept the border this way and pondered on whether these two rounds were enough. I thought it over a whole lot, but in the end I decided that nope, it just wasn't quite enough. I would need to select two more colours. Naturally, I thought a lot about the overall Moorland colour story, about the earth, moss, grass, heather and sky, and how best to carry that story through to the border design. 

I decided to choose one shade of grass green.....

....and one shade of heather purple.

I wonder which are your favourites? Which would you go for?

After much deliberating, I settled on Cypress and Grape. To me, these were the colours that most represented the grass and heather, and seeing all four colours together made me very happy.

I would love to encourage you to think about your own choice of border colours, and not feel that you have to follow me exactly if you don't want to. Maybe you would prefer the depth of Plum instead of Grape, or maybe you would like to add soft Sage instead of Cypress. Maybe you prefer a lighter approach and opt for Lavender and Duck Egg to add a bit of summer sky to the border.

Just remember that you need approximately 20g of a colour to work one round of the edging.

I decided to make my corners rounded on this blanket, the softness seemed appropriate and provides a visual link to the undulating waves of the stripes. I have to say I really love the effect (I am usually one for perfect perky, pointy corners), plus it makes the whole edge an absolute doddle to crochet.

The final (4th) round of the border is worked as a whole round of slip stitches - I am so so pleased with how this turned out. I sampled a hummungous number of ideas for the edge-of-the-edge, with plenty of failed picots, a whole host of wave effects and some more loopy, decorative ideas tried, tested and frogged. In the end, I settled for this simple approach which pleases me no end. I love the way that the slip stitches create a neat surface chain that nestles into the row below - it's quite textural and feels almost like a braid running around the edge. It's the heather sitting in amongst the tall summer grasses.

The finished effect is exactly what I was after - this border is strong yet subtle, a beautiful framework but not a distraction. 

Borders and edgings can be tricky things to balance and get right, that's for sure. Mind you, it's also quite a personal thing too, so please don't be afraid to make your border wider if you wish, by adding more rows/colours (this is especially the case if you've made your blanket double bed size). Please do feel you can use my edging pattern as a guideline or a starting point and have confidence to make it your own. After crocheting with these colours for the past two months, I'm sure you'll have your own favourite combo's!

As you would expect from me, I've written a complete tutorial for working the Moorland edging, with the usual gazillion photos and plain English explanations. You can find it in the sidebar of my blog, or click on the following link >>

❤ MOORLAND BLANKET EDGING ❤

Although I've now finished my Moorland blanket, and many of you will be finishing your own too, I am planning one more installment. I'm going to write a Grand Ta-dah post as I don't feel quite ready to let this CAL go. Nope, definitely not ready....I still have things to say, more pictures to share, more celebrating to do!! 

The past few months have been extra special for me, and so much more than just sharing a free pattern and making a blanket. The strong sense of community and friendship which bloomed over the Moorland has been overwhelmingly lovely and quite emotional for me, and I am so grateful for you all.

I hope with all my heart that this journey has been as delightful for you as it has for me.....I am looking forward to ta-dahing!!

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Here are the links you might need ...

❤ Moorland Blanket CAL : Part 1

❤ Moorland Blanket CAL : Part 2

❤ Moorland Blanket CAL : Part 3

❤ Moorland Blanket CAL : Part 4

❤ Moorland Blanket CAL : Part 5

❤ Moorland Blanket CAL : Part 6

❤ Moorland CAL : Introduction

❤ Moorland CAL : Q&A

❤ Moorland Yarn Pack

❤ Neat Wave tutorial

❤ Moorland Edging

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Taking it Easy

 ❤ Sock Knitting ❤ 

❤ Cat Watching ❤

❤ Fresh Air Walking ❤

❤ Mid Morning Hooking ❤

❤ Fireside snuggling ❤

❤ Tutorial Making ❤

We are on our half term break this week, and it feels rather great. We are spending our days mostly indoors, relaxing, taking it easy. The Little People were all so tired at the end of last week, so we are relishing these gentle days at home where not a lot happens. Recharging our batteries and taking a break from the routine of school and work.

