Attic24

Blogtober 2023 :: Day 31

Blogtober Day 31 :: Tuesday

Eeeeeep, it's been a day. I tried so hard to keep it all together this morning as we packed up the car, but of course it wasn't possible and all that emotion came spilling out of me. It was messy. In a desperate attempt to help, J drove us into town, grabbed us a quick coffee and took us to the sea for a short while, bless him. It was only 8am, my goodness, so much early morning drama from yours truly!

It was gorgeous on the beach this morning, truly wild and wonderful. 

I rescued the one and only plant in my Dad's house which has managed to stay alive on the kitchen windowsill for countless years. I hope it'll be happy in the Attic.

We're home now, back to our messy house with happy kids and I'm sorry I can't quite think of what words to write here at the moment. I have simply come to a tired full stop.

I'll talk to you some more tomorrow xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

Blogtober 2023 :: Day 30

Blogtober Day 30 :: Monday

I slept unbelievably badly last night and got up around 3.30 am I think, after spending too much time tossing and turning. I came downstairs, made myself a cup of tea and sat in the darkness of this house thinking about the fact that I most likely won't ever be returning here again after tomorrow. It's a strange mixture of relief and deep sadness, of letting go of the bad, but still wanting to cling to the good. I guess I'm just beginning to process the enormity of all this change and the implications on my own life.

I spent more hours this morning going through the remaining cupboards and drawers upstairs, gathering together the things that I need in order to deal with all the life admin on my Dad's behalf. Once I was sure I'd not left any box, drawer or bag unopened, I declared myself done. Done. I am so, so done with it all. Whatever the word is for beyond-done, I'm feeling that word to my core. We loaded up the car with a huge amount of paper/cardboard and general rubbish and drove to the local recycling centre to fling it all into the skips in a great big cathartic avalanche. Done.

Afterwards, we found ourselves just down the road from the recycling centre seeking out a coffee as I felt like I had lived through a whole day by this point and it was still only ten thirty. Luckily we knew exactly where to go - the local garden centre of course. Not to buy pots of cyclamen (although they did look stunning) but to settle ourselves into the cosy warmth of this stunning glass building. The Ivy House All Day Kitchen - yes please.

We'd heard good things about the Ivy House and it didn't disappoint. I adored the light, the warmth and the abundant views of greenery and sky and the coffee was excellent. Fully breakfasted and caffeinated, we decided to drive straight to the care home to pay my Dad a visit. It was so good to find him happy, out in the garden having a cheeky smoke with a couple of the carers keeping him company when we arrived. He was ever so pleased to see us, and although he seemed a little unsure of his new surroundings and still totally confused about why he was there, his general mood was calm and reasonably happy. When we left him after lunch he was waiting for the party to start (a Halloween party with fancy dress and games) and I felt a huge sense of relief.

We decided to drive the scenic route back to Bridport....

....heading up into the hills to stop a while at Hardy Monument.

It's a lovely, quiet place high up on the downs in rural Dorset, and the long reaching views are spectacular on a clear day. J and I strolled round taking in the Dorset landscape and reminiscing about past times when we've eaten picnic's up here with the Little People. It's been quite strange for the both of us being here without any offspring as it's always been somewhere we've come as a family for holidays. I say strange, but actually....full disclosure.....it's been rather lovely to only have to think about the two of us for a change. Freeing.

The drive back follows the coast road and it's sooooo beautiful along here when the weather is good. Look how lucky we were with the sunshine! It did rain this morning (of course it did) but when the downpours came, we were tucked inside the Ivy House sipping frothy coffee and feeling all smug in our dry-ness.

I love love love the Dorset coastline so much. It is, and always will be HOME for me.

We met up with Lady B in the pub later this afternoon, enjoying a glass of vino and feeling glad that all in all, things seem to be going alright for us. We are adjusting to the new normal, and it's all alright.

Tomorrow J and I are driving home to Yorkshire, and I'm pretty sure I'm ready to close this chapter of my life.

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Blogtober 2023 :: Day 29

Blogtober Day 29 :: Sunday

I've had a good day today, a mixture of working hard here in the house this morning, and then spending time out and about this afternoon while the weather was decent. At lunch time we walked into town to go and meet Lady B as we'd decided to go to the pub for a Sunday roast.

