Attic24

Autumn Moments {four}

🍁 Up until this week, November has been a beauty. My hillside view has a faded, slumbering autumnal look about it which I find very peaceful when the sky is blue. But when all is wet and grey like it has been this week, it looks very gloomy indeed. I am trying not to moan about the wet and the grey of this week, because I know we've had it very good up until now. 

🍁 There is very little of any note happening in the back yard pots right now, but I do so appreciate the few pots of hardy herbs that keep on giving. I popped out there with my snippy snippers the other day when the recipe called for a handful of mixed fresh herbs, and procured parsley, rosemary and thyme which fit the bill nicely.  The recipe was a delicious chicken and barley slow cooker casserole, eaten out of shallow bowls with fresh crusty bread. I do love a casserole which comes out slightly sloppy and soup-ish, eaten with a spoon. And bread.

🍁 The first pot of hyacinths arrived in the Attic this week, I've been optimistically looking out for them in the supermarket since the start of the month. They came planted in this little white metal bucket so I decided to leave them in there - the pot was labelled as a "Festive Bulb Pot" which made me cringe a little as they are autumn flowers and not festive ones in my mind. Still, whatever the label, I am so so so looking forward to my annual Hyacinth Appreciation Ritual, or HAR for short. Bring on the rapid leaf growth and smelly flowers! HAR!!

🍁 We've had a couple of cold, frosty starts to our days this month, oh I really do love a good frosty morning start. It makes our walk along the canal a brisk and energised affair as we hurry along on our way to school, blowing out plumes of "smoke" as we go. These really are the very best autumn days, when the sky is clear and the sun glows a pale, watery yellow and there is a thin layer of ice over everything. Even the dead brown leaves look rather fetching when they are laced with frost.

🍁 Toasted crumpets are a daily occurrence here at this time of year because we have a routine of enjoying them as an after school snack. They are so utterly comforting, and I love the whole process of toasting them and lathering them up with butter and jam for the Little People to enjoy at ten to four when they tumble in the door. We all sit down for ten minutes to chat about our day, and it's a lovely little window of time for me to have all three of my kiddos together before they disperse to do their own thing. 

🍁 I've recently ditched my nutty museli breakfast in favour of a bowl of hot porridge, which I enjoy very much. I make mine in the microwave with oats, milk and sultanas and finish with sliced banana and a weeny drizzle of golden syrup. Comfort in a bowl, especially on a freezing cold day.

🍁 These Moments of mine are a bit random aren't they, much like my life at the moment :)

Anyhow...this was a riverside walk/picnic that J and I took a few weeks back, on a beautiful clear sunny Monday at the start of November. I can't tell you how much I love that we get to do this sort of thing since J dropped his working hours to three days a week, it honestly has been life changing. Spending time together during the week still feels like the greatest luxury to me, even though we haven't yet been able to shake the feeling that we are bunking off! 

🍁 Another beautiful hillside view - this photo was taken as I returned back home one morning after the school and supermarket run, so around 9.30am. As we are approaching the shortest day (4 weeks until Winter Solstice, yay!), I appreciate these kind of light, sunshiny starts to the day very much. 

🍁 Sunday morning, 9am. I'd already been up for two hours, but on the spur of the moment I decided to make myself a coffee in my lovely new mug and sneak back into bed for a snuggle. Such luxury! Miraculously, my bed still held a slight warmth when I climbed back under my feather duvet, honestly, there is something so naughty and decadent about sneaking back to bed in the morning when the bed is still rumpled and warm. 

🍁 I didn't spend long on my own as Little B is at an age where he still likes to seek me out and be close, but that was lovely too. He sat next to me in bed playing a game while I finished my coffee and browsed through the pages of this beautiful and inspirational book "Making Winter" written by my lovely friend Emma. I'll be writing more about this book when I continue my "Making the Seasons" project next month, it is such a beautiful set of pages to cheer and inspire.

🍁 I've been trying my hardest not to overwhelm you with a gazillion woodland photos of late, you know, being that I am obsessing about woodland stuff and all. I've got so many images on my computer that I could probably fill your screen with them for weeks on end, but I'm holding back - don't want to send you off yawning. The above photo was taken one Sunday morning a few weeks back, a short family jaunt into the woods that sit on the very edge of our little town.

🍁 Here I am, indulging my love of seasonal nature and watery reflections all at once, a double visual whammie. There is something so quietly beautiful about seeing sky and trees reflected in still water and I'm not sure I can add anything else to this particular quiet Autumn Moment. 

🍁 Walking to my local pub to meet with my in-laws on Friday for a spot of lunch in the snug beside the open fire (yes, it's that kind of pub, cosy in the extreme). This little boat sails up and down the canal at regular intervals, carrying passengers on a short pleasure jaunt. It's powered by a very old engine and makes a very distinctive chugging sound as it makes it's way up the Spring Branch towards the castle. The aforementioned pub is just out of sight on the right hand side over looking the water, and is a really lovely place to while away an hour or two. All this jollity on my doorstep, gosh, I do feel very lucky indeed to call this place home. 

🍁 "Mum!!!! Muuuuuuum!!!! Come quickly!!!!!! You've got to come and see this!!!!" That was Little B yelling at me from his bedroom one morning, his school trousers half way on and half way off and his curtains half way open and half way closed. I of course pelted up the stairs in a panic wondering what an earth the emergency shouting was for, to be greeted by the most incredible sky. It was fast moving and changing by the second so I was lucky to catch it on my camera (after a breathless dash down the stairs and straight back up again, panting). I loved that the Little People were so excited to see me catch the moment in a photo, and that we all stood and watched the shifting clouds and felt uplifted by the sight. Even if it was already twenty past eight and we had to rush like crazy to get out the door ten minutes later. Some things are worth just stopping still for, aren't they?

