Attic24

Blogtober 2020 :: Day 13

Pretty much all day today from start to finish I have thought it was Wednesday, I've no idea why but I have been convinced of it. I went out to the front doorstep first thing this morning to bring in the milk, but of course there was none as the delivery comes on Wednesdays. I walked into town after the school run to visit the market, but of course there was no market as it is in fact Tuesday. Yes, Tuesday all day, but no matter how much I told myself this it still felt like a Wednesday.

The weather this morning at 8.30am was delicious, a real cold snap in the air and the bluest, clearest sky up above. 

Little B was not impressed with me stopping to take so many photos on the way to school, complete with a gushing running commentary on the beauty of it all. In fact, it made us three minutes late and the poor boy had to run the final stretch to make the door on time. But just look at the way the canal looked!! It would have been a crime to just rush on by without stopping to drink it all in and capture the moment to share. This is the joy of blogging, it gives me a reason not only to to stop and stare (which I would do anyways) but to go that extra step and photograph it so that I can document and commit the moment to memory. Blogging is the very best kind of memory-keeper and I love it dearly for that.

After my jaunt into town to visit the market that wasn't there, I felt a bit off kilter and found myself unexpectedly up at the top end of the high street. So I decided to leave the streets behind and drop down to walk home along the side of the canal....

....this bit of the canal is the "Spring Branch" extension which connects the canal basin with the woods, stopping just beneath the castle.

It made me feel absurdly happy to walk along here on my way home from the invisible market, a beautiful end to a strangely wasted trip. Although I did go and buy strawberries and kale from Marks and Spencers, so it wasn't all wasted time.

Marks and Spencers also tempted me to buy a bunch of yellow Chrysanthemums, even though I don't usually like these cheap and cheerful flowers very much. There was just something about the bright colour and cute little button-like blooms which called to me, so I gave into the urge.

I love them in this stripy jug on my table, they do really bring a little sunshine into the room.

Talking of flowers, I have an update on the front garden planting sitch - I have violas! YAsss!! They are the dearest, sweetest little floral faces and I am desperately in love with them of course.  The plantlets are tiny, but I think will be just right to fill the small gap in my wall planter alongside the cyclamen. I'll show you once I've gotten them situated into their new home.

When I came home from my wander I was hungry so I made myself a bowl of hot porridge for breakfast. Underneath that pile of fresh fruit there is a small serving of milky oat porridge, cooked with a few chopped up prunes for extra sweetness and fibre. I eat my breakfast around 10am usually and I think it's my favourite meal of the day.

I've felt a bit discombobulated today, my head has been in a muddle and I haven't been able to focus or settle down to do anything. My morning drifted by in a blur of goodness-knows-what. I stripped and washed my bedding, did some printing for a friend who needed some forms but doesn't have a printer, posted my Wednesday #challenge on Instagram, then a few minutes later deleted it again when I realised for the umpteenth time that it wasn't actually Wednesday. You get the picture, it's been an odd one! My big Teen had an exam today, the second of two that he chose to resit for one of his A levels. So I mothered him accordingly, making him cheese on toast for lunch and providing a freshly ironed shirt, but resisting the urge to hug him as I saw him out the door. 

At 1pm I still felt a bit odd in my head, but I gathered together my knitting and pootled down the hill to Coopers café to sit a while with a few good friends. We aren't able to hold our usual busy creative get togethers as there isn't nearly enough space to socially distance at the café and we have the "rule of six" that we need to follow. But sometimes there are 3 or 4 of us who can meet up informally, sitting around a table large enough to feel safe and comfortable with each other. It is such a blessing, and I am making the very most of these little gatherings as restrictions are beginning to tighten again up here in the north of England.

I drank my decaf cap and worked around and around the foot of my sock and for a few hours my mind was at peace. And it felt like Tuesday and not Wednesday for a while....yay!

Predictably, as soon as the clock struck 3 and it was time for the school run, the weather deteriorated. By the time we arrived home there was a steady light rain falling - well I say falling but it was actually hitting the window horizontally due to the gusty winds, and I was very glad to finally be indoors and not out.

I love love love lighting the fire, it's one of those daily jobs which gives me an intense feeling of contentment. I sat for a weeny while wrapped up in my Dahlia blanket just looking into the flames and feeling the warmth seep into my bones and settle there. Some days just feel harder than others for no apparent reason other than they weigh a little heavier somehow, don't  you think? I feel quite glad to bring this odd feeling non-Wednesday to a gentle close.

I put a few of the tiniest little flower stems into an old mustard jar beside my bed earlier, just after the fresh pillowcases and sheet went back on. A little ritual that I don't often remember to do, but it's just the sweetest thing to have a miniature posy of flowers to wake up to in the mornings. Do you ever put flowers beside your bed? Oh, you should! Just a sprig or two is all you need......promise me you'll try it?

Right, on this strange day that really isn't Wednesday, I shall love you and leave you until tomorrow when it really will be Wednesday for real. Hmmmm.....I wonder if tomorrow will feel like Thursday???!!! See you then... xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

ps do yo know my good friend Annette who writes her blog at "My Rose Valley"? She is joining me in a return to Blogland this week and I feel sure you would LOVE her posts if you don't already know of her. Do go pay her a visit and tell her you came from the Attic...sit a while on her picturesque bench and drink in her beautiful photos. She is a true delight xxx

pps don't forget about your bedside flowers - put it on your to-do list!

ppps......it's Wednesday tomorrow :)

x

 

 

In The Slow Lane

Hello my friends, thank you so much for paying me a  visit, it's really lovely to welcome you back into the Attic. Here I am, quietly and gently stepping through my days as we continue to navigate life in a global pandemic. During the past month quite a bit has changed here in the UK as shops, restaurants, cafes, pubs, bars and leisure centres have all reopened. Although we are still practising social distancing we are no longer in Lockdown, but for me personally I continue to live my life in a rather small, quiet bubble very close to home. 

Our "Daily Walk" which became an absolutely vital part of Lockdown is still happening. We don't go every single day but more often than not you will find us tramping along these very familiar and much loved pathways through the woods.

It really is glorious out there when the high summer sunshine streams down through the greenery.

Mind you, July was an extremely wet drippy month but often pretty warm too - there was a very damp, humid spell when a persistent light rain fell for endless days and it felt like there was never quite enough oxygen in the air to breathe properly.

We still walked in the woods even in the rain, and I tell you I inhaled so deeply that I nearly turned myself inside out - ohhhhhh, the scent of warm, damp earthy green woodland is such a wonderful, wonderful thing!

There is something very soothing about the gentle sound of rain falling in woodland - that soft, continuous patter as the droplets hit leaves is just magical. I've always appreciated having this ancient woodland just a short walk from our front door, but during the past few months I've been glad of it more than ever. It has been absolutely beautiful to walk the same paths almost every day and watch the seasons change slowly from Spring to Summer. I wonder how it's going to feel as we see Summer gently give way to the colours of Autumn? I will do my very best not to give in to the melancholy that often comes over me at Summers end. I shall embrace the change with a positive mindset (I will, I will!)

Last week I created a new midweek routine for myself. Of course I didn't know it would become a routine at the time, but after repeating it again this week, I think I've decided to officially adopt it as my weekly "Wednesday thing". This is how it is when you relish life in the Slow Lane.....these little routines become very important!

