Attic24

Blogtober 2024 :: Day 31

Blogtober Day 31 :: Thursday

I woke up early and realised with a little sinking feeling that I was no longer a Princess in a turret with four windows and endless sea views. Sigh. Back to being regular ol' Landlocked Lucy, although I have to say it's not so bad.

First morning walk after the clock change and for a few short but welcome weeks we'll have daylight again at 7am which feels so good. The park was looking massively autumnal...

....as was the long downhill road back towards home. I carried out some very pleasing kicking of leaf piles along this road, the joy of that particular seasonal pleasure never gets old.

Coming back in the front door at 8am I realised with a quiet thrill that it's still our half term holiday and so no pressing need to make a packed lunch, insert toast, and wake Little B up at least three times at five minute intervals. What a blessed relief. I was confused for a short while because Little B is on holiday but J isn't, and honestly it doesn't take an awful lot to de-kilter myself these days. 

I managed to drag J away from his computer screen at 9.30 and we pottered down the road to enjoy a coffee together. He's in a very busy period with work and hasn't had time to come with me to the café lately so it felt really nice to have his company for a little while.

Much of today was spent catching up with the mild neglect in the house, it's always the way of it when I return from a trip. The fam manage really well when I'm not here, but a lot doesn't get done. It takes me at least a day to work my way through the house and attend to the chores - the cat mess, the laundry loads, the recycling, the general air of neglect in the bathroom and kitchen. 

There was also a long and very miscellaneous shopping list - J tends to shop for absolute basic food essentials while also performing some weird stock piling when I'm not around. So for example we'd run out of toilet roll but there are eight tins of tuna in the cupboard. I don't mind though, because my being able to go down to Dorset is hugely appreciated and coming home to a little bit of extra tidying, laundry and shopping is a small price to pay.

I kicked my way through more fallen leaves on my way to the supermarket, and admired my shiny new boots at the same time, I am quite in love with them. Cosy, warm, dry toes make me happy.

In other news, we had a visit from the chimney sweep this afternoon and the resulting pile of soot and debris that came down was more than a little horrifying. I took a photo of it (in order to share the horror with J) but really you don't need to see it. I'm so glad that job's done now, because even though it's still far too warm to light the fire, I have that excitement brewing about the possibility of being able to light it at any time in the very near future. Do you know, I don't think we've ever held out until November in all the years we've lived here, it's been a very mild autumn season so far.

So....'tis the very last day of October today, and of course it's Halloween. While I was away J purchased a pumpkin and on my train journey yesterday I selected and saved a number of possible designs to attempt. We had a family discussion and the clear winner was a version of a Day of The Dead sugar skull. I copied a design I found online, well I copied and cut out the main eyes, nose and teeth part, then free-carved the rest using a little lino cutting tool. It was ridiculously satisfying, and I enjoyed myself more than I care to admit.

Placed with pride at the top of our stone steps, I was really excited to light it up and see what it looked like once it got dark. I think I did pretty good? We had a very busy time of it with a steady stream of visiting children from around 4.40pm onwards, and my carving skills were much admired.

Well my friends, I hate to break it to you but today concludes the end of Blogtober for another year....it's been a challenge, but I've really enjoyed creating my daily rambles for you to digest. Thank you so, so much for all the comments and engagement you've given back to me in return, I have really appreciated it. You never know, maybe there might be a bonus day 32 tomorrow.....I think I'd like that.

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Blogtober 2024 :: Day 30

Blogtober Day 30 :: Wednesday, Weymouth then home ♥

Today has been a day of movement for me, lots and lots of it. Packing, walking, a train, lots more walking/stairs/escalators through the underground tunnels, platform and concourse walking, two more trains, then a final walk along the canal and up the hill to home. My fitbit tells me I've done over sixteen thousand steps today, and yes, I feel that it's true. I'm pretty tired.

I had a lovely last few hours in Weymouth this morning before my 10:03 train....but first ...coffee o'clock.

It was 8am so I found an open-early-doors coffee shop called Finca which was very hip and rustic inside. Think tables made out of reclaimed wood and scaffolding poles, vintage metal chairs, walls of exposed brick and raw wood planks. The coffee on the other hand was very refined and absolutely scrumptious, served to me in a trendy glass. It hit the spot rather nicely.

I took a last stroll around the harbour just before 9 o'clock, boats chugging out to sea and lots of busy activity all along the water.

Back along the beach and it was very grey and quiet, and not for the first time I gave thanks for the beautiful weather that I've enjoyed in Dorset since I arrived. Other than Monday when it rained quite a bit, it's been warm and sunny and I've loved every bright and breezy minute of it.

I wasn't really in the mood for beachcombing this morning as I was short on time, but I did spot this very pretty sea-washed shell. It was half covered in sand so I washed it in the shallows of the sea and was really amazed by the incredible iridescent shine, so beautiful.

Walking back towards the Esplanade, I can now share with you where I stayed....yes, I chose the olde worlde Victorian grandeur of the Royal Hotel. I've spoken before about my love of these old, traditional seaside hotels but I've never had an opportunity to stay in one until now.