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Previous Autumn Moments ::

❦ {one} ❦ {two} ❦ {three} ❦ 

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Winter Sunday

I've got some gorgeous tulips blooming away merrily on my table right now, they are really unbelievably lovely. They seem to be have an extra layer of petals which makes them sort of semi-ruffled and quite flouncy. I keep stopping in my tracks to gaze at them, looking right in to the depth of the blooms and drinking in the saturated colour. Delicious.

Early yesterday morning we prized our two youngest offspring out of the pyjamas and away from their screens and encouraged their protesting bodies into clothes, boots and coats. A short walk up the road and into the muddy woodland, for some fresh air and exercise. I tried my hardest to ignore the persistent drizzle and overwhelmingly drab brown-ness of it all. Squelchy brown mud, rainy brown puddles, soggy brown leaves, damp brown bark and bare, brown branches.

Thank goodness for moss and ivy adding some welcome, verdant green to the brown proceedings.

I noticed down in the squelchy mud, amongst the soggy brown leaves, that the wild garlic is already beginning to sprout. The sight of those brave little green shoots made me grin and whoop out loud. Good job the woods were deserted excepting for my family who understand and accommodate my strange ways. Yay for new green shoots, double yay for signs of Spring springing forth!!

We got home just after 10am, pleased to shed wet coats and kick off muddy boots and be home and dry again. I made mugs of hot chocolate with a full compliment of squirty cream on top for the Little People, much to their delight. It's what Brown Winter Sunday's are made of.

I've recently changed something of my weekend routine which has made a huge difference to my Sundays. It's just a small change, but it's amazing the way that Sunday now feels so different to me. Would you care to know what it is? Well, I've declared Sunday to be a Laundry Free Zone. My Sundays had begun to feel seriously dragged down by the drudge of getting clothes clean and ironed for the week ahead. I would get to 6pm on a Sunday evening with a heavy heart, hating that I had to spend the last precious hours of the weekend folding and sorting a huge mound of clothes and ironing all the school uniform. So a few weeks ago, I made sure that I got the first laundry load in and out of the washing machine on a Friday evening instead of waiting until Saturday. Then on Saturday I worked hard to get through the rest, inviting Little B to help me fold and sort it all on Saturday afternoon. He is a very willing helper, not always the speediest, but not a bad little sock pairer and clothes folder. Although he does rather approach the clothes folding like origami, so many intricate folds this way and that!. Early Saturday evening and I ploughed through the ironing of the shirts whilst listening to the radio. Take that, Tedious Laundry Chore.

When I woke up the following morning, I had the double pleasure of a) thinking it was Monday morning before realising that joy-of-joys it was still Sunday, and b) no laundry to deal with!! It was like a heavy grey rain cloud had been blown away and my day was declared free for leisurely pursuits and the seeking of pleasurable activity. Be gone, Sunday Laundry Cloud!!

So now the flavour and feel of my Sundays are very different and I am very glad. I LOVE waking up on Sunday mornings and thinking about what pleasures will fill my daylight hours. Yesterday, it was new books to browse through - such beauty, style and inspiration in those pages, I'm really looking forward to reading them properly and trying some of the projects. I can feel a few new mandalas coming on.......flowers too..........and maybe a cushion or two......

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ps thank you so much for all your kind thoughts and helpful advice on my last post. I'm still struggling, but I am determined that February will be a month full of positive thinking. Bring it on x

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Under the Weather

I really like the phrase "under the weather", especially given my mild obsession with all things seasonal and weather related. I looked it up just now and found out that the phrase comes from British sailing ships, fancy that! So when a sailor became ill he was confined below deck out of the weather, so it was said that he was under the weather. I do like to know these kinds of things.

So yes, I am currently under the weather it seems, in more ways than one. Just look at that sky from yesterday, talk about drama up there in the heavens. We've had a weeny bit of snow but it's been the wet variety and hasn't stuck around, much to the vocal disappointment of the Little People.

Thank you so very much for your thoughtful and kind words during the past few days, I appreciate it enormously. I would like to tell you that I am feeling loads better, but really I find myself muddling through as best as I can whilst feeling decidedly not myself at all. I'm not ill as such, but I'm definitely not quite right. It's difficult to know how much to share here in my Happy Place, so lets just say I'm hopeful that results of blood tests will be conclusive and provide an answer and some relief from the exhaustion and strange head fog that has settled on top of me in recent weeks.

In more up-beat news, I've got green shoots on my mantel, yipppeee!!! I completely love these little yellow pots of narcissi that appear in the supermarket every January, I've been enjoying them for many years now. It's been lovely also to bring out my crochet tins again too, I really appreciate the gentle seasonal rhythm that repeats itself here in the Attic. It's homely and reassuring and just plain nice to do these same things year after year.

So today there is weak sunshine up above and I've been trying to attend to the business of making a crochet tutorial.

I finally worked out The Sunny Edge yesterday and am now merrily hooking along those long rows. I hope I've made the right call - I won't know until it's done, which is kind of exciting and a weeny bit nail-biting. But I've been photographing my progress and am hoping to get the tutorial all wrapped up for you by the end of this week if I can, providing the head-fog isn't too dense. Again, I am so sorry for the unexpected delay.