Ten o'clock and off I go, out the door, down the street, turn right and walk about five minutes or so down the road to one of my favourite little cafés on the edge of town. It's small with only a handful of tables at the moment due to social distancing. It is so charming inside with a bit of a continental atmosphere, and oooohmygosh the coffee is sensational. I just adore it, and can happily sit at a table all by myself, sipping my coffee and feeling like I am on holiday.

Once my coffee is finished, I am ready to head into town. Another few minutes walk along the side of the canal...

...then a quick jaunt up a little narrow cobbled cut-through (what do you call these, it's a narrow lane that runs between buildings and connects two roads? An alleyway, a snicket, a ginnel?) - anyhooo, up here I go, emerging into the very centre of the bustling main street in town.

The market comes to town three days a week on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and it re-opened at the start of June. Since then we have been making a concentrated effort to visit a couple times a week to buy fresh produce and support small local businesses as much as we can. 

First stop is the cheese stall where I buy some "True Grit" which is our favourite farmhouse cheddar. Some soft creamy goats cheese also makes it into my bag.

Next stop is for fruit and veggies - oh my, such a treat. I admit that in recent years we had gotten very lazy with our food shopping, using the supermarket for pretty much everything as it was just so convenient. Lockdown has caused us to rethink our habits and find a new appreciation for shopping small. 

It's been a revelation, truly! Eggs, meat, cheese, the most incredible sourdough bread from a new local micro-bakery, as well as an abundance of fresh fruit and veggies are crammed into my bag. I absolutely love it. LOVE it! And I'm determined that this will be the only way to shop from now on. We still use the supermarket once a week for basic groceries, but I'm so happy to rediscover the joys of living and shopping in a small, rural market town.

There is such a lot of pleasure to be had from tasty, fresh wholesome ingredients and I really enjoy preparing, cooking and eating in this way. I very rarely eat anything processed these days, and I think it's making a huge difference to my overall health and well being. I'll be chatting some more about this at some point as my eating/health has undergone quite a big change in the past eight months (for the better I might add). For now, please just feast your eyes on the above photo (Wednesdays lunch following the aforementioned trip to the market) and get a load of those incredible "Yorkshire Black" tomatoes!! Wowsers, the flavour....oh, you have no idea. Too good for words.

I think one of the most difficult things for me personally during Lockdown has been the loss of my alone time. Our house is pretty small with just one open plan living/dining room which as you can imagine is a very well used space for a family of five. Sometimes I've found that I really, really crave some uninterrupted time to just be alone with my own thoughts, to quietly think and ponder, to noodle on creative ideas, to just allow my thoughts to run through my mind without any conversation or background noise interfering. This is pretty vital to my well being, I am an introvert through and through and I desperately need regular quiet time to process and make sense of life and all the things that seem to be on my plate each day.

Every so often I'll reach a point where I just know I need to get out and be by myself. Luckily the Little People are very self sufficient and J is working from home, so I'm (mostly) at liberty to take off out the door when I feel the need.

I don'd tend to go far - just five minutes walking brings me up the cobbled streets, over the hill, down through the park, through the wooden gate and into the meadow. I honestly feel my soul breathing out with utter relief when I am gifted with these far reaching views and the tranquil sounds of nature doing it's thing.

There is a pathway that meanders all the way around the edge of the meadow, and usually by the time I get back to the wooden gate I feel like my mind has cleared and my emotions have settled. Being out amongst nature is truly the best tonic.

The wild flowers have been amazing this year, what with the abundance of hot sunny weather through spring, then the shed-loads of rain we've had so far this summer. The meadows, verges and hedgerows have been a riot of living colour and I have really delighted in observing it. 

Right now the flowers are almost gone and the tall, pollen laden grasses are taking over but it has been so lovely to feast on the floral beauty while it's lasted. 

My climbing rose at the front of the house is doing well this year and I've really been enjoying having small summer posies on my table again. More than ever before, I've been appreciating the small simple rituals and seasonal routines that bring pleasure to my days spent at home. 

Snipping a few flowers to bring indoors....

....pegging laundry on the line to air dry in the sun (ooooo, fresh sun-dried bedding is one of most favourite things about summer!)

....pulling on a pair of hand knit woolly socks when the evenings feel unexpectedly damp and chilly.

They are such small pleasures in the scheme of things, but I value these little comforts enormously. 

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The Little People (who really aren't so very little any more) have coped remarkably well through Lockdown, and I feel so very grateful for the ease of parenting them at this age (they are 17, 16 and 10). I've especially relished all the extra time I've had with Little Lady, we get on extremely well and are very close. Like most teenagers she spends much of her time in her bedroom when she's at home, but she does still choose to hang out downstairs to watch a film or have a chat with us "oldies". By the way, I'm loving seeing my Aria blanket being so well loved and used around here since I completed it in May. More news about that coming up!

At the start of Lockdown my planner sat untouched - I felt like I had absolutely no reason to open the pages. Why bother planning when there is nothing to do and nowhere to go? Why make to-do lists when everything is on hold, things are being cancelled left right and centre and we feel like we are simply treading water? That was definitely my mindset for the first couple of months, but towards the end of May I really began to miss it. I felt adrift and lethargic, frustrated and a bit lost, and one day I suddenly had the realisation that getting back to my planner might just help me deal with all those feelings. 

I began to make some simple to-do lists for the week and noted down small accomplishments each day. And for the first time I also started to write down random thoughts, dreams and ideas as they occurred to me, a series of mini " brain dumps" if you like. This is the sort of stuff that usually stays firmly locked inside my head in a big giant tangle unless I make a deliberate effort to sort through it and release it all - it gets very congested inside my head if I'm not careful! Mental tangles are absolutely no good for the likes of me, they make me feel agitated, frustrated and weighed down. 

This is just a brief summary of how I've been feeling of late - there are other things that have been going on which have all contributed to me feeling very off kilter just recently, but I can tell you that I am good! I am emerging from my Personal Wobble feeling really positive and ready to make things happen. I have plans and dreams, and I am quietly hopeful for some changes in the future which will open up all sorts of wonderful things. I promise to elaborate when the time is right.

So yes I've been a bit wobbly, and I've been feeling doubtful and insecure about certain things, but honestly I really am not complaining. Life in my own personal Slow Lane has been pretty damn good and I count my blessings every single day. 

In June I quietly celebrated the Summer Solstice and faffed my mantel for my most adored season of all. Did I tell you how much I love the Summertime ;) Hahaha, of course I did, I probably dwell on it way too much, but summer, oh my, I do LOVE it so. I love the relaxed ease of these months, the outdoor living, the colours and the warmth, the flowers and the holiday vibes. But most of all I love the light in summer, these looooong hours of daylight feed my soul like nothing else. 

Take the above photo for example.

The date : 23rd June, the day after the solstice.

The time : 20:53.

Almost nine o'clock at night, and was in the park (on my own I might add, nobody else wanted to come) sat on my Aria blanket crocheting up a stripe sampler in the soft golden glow at the end of a hot day.

Look...................................

..........it was just so delicious! I didn't speak to anyone, just sat quietly with my own thoughts, feeling the sun on my face and the yarn run through my fingers, listening to the sound of laughter and music coming from a nearby group of teenagers. Watching the sun lower in the sky until it fell behind the trees, thinking how magical life can be if you just take the time to stop and soak it all in.