I've been lounging and loafing, loving being at home with the family really. Early mornings sat in bed reading, drinking coffee, crocheting, chatting with J. Late breakfasts, mid morning coffees and toasted hot cross buns. Leisurely afternoons with the fire lit, a glass of something chilled and bubbly, some sock knitting and new blanket making (oh my Hydrangea blanket, it is giving me palpitations!). A little bit of fresh air when needed, short local walks in cold wintry landscapes.

I finished my Moorland Blanket today, the final stitch darned into the edge of The Edge. I wrote up the full tutorial for the edging and composed my CAL post ready for Friday. It's been quite a lot of work to squeeze into a day filled with Little People and a persistent kitty, and I have such mixed feelings about it all - I'm so very, very happy with my blanket, but so so sad that the crochet-a-long has come to an end. I have loved doing it, and I shall miss it.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) I am flying away for a few days, heading south. I'm not going far, just down to Dorset to catch up with my brother and visit my folks. I am so looking forward to a few days away, a bit of a stint by the coast and some family time. 

The tutorial and Part 7 of the Moorland CAL will be here on my blog on Friday morning, all being well. I'll still be in Dorset then, but I'm going to attempt to set a timer on the posts so that they will magically appear at 9am on Friday morning, I hope I'm up to the job!

I shall throw a pebble or two in the English Channel and send out some ripples of happiness to you all....

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

The Blues

My Granny Stripe Blanket

Harmony Home Stretch

Colourblock Cushion :: Ta-dah!

Leisure and Pleasure

♥ Three Things ♥

♥ Three things that have made me feel heart-skippy happy today....

♥ Thing #1 :: on my table ♥

I've been browsing through my collection of Japanese crochet books today, thinking, absorbing and attempting to coax out a new design idea which is still maddeningly caught up inside the messy tangle of ric-rac inside my Creative Mind. I am so close to teasing it out (it's been there for over a year) and I am antsy-excited for it to show itself to me. It's a blanket design for the Summer months, something bright and floral and folksy and rather nostalgic and sweet. I can feel what it needs to be, have a good idea of the colour palette I'm after, but apparently it's not quite ready to show itself to me just yet. I will not be deterred!

I've been collecting these Japanese books for a good many years, I treat myself maybe once a year and they are the most fabulously inspiring things. I've just placed an order for another today, it tickles me to know that it will be flying through the air all the way from Actual Japan!! I buy from a very good Etsy seller called Pomadour24 - be warned, this is a giant sized rabbit hole, so please don't blame me if you take a tumble down it. 

♥ Also on my table is a jug of pretty pink tulips which are making me smile. A sweet Valentines day gift from-me-to-me, and why not indeed? J is a lovely, lovely man, but not a romantic atom in his body. After 23 years I feel quite alright about buying my own tulips and having a little love fest with the colour of them. 

♥ Thing #2 :: on my sofa/lap ♥

Awwwww, little Tilly, she is the sweetest thing. She seeks me out when I'm at home, sometimes perching on my shoulder if I'm working at my desk, but today she came to join me on the sofa for a while.

♥ I honestly can't think of anything more comforting  - this afternoon I spent an hour snuggled up on my crochet-laden sofa, my feet all cosy in my hand knot socks, some very pretty stripes growing on my hook and that sweet kitty nestled into my side and resting her chin on my legs. It was so so so good. My heart was full.

♥ Thing #3 :: on my Mantel ♥

Amazingly, after just two days indoors, the first little yellow narcissus has opened on my mantel. My hyacinths are also in full bloom, and I'm loving the dose of floral Spring cheer they bring.

♥ I've got one of my favourite Pintail candle tins burning on my mantel right now too, and the scent of it is absolutely glorious. It's zesty and fresh and comforting, just the thing to give a little pick-me-up in these cold winter days.

♥ I hope you're finding some little things in your day to make your heart skip with happiness!