Oh, this is such a showy-offy kind of a blanket, I can't wait to show you it in it's entirety. Back to the Edge I go........

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Caravan Love Affair

If you've been visiting me here in the Attic for any length of time, you will no doubt be familiar with my Caravan Love Affair. It's almost four years since Connievan became part of our family, and gosh what a huge amount of pleasure she has given us in those years. I can still so clearly remember the tremendous excitement of discovering her, viewing her, then very quickly agreeing there and then on the spot to welcome her into our family. That very first trip away in her, oh the sheer joy of it! Yes, I remember it all so well.

Four years on, and my love affair feels like it is stronger than ever. The older the Little People become, the more important it feels to make the most of family time spent all together. Little Man will turn 12 this summer, and I see his true childhood beginning to slowly ebb away now. He is maturing and changing so rapidly, I look at him these days, as tall as me, and get a glimpse of the very fine young man he is becoming. I don't know how much longer he will wish to squish into a caravan and share a bed with his little brother, how much longer we can hope for such simple harmonious holidays to fit with our growing family. But I am clinging to the thought that it is still possible, for this year at least. Owning a caravan makes it possible for the five of us to pack a few bags and head off to the coast to spend time together, and I love it so, so much for that.

Last year, towards the very end of the summer I was sent this book to read and review. Vantastic was released in Australia at the start of their Spring, but of course that was the start of our Autumn here in the UK. I was feeling a little melancholy with our 'vanning season almost at an end for another year and it didn't feel quite right to chat about planning caravan adventures back then. But now....well now Spring is here and once again I can feel the uprising of excitement as we begin to plan where Connievan will take us this year.

Putting it mildly, this book is Utterly Divine. It is written by Kate Ulman, author of the wonderful blog Fox's Lane. Kate and her young family took six months away from their organic farm in Australia to go on a travelling adventure in a vintage caravan. Kate blogged all about their amazing trip and the book then followed. You can see some photographs of their caravan here, Kate did such an amazing job making it beautiful.

Vantastic is a mixture of travelogue, practical advice, recipes and crafting projects accompanied by a delicious selection of photographs and friendly, engaging writing.

The styling of the book is just wonderful, it feels as if you are holding a precious gift in your hands and every page turn is a pleasure.

Kate crochet's and sews, crafts with her children and crafts to fulfill her own creative needs. Her passion for all things handmade shines out of the pages and every time I dip into this book I feel inspired to get busy making and creating.

Although Vantastic is essentially a book about caravanning, it is also very much more. It is about enjoying the simple pleasures in life, making sure to value time spent with family, relishing the freedom of living, eating, playing and exploring the great outdoors, making memories and having fun times. It encourages you to cook well, be creative, live life to the full, enjoy nature and spend time with loved ones. For all those reasons it has touched my heart and is a book that I have read and re-read many times already. You can find Vantastic on UK Amazon and Amazon US , it is a lovely, inspiring book for sure. 

Now while we are merrily on the subject of all things Caravan, I would love to share something else with you. Exactly two years ago (yes exactly, to the very day, my life is so freakily rhythmic it scares me a little)...two years ago I shared the story of the above artwork, made by my very talented friend Caroline Rose, do you remember it? You can read all about it in my post from 26th March 2012, it is a sweet little story of like minds (and hearts) meeting and creating something rather gorgeous. Well Caroline did the creating of course with her very clever fingers, but I feel as if my heart is definitely entwined in that picture.

Well look now, there is a new cutesome little caravan on the block, a dinky little red number this time, isn't it lovely? Let me tell you, this isn't just a box with a pretty sticker on it. No, no. We have to look inside the box to see what treat is in store.......................

.....it's a most beautiful, shiny, colourful mug! Swoon!!!!!!!!!!!

Caroline has been working on some really beautiful new mug designs during the past few months, and my heart truly skipped a beat when I caught sight of this work in progress. First there were flowers, then there were stripes, and then a caravan? Really? A red caravan?

I couldn't wait to see it finished, I felt genuinely excited as I waited along with Caroline and many of her fans to see how this mug idea would turn out.

As it happens, it turned out really pretty great indeed, and all four mugs are just beautiful don't you think?

The image for each of the mugs is long and thin and wraps itself nicely around the mug. It is just such a nifty idea and as with everything that Caroline does, very beautifully executed and presented. She has also made fine art prints for each design so that you can see it all laid out, oh I just love that little caravan so much! I bought myself the caravan mug as soon as it landed in Caroline's shop, and I have been very happily slurping my morning coffee out of it ever since. I absolutely love it.

You can find these beautiful mugs and prints for sale in Caroline's Etsy shop, should you wish to treat yourself to some colourful handmade goodness.

I still have unfulfilled prettifying plans for Connievan, and I still regularly drool and sigh my way through Pinterest images of vintage 'vans and trailers when I feel the need for a little inspiration. You can have a little look at my Caravan Dreams board if you like, there is lots to love in the world of pretty caravans (above image source here)

I am a little ashamed to say that I still have one pair of curtains left to make for Connievan. I had some trouble with my old Bernina sewing machine which scuppered my sewing plans two summers ago you see. She began to protest and stitch badly, and then refused to do any more bobbin winding, so after the cushions were made, I ended up packing her away and no more sewing got done.

 

Today, after spending rather a lot of time daydreaming about caravans and feeling rather elated to be heading into Springtime, I took the plunge and arranged for my beloved Bernina to go away to a specialist repair place. She is forty-five years old you see, and needs a clever bod who knows how to tinker carefully with her old mechanisms. I am ridiculously excited about doing stitchy fabricky things again after an unexpectedly long two year break. I'm going to finish stitching my curtains! And I'm going to make patchwork curtain pelmets to hang above my curtains!!