Incidentally - my Aria blanket is giving me all the happy summer feels, the colour palette is scrumptious I have to say. Did you know that the word "Aria" means "air" in Italian? It makes me think of the utter joy of breathing in lungfuls of fresh air after a long time spent cooped up indoors. Memories of lazy hours spent outdoors enjoying a light fresh breeze with the sun on your face. 

After a long, unavoidable delay due to the pandemic, the pattern and yarn kit for the Aria blanket should be ready in early September. I'll be able to tell you more about it a bit closer to the time - I am really looking forward to sharing it with you.

I really hope you are all doing OK and that you are practising lots of self care and prioritising your own wellbeing. I've learnt how important it is to check in with ourselves regularly and make sure all is well right down into our souls. 

Wishing you a fabulous weekend in your own lane of life, however fast or slow it is....!

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Home Safe :: Week Nine

Hello, hello, how are you all doing? I'm once again late to my own bloggy gig, being that week nine was over some time ago, but better late than never eh? I've been doing Ok, a bit up and down I guess, but the downs never seem to last for long thank goodness. So shall we have a little catch up? 

Middle May was an absolutely gorgeous time, full of warm breezes, blazing sunshine and much green lushness.

We continued our daily walks, appreciating the very fine weather and being inspired and uplifted by nature.

I love that these daily walks have become such an important part of lockdown for us, and I really appreciate the precious little snippets of family time that it gives us. As you know, I adore walking for pleasure and find that being surrounded by nature has a very positive effect on my well being, but family time adds a whole extra dimension to the experience. We usually walk in the early afternoon as J is ready for a break from his working day round about then. We walk the same route each time, day after day, and the familiarity of it is extremely comforting somehow.

Having said all that great stuff about family togetherness, every so often I find myself craving some outdoorsy solitude. It's easiest for me to sneak this in during the early morning before the demands of the day have a chance to catch me. I walk down through the park and around the meadow, ducking through flower-laden hedgerows and following well worn pathways.

I've been keeping my beady eye on the elderflower trees in the hedgerows as we are approaching cordial making season. I think after all the sunshine that it'll be early this year, so I hope to take a jaunt out to my usual place to gather some in when the time is right.

I brought some more cow parsley home while it was still in it's prime but my goodness it was totally laden with pollen so it didn't last long on my table before I had to evict it. It was certainly pretty while it lasted.

I've been trying out a new routine where I start my day with a little bit of healthy re-hydration instead of diving straight into my coffee. I think I've mentioned that I'm only drinking decaff coffee at home right now but I've been making a conscious effort to drink more water too. I add a couple of fresh lemon slices and a sliver or two of fresh ginger to my cup, then top up with hot water. I think this cup holds around a third of a litre and I do so enjoy the refreshment of it first thing in the morning. Somehow even inhaling the steam feels like it's doing me good. 

I'm continuing with my healthy eating and am absolutely love love loving preparing wholesome meals for myself. During these stay-home days we mostly all please ourselves for breakfast and lunch - even Little B has started making his own food for these meals after some encouragement and basic lessons in kitchen skills. So I get to faff with my own breakfast and lunch to my hearts content, making simple meals that please me enormously. I think breakfast/brunch is my most favourite meal of the day, especially at the moment when I get to take my time and truly savour it.

Middle May was peak asparagus season and as you might expect I've been absolutely making the most of it. Asparagus bundles come home from the supermarket with our big weekly shop, and in week nine we took a walk to the farm shop for the first time in two months especially to buy Yorkshire grown asparagus. My favourite way to cook it is on a griddle pan - first pour a teeny bit of olive oil onto the spears and massage it in well so that they are completely coated and glossy. Then pop them straight onto a hot griddle for around 10-15 mins until the spears are softened and lightly charred but still retain a little bite. A squeeze of lemon juice, salt and pepper and eaten pronto while they are still hot. Yum yum yum yum.

I finally found time to mount up my Spring cross stitch sampler from Cotton and Twine and I really love it. I took some photos of the seasonal samplers I've made so far (Autumn, Winter and Spring) and plan to show you those in a separate post, if I can ever catch up with myself. I have all the good intentions, just gotta try and follow through with the actual doing. I will try, I promise.

Week nine saw me dancing on the very, very exciting edge of The Edge of this  - my beautiful, joyful Aria blanket. When I picked out the colour palette for this blanket it was early December and of course back then we had no idea that Covid-19 would become a global pandemic. As I've worked on the design this Spring, it has been nothing short of magical. I have felt really uplifted by the positive, happy colours and the gentle creativity it has brought into my life at a time when I most needed it. I can't wait to share it with you.

I snapped the above photo on a random morning, two pairs of hand knit socks freshly washed and dried and waiting on the stairs to go up to my bedroom. The chore of doing the laundry made happier by pretty yarny stripes, domesticity at it's finest. Actually, the photo reminds me that during middle May we did have a bit of a cold snap, well certainly the evenings felt cold. I would spend all day wearing flip flops, wiggling my bare toes very happily, only to find my feet would be freezing in the evenings. Wooly socks to the rescue!

The kitty continues to try her best not to be irritated by her humans, occasionally deciding that we are worthy of her company. I find at the moment that I am very rarely sat still in one place for any length of time as I feel quite restless and unsettled most the time. But when I took the above photo I had settled into the big chair with a blanket on my lap to read, and of course I provided the perfect warm spot for a daytime kitty nap. There is nothing more comforting than the warm weight of a soundly sleeping pile of fur on your lap.

These home days are certainly strange things, bringing about a restless apathy and an almost permanent sense of unease, but at the same time delivering a huge dose of gratitude for simple home comforts and the closeness of family. I have relished spending more time with the Little People, although sadly that doesn't include the eldest Teen who at 17 is very much keeping himself hidden away in his lair. But Little B and Little Lady have been great companions during our days spent at home and I've really enjoyed their company.

I've been cooking with Little B, teaching him how to make simple meals for himself. I have always made his meals for him whenever he's home, partly because I like doing it, but partly because I just didn't figure that he might enjoy doing it for himself (he is ten years old). So I showed him the tin opener, instructed on how to make up the perfect mix of tuna/salad cream/mayonnaise, let him handle a sharp knife to slice up cucumber and tomato for a sandwich, and taught him how to fry an egg. We started making scotch pancakes together on Sundays, a joint effort whereby he measures and mixes the batter, I heat the pan and do the dolloping, and he handles the spatula and flipping. It was fun, and that giant stack fed both Little B and Little Lady.

Little Lady is now 16 (strange to think that she was just 3 years old when I began writing my blog?!) and we get on extremely well. I have loved chatting to her about all sorts of things during these past months when we've been home together, and she has very kindly made herself available to me as my personal nail technician. Yes, once again I am attempting to grow and strengthen my nails. We play music in her bedroom parlour as she deals with my cuticles, files the nail shape and then paints 2 coats plus a topcoat. It takes time and is certainly way more of a procedure than I have ever afforded myself (cuticle conditioning???? It's all new to me). It's certainly soooo much easier having someone else faff around at the end of my fingers than trying to do the deed myself! My nails have never looked so good.

We often walk together in the evenings which is her favourite time of day - in middle May, this is around 8 o'clock when the sun is very low in the sky and all is glowing and golden.