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ps I remembered I created a category for my 3Things posts, I have just re-read them all and have had such an unexpectedly lovely trip back down memory lane! They go back to 2009 - h e r e - if you want to see xxxx

pps if you look closely at some of the photos today, you might spot my new Hydrangea blanket just beginning.....more about that in the next few weeks xx

  

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

Notes from the Studio

Crochet, Colour and Flowers

Seasonal Growth

Another Monday, and another venture out into the cold depths of the Winter landscape. It was pretty fabulous actually, oh yes it was certainly very cold, but that smidge of watery sunshine was just beautiful.

J and I, wandering through the woodlands of Bolton Abbey, chattering and laughing the morning away. It's been six weeks since the start of the year and we are still adjusting to the fact that this is now the reality of our Mondays. It feels so much like we are playing truant from real life on these days, sneaking an extra dollop of leisure and pleasure onto the end of our weekend. We are so so lucky to have this time together, and I treasure and celebrate these precious Monday hours of ours. 

Blue sky, blue sky!!! I celebrated that fact too, cos that colour up above my head made me feel so good, however fleeting it was.

I noticed catkins too, those little dingly, dangly reminders that there is seasonal growth happening and that we are edging closer to Spring each and every day.

But best of all, down at ground level, I jumped around with delight at the sight of these vibrant green shoots pushing up through the brown. These are bluebell shoots, the very very best kind of new growth to see in the depths of Winter. It's only three more months till we will see a glorious haze of purply-blue in the woodland, and I absolutely cannot wait. May is my most favourite month of the entire year.

On the home front, I'm really enjoying some seasonal growth on my mantel too. I made these little crochet tin covers back in 2012, and I bring them out every year especially for the task of holding small yellow pots of narcissus.

Aren't seasonal rituals wonderful? I love love love the many small acts of celebration that occur at the same times each year, and I love that through many years of blogging I can see these patterns and rhythms repeating. It's amazingly reassuring and I think really there is much to be said for celebrating life's small pleasures.

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ps the beautiful print on my mantel is by the talented Loretta Grayson, you can find her work on Etsy, with worldwide shipping from Australia. I bought this print six years ago now and love it more than ever. xx

 

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

Here and There

Bluebell Time

Elderflower Cordial Time

Things I Know

Socking Along

In the days dominated by the colours of the Moorland and the many hours spent hooking up the stripes that make up a blanket, I found myself picking up the pointy sticks again. The Moorland Blanket had become way too big to cart out-and-about to the cafe/pub so I was looking for a small portable project. And socks fit the bill perfectly.

I am getting better at knitting in public, more specifically knitting whilst talking/howling with laughter and drinking gin. I am more relaxed with those stitches (gin helps), my shoulders don't hitch up around my ears quite so much, and I'm starting to ease out of the need for complete silence and laser-intensity concentration at all times. It's still not really what I would call a relaxing hobby for me yet, but I can feel that it may well eventually become that in the distant future. 

I love to document my progress on all things creative, so am super-glad that I can use this space to keep a track of my sock production. You can find all my sock-related posts by looking in my<<  left sidebar << in the "category cloud". Look for the small sock word - this will bring up all posts with socks embedded in them, with each pair photographed and the yarn details included. 

So lets shimmy back in time for a quick catch up on my sock happenings, shall we? You might remember back in my last sock post that I showed you the new Stylecraft Head Over Heels yarn?

I picked out this gorgeous stripy colourway called "Everest" (the colours seemed rather appropriately Moorlandish I thought) and cast on back in October.

I whizzed through these beauties and enjoyed watching the subtle stripes form themselves into woolly socks.

{Stylecraft Head Over Heels : colour Everest}, blending beautifully with the Moorland stripes.

After the Everest socks, I cast these ones on at the end of January as portable knit/natter material. They aren't perfect - in fact, due to the pub setting, one of the heels developed a severe lean to the left when I got thoroughly too big for my boots and thought I could turn the heel whilst socialising. Rooky error. In my world of sock knitting, a heel turn requires Absolute Silence, and a brain fueled by caffeine rather than gin. 

But oh, just feast your eyes on those scrumptious stripes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This yarn tickles me (not literally, it's pretty soft and smooth) as it is part of an Opal range inspired by Rainforest birds and animals, which pleases me on so many levels. I love love love to know what inspires colour schemes, the design process is just fascinating I think.