Yippeeeeee for creative caravanning!!!

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edit to add :: just wanted to mention that this is not a Sponsored Post. I would always say if I was being paid in any way to review products or give links to products.

I was sent the book Vantastic by the publishers on Kate's request, but offered to write about it voluntarily as I was already a huge fan of Fox's Lane blog and had followed both Kate's caravan and book writing journey. Caroline Rose has become a good online friend in the years since I first discovered her work, and I have bought several pictures from her that I love, the mug too.

I wanted to share Kate's lovely book and Carolines amazing work with you just cos I love them both very much and thought it would be nice to bring some lovely creative caravanny-colour to my blog today! However, I am a participant in the Amazon Associates programme and do earn a small commission if you follow my links and make any purchases via Amazon. I think I should write this into my sidebar so that it's clear what I am doing? Yes, I will do that :)

♥...more Connievan snippets from the Attic...♥

Tales from Connievan :: a New Chapter

Tales from Connievan :: Late Summer

Tales from Connievan :: Blackpool

Tales from Connievan :: Summer Loving

Caravan Stuff (again)

Caravan Dreams

Colour In & Out

>>in<< treating Little B to a new book , he really loves learning his letters.

<<out>> beautiful still reflections in the canal this morning.

>>in<< pencils on the dining table at breakfast.

<<out>> looking up through the beech trees as I walked in the woods.

>>in<< home from market with a squash and some Spanish clementines.

<<out>> walking into town.

>>in<< browsing some of my favourite blogs with a quick morning coffee.

<<out>> walking with Heather and TTB in the leafy woods.

>>in<< two little back yard blooms rescued from the frost.

<<out>> such a mesmerising stretch of water, I couldn't pull my eyes away.

>>in<< love love loving these sweet little leafy fruits. Too cute.

<<out>> walking past this local garden and falling a bit in love with it.

>>in<< lighting candles every day to scent the room and bring a warm glow.

<<out>> still delighting in Autumn, the colours are so inspirational.

>>in<< watching these colour-making Fire Cones light up our fire.

<<out>> our walk home from school is looking more Autumnal every day.

♥

There has been a pleasurable rhythm to the past few days as I've been going about my quiet business. I've been out a lot of the time, lots of to-and-fro walking as I deliver and collect the Little People, purchase groceries, attend meetings, meet friends for coffee, run errands. The weather has been kind. Gorgeous in fact, mild and still and perfect for enjoying the Autumn season.

My home-time during the past few days has also been sweet. I have filled the hours with writing, photographing, baking, snuggling, reading, singing, tickling, crocheting, cooking, firelighting, daydreaming.

This morning, I enjoyed a stroll in the woods with Heather and her gorgeous little boy, collecting leaves and getting rather muddy. This afternoon, Little B and I baked oaty cookies, filling the house with the most delicious smell. Later, I roasted the market squash and made risotto for dinner, it was so tasty and comforting.

Inside and Out, I am always so uplifted by the colours of my world. Colour makes my heart and soul sing such a happy tune.

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Yarndale 2013 :: The Yarn Bombing

Autumn Colour

Yarndale 2013 :: My Story

Autumnal Crochet

Two days of Lovely

#1 :: I've loved looking upwards as I've walked around and about the place. It's made me so happy to see the most beautiful blues skies and feel the gentle warmth from the bright winter sunshine.

#2 :: I've loved pottering around my town, visiting friends, the market, the park and local shops.

#3 :: I've loved seeing my two boys slowly recover their energies and appetites, kicking those germs into touch. We've eaten lots of fresh fruit, salad and veggies this week.

#4 :: I've loved watching my Little People at play, both individually and with each other. Some very sweet role-play games have been taking place (we are at home for half term this week), and the pop up tent has been in almost constant use.

#5 :: I've loved seeing my little clump of snowdrops get ready to open their petals as the sun shines down on them.

#6 :: I've loved making (and eating) an incredible new snack/addiction which is thankfully a little healthier than tiffin. These are curly kale crisps which I learnt about on Hannah's lovely blog Homebaked. Half a bag of sliced curly kale with a drizzle of olive oil massaged in and a sprinkling of sea salt. Spread on a baking tray, bake in oven at low temp (150C) for about 25mins until kale is crisp. Utterly delicious.

#7 :: I've loved putting a few stems of baby narcissus into the old glass bottles on my bathroom windowsill. They completely light up the room and make me smile every time I walk in.

#8 :: I've loved using this bar of handmade soap bought from a local shop. My last soap (wild rose) from the same shop ran out a few weeks ago and so I treated myself to a new one...it smells lush.

#9 :: I've loved browsing through this beautiful book-zine at bedtime. The pages are filled with colour and inspiration, it's quite wonderful. More info here.

#10 :: I've loved getting this book in the post today, I ordered it from Amazon after reading about it in the above mentioned Mollie Makes Home. I think the author (the founder of my fave company Rice DK ) somehow sneaked a peek inside my Creative Mind and made this book especially for me. I'll write more about it soon when I've had chance to read it properly instead of just dribbling all over it.

#11 :: I've loved taking a train journey through the cold, frosty landscape with Little Lady today. We went to The City to shop for clothes (her) and pretty things (me), and had a lovely time out together. She is the sweetest companion, I found I laughed a lot in her company.