The buttercup meadow is just starting to bloom and it is absolutely glorious, especially on warm, sunshiny evenings.

It's breathtaking, so, so beautiful and such a visual treat.

After lingering in the meadow we head out of the park and walk along the canal towards town....

....past the canal basin....

....then along the narrow footpath that runs underneath the castle. This path has been made one-way during the pandemic to prevent us having to squeeze past anyone coming in the opposite direction. 

Every time we walk out in the light golden evenings I am reminded why I love May so blooming much. It's just so  joyful, and I adore having so many glorious, light-filled hours at my disposal. Winter feels like a million miles away and I am beyond glad for the season we are in and the amazing weather we are being gifted. Thank goodness - I'm so grateful.

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Home Safe :: Week Six

Hello my lovelies, thank you as ever for calling to see me, and for so many wonderful chatty comments which I have loved reading on my last post. I'm sorry I'm late in writing up this instalment of my weekly not-muchness, I've been feeling a weeny bit off kilter this week and not really in a chatty mood to be honest. I find that when I feel this way it's best to just stay low and quiet, keeping myself to myself until I feel my bounce return. 

Week six (as far as I can recall) passed by in a slow blur of familiar routines and sameyness. I went just once to visit the cherry trees and saw that they were already on the wane, shedding their delicate petals like snow. I was so glad that I made an almost daily pilgrimage to see them the previous week when they were absolutely at their peek, the floral beauty has been spectacular this year, a real mood lifter for sure.

The start of week six was sunny and lovely and like many of us in the UK who are used to very changeable and inclement weather, I was full of gratitude for the dry, sunshiny days we were gifted throughout April.

On days when J isn't working and we feel in the mood, we can make our daily walks a little longer than our usual woodland strolls. I like the feeling of striding out across open fields, soaking up the warmth of the sun and enjoying the miles pass by under my feet.

We see very few people on this walk and absolutely no traffic along these small lanes at the moment. It gives a  lovely sense of freedom to be able to stroll along in the middle of the road, admiring the views and taking in the details of the season.

I love seeing the bracken ferns gently beginning to unfurl in the hedgerows, another layer of fresh greenery to remind us that Spring is in full swing.

On this day last week we extended our route to make a big circular loop, walking the last two or three miles home along the canal towpath. 

It's been a long while since we walked this far along the canal and I had forgotten how tranquil it is to walk beside such still reflective waters. 

On Wednesday last week the rain finally came, after more than a month of exceptionally dry weather in April. It was really rather lovely to experience it after so long - the sight, sound, smell and feel of it was delightful. It wasn't especially heavy rain, more a series of light showers which continued on and off for a few days.

We still took our daily walk on the wet days and actually we didn't really get too wet walking under the leafy trees.

I absolutely loved being in the rainy woodland that afternoon, the scent of the warm, damp earth mixed with fresh wild garlic was magical. It's just unbelievably beautiful out there at the moment and I can't get enough of the bright light and colour that is flooding our days after what has felt like a long, grey winter. The woodland suddenly seemed to green up last week, with the beech leaves fully open but still soft and droopy and that amazing vibrant bright green.

Talking of greens, we have entered asparagus season and I am so delighted by this simple fact. Fresh, locally grown spears are in the supermarket now and I am eating as much of it as I can. Asparagus x 6 on the shopping list if I could get away with it, although it's still quite expensive as vegetables go. Gosh, I do love it so.

We've been muddling through with Little B and the whole business of home schooling, some days working better than others. Last week was a bit hit and miss to be honest, some days he seemed quite engaged and productive, working away in his bedroom and uploading his work to the online portal so that his teacher can see what he's up to. Other days the procrastination levels were sky high and he did everything possible to avoid sitting and actually doing anything. I had to keep my frustration in check (it's soooooo tiring trying to keep them going with it all), and we pretty much limped through the week.

Probably the most fun thing we did was the stuff about Healthy Eating (I'm sure this is on the curriculum every single year) - I took charge and suggested we could make soup from scratch, encouraging Little B to do most of the work. He did good, and we made a simple tomato and red pepper soup which he ate (at great speed) and then wrote up the recipe to share with his class online. 

When I'm not doing the Mummy/teacher things with the youngest offspring (which seems quite time consuming some days), you can usually find me sitting at the dining table. I'm continuing to put healthy food into my body and feel so good for it. My breakfast is usually oat pancakes, or a bowl of oats/seeds, greek yoghut, grated apple, banana and berries. I really love breakfast, it honestly gives me so much pleasure to make and eat that first meal of the day. 

Oh my gosh, do you see that??? That thing of utter beauty right there ↑↑↑ ???  That's my new mug which arrived in the post last week, and is most definitely one of my most favourite mugs ever ever ever. I am a long time huge fan of the ceramicist Ken Eardley and when I saw on Instagram that he had some fresh new mugs for sale, well my heart was invested within a nanosecond. Pink and turquoise is one of my all time favourite colour combinations and this mug honestly couldn't be more perfect for me. That beautifully excessive  handle is everything, and every coffee in this mug is an absolute pleasure. Sigh......so in love with my mug!

So yeah - lots of hours sat at the table, eating, drinking, pondering and hooking. Last week I worked a lot on my new Aria blanket, every day making the most delicious colour decisions, crocheting like the clappers and joining squares to make row upon row. Building a blanket from squares is huge fun, and although it's more stop-starty than working a striped design, I get such a kick from seeing it all come together. After a whole week of solid work I managed to join all one hundred and forty four squares. I am beyond excited by it and very proud of it too as it's been a major testing of my colour-design skills I have to say.

I find it easier to crochet join-as-you-go squares sat at the table, but throughout the making of this blanket I've had to frequently use the floor to make layout and colour decisions. I think it's been interesting for the Little People to see me at work actually, and they've been commenting, encouraging and occasionally making suggestions as I've spent countless hours on my hands and knees trying to work everything out.

I took the above photo a week ago on the same day when we took that drippy wet walk in the woods. The day felt chilly and even though I thought we were finished with the fire for this season, I couldn't resist a few hours of cosy warmth and fireside comfort. I really love having the fire lit, but it IS Spring and I really hope that there won't be another fire in that grate until October. Well possibly September would be acceptable, if it really came to it.

I had a few more bluebells and cow parsley stems on my table last week, very modest pickings from the verges and allotment.

I keep thinking about Bolton Abbey as this is the exact time of year that I so love being there, but I'm trying to be content with what I can find close to home and not dwell too much on what I'm missing. A couple of little bluebell stems in a glass jar on my table has been making me absurdly happy, so there is that. Pleasure in the little things - always.

And even though I'm not able to feast my eyes on the glorious bluebell banks this year, I've certainly been having fun stitching them! Last week I put the final crosses into my Spring sampler from Cotton & Twine and have to say I was a bit sad when it was all over - I've LoVeD stitching this design so much. I need to make time to get it mounted now, the Aria blanket has really had me in it's creative grips this past week and I've not been able to think of anything else. 

Well I hope you're all keeping well and content out there in your own stay-home bubbles, and that life is giving you more ups than downs. Remember to seek out the little things that give you pleasure and I really hope you're having a peaceful, restful week.

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Home Safe :: Week Five

Looking back at my photos from last week it seems like it was all about the blossom for me.