I love old, traditional pubs, and this particular one in the middle of the town is where we've had a lot of boozy fun over the decades, we know it very well! It's called The Ropemakers, a reference to the time when Bridport was famous for it's rope and net making industry. We enjoyed a lovely lunch, it's been a long time since I had a full roast beef dinner and it felt luxurious to sit and be waited on.

After lunch, J and I set off to walk down to the sea - it's roughly two miles along the river bank and across fields, and guess what??? >>>

>>> the SUN was actually SHINING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The weather forecast has been dire, but for a few hours today we were able to feel the sun on our faces and it felt wonderful.

It was extremely windy still, and the sea was relentlessly crashing huge rolling waves onto the beach. 

We called into the Watchhouse café which sits right on the shingle, and had afternoon coffee and cake, because, why not?! That substantial slab on my plate is Dorset Apple cake and it was absolutely delicious.

The weather slowly changed as the afternoon moved on, and ominous clouds began to creep over the sun. You can see in the above photo how rough the sea has been the past few days, I'm sure the brave folks standing at the end of the pier would have gotten a salty shower or two.

We walked around the harbour from the east side over to the west side....

...where I walked along the wild and windy shoreline before retreating to sit with J.

It was lovely to just sit on a bench and listen to the sound of the sea for a while. Not exactly peaceful (wild sea gives off a lot of energy), but good all the same.

Walking back homewards across the fields at around 3.30, we were attempting to outrun the advancing weather. I could feel the threat of rain chasing us, and of course it did eventually catch us up. It wasn't a light shower either, no, it was a short but very heavy down pour...we got drenched! Wet through (and my crazy northern husband was wearing a t-shirt) but we looked at each other with water pouring down our faces and had a good laugh about the state of us both. 

The upside of the drenching was this stunning rainbow, and that beautiful golden light you get after heavy rain. By the time we got back to the house we were both exhausted in that satisfying way you get when you've walked some good miles and filled your lungs with wild sea air. I adore that feeling, it's so, so good.

It's 6pm now, and we're here in this warm, quiet house and it's pitch black dark outside. It's pouring with rain again, with a little dramatic thunder and lightening thrown in for good measure. I thought I'd like to share with you some of the things I found this morning, in the productive hours when many drawers and cupboards were emptied, and the loft was conquered. I've decided to be extremely minimal in what I take home with me, so aside from some family photos and a beautiful old plate (which I forgot to photograph), this is my current haul.....

Three Observer books to add to my collection.

A fossil - no idea where it came from but it's always been here in this house and I'd like to re-home it.

A small, solid glass paperweight which has always sat on the bathroom windowsill.

A teeny-tiny glass bird which I found on top of a dusty shelf (it was my Mums).

Now this is precious indeed. It's one of many drawings inside an old scrap book which I found in the loft. That's my Mum's handwriting, and the pages are diary entries from January-March 1972. Every day she made a page with me (I was aged three at the time), describing the weather and what we saw that day. 

Rainbow Raindrops! Apparently that's what I saw on Sunday 6th February, 1972.

And on 19th March, I saw a Robin in the Hawthorn tree.

I drew pictures of all my daily discoveries - squirrels and rain and windy clouds and snowdrops and puddles and ducks on the pond in the park. I am beyond happy to have found this book with its faded pages and my Mum's careful writing.

In the loft I also found my old portfolios of art work from school and art college days, the above watercolour I think I did at school when I was seventeen. Honestly, none of the work is worth keeping (I wasn't all that talented with fine art) but it was fun to revisit the memories. 

I also found this quilted picture in a cupboard which I am going to keep, it was one of the projects I made for my A level textiles exam when I was eighteen. I very clearly remember the hours and hours (and hours) I spent stitching and piecing this all by hand, it was a real labour of love.

So many french knots haha, I used to be obsessed with them, well I was obsessed with embroidery in general, and went on to study it at degree level. Did you know that? Yes, weirdly I have a BA (hons) degree in embroidered textiles.

And really, that's all I have for today, it's been a good day, kind of emotional but not really in a bad way. Lots more to do tomorrow, but I think we're going to go and pay my Dad a visit in the morning, so that will get us out of the house for a little while.