It's such an old building, apparently the original hotel was built in the 1770's. It was then demolished in 1889 and rebuilt in a much grander and more ornate style, reopening ten years later in 1899.

Currently it's owned and managed by a leisure company who have seaside hotels all around the UK, and it's had some internal refurbishments recently (with more planned for this winter season). It's cosy and ever so slightly old fashioned inside but it gets good reviews and I wanted to stay somewhere that was safe and central, and with an air of faded history about it.

The Royal ticked all those boxes, and just wait until I show you my room......

.......can you believe it??!!!!! I mean, WOW >> my mouth literally fell open with shock when I first walked in and saw the windows.

I was given my key when I checked in and was pleased to find I was on the fourth floor because I generally appreciate good views as you know. But I had no idea that I would be in the towery bit!!!! An actual room in an actual towery turret, I felt like a princess from a fairytale!!!

If you scroll back up and look at the photo of the hotel, you'll see the pretty arched windows in the left hand turret, just under the dome....that was my bedroom. I mean, FOUR WINDOWS!!!!! I was so, so, so happy!! The sea views were absolutely incredible - I showed you the chimney pots from one of the windows looking back over towards the town, but I totally underplayed it when I mentioned "sea views" from the other windows.

Waking up early while it was still dark, and getting to watch daylight arrive over the sea from all FOUR of my windows was something very special and I shall never forget it. This has definitely been my Princess era, only two days I know, but still, I am forever changed.

Every time I left the hotel to go for a walk, I would look back and see my princess tower and call myself Rapunzel. Ha!

The only downside to being right there on the Esplanade was the traffic noise as this is a busy, busy road. Obviously it quietened down at night, and in the very early morning I was able to sit quietly with the window open and hear the sound of the sea, but for most of the day and evening the traffic was endless. But...it was a wonderful few days pretending to be a princess and really contributed to my overflowing happiness levels.

So even though I've walked a lot of steps today, I've also been sitting down a lot. I did some of my crochet work on the train between London and Leeds but it was hard to concentrate on colour decisions and I decided to pack it away after the second lot of frogging.

Mostly I spent my travel time listening to music while daydreaming and watching the landscapes pass by the window. I did also do some vital research into possible pumpkin carving designs because that is top of my to-do list for tomorrow. 

It's always a nice feeling to arrive home to my quiet rural town after the hustle and bustle of travel. I'm still getting used to it being dark so early now though, it was just after 5pm in the above photo and the daylight was already gone. I'm not quite ready for it yet...it takes me a while to adjust into this season of long nights.

Ahhh, my bed....I think I'll sleep well tonight. I'm kind of missing my princess tower and my four windows, but it is really lovely to be home.

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Blogtober 2024 :: Day 29

Blogtober Day 29 :: Tuesday, Weymouth

I've had such a fabulous day today, full to the brim with all the Good Things. I've been very content with my own company, it's such a luxury to have a day where the only objective is to pleasure-seek and I feel like I've made the very most of it.

I slept extremely well in my Weymouth attic room and woke up around 5.30am after a good eight hours sleep. Of course it was still dark and very quiet at that time and I could hear the sound of the sea down below which was really lovely. I sat in bed and drank a cup of tea while I waited for the sky to lighten, then just like most days I felt the draw to get out there and begin my day with some fresh air and a stroll.

Where I'm staying is just a few minutes walk from the sea so I was right down onto the beach just before 7.

The sky was changing colour by the minute....

....as the sun rose above the sea....

....and I sat for a while on the beach wall and just stared out at the horizon, feeling gratitude flow through me right the way down to the soles of my boots.

What a glorious way to start my Tuesday, I feel so lucky that I have the freedom to make these kind of days happen for myself.

I ambled along, watching boats sailing by, people walking their dogs and a couple different groups of brave women heading out into the cold sea to swim. I was walking east away from the town where the sand slowly gives way to shingle and then pebbles.

The shells on this beach are mostly slipper shells, but I found a whelk (above) and a few pretty top shells too. I enjoyed looking at them and taking photographs, but left them on the beach for others to enjoy.

I walked along the shoreline as far as the very cute beach huts, then climbed up above them to stroll around Greenhill Gardens....

....which was looking very pretty in the early morning light.

It was lovely to still see so many flowers in bloom, but then I've found it to be very mild down here for the end of October. It's been sixteen degrees today, which is warm enough not to need a coat so long as you have some layers on. 

I hadn't realised quite how long I'd been out walking and pootling about and I was surprised to see that it was getting on for 9 o'clock. You know what I need now, don't you?? I'll give you a clue, it starts with coff and ends in eeeeee!!

Back along the beach I went.....

....all the way round to the harbour.

More beautiful flowers spilling out of big planters on the harbour side, I do really appreciate it when towns and cities have a strong floral game.

The old part of Weymouth around the harbour is really pretty and I absolutely love all the colourful little cottages that line the harbourside. Lots of them are holiday rentals I think, and you can certainly see why.

But you know what? As lovely and pretty and charming as it all is, I am really in need of a sit down now as I've been walking for two whole hours.

Of course I knew exactly where to go because I discovered a really good café when I was here in the spring and was looking forward to returning. I ordered a cappuccino and some breakfast, then sat myself down outside at table number 11 and turned my face to the sun to soak in as much of the warmth and light as I could.