I've been waking up early, well six-ish which feels pretty early for these weekendish kind of days. Sometimes I doze back to sleep for another hour, but mostly I've been finding myself so wide awake that I absolutely have to get up and start my day there and then. I've been leaving my pjs folded in a neat pile and instead pulling on what I call my "workout gear". Ha!! In reality, these clothes are very un-sporty and consist of an old, comfy pair of 3/4 leggings, a baggy vest top which I think once belonged to a summer pj set and an oversized sweatshirt of some sorts (I have several to choose from). About the only item I wear which could be considered remotely exercisey is a sports bra, as I cannot contemplate doing any sort of leaping about without full coverage lock-down on my top half. 

As the live PE sesh doesn't start until 9 am and I'm generally up and dressed by 7, I've been heading out to partake in some early morning blossom worshipping. It takes me less than 10 minutes to walk to my favourite park bench which sits beneath these beautiful flowering trees. Gosh, it's just so beautiful there at the moment, and standing underneath such a heavenly load of floral perfection gives me an almost overwhelming surge of emotional feels. I can't quite articulate what the feelings are about - joy maybe? Gratitude? Abundant thankfulness for the fact that Winter is behind us?

Whatever it is, I find I need to just stand still and let it flow over me for a short while until my equilibrium is restored.

I've really been enjoying these short early morning walks as it's pretty much the only time when I can truly be alone. I love being home-safe with the family, but at the same time I do miss having time by myself. 

There is much peacefulness to be found quietly walking the narrow path through the woodland with just my own internal dialogue and the sights, scents and sounds of a Spring morning gently unfolding.

The woodland path is short (the woods are small and sparse along the top edge of the park) and it's not long before I emerge into the sunshine and see the blossom trees in all their glory.

A couple mornings I've made myself a coffee to take with me, just to up the happy stakes and make my heart content. Finding pleasure in the small things, well that happens to be a special talent of mine :)

Cow parsley is a wild hedgerow flower which usually belongs to the month of May up here in Yorkshire, but it's just beginning to bloom now due to the very warm sunny weather we've had. It grows in abundance along the woodland edge at the top of the park so I picked a couple of little stems to bring home. I called in at the allotment to pick a few more bluebells to bring back too, and the resulting small wild posy on my table has been making me very happy.

We're going to miss seeing the bluebells at Bolton Abbey this year, so I'm super grateful to have a few to bring home from the allotment to enjoy up close.

Talking of bluebells, I spent much of last week stitching them, little crosses in two shades of blue creating the prettiest little flowers on my Spring sampler. I almost finished this picture too, but not quite. I was making good progress but then got completely overwhelmed by a crochet project which all of a sudden demanded my attention and refused to let go. I'll show you a bit of that in just a while, if you're interested to know what has got me into a giddy spin.

I count my early morning solo blossom jaunts as mental/spiritual exercise (yes, it's a thing) and my afternoon family woodland jaunts as physical exercise. I love both of these types of walks for different reasons, and am very grateful to have these beautiful places within walking distance from my front door.

The wild garlic is oh-so-close to flowering, the flower buds teetering on the brink of eruption. I absolutely cannot wait for the floral explosion, the sheer abundance of it (not to mention the intoxicating scent) is something I look forward to every year. 

During the past week of never ending sunshine and warmth the treetops have finally started to wear their greenery and it is just so bloomin' lovely.

It feels like I've been waiting such a long time for it, gazing up through endless bare twiggy branches and wishing for leaves to appear. And now that they are here, well I am hugely happy.

It's mainly the tender young beech leaves which are giving us that delicious bright limey green - the oak and ash are still in bud. But I'll take whatever is there right now, drinking in all that freshness and colour. I love it so much, this time of growth and abundance.

On the home front, week five has felt slow, slow, slow. I've been content though, continuing to enjoy my gentle routines and pleasures.

I baked flapjacks again last week, for the second week in a row as the Little People love them and they make a great after dinner treat. I've perfected the art of baking them but not actually eating them, which believe me I'm very proud of. Small victories in my quest for good health, I'll take them.

Ah, remember last week I was telling you that I cleared and tidied this little corner of my back yard? Well I thought I'd show you, so you can picture me sitting in that tired old camping chair in the afternoons when this teensy little space becomes a sheltered sun trap. 

I love love love that I now have trees (trees!!!!) growing in my back yard, thanks to a very kind hand-me-down from a friend who moved house and couldn't take them with her. So I am the proud owner of a pear tree and a cherry tree - and even have my very own blossom!!!!! It's oh so magical, and I can often be found sitting in that chair just gazing up at the wonder of those floral branches above my head.

See how sunny it gets? It's a very sheltered little spot and perfect for some quiet alfresco stitching or hooking.

I mentioned earlier about a crochet project stealing all my time and attention this past week, and here I am hooking away like a woman possessed. Yes, it's a new blanket that I'm working on, and it's such a joyful thing full of rich colours that sing to my heart. I can't wait to show you more. It's a square blanket with some glorious colour play and I am absolutely loving it, to the point of obsession. My hands are blessedly also *ok* with the hours I'm spending with the hook, and I am seriously delighted by this fact. Crocheting in the warmth of the sun most definitely helps.

Ahhh........crochet life on the home front, it's just so so so good.

Aside from sunshine and crochet last week, let me see what else there was.......oh yes..........did I mention the blossom???

I might have taken rather a lot of blossom photos as I visited the trees almost every day.

And I think we may have reached peek blossom froth too. Blossom season is short and although this sometimes makes me sad, I don't think these flowers would have quite the same allure if they lasted for ages.

Walking home through the trees I am usually only aware of the birds, but one day I came across a squirrel going about his morning business. I wished right then at that moment that Little B had been with me as he loves wildlife, but he was still deeply in dreamland when I left the house which seems like a miracle to me. We've had sooooooooo many years of very early starts (like 5am early) with our offspring all being extremely early risers. So I'm very much enjoying the quiet of the house first thing when all three children are still asleep, it's really something of a novelty. It's blissful actually, especially as I am sleeping well myself at the moment (although it does change from week to week) and am waking up feeling rested and energised and ready to get going. 

I was wondering to myself about these lockdown days, and whether after 5 weeks that this all feels like a new kind of normal? I'm not sure to be honest - in some ways the extremely repetitive, slow nature of our days makes it feel like we've been living this way for much longer than five weeks. I do quite enjoy the gentle structure of our days, the work and play punctuated by food and exercise. It's not always easy for all five of us to be together in one smallish, tall thin building, but we are managing OK. Normal though? I just don't think our lack of freedom will ever feel normal to me. 

I hope you are all doing OK out there in the big wide world - tell me about your routines and your days and whether you are enjoying the slower pace of life? I wish you all the joys this week, I hope that there are many little things that make your smile :)

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Home Safe :: Week Three

Hello my lovelies! I find myself often thinking about you all out there around the world keeping home-safe as we go gently through these surreal days. I really hope you're all doing OK and that you're having many more ups than downs. Life here in the Attic this past week has been very peaceful for the most part - I had a couple of  "off" days where I felt a bit low and in desperate need of some quiet time away from the rest of the fam with nothing but my own company. There isn't anywhere that I can retreat to at home as we only have one open plan living room, so I told everyone that I needed to be left alone for a while and closed myself off in the bedroom to read and stitch a little. It did help, and yesterday I felt back to my usual cheery self again.

