Blogtober 2021 :: Review

In early November last year after my first ever attempt at Blogtober, I decided to write a review post to chat about my experience of taking part in a whole month of daily blogging. It was a really enjoyable post to put together, and I got a lot of satisfaction from looking back through all my photos and creating a visual overview of the month. You can read my 2020 blogtober review ((here)). I had so many comments after that post (131 of you wrote to me) that I guessed you enjoyed it and and hopefully you'll enjoy this year's offering just as much. I spent this afternoon looking back through my photos and creating some collages to share, so it's been a whole lot of creative fun for me too.

October will always have a little bit of a celebratory flavour because it's my birthday month, and I turned 53 this year.

We also had a much needed week-long break from school towards the end of the month, and there was Halloween to celebrate too.

Looking back through my photos today I realised that October was a much busier month than usual with quite a few outings and day trips. I really enjoyed every single jaunt that we made out of town, and realised (not for the first time) that I positively thrive when I'm out and about. Even if we are visiting familiar places, there's still a certain level of anticipation and excitement when there are walks and picnics and lots of lovely photogenic vistas to lift my spirits.

We walked at Bolton Abbey on Day 3.

On Day 11 we drove to the west Lancashire coast to spend a few sunny hours by the sea.

Day 9 was an exciting train journey to visit Newcastle university with Little Lady and it was wonderful to see and experience a completely new city.

I had the pleasure of Christine's company on a gloriously sunny Day 21 and we visited RHS Harlow Carr which was absolutely magnificent. Looking back at the post I wrote on that day fills me with joy, oh the colours were something else! Such a lovely day, and I know the memories will stay with me for a long time.

The most out of the ordinary thing I did in October was to travel south to Dorset to spend some time with my Dad. After my holiday back in August, I made a promise to myself that I would try and visit every season, and I'm so, so glad that I made an Autumn jaunt happen. I think I've mentioned before that my Dad has aged quite a lot since the start of the pandemic and without being morbid about it, I do really feel that I need to make the most of the time we have left together - who knows how long we have? With any luck it'll be many, many years, but something in my heart tells me not to take any of this time for granted.

I had a really lovely time in Dorset, but to be perfectly honest it was a major challenge to carry on with Blogtober each day while I was away. I mean, I took loads of photos so always had plenty of things to share but it was the extreme end-of-day tiredness that was the hardest thing for me. I'm telling you, the air down there is potent and makes me sooooooooo sleepy! Anyhow, reading back through my Dorset posts I'm so happy that I have my memories preserved for the future. You can find my Dorset Blogtobers here, here, here and here. 

Creatively, October was a really good month and I found a lot of comfort and happiness in designing and making. I worked on an idea for a new mandala based on the Yuletide blanket stitch pattern and I love love love the results.

You can find the blog post on Day 7....

....and the tutorial and pattern can be found ((here)).

October was also a month where I dusted off my knitting skills, specifically the joy of knitting a pair of gloriously stripy socks. I treated myself to this lush Regia yarn, the colours expertly put together by Kaffe Fassett, and cast on on Day 13.

I tend to knit in short bursts as and when the mood takes me, so progress can be a bit on the slow, stop-starting side. By the end of October I'd managed to knit one and a half legs (I knit both socks at the same time) and with any luck I'll have them on my feet by the end of this month.

Throughout Blogtober I showed some snippets here and there of my other main project of the moment which you can see in the above photo. I actually did a LOT of crochet throughout the month and am absolutely beside myself with the feelings I have for the colour palette and these delicious little ripples. So. Much. JOY!!

I'm going to be writing more about it to share with you tomorrow (the 4th) so I'm really looking forward to that. It's been hard not to blab about it allll the time, since I first began working on the design ideas back in May.

Aside from the daytrips and holidays, the celebrations and creative endeavours, Blogtober is mostly all about the ordinary every day stuff. It's about sharing daily routines and capturing the little snippets of life that spark inspiration and emotion. Confession :: it's actually a pretty tough challenge in terms of the space it takes up inside ones head! When I'm blogging every day it's constantly on my mind and I find myself writing sentences in my head and searching for visual inspiration pretty much all the time. But my goodness, it's worth it. SO, so worth it. All those thoughts, emotions, ideas and inspirations are like food for my soul and I absolutely love the process of allowing them to eventually filter out into the world via my Attic window.

Daily blogging is a constant reminder to practice gratitude, and to really open your eyes and see the world around you. It's an opportunity to search out the things that bring happiness, to train your eye to see and appreciate a moment in time that will make a good photograph or tell an honest story. Using photos and words to capture all those memories and experiences that flow through each day is such a rewarding thing to do, and even after all these years I still absolutely love it.

Blogging daily life also provides a beautiful snapshot of the season, and year after year it's fascinating to see the rhythms of nature play out as the months pass.

A lot of my photos during Blogtober captured the early days of Autumn and the seasonal changes happening in my local neighbourhood. Each month of the year has it's own "flavour" and I find it fascinating to see how the light and colours change as the year passes.

I also enjoyed sharing many snippets of daily home life too, although I did often worry that the sameyness might get a bit repetitive. October was definitely a month of home comforts - blogging by candlelight and the warmth of the fire, hand knitted woolly socks on my feet and on my needles. Mugs of milky coffee and bowls of nourishing home made soup. Cosying up under layers of blankets, and enjoying the comfort of having the kitty close by. Fresh flowers are a constant here in the Attic and October gave me colourful shop bought blooms as well as little posies of back yard flowers. There was baking and of course there was crochet, there is rarely a time when I don't have any hooky going on!