If you are searching for this sock yarn online, you need to look for the word "Regenwald", eg. Regenwald 11 and Regenwald 12. The labels on the yarn show you a picture of the bird/animal that inspired each colourway, just to add to the whole brilliant experience of choosing.

{Opal Regenwald 11 : colour 8976, Kalle the Villain}

I think this pair is one of my favourites to date (despite the wonky heel), the colours are certainly very Me.

I get such a kick out of this small pile of knitting, such an ooomph to the heart of pride and pleasure. I keep my hand knitted socks in a neat pile beside my bed, for the pleasure of having them always to hand when my feet are cold (which is often) and also for the visual delight they provide. Admire, wear, wash, dry, stack, swoon, repeat.

If you've been following my sock making journey from the beginning, you will know that it was my good friend Christine who got me addicted started. For all of my socks so far, I've used her absolutely brilliant Basic Sock pattern which is a full tutorial designed to enable complete beginners. She says that if you can knit and purl then you can make socks, and I am certainly proof of that fact. So if you've always fancied giving socks a go, I can highly recommend joining Christine's Sockalong which tells you exactly what you will need to acquire (needles, stitch markers and yarn), and how to get going.

A few weeks ago, Christine published a brand new tutorial for Easy Cable Socks, and something in me sat up and took an interest. I absolutely LOVED the look of those cute little twisty patterns forming in the stitches! I am really not a competent knitter and the idea of creating twisting cables seemed like it involved a little bit of voodoo magic somehow. But spurred on by the knowledge that there are video tutorials to demonstrate the voodoo elements, and by Christine assuring me it wasn't that hard, I decided to take on the challenge.........

................oooooooooooooooooooooo looooook!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Go me, go me, go me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I made twisty cables in my stripes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope you are suitably impressed?! Hahahahaaa!

I got off to a rocky start (and nope, not a drop of gin was involved), as I counted wrong and then tried to undo the wrong stitches across the twisty bit of the cable, which resulted in a Dropped Stitch and some minor panic. I managed to rescue the dropped stitch but it meant the first cable went a bit rogue. However, undeterred I carried on and the more rows I did, the easier it became. 

Now if you've been following my sock knitting from the start, you will know that I knit on short 23cm circular needles, and that I taught myself (using YouTube) to learn continental knitting - this is where I get to hold the yarn in my left hand in exactly the same way as I hold the yarn when I crochet, which is rather brilliant for us hookers who are using sticks. However, I have only been able to make knit stitches this way, needing to switch back to English knitting (yarn in right hand) whenever I needed to purl. 

With the cable pattern, there is a fair bit of knit and purl switching that needs to take place in every row, so I set about learning how to do a continental purl. I'd been told a while back by some skilled ladies with knit-know-how, that I should look up Norwegian Purl, as this keeps the yarn at the back of the knitting and would work for me and the way I hold my yarn. Well.....if I thought cables were made of voodoo magic, Norwegian Purl looked like the work of the the devil. There is a lot of needle wiggling and yarn twisting, a lot of procedure needed for just one stitch. It looks complex and impossible. But...............after stopping and starting this video a gazillion times, I finally, finally mastered it. 

WOW. What can I say? It has transformed the way I knit socks and I am so so so happy.

I don't mean to brag here.....but I am ridiculously proud of my cables, and my newfound Norwegian Purl technique. It has given me a real buzz to challenge myself and find that my brain isn't as foggy as it so often feels. 

By the way, the yarn I'm using for these socks is {Stylecraft Head Over Heels : Eiger colourway}

I'll be sure to show you this pair when I've finished. There may well be gushing.

My Cable Socks are actually pair number ten, believe it or not. Two pairs went south to warm my Mum's toes, and one pair went off to Manorlands Hospice to warm poorly toes as part of the Yarndale Charity Sockline.

I am still aspiring to fill a whole drawer with socks one day, yes, #operationsockdrawer is very much happening in the Attic, slow and steady.