We continue to walk every day, our one stint of permitted outdoor exercise and it always feels so bloomin' good to get out and about.

We walk the same daily route, following very familiar pathways in a loop through the woods....

....then a climb up this vast hilly field to reach the wall at the top....

...ahhhhh, always such a great feeling to reach the highest point!

We have to climb over by means of a stepped stone stile - these are common features in Yorkshire where a pathway crosses over a dry stone wall. It makes a good place to rest a short while, catch our breath and spend some time chatting as we look out over our town spread out in the valley below.

A couple times last week, J and and Little B went off on an afternoon walk without me. I know that Little B sometimes really craves one-to-one attention and seems quietly thrilled when I duck out as he then gets to have his Dad all to himself. On these days, I've still taken my walk but have chosen to go out later in the day, making the most of the deliciously light, golden evenings we are gifted at this time of year.

Little Lady often prefers to walk in the evenings and will happily come with me for a late jaunt if I ask her. It's not late really (we are home by 8pm) but getting to see the sun go down and the moon rise behind the trees always feels quite magical.

I've made good progress on my cross stitch project (it's a design by Tiny Modernist on Etsy) and have really enjoyed the quiet me-time it has afforded me just lately. I talked in my last home-safe post about enjoying being "in the zone" with a cross stitch project like this one, and boy, have I been there! 

I have stitched and stitched and stitched, hundreds of tiny crosses, needle in and out, in and out. Breeeeathe, and let my mind just be full of the colours and the slow, satisfying business of seeing thread turn into leaves and flowers.

Last night I finished putting in the final little spray of flowers, and my goodness, the feeling of achievement was immense!! Finally finished after nearly two years as a WiP!! I'm working on a little DIY upgrade to the hoop frame for it now, so I'll be sure to show you when it's all washed, pressed and framed up beautifully.

Being at home all the time does have it's positives, and for me that equals plenty of creative opportunity as well as extra time to bake and cook. During the past couple of years I've been menu planning and food shopping daily as part of my morning walk to and from school. We have a tiiiiiiny kitchen with only two small cupboards for storing food and a standard size under-counter fridge. This makes it impossible to actually store enough food to last us a whole week without performing a major jenga-style stacking game. But at the moment we don't have a choice as I am now menu planning so that J can do a big weekly shop every Monday. It's taken a little bit of getting used to and we are having to use our stone floored cellar as a bit of a cool-store/pantry for the stuff that just won't fit in the fridge/cupboards in the first half of the week after the Big Shop. But we are getting by just fine, calling at our local bakery to buy fresh bread (we walk right past it on our return route from the woods), and thankful that our milkman is still delivering milk to our doorstep.

I love cooking for the family and every day I make a meal from scratch using fresh ingredients. We aren't a family that eats ready made or convenience food very often (save for the odd frozen pizza for the Little Peeps) so the cooking isn't a new thing by any means. I think what I'm enjoying the most is having my weekly menu mapped out in advance (I did this for many years but oddly got out of the habit in recent times), and not feeling quite so rushed in the late afternoons which would usually be taken up with the school run and after-school snacks/wind-down time.

For the first time in absolutely ages I made some soup for my lunch last week, gosh it was so satisfying and quick! I had left over garlicky roasted veggies from the day before (peppers, onion, courgette, sweet potato and carrots) and half a tin of chopped tomatoes in the fridge left from the day before that. I simply bunged everything in the blender, added in some hot stock and seasoning and whizzed it all up. There was enough for the Little People to have as well and even the Big Teen decided that a soup brunch would suit him very nicely, thank you very much. Actually the Teens both usually make their own breakfast/brunch/lunch but I know that when I offer to make them something (especially poached eggs) it does seem to make them very happy.

Baking is another thing that I've gotten out of the habit of doing, especially in recent months as I've been trying hard to eat a healthy diet. But during these home-safe weeks I've remembered that baking isn't just about eating the end product. It's an activity which the Little People really enjoy, the delicious, comforting smells that waft out of the kitchen, the cosy familiarity of keeping busy on the domestic front as a means to relieve low-grade stress. This week Little B and I baked sultana and cranberry flapjacks and the smell of them as they were cooking was so good! The Little People tell me they were yummy and asked what's coming next - I'm thinking some Oaty Cookies would go down well.

 I found that during the Easter weekend it was essential for me to indulge a little. The need for foodie feel-good was running high, and so there was chocolate (of course) and melty buttered hot cross buns eaten outside in the sunshine. I think it's always good to have balance, and although I've changed my diet quite considerably since December, I haven't eliminated anything at all and really enjoy the odd sweet treat.

I've been missing having fresh flowers on the table after so many delicious weeks of having daffodils coming home with the groceries. I ventured up to the allotment last week to see what might be growing in the wild banks of our plot which the previous people planted with bulbs and wild flowers. It was such a delight to pick a little posy to bring home, a rather raggedy bunch of muscari, bluebells (and pink bells!) and a pretty white flower who's name I don't know.

Another day and another walk to the woods, the repetitiveness of our routine honestly doesn't seem to bother me, although it hasn't been a full month yet.

The wood anemones are looking so beautiful....

....and I even spotted some dinky little violets which instantly reminded me of my Mum. She had such a love of wild flowers, especially primroses and violets as they mark the start of Spring which was her favourite time of year.

At the weekend we actually walked a different walk, one that takes longer than our usual hour long woodland ramble. This is a stride out across fields and down small country lanes to a neighbouring village which has a rather old fashioned but charming country inn with a beer garden for when times are normal. It's a gentle, quiet walk, well as quiet as it can be with Little B going at full pelt.

I loved seeing these sticky buds breaking open to reveal the very first new leaves (this is a horse chestnut tree), and realising that Spring really, really  is here. We've had some beautiful Spring weather this week with plenty of sunshine, although it has remained very cold.

I had a couple of lovely surprises at the weekend which made my heart very happy. The first surprise was left on my table in the back yard by my very good friend who is a nurse and working hard on the NHS frontline right now. She sent me a text early Saturday morning to tell me to to go look on my table, and there she'd left me a painted rainbow pebble and a bottle of prossecco. Well, what a generous Easter gift - rainbows and bubbles, I was so touched!

J also surprised me with a chocolate heart, he said he saw them in the bakers when he called in to get our weekend bread and thought I might appreciate a bit of a treat. Well yes indeed, unexpected chocolate is always a lovely treat.

Over the weekend we did not one but two jigsaw puzzles, which came about because Little B seemed to be absolutely beside himself with frustrated boredom. On the whole he has been absolutely brilliant during this lockdown and has entertained himself extremely well during the long, samey days. We've been keeping up with our 9am PE workout, and of course our daily afternoon walk, but when he has tired of watching films or gaming, he doesn't seem to know quite what to do with himself. He's grown out of toys really, although he will quite happily sit and play solitaire or jacks with himself. J plays cards or draughts with him most days, but he isn't remotely interested in anything creative that I suggest, other than baking. However when I suggested we do a puzzle together he shrugged and said OK (in a very unsure way I might add), so I immediately went with it. We've had these jigsaws for such a long time that they may almost be vintage (J and I bought them over twenty five years ago), one that has tropical fish and another one which has rainforest birds. They are fun to do, the different shaped pieces fitting together in unexpected ways, and certainly kept Little B (and me) happy for many hours.