#12 :: I've loved bringing these sweet new tins home to the attic, they are of course from Cath Kidston. Destined to go and live very soon in my new work studio. Shall I say that again? Uh-huh...that's right...s-t-u-d-i-o. The most exciting, wondrous developments happening here behind the scenes. Squuuueeeeeeeeeeeeeal! More of that very soon. 

#13 :: I've loved coming home from The City with exhausted achy feet and flopping down on the sofa to drink tea from my new mug. Cath Kidston again, I LOVE this new design called Daisy Rose Check.

#14 :: I've loved (LOvEd-loveD) opening up a surprise parcel today, and finding this incredible piece of handmade fused glass inside. A very generous and beautiful gift from a lovely Attic visitor, Charlotte I can't tell you how much I love this, you have an amazing talent. When are you going to open an online shop? Perleaaaaaaase?! ♥

#15 :: I've loved having a crochet idea, working on it before breakfast (not particularly successfully), pondering on it all morning (whilst shopping in The City), tweaking it in my mind, then coming home and re-working the imagined tweaks. And it worked! I made a little hooky daffodil! I have in my mind to create an Easter Wreath, similar in style to my Christmas one. Think lots of crocheted spring flowers, leaves, pretty ribbons, buttons, feathers, decorated eggs, pom poms (of course) and an Easter bird nestling at the bottom....oh cripes, the giddy shivers are back again :o)

#16 :: I've loved looking forward to going to the coast, yaaayyy! This gorgeous looking building is the youth hostel at Whitby,  and we've booked a family room to stay here tomorrow night...it's right up on the top of the cliff next to Whitby Abbey. I am really, really looking forward to it, we leave tomorrow morning for two days of seaside pootling. Fingers crossed for good weather, well dry weather (without snow, hail or rain) will do nicely.

See you when I get back from beside the North Sea!

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Caravan Dreams

This week, I've mostly been obsessing about all things Caravan related. I've spent a disgusting amount of time on the internet soaking up some amazing caravanny inspiration and making one or two caravanny purchases. I am currently awaiting delivery of some Mod Podge (to carry out inner cupboard and door makeovers with wrapping paper/wallpaper, inspired by this and this), plus some amazing sticky back plastic that I found on ebay (see here). Oh and I'm bidding (with fingers and toes crossed) on a sweet little 1970's cutlery tray to house my most extravagant Connievan purchase (see here). My oh my, I am having SO much fun!!

On Wednesday afternoon I spent a truly pleasurable few hours with Connievan, it was great being able to walk down the road to her with Little B (she's about a mile away). I made us a little packed lunch so that we could eat when we got there, and I took down the two cushions that I made last month. It was a sweet moment when I put the cushions in place, they look amazing with the crochet blankets look.....

The colours match incredibly well to say that I made them without actually seeing the blankets.

The blankets have been in the 'van all winter (forgot to fetch them out), and thankfully they are absolutely fine. Connie has a wee bit of a damp issue on one of her side panels, but it's kind of inside the panel itself if you see what I mean and doesn't affect the interior at all. In fact, she is remarkably warm, dry and cosy for a twenty year old gal.

As soon as I arrived I opened up all the windows to let some air breeze through and spent a bit of time cleaning around the kitchen area. Then it was time to begin with a little bit of prettifying, yipppeeeee! I stuck up some lovely little hen hooks that I bought last year using a magical "No More Nails" type of adhesive, wow, what great stuff that is! I had plans to put up lots of little pictures that I've been collecting too, but forgot to bring the blutack with me, so that will wait till next time.

I also did a little bit of outside prettifying too.....remember me telling you I'd bought some flowery stickers? Well...........take a look................

♥

Ta-dah!! I put a few around the door, plus some on the front and back. I couldn't go too mental with it as J has already been raising his eyebrows at  the whole idea of me sticking things on Connievan. So I had to be restrained, but they do look so sweet. A bit silly maybe, but I don't much care, they make me happy and that's what counts.

Now then, are you familiar with the Little Grey Rabbit books? They're the sweetest, most adorable books written in the  1930's by Alison Uttley and illustrated by Margaret Tempest. I LOVED them as a child, and the top two books on that pile there are from my own childhood collection, published in the early 1960's. The others were bought for me from a car boot sale by my mother in law for 50p each, and were published in the '80's.

The characters and the stories are enchanting (I re-read them regularly even now as an adult), but it's the illustrations that really make my heart squeeze.

Oh sooooo incredibly sweet, don't you think? That wonderful patchwork quilt calls out to me every time!

Little Grey Rabbit lives in the cutest woodland cottage. It's furnished simply, with brick floors, green painted windows, buttery yellow walls and THE MOST ADORABLE blue and white gingham curtains.

For some reason I have always loved these curtains. So it'll come as no surprise to you if I tell you that I am making blue and white gingham curtains for Connievan. Yeah, you already saw that coming didn't you?

I bought a great long length of gingham fabric from Ebay last year and made a start with them, but didn't get too far at the time. I'm determined to get them finished this week though, as we're taking Connie out on a trip next week.

Would you like to see where I'm at with my curtain revamp?

Squeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had the nifty idea of combining blue and white checks with a little bit of red floral and a dash of ric rac. Do you like?

The floral fabric just runs as a band across the bottom, to add an extra bit of va-va-voom to the whole effect. I confess I am quite madly in love with them. It's proving to be a tough ol' job though. I'm keeping the original curtains as they are lined and in good shape, and am *simply* stitching the gingham panels on top. It's not easy. I tried to do the first one with the machine, but the curtain fabric was too thick (it's a thick velvet) and it all went pear shaped. So I painstakingly unpicked the dreadful machine stitching and began the whole thing again by hand.