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

❤ Three Things ❤

The Colours of May

Moorland Blanket CAL :: Part 6

I am love love love loving all this virtual Summer Living, daydreaming about gentle warm breezes and little fluffy clouds drifting across an endless blue sky...............sigh...............so so so good! I had an idea when I was designing this blanket back at the end of last summer that it would bring much happiness and gladness into these drab, grey winter days. I anticipated the need for a reminder of warmth and colour, summer memories and happy vistas in these days that have long nights and low light levels. And this blanket journey has delivered me Summertime in spades, it really has.

I was also thinking earlier about the sounds of the moorland, about how subtle and distant they often are, yet how sweet at the same time. Do you know what the call of the Skylark sounds like? It is oh so beautiful and we are often treated to snippets of it when we walk on the moorland in the summer. In fact, it's the perfect soundtrack for the Moorland Blanket - please do take a few moments to have a listen { h e r e } and pretend for a moment that you are high up amongst the heather clad hills..

Ahhhh....I am such a lover of a feel-good bit of day dreaming, you just can't beat it!

It has been so good to immerse myself in the soothing, beautiful shades of blue as I've worked the last section of this blanket. Like I said last week, these are my most favourite of all colours and the tranquility that they bring to my heart and soul is wonderful. I hope you're going to enjoy the summer skies this week too.

There are only fifteen stripes to complete in this last part of the blanket, using Storm Blue, Cloud Blue and Duck Egg (with a little Wisteria thrown in).

*When you come to crochet the final stripe in Cloud Blue, you will need to create a flat top edge*

This is very easy to do - simply follow the Neat Wave pattern for the first row of the stripe (a row 3 pattern repeat, starting with a ch-3). When you reach the end of this row, turn, then chain 2. Now work 1 dc in each stitch across..... 

....remembering to crochet your last dc into the top of the ch-3 from the previous row.

You should end up with a lovely neat top edge to your sky.....

And that...................is all your neat waves complete, and your Moorland Blanket journey almost at an end. It's bitter sweet isn't it? I love having a finished blanket to snuggle and smooch, but there is most definitely more than a fleeting feeling of loss once the journey is over.

I want to chat a little about the next two weeks and the remainder of the CAL, but first, I'd like to share some photos shared on my Facebook and Instagram pages (use #moorlandcal and #moorlandblanket on Instagram)...

I have really, really enjoyed seeing so many gorgeous pictures of your blankets taking shape all over the world, bringing cosy comfort into your homes and family life. The shared experience of making this journey together has been magical, and I have felt the warm fuzzies stream into the Attic I can tell you! 

So now that you've completed all one hundred and fifteen stripes, what's next? Well, we'll be taking a break next week - I thought it would be useful to schedule in a "catch-up" week for those of you who joined in with the CAL a little later or find you are working at a slightly slower pace. This is a good opportunity to get all those pesky ends tucked away and take stock of the yarn you have left ready to edge the blanket and create a border.

When I designed the colour sequence for the stripes, I had to think ahead and make sure there would be enough yarn left after all the stripes were finished to create a border. You will have noticed that the majority of the colours in the Moorland Yarn pack have been used equally throughout the blanket (8 stripes each), with the exception of Lime and Storm Blue which have only 6 stripes each in the blanket. This should mean that you have more of these two colours left - a good way to take stock of yarn quantity is to use digital kitchen weighing scales. I ended up with 46g left of both Lime and Storm Blue, and roughly 30-33g of the remaining colours.

You'll need approximately 20g of each colour for the border, so there should easily be enough if you have managed to work your blanket using the tension/sizing guidelines given in the tutorial.

If you really dislike either of these colours (Limegate!!!!), it should be possible for you to use any of the colours you have left over, providing you have at least 20g to play with. We'll be chatting much more about all this in the final part of the CAL, which will be on Friday 24th February. 

So now, lets take a look at the stripes for this week - your last stripe from Part 5 should be Duck Egg - that was stripe number 100.

And here is the colour information for Part 6 : stripes 101-115, 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!