I was thinking last week that I really miss walking along the canal - in normal times it's such a familiar part of my days as I walk to and from school, home from the supermarket or down to my studio. So on the spur of the moment I decided to stroll out early one evening, just to take in the sight of the water and reconnect with a little bit of my usual normality.

It was a beautiful, still evening with perfect reflections and soft light. This white flowering cherry tree towers over the tow path and looked absolutely spectacular as I strolled underneath it.

I am naturally accustomed to being very aware of my surroundings when I am out and about and always try to practice a sort of mindfulness as I walk. But during these home-safe weeks when our outside freedom is so limited, I find I am tuning in even more than usual to the little details, soaking in every teensy bit of natural beauty and colour. It's a good life lesson I think - to slow down a little and really pay attention to the beauty that surrounds us every minute of every day. It's right there to be enjoyed, so good for the soul.

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Winter to Spring

A couple days ago I spent some time faffing with my mantel and changing over my seasonal decorations - I can't tell you how good it feels to pack away winter! I know it's all inside my head really as the weather here is still pretty cold and winter-like, but nevertheless the Attic is now in Spring mode and I am majorly happy about it.

My Winter mantel was actually quite minimal, but I thought you might like to see what has now gone into hibernation. Some greetings cards, my Annabel Burton canvas, and my winter balls garland (thinking I might make something new for winter 2020, using patterns from my winter wreath - frosty leaves, snowdrops, snowflakes?) I admit I was quite sad to pack away my stitchy decs as I have loved having them on my mantel to cheer up the dark season.

In the above photo, middle left, you can see the Winter cross stitch I completed a few months ago, which I absolutely love. This is from a set of four designs by the very clever ladies at Cotton and Twine - Autumn and Winter have already been released and can be purchased as kits, and Spring and Summer are still to come. I'm going to write a separate blog post to show you more of these cross stitching projects (I've completed the Autumn one too), but in the meantime there are some lovely photos on their website ((here))

The two stitchy hoops came in the Craftpod subscription boxes which I am lucky enough to receive every quarter. They are such a treat, each one containing two projects as well as some beautiful and very thoughtful treats. The hoop on the right was part of the Winter 2017 box (which I completed in February 2018). The hoop on the left was a simple cross stitch designed by me (oooo, super proud of that!) for the Winter 2019 box. It was a wonderful commission to work on and I can honestly say I adored designing and stitching that little scandi inspired cross stitch.

Spring Craftpods plopped through the letterbox a few weeks ago, and I think this little serene embroidery is an absolute delight. I can't wait to get stitching - I find the slow, meditative qualities of embroidery and cross stitch are very well suited to these quiet, introverted stay-home days.

When I unpacked my Spring bag it seemed a bit sparse, but that's OK as I have plans to add more springy-inspired crafty things this year. The canvas is another original by Annabel Burton (I've collected quite a few over the years and absolutely love love love them). The two postcards are of Van Gogh paintings which I bought in the Van Gogh museum last year when we had a short Spring trip to Amsterdam.

Do you remember this Spring embroidery hoop I stitched two years ago? It was designed by the very talented Lolli and Grace as a "stitch-a-long" project for Mollie Makes in 2018. It was so nice to re-discover it again, to unpack it and bring it out into its rightful season once again. I really, really like seasonal crafting....can you tell?!

As part of my Winter-Spring faff-around, it was time to swap over my candelabras. I often get asked about these as I always have one of them on my mantel and light candles most evenings.  The one on the left is my Autumn/Winter one and came from the Swedish company Gudrun Sjödén. The one on the right is my Spring/Summer one and is from the Danish company Rice DK. 

I've had both of them for a good many years - they were quite expensive to buy, but the amount of pleasure they give me every day is huge and I really love them.

So this is how my mantel is looking at the moment - it's still a little bare, but I am definitely going  to be adding some more seasonal stitchy stuff this month.

The thing that is noticeably missing though is a garland of some sorts. I have my Autumn Garland and my Winter Balls, but so far nothing for Spring. So what to do? Well....................................

..............time to gather in some Spring colours and get my crochet hook on the job. Of course! The colours above are leftovers from making my Sweet Pea and Dahlia blankets, and I absolutely love them. I know the orange (Spice) is a bit bright for Spring, but I'll be mostly using this colour to add a little detail to my flower centres.

The greens are from the Sweet Pea palette :: Cypress, Pistachio and Meadow.

Then I've got Mustard, Saffron, Lemon and Cream.

Spice, Pomegranate, Shrimp, Boysenberry and Magenta make up the darker end of the floral palette.

Apricot, Fondant, Blush, Powder Pink and Clematis make up the lighter end.

I had in mind to make some Spring flowers and leaves, something quite simple which would look great against the dark wood background of my fireplace mantel.

The flowers that immediately came to mind were primulas and polyanthus - I wonder how many of you remember the PPP Project??????!!!!!

(that post is HERE, if you need reminding - goodness me, even I needed reminding, it was eleven years ago!!!!!!)

There are polyanthus in abundance around my neighbourhood at the moment, piled high at the supermarket and spilling out of front garden pots and planters everywhere you look. They are beautifully cheery and colourful, and I think the perfect inspiration for a bit of Lockdown hooky activity.

It took me many hours to perfect my design, which included a brisk walk through the woods where I managed to alter the design in my head, rushing home to immediately try out my new fresh-air improved version.

Want to see the end result?

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..........ta-dah!!! I'm so so pleased with it!! It was difficult to get the middle bit to look like a star, but I managed it in the end and love how effective it is. I already know it's going to be great fun trying out different colour combinations.

I'm also making a load of very simple little cream flowers, loosely inspired by Hawthorn blossom which is just starting to bloom up here in North Yorkshire. A little while ago I came across a marvellously ingenious idea where the designer had crocheted small yellow flowers, but instead of trying to crochet a different coloured centre she simply painted them in! How bloomin' clever is that?! Many, many thanks to Kate of "Just Pootling" on Instagram for sharing this idea, I can't believe how effective it is. Kate used water soluble artists pencils to colour/paint her little mini blooms which isn't something I had to hand. So I had to resort to using a less sophisticated option and raided the Little People's felt tip pen pot - oh, it worked a treat!

Hahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just so chuffed with these little beauties! 

As I only finished the design for these flowers late yesterday afternoon, I've not had time to make that many just yet.

Awwwwwwwwww, I already adore them! Oh, I forgot to mention, I also designed some rounded leaves to go with the flowers - in real life, polyanthus leaves are way bigger than the actual flowers, but I only wanted a little bit of simple greenery to poke out underneath.

So this is roughly the layout I'm thinking of for my Spring garland.... I think it's going to look very cute once it all comes together. Only another  30 flowers and 30 leaves to make.........I'll get right on it!

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ps, yes, of course I'll be making a tutorial for the flowers and will be sharing the pattern here on my blog. You're very welcome!!!!!!

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Quietly Spring

Before I begin my witterings, can I just please say a humongous ((t h a n k   y o u)) to everyone who has left such kind and heartfelt comments on my last post, and across my social media channels as well. I am hugely grateful for your understanding, empathy and encouragement after a time of such uncertainty and wobbliness for me. I really do appreciate our communications back and forth, and I cannot imagine what kind of outlook my life would have without this window I have created and without you stopping by to check in on me. We are good for each other I think, mutual benefit and all that.

