March Energy

Today is the Spring Equinox when day and night are of equal length and I couldn't be happier about it. I carried the thought around with me all day and it felt like a warm glow in my soul every time I remembered that we are balancing on this turning point in the seasons. From today, every day will have around three minutes more daylight than the day before as we dance towards the Summer Solstice in June. This is by far and away my favourite quarter of the year as Spring edges towards summer, I feel like I come alive again in this season of light. Happy, happy me.

Of course the weather wasn't really very springlike today (it never is - remember my first spring here in the Attic in 2008?), but somehow I thought that the light felt different, a slightly lighter shade of grey maybe?

My neighbours cherry tree burst into bloom this week, I've been watching the buds and waiting patiently and then suddenly it was all pink frothy abundance. It's so lovely to see it when I walk up the street towards home.

Two doors up, the house has a magnolia tree in the front garden so I am on daily bud watch every time I walk past. It's very exciting here on the street - cherry blossom going crazy to the left and big fat magnolia buds poised to bloom to the right.

I love blossom flowers, I really do, especially these early front garden varieties. The big cherry trees in the park won't be in bloom until May, so it's like we're getting a sneak preview around the streets here.

J and I have started taking our 7 o'clock morning walks through the woods again because it's now full daylight at that time. It feels like a real turning point in our season, and we'll be walking daily through the woods until the dark creeps in again in September. The only down side is the mud as we continue to have so much bloomin' rain. Almost every day - rain. Tomorrows forecast? Rain. The streams and waterfalls are full and noisy and the fields and pathways are puddled with standing water. But at least there is daylight, and despite the slippery, muddy paths I am really enjoying my return to the early morning woodland.

We walked at Bolton Abbey on Monday and miraculously the sun peeked out for just a short while, it was a beautiful thing. As you can see, the wild garlic is looking mighty fine and I really should go and pick some young, fresh leaves and make delicious garlicky things. 

It was just about warm enough to sit outside and enjoy a frothy coffee after our walk, always one of life's pleasures. I got chatting to a lovely lady sat at the next table and it turned out that she reads my blog which is always a nice thing to hear out of the blue. 

Signs of spring are slowly edging their way into my day to day life, and although it'll be a good few months before the trees green up, there are some early performers. This huuuuuge weeping willow (opposite the butcher at the top end of town) is beginning to sprout and that fresh limey green colour is fabulous.

I continue to walk every day along the canal side and have really been enjoying the colours. Even on days when the weather has been wet and blustery, there is sometimes the occasional bright spell to lift my spirits. After the rain, everything seems to glow and vibrate with energy, I swear I can actually feel it in the air. I am quite sensitive to energy and light (which is why very low-light days affect my mood so much I think), so these bright moments are like a rapid re-charge of my internal batteries.

I took the above photo on Saturday morning and I love it sooooooooo much. You know I am quite obsessed with water reflections and  as we were walking from the market to the café to have breakfast, this view under the bridge literally stopped me in my tracks. I find reflected images mesmerising, what is it about them that fascinates me so much? I honestly have no idea, but I thought you might appreciate it too.

Oh, I just had an idea to turn the image upsidedown................hang on......................

..................there.....WOW!!! My mind can't cope!!!!

I make myself crazy sometimes, obsessing over the glorious visuals of everyday life.

I'm still working on my Blooming Sungold Flower cushion and have really been enjoying the making process. 

Oh, and in case you were wondering, the kitty stopped sulking on day four after my return from Dorset and is back to being my constant companion again. She really likes the Sungold blanket, so has been very happy when she gets to pin me underneath it for maximum cosy warmth and comfort.

I've stopped lighting the fire during the week, but we do often feel the need for it at the weekends when we're spending a lot of time relaxing in this room. Fireside crochet is one of my favourite things and during the last few weeks I've really enjoyed sitting next to the hearth and gently adding these scallopy rounds to my cushion.