It's laborious work, and probably my least favourite type of sewing. Little invisible hemming stitches, hundreds and hundreds of them. Thousands probably.

I sat last night in the Big Chair by the bay window and managed to do one whole curtain. Only nine more to go then. But as I sit and stitch, my mind wanders off into Caravan Dreamland. I start to think of fairy lights and paper lanterns and pretty floral bunting and dotty tablecloths and stripy picnic rugs and granny square blankets and piles of squishy patchwork cushions.....it's so happy and colourful and cosy and carefree in Caravan Dreamland!

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ps I've got a Caravan Dream board over on Pinterest if you want to go have a peek

I also found a couple of fabulous websites yesterday whilst getting lost in Pinterest, they are full of lovely caravanny things.....

http://getcampie.com/

http://littlevintagetrailer.com

pps one last thing....you can read my original post about Connievan here. I'll take some more pics of her interior soon to show you. I love her SO much! ♥

xx

Edit to add :: Thanks for the pincushion love, I made it a few years ago using the Anna Maria Horner pattern here.

 

 

 

 

 

Droopy

I am so over the wet. So over it. I feel constantly disappointed that my favourite month of the year is simply not doing what it's supposed to do and keeps letting me down. Wahh, it's May and it's supposed to be all warm and and sunny and outdoorsy and it's not being that AT ALL! We get the odd promising day when it all looks and feels glorious (like Wednesday), then back we go to the cold temperatures, the heavy grey skies and the continuous rain. Winter coat and boots back on and a  rather droopy mood sets in.

This week I confess I've been feeling a little down. Everything has felt a bit flat somehow, I suspect very much influenced by the weather. Take Thursday for example. I had planned to keep Thursday free so that I could take Little B on an adventure. I had it all worked out. I was going to pack a picnic lunch and take him on a bus journey to Ilkley, play and have lunch in the park, then go yarn shopping so that I can get back to finishing my ripple. It was going to be such fun, we were going to ride on a bus! But alas I had to cancel it cos I refuse to adventure/picnic in the drizzle. Nope. It just isn't happening.

So an Adventure Day became a Home Day, and I tried hard not to let the droopy wet mood linger.

Even my sweet orange roses have had enough and have gone all droopy look. They've completely, magically echoed my mood these past few days, it's most odd.

When faced with enforced stay-home days and dire weather, I instinctively turn my oven on and prepare to bake. Yesterday I had a go at adapting a Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall recipe, with rather good results. I'm on a quest to gather together a handful of wholesome baking recipes which'll provide good snack material for my Littlies, and these are rather brilliant. The original recipe is for "Honey and Peanut Butter Booster Bars", but I did as Hugh suggested and substituted mashed banana for the peanut butter. After trying this out a little while ago and finding them overly sweet, I made a couple of other alterations by eliminating the sugar and honey and replacing with golden syrup and orange juice.

My variation is as follows ::

Put 125g butter, 75g golden syrup and 2 tbs orange juice in a bowl and microwave for 1 min. Stir until butter has melted and everything is combined thoroughly.

Mix in 200g oats, 2 tbs mixed seeds (I used a sunflower and sesame mix) and 150g mixed dried fruit (I used sultanas and chopped apricots). Then mix in 1 mashed up ripe banana.

Spoon into a lined tin so that mixture is about 1/2 inch deep, and sprinkle a few more seeds on top. Bake at 160/gas 3 for about 30mins until just golden. Mark into bars and leave to cool in tin.

I've named the resulting product "Banana Boost Bars" and they are really scrummy, sort of a cross between a chewy flapjack/cereal bar and a slice of moist banana bread. The Little People have given them the thumbs up, but sadly Little B has refused to even try them. He obviously has an idea that they look like flapjack which he doesn't much care for. Never mind eh.

Well it hasn't been a complete wash-out on the home front as we had two rather well timed Amazon deliveries this week. Gosh, I do so adore Internet shopping and home delivery on occasion, what a gift from heaven it can be. The first parcel to arrive was a treat I had ordered for Little B, and honestly it couldn't have come at a better time. I felt like hugging the delivery man, I was so happy when this arrived on my doorstep!

It's a small pop up play tent, and as you can see he immediately made himself very at home in it. We decked it out with cushions and blankets making it all snugly-cosy inside, and it has already been very well used. He is taking his afternoon snooze in the above picture, I love it when little ones stretch themselves out so completely when they are in deep sleep. I spent a good while just sat on the floor beside him, listening to his sweet breathing and  admiring his ultra-long dark eye lashes. Nothing sweeter that a soundly sleeping child.

These three books were in the second parcel that came this week. I think I've mentioned before that I don't own very many crochet books, and the ones that are on my shelf tend to be project based ones. So I thought it was high time I treated myself to some broad ranging reference type books, and these three look to be real  beauties. I've not had chance to give them a thorough going over, but a quick look through them has given me a huge rush of hooky-happiness. I'll be writing a proper review when I've actually had chance to work a few patterns from them, but for now here are the links ::

200 Crochet Blocks for Blankets, Throws and Afghans, by Jan Eaton

Beyond the Square Crochet Motifs, by Edie Eckman

Around the Corner Crochet Borders, by Edie Eckman

If you follow the links through to Amazon you can take a look inside the pages (love that you can do that!). The tremendous amount of hooky knowledge and skill that sits inside these book covers is mind boggling, truly incredible. Makes me realise that what I do with my own hook and yarn is so very basic. Yes, I think you could call me a very Basic Hooker. Elementary. I admit I have no real lofty crochet ambitions, I actually love plodding along in my own simple little colourful world, working on my easy low-brainpower creations. Which reminds me........