Thanks so much for tagging along with me, my days are a little on the wobbly side at the moment and I'm giving you the highlight reel, so thank you for all your love and support.

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Blogtober 2023 :: Day 28

Blogtober Day 28 :: Saturday

It's 286 miles from the Attic to my Dad's house in Dorset which means roughly a six hour journey if we make a refreshment stop along the way. We decided to leave early and were on the road just after 7am, so with one hundred miles left to travel we stopped for a break. Our stopping place of choice was the Gloucester Services and farm shop which is a world apart from the usual motorway services and a wonderful new discovery for us this year. As you can see above it's very eco-friendly, and the whole building is built into a grassy hill surrounded by natural landscaping with a small lake right outside the café.

Despite being inside an actual hill, the inside of the building is bright and spacious, and feels very up market.

The farm shop is magnificent! There is a huge grocery store selling organic and artisan produce, but it was the bakery section that really had me drooling. Look at the bread, have you ever seen such a beautiful bready display?

And the pastries....oh my....so divine! I picked out the one at the very front there which is a cinnamon pretzel and J and I shared it with a cup of coffee.....

....sat beside the large windows at the back of the building looking out over the terrace and lake. It was a lovely break in our journey and two hours later we had landed in Dorset.

The front of my Dad's house is rather overgrown with very mature shrubs sprawling all over the place. It's very pretty though, with lots of autumn colour happening...

....and even in the rain it looked lush.

But my goodness, did it rain. When we first arrived we had to sit in the car for a while because the heavens had opened and it was literally pouring down. Eventually we made a dash to the house, and all afternoon the rain pounded against the windows and bounced off the outdoor surfaces.

Around five o'clock it still looked very moody out there, but at least the rain had stopped for a while. We ate an early dinner, and then decided to take a quick drive down to the sea for a bit of salty fresh air before settling in for an early night.

It was around 6pm when we arrived and the sea was pounding onto the shore, with huge waves crashing right over the pier as you can see in the above photo.

Ooooo, it was wild!!!!

It was so invigorating just being there, all blustery and windy with loud waves and sea spray filling the air.

We chanced a short walk along the west promenade but it was like taking a cold, salty shower - needless to say we got wet! 

Along the side of the harbour, the high tide combined with stormy weather had brought the water levels right up to the very top so that the harbour was actually overflowing. It's been many years since I saw the sea levels so high.

We didn't stay for long at the harbour because the dark is creeping in quite early now that we're close to the end of October. The clocks go back an hour tonight as British Summer Time officially comes to an end, so we'll really notice the daylight shrinking in the evenings.

I'm hoping that tomorrow won't be quite so wet as I fancy a walk into town for a coffee in the morning. Gotta get some good strong coffee in my system before I can start rummaging through the depths of this sad old house. It's going to be a discovery adventure tomorrow....I wonder what treasures I might find? 

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Blogtober 2023 :: Day 27

Blogtober Day 27 :: Friday

We accidentally overslept this morning so sadly didn't have enough time to go for our early walk and I missed it. As much as I felt rested after getting a full eight hours sleep, I've also weirdly felt more sluggish today than usual - honestly, I know I go on about it a lot, but a 45minute brisk walk (preferably with one or two hills thrown in) first thing in the morning really does wonders for general energy levels throughout the day. I can highly recommend it.

By the time I went out it was a quarter to ten and a light drizzle was making everything very wet (me included). I didn't mind too much because it's a very short walk for me on Friday mornings and it's all down hill....

....to Coopers Café. I love my yarny Friday mornings so much and really look forward to it every week. I ate a yummy breakfast (avocado and crispy bacon on sourdough toast) and enjoyed my frothy chocolate dusted cappuccino. I crocheted exactly two Starbright stripes, but most importantly it was just really good fun this morning - isn't it lovely to be in the company of friends who can make you feel full of life and laughter? I think so, it's one of life's great pleasures.

I walked home just after midday and thankfully the rain had eased and the sky felt a little bit lighter at last.

I love this canal boat which has arrived in the past few days (the canal seem to be exceptionally busy this month with a lot of visiting boats coming and going every day). I didn't photograph it very well, but it has lovely paintings on the sides and is decorated with pretty wooden floats and bunting.