On Friday I spent the morning at Coopers Café like I usually do, and had the added pleasure of spending time with two lovely friends who were visiting town. We had such a good long chat and a catch up as it had been some years - shall I tell you about the projects in the above photo? Well, that was the three of us sat at the table by the window - me with my blooming flower cushion on the go as you already know. The cutest autumn scene with a darling little hedgehog is being stitched by Cathy (Dear Emma Designs). And the fabulous knitted hexagon blanket? That's the work of my lovely friend Amanda who many of you will know from her Little Box of Crochet days, and more recently her Cosy Life project boxes. It's such a lovely thing to have creative friends, and I am beyond grateful for all the inspiration and joy they bring to my life.

Mostly I spend much of my time alone here in the Attic in my own creative little bubble. Well, I'm not technically alone because J works from home so is always around, but you know what I mean. Design work is mostly a solitary thing, just me and my thoughts and my ideas, searching for a way to harness all the creative energy and direct it into projects which make my heart sing.

This March energy feels very powerful at the moment, and for me personally it's like I just woke up from a deep sleep and suddenly I feel the need to do all the things. My brain is a bit on the hyper side, I think I mentioned this to you a few weeks ago? I am buzzing with ideas and am gathering inspiration at high speed, stashing away so many thoughts and ideas for things I want to do, make, design, create, share. I've got quite a lot going on at the moment, working on a few different things at the same time and I hope very soon to share some of what I'm up to. It's early stage design stuff, so I'm spending a ridiculous amount of time shuffling yarn pegs around and trying to pin down some colour palette ideas. One thing I do know - it's exciting and it's making me very happy, so that's always a good sign.

I'm sat here at my little desk chatting to you today and it feels good to be sat here quietly stringing words together. This past week I spent quite a while sorting out my Dorset photos into some sort of order and uploading them for a blog post. I realised quite quickly that there were far too many for one post (did I mention how picturesque it was?) so it will be a story in two parts. I can hardly believe it's almost three weeks since I was there....March is zooming!! I'm going to make a concerted effort not to get distracted by the yarn pegs tomorrow (they are proper time stealers) and get busy showing you some seasidey things.

I hope you're all doing OK....tell me, do you feel the energy in the air too, or is it just me? 

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Comments

[Sylvia O'Leary]

Could someone tell me the name of the blanket on which the kitty is resting her head? I love the pattern so much. Maybe even give me a link?
I think I have been away from this blog and from crochet for about 7 years. Time to get my hook out again - I've been inspired!

[قیمت میلگرد صنعتی]

The weather in spring is very pleasant.

[Alison]

I think a blanket based on the colors in that Margaret Johnson platter would be stunning! Maybe down the road, eh, Lucy?

[Angela]

Hi Lucy! Thank you for another lovely blog post! It's lovely to see that spring is springing where you are. It brightens my day while we ready ourselves for the cooler months where I am. The energy here is definitely beginning to feel more like we need to slow down, rest and hibernate! Not quite there yet but I can definitely feel it in the air! I don't mind really, I see it as the time of year to be knitting, crocheting or doing jigsaw puzzles. I also tell tell myself that we are much closer to spring now and soon I'll be able to buy more plants for my garden!🌻🦋 That's what I tell myself anyway, reality is that spring for me is six months away! 😭 I'm looking forward to your next post about your trip to the seaside! Enjoy your longer days! 😊 ♥️

[Beverley]

It is always exciting to see Spring start to unfold each year. I look forward to seeing the blossom on the trees.
Your flower cushion is looking very pretty.

[Louise]

Oh hey! I feel like I hardly get the time for catching up with everything happening up in your part of the world anymore and I've been the poorer for it! I can smell the fresh greenness from your photos which plays havoc with my brain as around me everything is crunchy, dried and browning. We're in middish Autumn. The autumn where the days are warm and sunny, but nights are dropping into single digits and we wake up reaching for the button to turn on the heater! I love this stage of autumn. But dread the cold dank autumn that kicks in around mid-April to May. Brrrr! The wild garlic looks as though it smells glorious! I hope to visit and soak it up again one day!

[Patricia A]

Autumn Equinox here. Wow. Love seeing the 12 hour difference between sunrise and sunset on my weather app.
The air is nippy here in Sydney, Australia. My cat blanket deserted me, so had to pull up my crocheted blanket. Then I started back on my latest ripple blanket. Then the cat returned and I ended up roasting under three layers of warminess.
Think it might be better if I just changed to warmer weight trousers. :-)
The Aloe Vera outside my place is in flower. Saw this beautiful blue butterfly hovering around a few days ago. I took a photo. Not as good as yours, Lucy. The sun was blinding me, so aimed and hit the button. Lots of zooming in required to see the gorgeous blue butterfly and the orangey aloe flower.