My coffee arrived, and as you can see, it was very fine....

....as was my breakfast. Oh, it as SO good! 

Sourdough toast with avocado, chilli flakes, crumbled feta, bacon and rocket. Yummmmmmm.

Being able to eat outside in the sunshine with a glorious view of the harbour was an extra bonus too, so a big wonderful shout-out to EBike café who have the friendliest staff and make a really, really good cup of coffee.

Fully fuelled and very happy, I felt like I still had a few more miles in my legs. So I decided to cross over the water and walk around the other side of the harbour towards the Nothe Fort.

I walked all the way along to the end of the stone pier which extends right out into the sea (you can see an aerial photo of it with the impressive Nothe Forte ((here)). I sat for a while on one of the stone benches that line the pier, it was very tranquil with the gentle sound of the waves lapping against the stone wall just below.

I was wearing my newly cast off socks inside my boots today, and I remembered I'd promised you a ta-dah moment so I figured I could perform it with a coastal twist. There is a teeny little pebble beach tucked beside the pier so I climbed down the wooden steps to find a place to sit and take my boots off....

....ta-dah!!!!!

I'm ever so pleased with them. They don't match because the yarn is "crazy" meaning the colour changes don't flow in a regulated way. I think this is the only pair of socks I've ever made that don't match, and I do love them a lot.

The yarn is Crazy Zauberball and the colourway is called "gartenparty"

On my way back towards the town, I decided to explore some of the narrow housing streets which sit a bit higher up above the harbourside. It's very old and higgledy-piggledy up here with some very sweet little cottages and gardens all jostling together, and the views out over the town are lovely.

I thought you might enjoy this painted wall I came across in a front garden, the whole garden had a seaside theme and it was really full of character.

As I was coming down the steps from the high roads, I suddenly felt very tired indeed, like all my energy had been sucked out of my body with no warning. It was midday, and I had to wait with dozens of other people as the big road bridge opened up to let a stream of yachts in and out of the marina.

I was glad to be walking "home" to my hotel room up amongst the chimney pots, strolling the now busy streets and looking forward to a cup of tea and a quiet afternoon with my feet up. 

I sat on my bed and drank my tea, then got out my crochet sampling to start a bit of work. But honestly I felt way too tired to think straight, let alone apply my brain to making lots of colour decisions. So do you know what I did? I simply climbed right into bed and took an instantaneous nap. Yes, I did. I was out like a light and woke up an hour later feeling thoroughly rested and re-energised.

I spent the rest of the afternoon working on my colour samples and it's looking really, really good. Eeek! Tis very exciting, and now I can't wait to get started on the actual blanket. 

Since the clocks changed for the autumn/winter it's getting dark quite early in the evening. I noticed in my little attic room that I needed to switch the lamps on at around 4.30pm, and when I looked out of the window a short while later I saw that the town was beginning to light up for the night too.

I decided on the spur of the moment to pull on my boots and go and take a quick walk along the beach to breathe in some fresh air and take a break from the hooking.

There were many people still on the beach (it's only 5.30pm in the above photo, but the darkness makes it seem later), and the atmosphere was quite buzzy for a Tuesday. I guess as it's the school holidays there are quite a few visitors here (me included), and the mild, dry weather has been very gratefully received.

Ahhh, deep, happy sigh.....I love being by the sea very much (you'd never have guessed) and today has been absolutely blissful. Words can't describe my levels of happy contentment, they peaked and overflowed and flooded my boots I think. Good job I was wearing crazy woolly socks to absorb the excess happy vibes.

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Blogtober 2024 :: Day 28

Blogtober Day 28 :: Monday, Dorset

I had the best nights sleep last night, a solid eight hours which felt great. It was still dark when I woke up (at 5:55), so I got up and made myself a hot cup of tea, then sat in bed sipping it slowly as I watched the sky lighten from black to a glowering shade of grey. I ummed and ahhed about going out for a walk, should I? shouldn't I? I decided against it, went into the kitchen to make myself a second cup of tea and then all of a sudden I had a change of heart, went and pulled on some clothes and was out the front door before I could change my mind.

I don't ever regret going for an early walk but I do often regret it if I don't, so even when the weather is grey and uninspiring, I remind myself that walking makes me feel energised and generates a positive mindset for the day....

....plus the lure of coffee is a pretty strong incentive, it's very hard to resist the siren call of the café.

I finished knitting my socks this morning, sitting quietly to concentrate on the blessed kitchener stitch toe closure and feeling bloomin' jubilant when all went well and I could pull the completed socks on my feet. I forgot to take a photo of them, I'll try and remember to do that in the morning so you can share a colourful little ta-dah moment with me.

Lady B and I went out for breakfast which was rather nice, and then in the early afternoon we drove to the care home to visit my Dad together. He was grumpy today, and didn't seem to want to have anything much to do with us. At one point he did look up at me and ask "when's Lucy coming?" which made me think he must remember that I visit him from time to time, even if he has no idea it's me when I'm there.