As I was walking homewards I saw that something was happening around the old mill chimney. This chimney is part of Victoria Mill which was built in the mid 1800's when it was steam powered and used to process corn (it's now converted into flats). The chimney is registered with English Heritage so it's a protected landmark, and as you can see, those hardy looking Yorkshire fellas were preparing to carry out a safety inspection. I stopped to chat to them, and they told me that this chimney was only "a baby" (it's 100 feet high) and they were used to climbing chimneys three times as high! The young  fella on the left had just come down from his first ever climb and he told me " it was scary as hell" and his knees were still shaking. However, the man just on his way up apparently has forty years of experience climbing, fixing and inspecting historical chimneys all over Yorkshire - what a job!

^^ LOOK!!!!!! There he is right up on the top - honestly my knees were knocking just looking at him. Imagine being one hundred feet up in the air like that?!

J and I went out this afternoon to visit his Mum and Dad for "a brew" (that's what a cup of tea is called in Yorkshire). We also needed to pick up a ladder that we're borrowing so that we can climb up and access my Dad's loft this weekend. Yes.....yet another trip to Dorset is in my immediate future because we need to start the process of sorting through my Dad's house and preparing it for clearance. It's a bit daunting, but I'm really, really glad that a) I'm not going by train this time and b) that J will be with me. I shall of course take you with me too, because I'll be finishing my last days of Blogtober while I'm down in Dorset. 

When we got home round 4 o'clock it felt chilly and gloomy, so I lit candles, switched on fairy lights and lit the fire. And as it's Friday I also poured myself a chilled glass of sauv blanc and sat for a while just enjoying the cosy comfort of the fireside.

Cosy, warm toes in hand knit socks, toasting by the fire...it's one of my most favourite things about the Autumn season.

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Starbright Love

T-I-N-S-E-L!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! With S-T-A-R-S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If there was ever a tinsel to make me fall head over heels in love, then this is it. Isn't it glorious?

You remember yesterday me showing you all the tinsel and garlands hanging up in John Lewis and me telling you I made a purchase? Lots of you guessed the felt star garland (and that was indeed lovely), but it was this perfect "Starbright" tinsel that I fell for. How could I not? The beautiful colours and the shimmery shininess caught my eye straight away and I instantly saw my Starbright colour palette right there....

...these are the colours of my childhood Christmases and that starry tinsel took me right back to those young years.

It's been a little over three weeks since I shared my Starbright blanket with the world, and I've been blown away by the response to the colours, the design and the yarn packs that I created with Wool Warehouse. Thank you so much for loving this blanket as much as I do, your comments all over social media have truly warmed my heart.

This week I've seen the first completed blankets being shared in the Facebook groups (details of the groups can be found at the end of this post). Yes, I did say Completed!!! There have been some very fast and happy hooksters blazing a Starbright trail and I've been so excited watching the progress unfold in their photos. Elizabeth J and Heather P - your ta-dah moments were such a thrill for me! Also a mention for Lou S who joined all her squares in record time and is onto the border now I think. Bravo ladies, such wonderful, bright and happy blankets now living their best blankety lives, spreading comfort and joy.

I thought that today I would share some inspirational Starbright photos with you, a celebration of the creativity, happiness and friendship which always surrounds my blankets. I hope you enjoy the visuals....

↑↑ Lou - this lovely lady really inspired a lot of people when she shared her idea for making the Starbright squares using a "production line" method. This is when you make all the round centres of the squares (so 81 in total), then you move on to crochet all of the round 3's, then all the round 4's etc etc. It means you get into a good rhythm because your hands and brain can just enjoy making the same rounds over and over until all 81 are complete, before they need to process and work the next stage.

But the genius thing that Lou did is shown above - she used a length of cord to thread her crochet onto, so that the squares were always kept in number order....my goodness, this is so simple, but so bloomin' clever too! I never would have thought to do it this way, but it makes perfect sense. It means you can follow my colour chart and keep everything in order right up to the joining bit.

↑↑ Clare was inspired by Lou and decided to work her Starbright squares in the same orderly way. She cleverly used a long circular knitting needle to thread her crochet onto so that they stayed in number order - brilliant thinking, and so practical.

↑↑ Patricia opted to make the v-stitch stripe and has really cracked on, doesn't it look great? She is up to stripe 67, so around two thirds complete.