101. Wisteria

102. Cloud

103. Storm

104. Cloud

105. Duck Egg

106. Wisteria

107. Cloud

108. Duck Egg

109. Storm

*Cloud*  (optional for large size)

*Duck Egg*  (optional for large size)

*Storm*  (optional for large size)

110. Duck Egg

111. Cloud

112. Storm

113. Cloud

114. Duck Egg

115. Cloud (*2nd row of this stripe is made using all dc stitches to form a flat top edge*)

Here are the links you might need ...

❤ Moorland Blanket CAL : Part 1

❤ Moorland Blanket CAL : Part 2

❤ Moorland Blanket CAL : Part 3

❤ Moorland Blanket CAL : Part 4

❤ Moorland Blanket CAL : Part 5

❤ Neat Wave tutorial

❤ Moorland CAL : Introduction

❤ Moorland CAL : Q&A

❤ Moorland Yarn Pack

The last part of the CAL will be on Friday 24th February.

Have fun dancing across the sky!

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Above the Clouds

Here in Atticland, we continue to hunker down beneath an almost permanent layer of low hanging greyness and I am doing my level best to stop whining about that fact. I realise that allowing my moods to be so affected by the colour of the sky is really rather silly and am trying to get over myself where this is concerned, honest I am. But still ------------- ugh (just a very small, acceptable amount of harrumph).

Waking up on Monday morning to yet another day cloaked in grey grey grey cloud and fog and I worked hard to squish the disappointment and look on the bright side. J and I were off out for a gad about, deciding to head upwards and take a little mooch around on the top of Ilkley Moor. I was worried as we drove through the fog, worried that we would end up a-top a rather bleak and wild moor enveloped in swirling grey mist. But the strangest thing happened as we drove up, up, up - we actually broke through the grey layer and found ourselves unexpectedly Above the Clouds!

The view across the valley from up here is usually spectacular, clear and far reaching, but on Monday the cloud did a fine job of hiding Ilkley away almost completely. 

The cloud almost looked like smoke drifting about over the valley.....

....and it felt ever so slightly eerie to witness it constantly moving, shifting and changing as we strolled about on the moor top.

But look.....LOOK!!!!!! Up above the cloud layer there was blue sky and sunshine beaming down on us, oh what a treat!

We didn't walk far, this was more of a fresh-air gathering potter than a hike. We had no map, no route, just a vague feeling of wishing to walk around a bit to take in the blue sky (blue sky!) and breathe it all in. J and I talk non stop whilst we walk together, well that's to say that mostly it's me doing the yakking. I love that our conversations manage to dispel the feeling I often get where it seems as if my head is just too stuffed full of gumph. Writing helps enormously with this (here on my blog, and in my planner too), but there is something so comforting about talking it all out with someone who will simply just be there to listen. J is so good at doing it, he absorbs my almost constant stream of verbal gumph (plans, projects, observations, memories, thoughts, feelings, design ideas etc etc) so that I gradually feel relieved of the pressure of carrying it all around stuffed inside my head. 

If I had to choose a place to go where I could release my mental gumph most effectively, it would most definitely be by the sea. But being an inland dweller, the next best thing is to get up on a hilltop high above the valleys, as close to the sky as possible. It's just so liberating, the feel-good for me when I do this simple thing is almost too much to put into words.

It's been quite some time since we were last up on Ilkley Moor, it really is lovely up there you know. Cold too, crikey, I most certainly wasn't "baht 'at" (Yorkshire dialect for "without a hat"). I was very glad of the crochet stitches on my head.

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

Tales From Connievan :: Golden Hill Farm

Two to Wensleydale

Things I Know

Dorset Summer 2015

Yarny Happenings

I went off on a jaunt on Saturday, the sort of jaunt that involved an early start and a happy heart.

Although I am lucky enough to have lots of time during my week for yarny pursuits and pleasures, there is something very exciting about a day stretching ahead that involves other passionate, talented and creative folk who adore yarn and colour as much as I do. 

After journeying on three different trains I arrived in the land of Yorkshire Mills............

....specifically this one which has become familiar to me over the past few years. Up on the top floor of this amazing historical mill is a large, spacious, light-filled room where I was lucky enough to spend my Saturday.....