We took him biscuits and his favourite dark chocolate, and after a little while when he'd obviously had quite enough of us he turned his back, rearranged himself in his chair and promptly fell asleep. Okay then....time for me to quietly leave him in his withdrawn world and hope that I'll get to see him again in the not too distant future.

And now......I have said my goodbyes, moved on from Bridport and am claiming a little time just for me, right beside the sea.

Despite the grey gloom and the misty drizzle, I felt so happy to stroll along the shoreline this afternoon, listening to the seagulls squawking overhead and breathing in deep lungfuls of salty sea air.

I'm in Weymouth, and it's really good to be back. Do you remember I was here with my friend back in March? It's a good place for me to spend time (out of season) as it means I can get my sea fix, but also the train station makes it very convenient for onward travels. I pottered around the town before it got dark and shopped for some food - I decided to make myself a little picnic tea to have in my hotel room instead of going out to eat and it was the best decision, I really enjoyed it.

Yes, I'm in a hotel, just me on my own in a very, very cute room high up on the fourth floor with views out over the chimney pots in one direction (I can just see the boat masts in the distance, that's the rather large marina here in Weymouth), and glorious sea views in the other direction.

I'm sitting in bed with a cup of peppermint tea writing this blog, it's ever so cosy. The window is open and I can just about hear the sound of the waves down below so I'm guessing the tide must be quite high. I'm here for two nights, which means that tomorrow I'm looking forward to a luxurious day of solo seaside pottering and then some hours of crochet time. I've got crochet "colour work" to work on for my CAL blanket, and I'm hoping that being here by the sea will help the creativity flow.

Well, I think I'll sign off now, thanks so much as always for your lovely company. I hope you're ready for loads of coastal views tomorrow, because you know that my day will be full of it......!

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Blogtober 2024 :: Day 27

Blogtober Day 27 :: Sunday, Dorset

Another gloriously mild and sunny October day down here on the south coast in Dorset, I am always so grateful when the weather I asked for is delivered with a pretty bow on top. I went out walking again this morning around 8am, choosing to climb up along a woodland track that I've often walked in the past with my Dad and Lady B. Through the wooden gate at the top and out into onto the sunny hill....

....the grass still very wet after some rainfall in the night, sparkling droplets catching the sun.

It's a lovely spot above the town, and just to the right in the above photo there is a simple wooden bench where my Dad always liked to sit and roll up one of his trademark very thin tobacco smokes. It was too damp for me to sit, but I did walk across the grass and give that huge old oak tree a hug...

.....I can't really show you how mahoosive it is, most likely at least three people would have to join hands to circle the enormous trunk, it's magnificent.

Back down from the hill, walking familiar little lanes and back streets that I must have walked hundreds upon hundreds of times in my life. Bridport is such a pretty little town, and I enjoy stopping to frame and take photographs to share with you because it reminds me to appreciate the visuals of somewhere I know so well.

Yeah, you guessed right....it's coffeeeeeeee time! Sunday morning, so we're a bit later today, but lucky me it was warm enough to sit outside on the sunny pavement and enjoy a still-warm pastel de nata and watch the world come and go for a short while. My goodness, it was so, so good, the tart, the sunshine, the coffee and the watching of the world - all of it made my soul happy.

As I was strolling down the high street afterwards, I heard someone calling my name and a beautiful lady introduced herself to me as one of my Attic readers and a fellow hookster. It's always such a lovely thing to meet online followers in real life, it's a humbling experience for me and I love the connection and instantaneous friendship, it really is something special. So a big wave to Esther, helloooo, if you are reading this, I really enjoyed our chat in the sunshine this morning :)

The rest of the morning was a sweet and slow affair. I did some sock knitting and then when Lady B had to head out for a while, I laid myself down on her cosy little sofa and had a nap! Yes, I did, and it was a beautiful thing. I find being in Dorset makes me feel incredibly tired, a combination of the travel catching up with me and the sea air, plus I think I sink into self-care mode where I can treat my body to whatever it needs. Sometimes this is extra sleep, sometimes it's a walk by the sea, and sometimes it's chocolate tiffin. It all works to restore equilibrium.

At lunch time, Lady B and I took a slow stroll south towards the sea. We had a booking for Sunday Roast - a terribly British thing to do, and not something I do regularly so a real treat. We went to a hotel restaurant that has a long-standing local reputation for exceptionally good Sunday Roasts and it really was delicious. The restaurant is very old fashioned (you can see photos of it online ((here)), it probably hasn't changed in many decades but I loved the cosy, unpretentious and down to earth feel of it all.

After lunch we took a gentle stroll around the harbour, it was such a beautiful afternoon. The light was so bright and clear, and the Bay was busy with visitors out enjoying the warmth and sunshine.

We spotted a magnificent cormorant perched on one of the small boats, you can see there is a seagull sat opposite which gives you an idea of how huge the cormorant was. I don't think I've ever seen one so close before.

I love this little place, it has a natural charm and hasn't changed very much in the many decades that I've known it since childhood. I find the deep familiarity of being back here in my "place" always makes me feel good.

Around the harbour to west beach and onto the pebbles I went. I didn't have much time but it was long enough for me to stand and breathe in the salty air and listen to the soothing sound of the waves pushing in and receding out.