↑↑ Liz decided to follow my stripe order for the colourwash version of the v-stitch, and is working through the final few colours. Another super-fast blanket coming very close to the finish line.

↑↑ Mandy has also been sharing progress of her colourwash Starbright, and I've really enjoyed seeing this grow. With each new colour added, the whole feel of the blanket changes.

↑↑ Debbie used the Seashell stripe pattern and made some gorgeous Starbright minis - a pram blanket and a doll blanket which look so bright and cheery with the colours ordered in this lovely repeat.

↑↑ Natasha went even mini-er!  Her delicate little doll blanket is super cute, I love it!

I've seen quite a few Starbright blankets growing as large squares and this is very exciting for me as I really wanted to try this out myself. 

↑↑ Ann is using my very popular Yuletide Square pattern, and following the ordered Starbright repeat that I shared in the ta-dah post. It's already looking really good and I'm excited to see more as it grows.

↑↑ Elizabeth is also making a Yuletide, but she's decided to follow the colourwash order. This is going to be amazing as it grows, because the colours are going to shift and change and "glow" as they pulse outwards. Exciting!

↑↑ Another Yuletide-Starbright combination (I think we are collectively calling is "Startide" in the Facebook groups), this one is a work in progress for Lindsay. It's delightful, I love it. 

↑↑ Jo has chosen to crochet the Starbright square but has gone LARGE!! By repeating round 7, you can grow the Starbright square and make it as big as you like. It's so nice to see and very evocative of Christmas for me - it's tinsel and baubles and all the happy festive things.

↑↑ Helen is doing the same large Starbright square but with her own choice of colours. This reminds me of May time - blossom and bluebells.

If you wish to go large with a Starbright square, you need to repeat round 7, but do remember to keep turning your work after every round (alternate between working on the right side and the wrong side) to keep the sides straight and stop any distortion/twisting.

I do always love to see alternative colours being used with my designs and find it very inspiring. You know I do always support stash busting, or choosing your own unique colours, so don't ever feel you have to exclusively use my yarn packs.

↑↑ Joanna is making a v-stitch stripe using up colours from her stash, with repeating cream stripes every third row. It's super effective adding a cream or neutral in between bright colours and gives a softer, gentler look ideal for baby blankets.

↑↑ Ally is doing a similar v-stitch with cream in between her colours. I didn't realise it at first, but the colours are from my Hydrangea yarn pack and the vintage feel of it is really appealing.

↑↑ Just look at these glorious Starbright squares made by Maya, aren't the colours lush? This is a stash bust project using up oddments of brightly coloured yarn and I love the playful look of them.

↑↑ Sarah is also making her very own version of Starbright with such a beautiful palette of colours. I came across this photo she shared on Instagram (her cat Louie is stealing the show somewhat, but he can be forgiven), and loved it at first sight. The colours remind me of old fashioned vintage eiderdowns and faded patchwork quilts. 

↑↑ And finally Anja - what more can I say except WOW!!!!! This is an absolutely stunning blanket in progress, showcasing the Starbright colour palette to perfection. The pattern is the Havana Afghan which uses the mosaic crochet technique - Anja, you've outdone yourself, I couldn't love it more. 

As I mentioned earlier, the Attic24 online crochet community is thriving and I absolutely love love love it. Instagram is as popular as ever and there are some wonderful crochet creators on that platform.

But I think the best community feels happen in the Facebook groups, especially around the times when I release a new blanket design. If you like using Facebook and aren't already joined in with the groups, you very welcome to join in over there. Currently there are three main Attic24 groups that I'm aware of, as well as a wonderful Dorset group who chat online and meet up in real life. These groups aren't run by me - they are managed by super teams of admins who keep everything running smoothly and I am so grateful to them all. Here are the links if you are interested in joining >>

Hooked on Attic24

Attic24 and Lots More Group UK

Just Attic24 Friends

Friends of Attic24 Dorset

If you wish to join it's very straightforward, but do please remember to answer the questions at the start otherwise the admins won't be able to accept your join request.

I hope you've enjoyed today's post, it's been fun for me putting it together. More regular Blogtober content will resume tomorrow xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

★ STARBRIGHT BLANKET TA-DAH

★ STARBRIGHT YARN PACK

 

 

Blogtober 2023 :: Day 25

Blogtober Day 25 :: Wednesday

A very pretty start to my day, I was out walking with J at 7am just as the sky was starting to get light.