[Sandra]

I always think it a shame that season's seem so 'cherry picked'. At any given time there are people who profess to only be waiting for one season or another. We are so lucky to live in a moderate climate which gives us four seasons, all of which have their own special delights and yes nuisances too. Winter which may seem so dire is usually here and gone in a blink of an eye and there is Christmas and frosty beauty and warm cocoa and coziness and comfy blankets and hot water bottles. Then Spring too has its wonderful optimistic joys as do summer and Autumn too. How very lucky we are with our special seasons for all things!

[Cathy]

I love all the beautiful flowers at this time of year. The primulas, the bulbs, the garden waking up, looking glorious.
There is something special about a knit & natter gathering of like minded people (crochet, sewing included). I missed mine this week...
Take care Cx

[Monika Ontario Canada]

We had a (very picturesque) snow fall just in time for the first day of spring yesterday. Snowdrops are out, winter aconite and crocuses, and all recovered nicely from their white blanket. There is still a rather nasty cold wind in the air, especially when pedaling to work. We have already switched to daylight savings time (grrrrrr), so mornings are dark again - BUT the days are getting longer and spring is definitely in the air! Thanks for the glorious blooms and all the energy you are sending our way!!

[Tineke]

Oh yes, I work with a garden view and it is starting to bloom <3 Love it. It will be grey for several weeks until it's warm enough to be outside. You make me curious. New ideas <3

[Charlotte]

Oh, yes, I feel the spring energy, too! Although I do love the winter; summer not so much. Anyway, what is preferable, being a little hyper and appreciating all the glorious new life and colour, or going through life on autopilot, missing it all? When my mind gets into overdrive, it really calms me to do a breathing exercise for a minute or so...breath in for 3...pause...breathe out for 8..pause...repeat. Cx

[Jan Wolfe]

What a lovely uplifting post. Thank you. Yes, definitely feeling the energies here, too, and loving the returning light and warmth. When it's not raining!

[Laney]

I feel exactly the same, nature and the wonder of colour quite often stop me in my tracks and I have to take a photo. I love your blogs and have followed you for some time now as it was you that got me back into crochet. You have some lovely friends who are a great source of inspiration to me as well. I adore Amanda Bloom and Dear Emma designs what great friends to have. I would include another lovely lady who has inspired me Eleanora Tully of Coastal Crochet. My head is bursting with colour and projects that I need to start or finish. I think that's why I find crochet so calming apart from the fact my brain is 10 steps ahead to the next thing. Thank you for sharing xxx

[Jackie Farrow]

I’m the opposite to you Lucy. I get a bit of a spring well autumn air here in Australia, that’s when I come alive. I don’t do well in Summer, far too hot! It has been a killer here in Perth WA, so many days of 40+ and high 30’s. The mornings now are feeling more like Autumn which is lovely, cool mornings but still warming up during the day. I honest can’t wait till we are in mid 20’s. This time last year we were getting ready for our first trip back to UK after 4 1/2 years (Covid). We were so excited to see family again. Next week I will be booking our flights again, this time for mid Sept, love Autumn over there, can’t wait. Love your photos as always and looking forward to the Dorset ones. Jx

[Jenny Lethbridge]

Came across your blog and had to read it to the end. Whilst reading it I felt my mind calming
and my body relaxing which is something that hasn't happened in the last 2 years.Finding crochet post lockdown has been wonderful and brought with it a host of new friends. We meet each week over coffee and have delivered 3 sizeable projects as a group for our Worcestershire town. I shall look forward to reading more of your wonderful blog enjoying nature at its best. Thank you Lucy

[CJ]

It's just glorious out there at the moment isn't it. I am constantly wandering round peering in closely at this bud or that bud. I love the energy at this time of year as well, it's suddenly all full throttle. Good that you have lots of creative things bursting out as well, that is always a fabulous feeling. Love the glass inkwell in the last picture, inkwells are one of my favourite things. Fabulous reflections in the canal as well, the water must have been so still. CJ xx