A lovely, gentle day and I've appreciated the slow pace very much. And the weather too, haven't I been lucky with the sunshine? Rain is forecast for tomorrow, but it's OK, I've got my boots to wear and I've got plans for tomorrow which I'm looking forward to, no matter if it's raining or not.

I hope you've had a good Sunday, do tell me in the comments what has made your soul happy today, I'd love to hear.

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Blogtober 2024 :: Day 26

Blogtober Day 26 :: Saturday, Dorset

I've realised as I've gotten older that although I like being spontaneous and value the freedom to choose how I spend my days, I also really love having a basic daily routine in place. My habit of walking first thing in the morning is a solid one, and when I come to Dorset I instinctively crave that early morning fresh air and exercise before I can think about planning the rest of my day.

I was out and about at about 7:40am this morning, and it was absolutely beautiful. Quiet and slightly misty and damp, but with a sky that carried the promise of sunny warmth to come.

I love this stroll back into town across the meadows, it always feels so tranquil and sleepy. The river is running to the left there and I could hear it's soothing, babbling sound as I walked.

Into the town, and the traders are already busy setting up their stalls for the Saturday market. Here along South Street it's all vintage and second hand collectibles, with a few artists in the mix too, it makes for very interesting browsing.

 I spotted these great pumpkins on the wall outside the arts centre, no carving or adornments, just natural autumnal colour.

Eight thirty now, and it's time for coffee.....ahhhh, happy sigh!

As you can see, today has been glorious right from the very start, blues skies and sunshine, and it really went a long way towards keeping my mood upbeat.

At 11:15 I hopped on the bus to journey to Dorchester which is fifteen miles away. It's a lovely journey and sitting on the top deck of the bus the views of the countryside (and glimpses of the sea) are wonderful.

I arrived in the town at lunch time, and had some time to spend before visiting my Dad - it's no good rocking up to a dementia care home when lunch is in full swing, the chaos is next level as you can probably imagine. So I decided to have my own lunch first, and I remembered this park from years ago when I was spending a lot of time visiting my Mum in the hospital here. It's beautifully kept, and has a lovely number of benches with beautiful floral views.

I had a salad bowl for lunch and it was absolutely delicious, but also, just look how colourful it is! I have to say I do enjoy eating food that looks as good as it's tastes. It was so warm today, I was sitting in just a t-shirt and it felt like a summers day, such a treat for October.

I arrived at the care home and found my Dad sleeping in the dining room, he looked so peaceful having an after lunch snooze. I sat with him for a while and we spent an hour together, me chatting and him nodding in and out of sleep. I gave him a big squeezy hug and made him chuckle, a little glimmer of his character shining through, but mostly he doesn't speak and is very withdrawn and kind of far, far away now. I have to say though, that he seemed content and peaceful, and I felt reassured that he is doing OK.

After the care home I felt a little bit off kilter and spent a while slowly wandering up the high street, popping in and out of shops and distracting my mind from the emotion of the day. I stroked clothes, browsed books, enjoyed Christmas decorations, sniffed pretty soaps and admired creative window displays. And then when I felt weary to my bones, I came to a stop at this place.....

....it's called the Secret Garden café and is an absolute delight. The pretty little courtyard is tucked away behind the main shopping street and is surrounded by grade two listed buildings making it feel as if you've stepped back in time (dating from the early 17th Century apparently, so seriously old). I had a lovely coffee and an essential square of chocolate tiffin to restore my equilibrium.

I was glad to get on the bus back to Bridport, enjoying the far reaching views of familiar countryside.

Lady B suggested she could meet me in town at the bus stop so that we could go for "a little tipple" before dinner, which I thought was the best idea of the day. The Ropemakers pub was quiet and as cosy as always, and enjoying a drink and a chat with Lady B was lovely. I do try and make the best of my visits to Dorset and work hard to stay positive, despite the circumstances. 

Tonight our clocks change as British Summer Time ends, which means we gain an extra hour during the night. I feel like it couldn't have come at a better time as I am suddenly very tired, and I know I'll enjoy every one of those sixty extra minutes of snoozing....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

 

Blogtober 2024 :: Day 25

Blogtober Day 25 :: Friday 

♥ 07:50 walking along the canal to the train station, a full day of travel ahead.

♥ passing "Snail's Pace" boat again, and I thought you'd like to see the painted barrel that I mentioned in yesterday's post, isn't it lovely?

♥  08:01 time to catch my first train of the day to Leeds. From there I'll journey south to London, then two underground trains to cross the city, another overground train out west to Dorset and then finally a 45 minute bus journey.

♥ I managed to knit the gusset on my sock while travelling south, and I think it's possibly the prettiest gusset in the Universe. That soft colour gradient is all kinds of swoony. I've had a number of questions lately about the yarn and the sock pattern I use, so here is the info :

Yarn :  a gorgeous German yarn called Schoppel Wolle Crazy Zauberball. There are 50 shades to choose from and mine is number 2355 "gartenparty" 

Pattern : belongs to my friend Christine at Winwick Mum, it's her Basic Sock tutorial aimed at absolute beginners. If you ever want to learn to knit socks, she is the Queen of Sockdom and will teach you everything you need to know ((here))

♥ Instagram serving me up advertisements which make my heart rate double in speed. It obviously knows all about my Kaffe Fassett crush, and is trying to tumble me down the Ehrman Needlepoint rabbit hole.....oh, but I am very tempted!! Seriously, somebody talk me off of the ledge.