Two hours later, Little B was off to school and I was sitting in the café with Little Lady drinking coffee and chit chatting about this and that. We'd talked yesterday about maybe the two of us going on the train to Leeds sometime, and all of a sudden we decided that today would be the day - why not?! So while we drank our coffee we checked out the train times, booked our tickets on our phones and that was that - a plan in place and a day out to look forward to.

Leeds is our closest big city - it's 28 miles away by road, but it's very easy to get there by train and only takes 40 minutes. Little Lady is very familiar with it as it's somewhere she often goes with friends. Shopping for clothes, delicious lunches, countless nights out drinking and clubbing, celebrations, bottomless brunches, cocktails. The city centre is wonderful, full of incredible architecture, great shopping streets and loooooooads of places to eat, drink and be merry.

Little Lady is a very considered shopper and whenever we go to Leeds she has one or two very specific things in mind that she wants to look for. I am not a good clothes shopper at all, I'm dreadful actually as I'm indecisive and get easily overwhelmed in shops. I'm happy to tag along with her and give my opinion when needed, but I'm really the passive support network and bag holder in any clothes shopping scenario. Today she found almost everything that she wanted - a cosy, oversized fluffy grey jumper and a pair of wide leg jeans. The long skirt that she had in mind wasn't to be found, but she did find a very cute little pleated skirt with hidden shorts built in (a skort). My goodness the girl has a stunning pair of legs (the skort is ShOrT).

All in all a success, and she was so happy with her new clothes. We wandered through the old arcades afterwards, really just to absorb their amazingness. I adore the mosaic floors....

....and the whole feeling of vintage opulence is breath taking. 

Onwards into the newest Victoria Gate arcade which was completed in 2016. It has the same feeling of opulence and luxury as the old Victorian arcades, with a classy modern twist. The biggest store here is John Lewis, and it always feels like a treat to visit. I LOVE department stores, absolutely love them since being a small child.

We didn't really have a need of anything in J-L, it was more a case of just wanting to feel excited and soak in some of that multi-floor, big store, escalator magic.

Oh, we were in for a treat because Christmas had arrived on the third floor!! It was completely mind blowing in this department, and so full of colour that all I wanted to do was run around and squeal with excitement.

I mean, just LOOOOOOK at it!!!!!!!

So over the top and full to bursting with all manner of wild and wonderful decorations, everything themed and colour co-ordinated and shiny and bright.

I adored it, honestly, I just stood there and twirled around and felt an insane amount of joy just from the exuberant colours and crazy madness of it all.

I hadn't intended to buy anything, but something from the above photo jumped into my hand and demanded to come home with me to the Attic. I'll take a photo of it tomorrow when there's daylight so you can see. Six pound well spent, I can't wait to show you. 

After all the excitement of Christmassyness and escalators and something colourful landing in my bag, I declared it was time for refreshment and recovery. I put the choice in Little Lady's hands and she walked us to this very pretty place tucked away in a secluded paved square.

This is The Botnanist - a place I've certainly heard about but never had the opportunity to visit. It's a chain of bar/restaurants (I think there are over twenty of them up and down the country) with a very unique style, "a secret garden of food and drink"....

.....it's eclectic, arty, relaxed and fun. We weren't there to eat (although Little Lady has had meals here and says the food is excellent) - no, we were there purely for the liquid refreshment. The Botanist is known for it's cocktails, and after a lengthy discussion over the drinks menu we settled on the signature drink simply called The Botanist.

I ordered at the bar and watched the very skilled bartender work his magic and craft these drinks for us...honestly, I was so impressed. Would you like to know what this cocktail is? Well, it's a signature serve of high end vodka, white rum, elderflower liqueur, jasmine syrup, mint and red amaranth (those are the leafy bits) all mixed/shaken (with a lot of performance) and poured over crushed ice and finished with lemonade. Oh. My. Goodness. It was absolutely lush, such beautiful, fresh flavours, my taste buds were dancing with delight.