So that about sums up Blogtober 2021, it's been a good month, hasn't it? I know from the hundreds of comments I've received here and on Facebook that you've enjoyed your daily visits, and I'm so thankful for your company. Thank you for being here with me as I jaunt through my days.

I thought it would be fun to share this years stats with you, just as I did last year.....

Number of daily blogs completed : 31  (yay for one hundred percent attendance)

Total number of photographs shared : 350 (out of 442 taken in total)

Total number of beautiful comments : 1,049 (thank you so very much)

Total number of blog views : 884,848 (ooo, that's a lot of eyeballs)

Total number of words written by me : 27,276 (yes, I added them all up, took me aaaages)

Will I do it again next year? : oh yes indeedy, #blogtober2022 is already on my to-do list.

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ps huge gratitude also for these wonderful bloggers who took part in Blogtober 2021 alongside me :

Christine at Winwick Mum

CJ at Above the River

Barbara and Coastal Ripples

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Comments

[Lynn]

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! Well done! You really did an amazing job of blogging the entire month! I felt quite spoiled having so many posts to read. You inspired me. On my walk a few days ago I picked up leaves that were changing colors to photograph. Reds, greens and greens so dark they look black, burgundys and yellows. So much fun! I am so happy that it’s cold enought his year in autumn for the leaves to change colors. Southern California is very unpredictable that way. I remember one year having to turn on the air conditioner so we could have our Christmas fire in the fireplace. It was a hot day!

[PatriciaA]

Loved the counted all the words yourself bit. :-)
As if. :-)

[Winwick Mum]

Phew, those stats are a bit mind-boggling, aren't they?! What a great month it was! :) xx

[Mereditge]

Such fun! Thank you

[Katherine, NZ]

I do love your writing, Lucy, and have been reading your blog for years. You remind us to look for joy in the everydayedness of life and appreciate who and what is around us x

[Elise]

You have such a gift Lucy. Thank you for sharing with us all.

[Abigail @ Rosy_Hill]

Thank you for putting in the effort to complete Blogtober again. I love peeping into your everyday life!

[Louise]

Thank you so much for Blogtober. I think I mentioned before that it was such a treat to wake up each morning (down here in my part of the world) and have a fresh new Lucypost to read with my morning coffee!

[Tracey]

Thankyou have enjoyed reading your daily blog

[Bettina]

I've thoroughly enjoyed your Blogtober, Lucy. Thanks for sharing life so honestly. A great reminder to be mindful of all our blessings.

[Diane]

Thank you for sharing snippets of your life and beautiful surroundings with us. I feel like I've had a nice visit every time you blog. Wishing that you and your family will be happy, healthy and safe.

[Jo]

Lovely Blog, lovely photos, lovely colours, lovely crochet,countryside . coffee and cake ....in fact... just lovely!! Thank you Lovely Lucy!

[Sandra M]

Enjoyed Blogtober so very much. Thank you for taking so much time to bring some joy and a little smile to my face each day. Blessings.

[Linda]

Beautiful pictures! Thanks for sharing. We get to see what it is like….in your “neck of the woods”. I am from Canada…totally different scenery.

[Jeanette]

Thank you for Blogtober and all the other blogposts througout all the years.

[Bonnie]

Thank you so much for writing every day in October. I loved reading your posts and seeing your beautiful photos!

[Sue Woodhouse]

Well done with your blogging. The pictures are fantastic whenever you refer back to a previous post I loose time following the links finding blogs I missed or refreshing others I loved the silver balls not seen that before I love looking for small projects as a basic pretty new hooky person blogging Sue

[Marie]

Lucy, I live in middle Georgia, USA. My life and surroundings are vastly different from yours. Once upon a time I was a world traveler, but now I can no longer travel and so reading about your life and travels is such a delight to me. And the photos are fantastic, almost as good as being there. Thank you for sharing your daily life with us.
I have made several of your blankets and enjoyed each one, even gifted one to a friend. At the present time, I have one started and another about half finished. It’s the colors that draw me in, I think, more than the design. Although, the designs are beautiful.
Again, thank you.

[Esther López]

Dear Lucy, always wonderfull. Thank you. A big hug from the south of Spain.

[Femke]

Thank you Lucy for sharing so much happiness on your blog. I always enjoy reading it!

[Rosie Rogers]

Dear Lucy,
Thank you so so so much for all your daily blog posts throughout October. They were a real highlight of my days, I never get tired of reading about your daily life. You packed such a lot in. I particularly enjoyed your Dorset posts, having had the pleasure of visiting that area back in the summer. You are a real inspiration to us all.

[Ellie Williams]

Lucy,
I have really enjoyed reading blogtober, as I did last year.
I don’t know how you manage to fit everything into each day, so thank you for brightening up all our days.
Ellie.

[Annalisa]

Dear Lucy,
could you write a post how to make your cosy socks step by step for ignorant people like me?
Thank you very much!

[Amanda Marshall-Clarke]

Totally in awe of the colours, enthusiasm, the sharing, the honesty & if there is anyone out there who publishes calendars I am first in the queue as these pics are just simply the best!! Got a little bit Tina Turner there ;)) xxx

[CJ]

It really was a good month, you did lots of lovely things and your photos look absolutely amazing all gathered together. I enjoyed blogging every day as well, it was really good, even though I didn't really do anything very exciting. CJ xx