♥ 11:36 arrival into Kings Cross, out into the daylight and the extreme hustle and bustle of London city. Now I need to navigate the underground - I've made this journey so many times now, it's an easy half hour commute on the tubes and doesn't phase me at all.

♥ 12:10 I'm now at Waterloo station, drinking a very nice latté and waiting for my train to Dorset. My, my it's busy down there. It makes me realise that shuffling along on the high street in my rural town on market day is a walk in the park compared to the hustle in London.

♥ 15:33 I've arrived in Dorset and the sun is shining - yay! It's been thick fog all the way from Yorkshire to London, and I'm so happy to see there is blue sky in the south west. I have a bit of a wait for the bus, but there are seagulls squawking in the sky over head and the sun feels lusciously warm on my face, so I'm content to stand and wait it out.

♥ 17:09 and I'm finally arriving at Lady B's place, nine and a half hours after leaving home this morning. I stopped in at the super market to buy her some flowers, and a chilled bottle of Prosecco, because it's Friday.....

....cheers!!!

I'm here in Dorset to spend a little time with Lady B and to visit my dad, I generally make the journey down every three months or so. I was last here in July, so I am hoping that not too much has changed in that time. And as it's October, well, you get to come along for the ride, just as you did last year. I'm grateful for your company, you help me feel less alone on this bumpy journey.

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Blogtober 2024 :: Day 24

Blogtober Day 24 :: Thursday

Hello, and welcome to another day in my life, I am so grateful to have you along with me for this gentle ride through October.

It's been a beautiful day and I have felt enchanted by it all - the sun (warm!), the sky (bluest of blues!), the autumn season (so much saturated colour!), the stillness of the air (reflections to die for!), and yarny happenings (making my heart flutter!)

Some days I just absorb all the little moments that bundle together to form my everyday life and feel so lucky that I get to be me, at this time, on this day. Lucky, lucky me, I'm so grateful.

I had to run out and about a couple times today, firstly to go and buy a ball of yarn that I needed for my sampling, and then to go and collect some pre-booked train tickets from the station.

It was deliciously autumnal out there and as my colour-seeking brain had been well stoked and fired up with yesterday's peg play, well I found myself obsessing over it all. Like you do.

Glorious autumn leaves.....

....I can't just walk on by, it's impossible. The above three leaves had all fallen from the same tree (a rowan tree I think, or some sort of ornamental berry tree), and I couldn't help myself stopping and having a play. 

Gorgeous reflections in the canal today because the air was still and at this point in time there were no boats/ducks/swans disrupting the surface.

I'm still gathering canal boat inspo, again, it's another thing my brain is fixated on and I can't seem to leave it alone. I've already got the colour palette sorted, and the design too, but you know when I write my weekly CAL posts, I do enjoy sharing a lot of the inspiration that has fed into the design, so you can see the origins of my colour palettes. The boat in the photo above was called "Snail's Pace", just in case you were wondering what the meaning of PACE was. It had beautiful painted barge ware on it's roof - this water jug and also a beautiful old barrel painted with a traditional castle design. 

This is another boat currently moored up in town, it's a local one which moves up and down this stretch but is usually moored further down where it's more rural and quiet. It's called "Wildflower" and has some beautiful paintings all along the side.

I love that I've lived here long enough to recognise many of the boats that come and go and know that they belong to local people living their lives on the waterways. We do of course get a lot of visiting boats just passing through, and there are a couple of hire companies who rent their boats out for holidays too, but it's the local ones that fascinate me the most. What an interesting way to live, don't you think?

I'm making good progress on my canal inspired blanket, and today I started work on the next stage. So I've chosen the colours, finalised the stripe design, and now I'm beginning the task of making my long thin samplers to get a feel for how the colours will work together as a stripe (you can read more about my design process in this blog post). It usually takes me quite a while to complete this stage as I'm not afraid to pull long sections out (or completely restart) if the stripes aren't working right. This prep will allow me to feel one hundred percent confident when I come to crochet the actual blanket and so it's well worth my while. Plus, it's really enjoyable work, and I've had the butterflies swarming in my tummy today so I know I'm on the right track.

A couple of other random things that have made me happy today....

....cooking my sweet omelette for breakfast, flipping it over and seeing how bloomin' pretty and perfect it looked! Ha! If you've ever made omelettes, you know that "the flip" is crucial and also extremely satisfying when it goes smoothly.

Wearing pretty colours just for the joy of it, and loving this simple little beaded necklace I bought in Morocco.

I hope you've had a bunch of lovely little moments in your day, and that you've found plenty of small things to make you happy xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

Stylecraft Special :: New Colours

Today I'm following on from last weeks post ((here)) all about Stylecraft Special DK and the brand new colours they've just introduced into their range. Before last Thursday the range of SSDK was already amazing with one hundred colours for us to play with. And now with the recent Made in Yorkshire addition, we have 120 colours at our disposal. It's a terrific colour palette, a mixture of happy brights, pretty pastels, pale tones, dark and moody ones, modern colours and vintage inspired shades. It has to be said there are one or two rogue colours that are a bit questionable, but overall I think this is a beautifully curated collection of colours that would fulfil every hooky/knitty need.