So decadent to be drinking cocktails at 4pm on an average Wednesday, it felt naughty and indulgent and so, so nice - haha! Wonderful for me to relax a bit and spend precious time with my girl while I still have the chance, she starts a new job in a few weeks time, so weekdays for her will soon be completely different.

I've really enjoyed my day, it felt carefree and fun, a little slice of escapism. We all need that once in a while I think.

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Blogtober 2023 :: Day 24

Blogtober Day 24 :: Tuesday

Back into routine today, J and I ventured out into the gloomy semi-darkness at 7am for our constitutional walk along the canal, through the park and around the hilly streets of our neighbourhood. It's a good, heathy routine and one that I really value - even in the drizzle it gives me energy and makes me feel good.

I'd arranged to meet a friend for coffee in town at 9.30 which is always enjoyable, I had a rather delicious flat white which absolutely hit the spot that needed hitting this morning. I walked home with a spring in my step, coming along the canal from the top of town and not even minding the rain too much.

My next door neighbour's small cherry tree is putting on it's autumn colour show, so every time I walk up and down our front steps I get to enjoy it. Our terraced houses only have teeny-tiny front gardens, but I love that some of my neighbours have planted trees. We have our butterfly bush planted close to the house, but I do love the idea of a having a small, decorative tree that does things all year round. Blossom/flowers and then pretty leaves/berries/fruit would be wonderful. I shall investigate the possibilities.

While I was in town I stopped at the post office to buy a couple of postcards. I had the idea that I could send them to my Dad, partly to let him know I'm thinking of him, but also in the hope that he might have a glimmer of recognition. He used to love visiting me in the spring time and enjoyed walking along the canal.

I wanted to buy myself some flowers today, but at this time of year there isn't really a lot of choice, well not flowers that I particularly like all that much. Lots of roses, and also Alstromeria which for some reason just doesn't float my boat. In the end I settled for a cheap and cheerful bunch of Chrysanths - this deep red colour is very seasonal and I know they will look good on my table for ages.

I lit a candle to beat off the late afternoon gloom, it's gingerbread scented and was a birthday gift (thank you Sarah ♥). Within half an hour it had filled the room with the most glorious aroma and the house smelt like a fragrant bakery. Little B came home from school and asked what that delicious smell was, had I been baking biscuits? I had to tell him that it was my scented candle and not some mouth watering after school snack, oh, his face literally dropped! And now of course I want to be That Mother, the one who bakes fresh cookies for after school sustenance and makes her child deliriously happy.

4.20pm and I'm making a mad dash out in the drizzle because I forgot to buy the bloomin' coriander. The air was rich with the scent of wood smoke from the canal boats, so cosy and evocative of rural town living.

Fresh coriander in the house, and all is well. I made a coconut curry for dinner, I've been making this recipe for well over twenty years and it's a firm family favourite. I make my own green curry paste which is utterly divine - onion, garlic, ginger, chilli, lime, coriander and salt..mmmmmmmm.....it's wonderfully fragrant. The paste is mixed with coconut milk, a little fish sauce and a large chopped tomato so you get that delicious sweet/sour combo mixed with the creamy coconut. I used large prawns for the protein today as they were on offer in the supermarket, but this recipe also works well with chicken. It's a sloppy curry, so I serve it in large bowls with with rice and some warm naan bread. Pure comfort food for a grey, drizzly day.

Speaking of comfort, just look at this kitty, living her best life. There is a radiator behind the sofa, so she knows exactly where to hang out at certain times of the day when the heat is rising. 

I'm sat in bed chatting to you this evening, and still running with the comfort theme I've got fresh clean bedding aaaaaand the first hot water bottle of the season. My toes are toasty warm and I am snuggled up with blankets, so a lovely end to a cosy, comforting day.

Thanks as always for dropping by - seven more days of Blogtober left, it's flying by don't you think? Tell me about your day, have you had some comforting moments? I do really hope so.

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Blogtober 2023 :: Day 23

Blogtober Day 23 :: Monday

Another slow, quiet, pottering sort of a day for me as I slowly try and find my way back from the "emotional jetlag". I wore my hand knit socks and boots for the first time this season and enjoyed having that cosy-toes feeling all day.

It's peek hydrangea time right now - I know they flower through the summer but I much prefer the richness of them in autumn. The one shown here is across the road in my neighbours front garden and it's an absolutely gorgeous shade of pinky red. The colours really caught my eye this morning - do you remember me designing and making my Hydrangea blanket in 2017?