....my May Rose Wreath should be finished this weekend. Yay for colourful simplicity!

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Homespun Cushions

I have to tell you am deeply in love with this book [Homespun Style by Selina Lake], it really is one the most beautiful, uplifting, heart-skippy-happy books I have ever owned. The pages ooze creativity, inspiration and fun, and gosh I think the whole notion of Having Fun whilst creating a home is hugely underrated. There are too many books/blogs out there taking decorating and home styling way too seriously in my opinion. Too self conscious. Too hip and cool. This book is just a happy, colour filled, light hearted funfest and I love love love it.

I've already read the book cover to cover a fair few times, and have spent endless hours drowning myself in the images, absorbing the essence of these wonderful, quirky, happy homes. There is much I would like to say about this book and the homes featured in it, I think it's fair to say I'll be chatting more about it in the not too distant future.

One of the (many) things I particularly love about this book is the abundance of textiles. Almost every single page has some sort of delicious patterned fabric on it :: rugs, towels, wash cloths, duvets, sheets, pillowcases, homemade bags, curtains, blinds, crochet and knit blankets, quilts, seat covers, cushions......ahhh pure joy! I am passionate about colourful home textiles (blankets, tea towels and cushions send me into a spin of cosy feel good), and I really enjoy seeing how creative people layer these textile elements throughout their homes.

If like me you are a textile lover, you will adore this book.

Sometimes, on some of the pages, I found the huge array of patterns on the walls a little bit too much (I'm not a wallpaper fan). But generally speaking, so long as the walls are plain I really love to see a heap load of pattern in the soft furnishings. As you know, my own instinctive style is along these lines, I find the overall look really welcoming, laid back and cosy.

Some of the rooms featured in the book just have me with my tongue hanging out, honestly I drool quite a lot when I browse these pages. Luckily for readers like me, every image has it's own credit in the back pages of the book, allowing you to identify the creative genius behind the look. It's marvelous! You get to find out about all sorts of wondrous people living amazing creative lives in fabulously decorative homes. And it really makes you want to do all sorts of things to your own home, it is totally inspirational I'm telling you.

Two things I desperately wanted to do immediately after reading this book were to paint all my plain wooden furniture in bright colours and acquire more patterned fabric items. The latter idea would not leave me alone, and a month ago I found myself searching on Etsy for some fabric scraps. I had an idea that I wanted to make some cushions a bit in the style of Jane Foster, using a patchwork of brightly coloured retro/Scandinavian fabrics. I really have a soft spot for that style, and so imagine my delight when I came across my own vision already in creation! It was as if someone had looked into my mind, taken my patchwork idea and brought it to reality in exactly the way I had imagined.

Of course I could not resist, and the sweetest little 12 inch cushion came to live in the Attic......

Isn't it so perfectly me???!! I adore it. It was made by a lovely lady called Lisa and her Etsy shop is chockablock full of the most gorgeous creations, go take a little look at her shop Made by Lisa Jane.

I love the way the fabric patches are seemingly quite random in their placement, but the whole cushion is still really harmonious and lovely to look at.

This cushion of Lisa's is really lovely too, she describes it as "Bright Mod Florals". I like the bright fabrics, but more than anything I love the way she's added the extra detail :: the ribbons and ricrac look amazing with the fabric patches, I just adore the slightly over the top feel to it. It's exuberant and happy and fun, don't you think?

So. I already bought a little cushion, but I could not stop thinking about making my own patchwork creation. Actually I couldn't really justify buying fabric for this project, so I turned to my own modest collection of fabrics instead.

I had this idea that I could try something simple. I would combine equal width strips of fabrics.....

.....with some ribbons and trims, à la LisaJane. Yay!!! What fun I would have!

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!! See what I mean??? Yummy or what??!!

These are the strips and trims laid out on the floor after I'd had a little play, I can't tell you how excited I was at this point. Remember I was working at great speed whilst Little B took his nap, I was working my Window of Opportunity to the max. It was marvelous in a hectic kind of a way.

I managed to stitch the strips together yesterday evening in the 6-6.30pm slot. Happy happy.

This morning Little B was at playgroup and I had another one hour at my disposal. I had to use all my concentration as this sort of sewing does not come easy to me. Decorative sewing I find easy, but construction, not so easy. First of all I did what Lisa advised and backed my patchwork strips with a very fine iron on interfacing to strengthen the fabric.

I then cut out a same size square of backing fabric. Looking good!

Now for the scary zip part....deep breathing and deadly concentration here folks. I chose not to look on the internet for tutorials, chose to officially wing it.

I folded and pressed a 2.5 seam allowance on both edges (patchy front and floral back) which would go against the zip. Pinned the zip in place with the folded edges touching (I'm kind of going for a concealed zip type thingy, see?)

So far so good.

Zipper foot on, deep breath in and away I go.....a little bit wobbly (the pins kept getting caught up) but oooooooooooo I stitched in a zip!!!! I actually did it!!!

I made a bit of a booboo in the shop when I bought a too-short zip, so I ended up with a small gap at each end.

But overall, I am so incredibly chuffed with my zippy zippered cushion!!