....sat around this table with the rest of the Stylecraft Blogstars. What a friendly, chatty and smart group of ladies, it was a joy to share so much yarny talk with everyone. We chatted about yarn stuff (lots and lots of yarn talk), social media stuff, blog stuff, colour stuff, our current projects and everything in between. There was yarn to squish (oh so much yarn) and cake to scoff (mmmmmmm), and all in all it was very wonderful.

We also enjoyed a technical Tunisian Crochet workshop which I found very interesting, but pretty much straight away knew this wasn't something that would be in my future. I mean, just look at me in the above picture - that is how I generally look when I'm knitting, and tunisan crochet felt much the same. Note the raised-shoulders, tensed-up, no speaking, seriousness of me there. So many stitches and so many rows for so very little crochet - Tunisian Crochet, for me, is just way way too slooooow.

One of the highlights of the day was getting to see all the knit and crochet designs that Stylecraft has created to showcase some stunning new yarns and colourways which will launch this Spring. It's always so good to feel how yarn translates into stitch and fabric, how it drapes, how it feels in your hands and against your skin, how those balls make stripes, texture and pattern. 

We were also treated to a glorious show-n-tell from one of our fellow Blogstars, gosh what a lot of appreciative ooohing and ahhhing was brought on by this stunning blanket made by Lucia! It is a real beauty, made using a mixture of Stylecraft Special DK and Stylecraft Batik DK, in 22 colours. You can find all the details on her blog "Lucias Fig Tree".

And here we all are....the Stylecraft Blogstars from left to right :

Jane (Jane Crowfoot), Phil (The Twisted Yarn), Sarah (Annaboo’s House), Heather (The Patchwork Heart), Julia (Hand Knitted Things), meeeee, Helen (The Woolly Adventures Of A Knitting Kitty), Emma (Emma Varnam), Sandra (Cherry Heart), Lucia (Lucia’s Fig Tree), and Kathryn (Crafternoon Treats). 

We also had two laptops in situ and two lovely faces beaming at us from around the world via Skype : Angela (Get Knotted Yarn Craft) and Zelna (Zooty Owl). Sue (Sue Pinner) we missed you!

If you don't already know of the above blogs, they are all well worth a visit.

Another yarny happening that is coming very soon is contained within that luscious stripy box there on my studio table. I have been told in no uncertain terms to behave and play by the rules which means I won't be able to show you this project in all it's colourful glory until the end of the month. But I can show you this...............

....ooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here we have 90 shades of cotton yarn, wound into the most adorable little mini 10g balls, aren't they just too cute for words? There are actually 100 shades in total, but me being me, I was forced to remove the ten shades of black/white/grey to another box. This yarn is made by a Dutch Company called Yarn and Colors, and lucky for you, you can snaffle these little dinkies up from Wool Warehouse. Like I said, these are small 10g mini's, but there are also larger 50g balls in the same colours. This is a slightly mercerised, 4ply cotton, so quite fine to work with (think 3 mm hook), but perfect for small decorative projects.

My awesome task was to choose just nine shades and design a project for Amanda's famous Little Box of Crochet....

.....and here is a sneaky peek of the colours I picked out. Lush aren't they?!

For those of you who don't already know, Little Box of Crochet is a monthly subscription box for crochet lovers. Each month, these little boxes will bring everything you need to make a crochet project designed by some very clever hooky ladies. Everything you need to know is on the Little Box of Crochet website. I am the February designer (go me!) and subscriptions for this box are open now until the 20th February - the boxes will then be posted out to you (wherever you are in the world) shortly after that. I'll be able to show you my project as soon as Amanda lets me take the gag off - I can't wait for you to see!!

And the final bit of yarny news is this - after a tremendous amount of thoughtful deliberation, frenzied sampling and irritated frogging, I've finally worked out The Edge of the Moorland Blanket. I celebrated with a mug of cream-topped hot chocolate and a satisfied slump on the sofa.

Here's wishing you a fabulous week ahead,  I hope you have plenty of happy stuff coming your way...