More floral colour caught my attention today, these wonderful little orange violas sitting outside the supermarket as I went to put the trolley back. It's not often you see orange violas, the colour was so vibrant and now I really wish I'd scooped a few pots up and dashed back into the shop to buy them. Maybe they'll still be there next time I go.

It's been a truly grey and murky day with very low light levels - this is honestly the worst kind of weather for me to cope with. I h-a-t-e  when the sky feels like it's pressing down on the landscape and my hill view disappears. I've not really wanted to be outside much today which is very unusual for me, the murk was not speaking nicely to me at all.

I spotted these very visually appealing little pumpkins in the supermarket, and I loitered around them for a while fighting the strong urge to buy them all and bring them home. I honestly wanted to adopt them, give them all a loving home where they could become part of the family. I had to force myself to walk away and concentrate on my actual shopping list.

When I got home, the cutey-patooty pumpkins were still on my mind so it seemed like the perfect time to get down on my hands and knees and enter into the under-eaves cupboard in the Attic where my seasonal guff boxes live.

Ahhh, that's better.....reunited with my tribe of crochet pumpkins once more, and no more thoughts of spending £10 to adopt a gang of real ones.

I made these pumpkins back in 2017 {Pumpkin Patch blog post} and they make me stupidly happy each year when I unpack them and get all autumnal.

Murky grey weather was actually the perfect kind of weather for carrying out some Seasonal faffery today. I cleared off my mantel and gave it a hefty spritz with some cleaner and a microfibre cloth, it was oh-so-very-dusty. 

I know you've seen these little cross stitch canvas pictures before, I've made four of them in total for each of the seasons and I love doing the swap over. Goodbye summer..........

.....and hellooooooo autumn!! These kits were designed by Cotton & Twine, I really love their cross stitch designs.

I made a little flat lay of the contents in my Autumn box - so many hand made treasures from past years which still make me so happy. Did you spot the new toadstool that I showed you on Day 6?

This card is also a new addition, it was sent to me by my Aunt on my birthday, isn't it delightful? I absolutely love it - it's an illustration by printmaker Kate Heiss, and you can can see more of her gorgeous work on her website ((here)).

A closer look at my collection of autumnal cuteness ready to adorn my mantel. The owls and the toadstool hoop are both past Craftpod makes, you can read more about the making of them ((here)).

Ahhhhh.....my beloved Autumn Garland.....what a joy it was to unpack it this afternoon. I love love love love love this thing!

I had a wonderful time creating my autumn mantel, quietly arranging and rearranging all the bits and bobs until I felt satisfied with how it looks.

And then to celebrate, I lit the fire and enjoyed a cup of tea with my feet up.

A nurturing kind of day, and exactly the kind of self-care I needed.

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Blogtober 2023 :: Day 22

Blogtober Day 22 :: Sunday

I slept for ten hours last night after an epic journey home from Dorset (six trains in total) and woke up around 9am completely discombobulated. I've been feeling a bit off kilter all day, but it's so lovely to be back home and to have a slow day pottering about with the family. It took me aaaages to be able to get up and get myself ready for the day, so it was almost midday by the time we left the house to go for a gentle walk through the woodland.

It's been a beautiful day, sunny and cold, and I enjoyed our walk very much. We wandered into town afterwards and went for a leisurely coffee, stopping to pick up some middle eastern style marinated lamb, soft flatbreads and salad for an easy evening meal.

I've done some home stuff today too, two loads of laundry and a bit of cleaning in the bathroom - J holds the house together pretty well while I'm away, but there is always a feeling of slight domestic chaos when I return. Mid afternoon I felt so tired I actually took myself back to bed and slept for a while. I was out like a light despite the long hours of sleep I had last night, so I'm glad I was able to listen to my body and deliver the necessary shut-down and re-boot.

This evening I started a cross stitch project, oh, my eyes didn't like it very much I have to say. I think I will need to either find a good, bright task light for evening work, or stick to day time stitching. Right....I need to sleep again.....sorry this is a brief Blogtober entry and a bit on the dull side, I'm hoping I'll feel a bit perkier by tomorrow. Night-night!

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