I made this cushion cover for Connievan actually. It felt sooo good to pop the yucky brown tufty velvet beasty cushion inside of it's swish new ZIPpEreD cover and zip it SHUT (with a zip that zips, zippety zip, I made a zip!)

Connie's new cushion is delightfully plump and pretty.

See how pretty it turned out? I am in love with my homespun cushion.

But do you know what I forgot? Do you know what I forgot in all the excited zippety zip frenzy? I totally forgot to stitch on the Ribbons and Trims!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Arrrrgghhhhhh!!!!

Never mind, never mind, this sweet cushion is still making my heart flutter. And furthermore, I cut out a good many 2.5 inch strips cos Connievan has 2 cushions that need funky homespun covers. And so cushion number 2 will have it's ribbons and trims attached. And it'll have a full length zipper and (hopefully) un-wonky stitching too. I just need to make time to do it. I shall run Little B ragged at the playpark tomorrow morning and hope that he'll then take an extra long afternoon nap. Good plan. Bring it on.

x

 

 

 

Saturday Happy

:: coming downstairs early on Saturday morning and loving that I still feel completely bowled over by the happy sight of my Shelves. Also loving that I can now photograph the flowers on my table without being overwhelmed by horrendous backdrop of visual doom ::

:: these are Fridays Fresh Flowers, the most beautiful, highly scented narcissi. The smell of them fills the room and is indescribably beautiful. Not every member of my family shares the same thought, but I care not ::

:: pottering. Happy happy. Watering the growing things on my mantel and loving them so very much. Lost count of how many successive yellow pots have filled these hooky tins this year, I will keep buying them week after week until they are no longer available ::

:: same goes for the hyacinths, think this is possibly the 4th or 5th batch. Pink this time, I'm really looking forward to them ::

:: pottering some more. Happy happy. Notice with a lurch of my heart that my new book is still sitting looking gorgeous in my newly acquired funky red wire In-Tray. Must make it top priority to find a Window of Opportunity for it ::

:: the urge to bake strikes, I immediately think Lemon Drizzle cake. Start to assemble ingredients but realise I've not enough sugar. Send Little Man running down to the little shop at the bottom of the road to purchase required sugar, then spend happy time making it happen. The resulting smell that fills the air is quite divine ::

:: suddenly remember that on Friday I bought the Little People new things from the discount bookshop in town and get them out. Am unsure as to whether sticker books involving animals, fairies, princesses, dinosaurs and lego people will still cut the mustard with 7 and 9 year olds, but I am pleasantly surprised by their enthusiasm ::

:: ahhh just like old times. I lovelovelove watching them become so engrossed with these simple books, just as I often did when they were much smaller. Sticker books are ace. Children busy with sticker books are ace ::

:: busy busy now, jobs to do. Dash upstairs to strip bedding off two beds and one cot. Big smile when I go into Little B's bedroom to see that he's managed to build the train track all-by-himself. My heart expands as I imagine his happy play ::

:: beds are stripped, washing machine sets to work, then a little spot of happy Pegging Out. It's not especially sunny, but there is a breeze and I am sure they will pretty much dry outside. I look up and down my back street and see there are many back yard washing lines full of laundry flapping in the breeze. It reminds me of a book illustration, so I go search it out and read it to Little B ::

:: this is a really delightful childrens book with the most heart warming illustrations. My Mum bought it for Little B's first birthday. It's called Peepo! by Janet & Allan Ahlberg. Little B is not yet at the stage where he'll sit still and be read to, but he does like doing the "peepo" bit of this book very much. And instead of reading the verse (which is wonderful but lengthy for a 2yr old), we do a sort of spotting game with the illustrations ::

:: 1 o'clock, and miraculously I am All Alone in the house. Children are out with friends, J has taken Little B to visit grandparents, and so it's just me by myself. I ponder over what to do with this precious window of time, and decide on something a little unusual for the time of day....a bath. A deep, hot, luxurious bubble bath. It is absurdly lovely to sink into the hot foamy, scented water in broad daylight, feels very decadent and naughty ::

:: post bath time now, and I am on a roll. I am continuing the naughty/decadent theme and feeling jolly happy with myself. I bring up to the bedroom a steaming hot cup of tea, a slice of still-warm lemon drizzle cake, and the Urgent Item from the top of my in-tray to deal with. I am in my pyjamas fresh from the bath, and into bed I creep ::

:: getting back into bed in the middle of the day feels kind of guiltily wrong but beautifully right all at the same time. As did the middle of the day bubble bath. And my friends, I can very, very, very highly recommend it. My pleasure-o-meter soared off the scale ::

:: this book, oh this book is fan-TAS-tic. I've read it all, cover to cover, devoured it, lapped it up. I'll be chatting more about it very soon, but for now, let me just say it's one of the bestest books I've ever bought ::

:: out of bed now, tea and cake in tummy, precious book on bedside table, back downstairs to real life. Bath and bed in the middle of the day!! HA!!!! yeah, I did that, and it was oh so GOOD! Pootling about and I spy my basket of ripple. Think to myself that it's been a while since I got it out and gave it an appraisal ::

:: it's looking very bright and joyful. I notice that the last six or seven colours have run through quite a rainbowy phase, so I decide that my next set of colour combos will shake it up a little. A few sparks need to fly I think. Still having a ball with this blanket, I don't think I really want it to end. Which is why I'm working on it oh-so-very-slowly. Eeeking out the pleasure of it ::

♥ What a gloriously simple, Happy Saturday for yours truly. So happy. So blessed. ♥

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