So now we have twenty new kids on the block, shown above. They look very pretty as a stand alone palette, but they've been chosen to compliment the existing shades, and very cleverly fill in some of the gaps. I thought it might be useful for me to show you how these new colours fit in, and also share some general thoughts and creative ideas that have popped into my mind as I've been having a play with my yarn pegs.

Firstly though, can I just show you the above photo ↑↑ to explain about the Made in Yorkshire bit? All the new colours have been made in the Stylecraft mill in Yorkshire, and the ball bands all have the MIY logo on them. If you are shopping/browsing in a bricks and mortar yarn shop, you will easily be able to tell which are the new shades by looking for the little mill logo. I thought that might be a snippet of useful intel for you tuck away for future reference.

Right, shall we get busy and start having a proper good look at these new colours?

I'm going to go through them in colour families, starting with the reds and pinks. In each of the photos below, I've highlighted the new MIY colours with a white arrow. 

In the above photo, you can see Purple Smoke, Poppy, Pink Rhubarb, Milky Tea and Cinder Rose.

My camera finds reds quite difficult to capture, so it was extremely difficult for me to show you the Poppy shade, but please trust me when I say it is gorgeous. In the above photo you can see Poppy in between Matador (an extremely vivid and almost neon red) and Lipstick (a rich, deep red). I think Poppy would be perfect for making Poppies (!duh!), but is also a really good red for anything Christmassy. I would have LOVed it in my Yuletide blanket for example.

Purple Smoke is also shown above, it sits quite closely with Burgundy as you can see, but has a wonderful rich purple hue.

Now we have the pinks, and in the above photo you can see Milky Tea, Cinder Rose, and Pink Rhubarb placed with all the existing pinks.

Milky Tea sits next to Vintage Peach and is a slightly more faded shade. I popped Mocha on the other side because there is something earthy about Milky Tea and there is definitely some soft brown in there. 

Cinder Rose and Pink Rhubarb are both really beautiful pinks in real life, slightly dusky and very pretty. I think they bring something quite new to the palette of pinks and fill the gaps nicely.

Above are the pale "hint of" shades that were chosen - Wild Orchid, Hint of Lilac and Heather.

These were very hard to photograph and as you can see they sit very closely with existing shades. They are the sort of colours that could subtly change depending on the light and also which colours you put them next to. 

Here is a broader looks at the pale shades - according to Stylecraft, these shades are extremely popular and sell very well (I'm guessing for baby clothes/blankets etc), and apparently there are always requests from the public for more "hint of" shades.

↑↑ Wild Orchid, Hint of Lilac, Heather, Blue Sky, Tea Green, Mushy Peas, Green Lemon.

Now I wasn't sure about these soft, very pale green shades at first but they have really grown on me now that I've seen how well they compliment the existing greens. I would have LOVed them in my Springfrost blanket, there is a soft coolness about them which is very calming.

Tea Green sits beautifully with Duck Egg and Lincoln.

Mushy Peas has a yellow undertone to it, and is like a more sophisticated version of Spring Green.

Green Lemon is quite bright in real life, a pale but deceptively feisty acidic shade.

Above shows the brighter green shades (Mistletoe, Leaf and Jade), and it's safe to say I adore them.

Mistletoe works very well in between Meadow and Lime.

Leaf is possibly now my new favourite green, and I'm sorry I don't think the above photo shows it very well. It's a rich and natural green shade, more vibrant in real life than the photo shows.

Jade is such a great colour and has been missing for far too long. I should have showed you it next to Aspen because it's also a blue/green colour. Let me show you it with some blues for context.... 

↑↑ Here you can see Jade and Aquamarine together, they are great buddies! Aquamarine is a gorgeous soft turquoise (this was one of my "must haves" and I am Thrilled by how stunning it turned out)

Finally, we come to the blues, and there are five stunning new shades...Blue Sky, Nigella, Periwinkle, Mallard Blue and North Sea.

Hard to capture them with the camera and I'm aware that in the above photo they look very similar to existing shades, but in real life each one brings something new to the blue palette. Blue Sky was another of my requests because I use Cloud Blue and Duck Egg endlessly when I'm creating landscape-inspired projects that need sky colours, and I've been after a soft sky blue for a very long time.

Nigella and Periwinkle are stunning mid-tone shades inspired by garden flowers, while North Sea and Mallard Blue both have a grey undertone and link to the moodier end of the blue palette.

↑↑ you can see what I mean by grey undertone - Denim and Storm Blue both have grey tone in them, and the two new shades fit really well alongside. I especially love North Sea. and weirdly it really does look like the north sea (remember I sailed on it just a few weeks ago!)

So, what do you think? I hope that's been useful, although obviously the computer/phone screen doesn't come close to showing you the true colours really, not compared to real life squishing.