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

A Colourful Competition

Winter Wreath Progress

Crochet Mini Chicklets

Moorland Blanket CAL :: Part 5

So here we are after four weeks of gentle strolling over the moorland landscape, and I wonder how you are enjoying the journey so far? Are you relaxing into the soothing rhythm of the stitches and loving the soft waves of colour? Have you been immersing yourself in memories of earth, stone, grass, moss and heather, and wondering what it might feel like when you finally get to the horizon? 

I have to admit that even when I was waaaaay back down at the beginning, frolicking amongst all that limey green and earthy brown, I was already dreaming of the blue skies above. I just love working with shades of blue, they are my soul colours and I crave them constantly, so really it's not surprising that I felt like I'd hit the jackpot when I reached stripe eighty nine and out came the Duck Egg yarn. We're journeying across the sky, what a thrill! 

I've used three shades of blue to describe the summer sky - Storm Blue, Cloud Blue and Duck Egg. They are beautiful colours individually, but combined together they bring a light softness to the Moorland blanket which I adore. 

Crocheting with shades of blue is such a lovely visual reminder of warmer weather, of gentle summer days, of gratitude for just being out and about, up high and enjoying life. I am such a fresh air and sky addict!

Once you have finished Part 5 of the Moorland Blanket, you will be gently floating up into the heavens where the skylark sings...........

.............oh, I just love love love the slow transition of colours, it really is like going on a journey don't you think?

 By the way, I'm sorry if the above photo looks a weeny bit yellow on your screen, the colours are a little cooler in real life. We've had such strange low light here lately, it does make photography a bit of a challenge.

You can see that the addition of the blues makes a tremendous difference to the overall feel of the Moorland blanket, and I just wanted to just say THANK YOU for trusting my colour choices when you were down among all that green a month ago. Part of the fun of joining in with this type of CAL is the slight element of discovery and surprise, I really hope you've been enjoying that part of it anyhow?! 

Ah, that's better - these colours are much more true to life I think.

Leaving the moors behind for a bit now, I want to share a few pictures to show how my Moorland colour choices have inspired other creative ideas. I LOVE that we can connect and inspire, share and celebrate our ideas and creations all across the globe....it really is all kinds of wonderful....

Sonja's ripple blanket shows how beautiful the moorland colours look when the sky mingles with the land...

Jennifer's Sophie's Garden is stunning...

Krysty abandoned her stripes and has started on a Dream Weaver blanket which already looks amazing..

Jo has blended the colours to perfection in her shawl...

Shenandoah (@shenandoahfunkalicious on Instagram) is making the Mandala Madness  project and calling it Moorland Madness which made me laugh out loud this morning!...

Michelle (@michellesearby on Instagram) has made the Ripple cardigan featured in Simply Crochet issue 50...

And just look what Elizabeth has made, isn't it fab?? You can read more about it on her blog here.

So now, lets take a look at the stripes for this week - your last stripe from Part 4 should be Grape - that was stripe number 80.

And here is the colour information for Part 5 : stripes 81-100, 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!

81. Wisteria

82. Cypress

83. Pistachio

84. Sage

*Grape*  (optional for large size)

85.  Wisteria

86. Violet

87. Meadow

88. Sage

89. Duck Egg

90. Storm Blue

*Wisteria*  (optional for large size)

91. Pistachio

92. Sage

93. Duck Egg

94. Pistachio

95. Storm Blue

96. Cloud Blue

97. Duck Egg

98. Storm Blue

99. Cloud Blue

100. Duck Egg

Here are the links you might need ...

❤ Moorland Blanket CAL : Part 1

❤ Moorland Blanket CAL : Part 2

❤ Moorland Blanket CAL : Part 3

❤ Moorland Blanket CAL : Part 4

❤ Neat Wave tutorial

❤ Moorland CAL : Introduction

❤ Moorland CAL : Q&A

❤ Moorland Yarn Pack

Next week we'll say goodbye to the hills completely as we work our way up , up, up into the wide blue yonder and complete the last 15 stripes of the blanket......have fun this week!

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

My Granny Stripe Blanket

Winter Wreath :: Ta-dah!

Tales From Connievan :: Golden Hill Farm

The Attic24 Studio

A Happy Mummy