I'm going to give another little shout out to Jane at Bauhinia Crafts, her yarn pegs are absolutely beautiful. It looks like she might've sold out of the new MIY sets, but do leave her a message on Etsy if you are interested because I know she will be listing more very soon.

While I was spending time this morning photographing and playing with my pegs, I decided to pull together some very quick colour palette ideas to share with you. Keep in mind that I did each of these within a few minutes and they are just colours that I like to see together, but they might spark some ideas for you.....

This is a lovely vivid bright collection (I've highlighted the new shades in red)

Claret : Poppy : Fuchsia Purple : Periwinkle : Petrol : Mallard Blue : Aster 

Aquamarine : Jade : Leaf : Apple : Mustard : Tomato : Copper : Purple Smoke

And this is a super-pretty soft collection of colours that I absolutely love.

Duck Egg : Lincoln : Mushy Peas : Camel : Milky Tea : Vintage Peach : Pink Rhubarb

Cinder Rose : Grape : Pale Rose : Wild Orchid : Heather : Periwinkle : Mallard Blue : North Sea

I was trying to think what the above palette reminded me of, and eventually it came to me - it reminds me of the soft watercolour illustrations in story books like Beatrix Potter and Brambly Hedge. My childhood Beatrix Potter books are all packed away in the Attic eaves, but I do have the four seasonal Brambly Hedge books next to my bed because they are so extremely comforting when I'm in need of a nostalgia fix.

I fetched the Autumn Story, and made some quick colour palettes from the illustrations to share with you....

Gosh I absolutely adore these little books! The illustrations are so, so beautiful and the way they capture the colours and atmosphere of each season is genius. There is a wonderful write up about the author Jill Barklem on the Amazon page, she was so talented, what a gentle, creative soul.

I've had a huge amount of fun putting together today's blog post for you, and consequently my Creative Mind is buzzing. I'm sure there will be more colour-drenched ideas in-coming, it's hard to switch that part of my brain off once it gets fired up.

In the meantime, do tell me which colours you are drawn to? I'd love to hear....

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Blogtober 2024 :: Day 22

Blogtober Day 22 :: Tuesday

An overly dramatic sky and soft rain on our morning walk today, but the colour of the light was a little bit magical.

I love this little post box set into the wall on the corner of this hilly street, a welcome bright spot of colour on this grey morning.

October always amazes me with the speed of seasonal change. Only a few weeks ago I could still feel and see the last little dregs of summertime in the trees and the sky, and now there is no doubt about it, we are in full-blown autumn mode.

I made myself a sweet omelette this morning, a filling and nourishing breakfast which is a relatively new discovery for me as I don't generally like omelettes very much. I beat two eggs with a teaspoon of maple syrup and a little cinnamon to make the omelette, then when it's cooked and golden on both sides I slide it onto a plate like a giant pancake, dollop a load of Greek yoghurt on top and pile with fresh fruit and a little extra drizzle of maple.

Yummeeeeee.

Mid morning and the rain had stopped so I walked into town to pick up a few things that we needed from the shops. Isn't this Japanese maple tree stunning? In fact, I saw so much beautiful autumn colour everywhere I walked today, it really did make me happy.

I stopped into Caffé Nero to enjoy a cup of strong frothy coffee, it's my favourite place to go when I'm on my own and just want to sit for a while and enjoy my own company.

I treated myself to a new candle today when I was at the supermarket, and I think for £4 it's really lovely. It has a fresh scent with a touch of eucalyptus, just the sort of thing I like to inhale while I'm sat working at the table.

I spent the afternoon working on my canal blanket design, ooo, it's getting so close now, I think I am almost there with it. I'm very excited by it, the design is a stripe pattern but a little different to my usual thing. The colour palette is pretty strong, so the design needs to be be bold enough to handle it, if that makes sense. I'm sorry I can't show it to you just yet but next month you'll be able to know more. 

I mentioned at the weekend that I did some seasonal baking with the Little People, and I thought it would be fun to show you. Little B baked the buns (with just minimal supervision from me) and he and Little Lady iced them together. The spiders were hand drawn by the Peeps with writing icing pens and I love the quirkiness of it all....

....especially the poor spider who came to a gruesome end! 

Next week we'll bring down the Halloween box from the attic eaves and do a little bit of decorating, and there will be a pumpkin to carve too. The Little People (especially Little Miss twenty year old) seem quite excited for it all, I guess the nostalgia and layers of childhood memories exist for them now as well as me ((look....Halloween 2008))

This afternoon, a thud through the letterbox as this slim cardboard box landed on my doormat. Inside, twenty pristine and perfectly made yarn pegs showcasing the twenty new Stylecraft Made in Yorkshire colours. I bought the pegs from Etsy via Jane at Bauhinia Crafts, I've been buying peg sets from her for years and have them for all my favourite Stylecraft ranges. She has this set of 20 in stock if you are interested in seeing the new colours for yourself, it's a really good way to take a look before committing to buying whole balls. You can find the peg set ((here)).

If the light is decent tomorrow, then I'll make a start taking some photographs to show you the new colours alongside the existing shades, and we can have a play with some colour palette ideas....

....I've still got vintage paisley eiderdowns in my head, and now you're probably going to have them in your head, too!

You're welcome!

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