I wanted to tell you about the yarn basket in the above photo - this is actually a laundry basket which sits on the floor in my studio and takes care of the considerable amount of Stylecraft Special DK over-spill which doesn't fit on my shelves. I happened to be looking in the basket for a particular colour the other day, and noticed a really lovely accidental yarn palette that had made itself on the top of the pile.....

....what do you think? I pulled them out onto the floor and thought to myself how beautifully spring-like they look, like a sudden burst of warm sunlight and fresh air combined. Isn't colour so brilliant at evoking emotions and memories, I absolutely LOVE (love love love) playing with colour for this reason. I thought you might like to know the shades, something to ponder on if you're in the mood for a pretty, airy colour palette for a project..

Cloud Blue : Storm Blue : Sage : Pistachio : Mustard

Pomegranate : Blush : Pale Rose : Clematis : Stone (I think? That last one could possibly be Camel)

Life here in the Attic at the moment is really pretty good, considering the huge amount of ever shifting changes and adjustments that are taking place due to the coronavirus pandemic. Last week threw the Little People for a loop, in particular my two Teens who were both due to sit exams in a few months time (GCSEs for little Lady and A Levels for the boy Teen). Being told that exams will be cancelled created such a sudden rift in their lives, but more than that they were both left reeling from the abrupt end to their schooling.

My 17 year old walked in the door on Thursday afternoon, stood there in the kitchen in his school uniform, shrugged his shoulders and said "well, that's it......!" It suddenly hit home that there will be no more school for him now. That really is it - he has now left school behind. Of course, he is still doing some school work from home, completing final bits of course work and preparing for an interview this week, which is now taking place via Skype. But it all feels very unreal.

Little Lady took it all quite hard, realising very quickly that no exams also meant no end of year prom, no leavers celebrations, no get togethers with friends, no summer music festivals. She was so sad about it all, mourning the loss of this rite of passage, but she rallied around with her friends and they made their last day together full of photos and good memories.

As for Little B, well he is taking it all in stride. He was sent home from school on Friday with a work pack - lots of things to keep him busy across all subjects, as well as some enticing new work books (all those crisp empty pages!) and some freshly sharpened pencils. It is proving quite hard to get him to sit down and apply himself to the empty pages, but we are taking it gently, treating this week as an easing in period and not trying to enforce rules or timetables or anything.

Me, well I'm doing just fine being at home with my brood, it feels like one great big glorious long weekend at the moment (we are only on day 2 mind you). I've got the most beautiful orange tulips on my table this week and I feel so grateful that we are all together and safe, and that home time for us as a family is a bit chaotic but mostly very easy going. 

This is the tag that Little B made at school to tie around a pair of daffodil stems - a very thoughtful gift for Mothers Day which was much appreciated. In these times of worry and uncertainty, it's lovely to keep a hold of the little rituals and traditions which remind us where we are in the year. I only realised at the weekend that we are now officially in Spring (yaaayyyyyyy) as it was the Spring Equinox on Friday which completely passed me by. But the weather has certainly behaved itself and the past few days have been utterly glorious and perfectly springlike, I've been very impressed.

This morning  I made myself a coffee and took a blanket to sit on the steps which is a first for this year. Even the kitty ventured outdoors to sit with me, which was unexpected but rather comforting. Although normal life has been somewhat put on hold, it's still possible to sit a while and soak up the warmth and sunshine and be glad for the day to gently unfold.

Although I am really missing my sociable café times spent with friends, I am quite used to spending lengths of time in my own company. I am finding it harder to adjust to the sudden loss of freedom and it feels very strange not being able to head out to the shops or my studio. But I am taking comfort in the little things that bring me pleasure, and a quiet coffee in the sunshine is right up there on my pleasure list. 

My next door neighbour has this beautiful little cherry tree growing in his front garden and it's making me very happy to see it every day. The larger cherry trees in our neighbourhood won't be flowering for at least another month, so this is like a little sneak preview of what's to come. I absolutely love love love blossom season, it's such a joyful time of year and never fails to lift my spirits.

I managed a little bit of al fresco crochet this morning too, and it was utter bliss I have to say. Nothing relaxes me more than the soothing rhythm of hook and yarn, and the way it can gently calm a busy mind is nothing short of magic.Creativity is usually at the heart of my days, but never have I been more grateful for it. I am so so excited for spring to unfold too, and I am hopeful for many more days of outdoor hooky as we move through March and into April. Bring it on, I am beyond ready...come on, come on!!!! Springtime sunshine, I need you!!!!

In the UK we are now in lockdown, although at the moment we are permitted to head out once a day for some exercise. Here in my patch this will mainly involve strolling around the woodland close to home, and I am certainly not complaining. We went out this afternoon, all five of us. YES!! For the first time in years we had the boy Teen with us, and even though I managed to remain nonchalant and cool about it, my inner Mummy voice was screaming with delight. It was just so bloomin' lovely, all of it. The light and the warmth, the chatter and the peace. We passed maybe four or five other people out walking, and as you can see from the above photo, it's pretty easy to keep a safe distance from folks on these pathways.

Most of the trees are still bare and leafless, but there are plenty of buds showing if you stop and look for them. It thrills me to be on the cusp of the changing seasons, there is so much colour just waiting to burst forth. 

I am very thankful that we are still allowed to venture out as a family, at least for the time being. An hour out of the day to walk and breathe in the air and scenery feels like a life essential to me, and my heart goes out to all those who are in complete lockdown/isolation right now. 

I have to say, it's so lovely to be here, writing and sharing snippets of my days as we navigate this strange time in history. I hope that you are keeping safe and well, and I shall see you again very soon, I'm rather enjoying chattering to you!

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January Slow

Last week I bought two £1 bunches of tightly closed daffies from the supermarket, the first of the season. I plopped one bunch into a small jug to have on the table at home, and the other bunch came with me to the studio to brighten up my days spent there. I've been looking forward to my first bunch of daffodils since before Christmas, it's one of my January rituals that makes me feel just a little bit closer to spring time.

Waiting impatiently for the buds to open, ooooo, the anticipation is real!

As it turned out, it didn't take long at all for the flowers to fully open their petals, my studio is beautifully warm and cosy and all that glorious golden yellow was shining out in no time.

At home I've also got some little pots of narcissus growing happily away on the mantel, another January tradition of mine (just been reminded of this post from 2009). These have been steadily growing away during the past few weeks, shoots becoming taller each day and finally a few days ago, the first bright little flower. I love them so much!

I faffed my mantel a few days ago as it was still looking very bare after the post Christmas de-clutter. I ventured into the Cupboard of Doom to find my bag of winter-themed decorations which mainly consists of some pretty seasonal cards and the simple winter garland I made two years ago.

I went out into the back yard to snip some fresh greenery and bare hazel twigs to go in my newly acquired vase. The vase was a spontaneous purchase, I saw it a little while ago in the window of a charity shop and decided that I would very much like to re-home it. It cost £2.99 which I thought was a bargain, it's just the sort of colour which makes me think of the English sea.

Did you notice the little red and white stitched hoop hanging on my wall up there? I was thrilled to be invited to design one of the projects for the Winter 2019 Craftpod, and this sweet little cross stitch was the result. Jo gave me a very specific brief, asking me to come up with a woodland house with snow and trees, red stitching on white fabric to evoke a Scandi winter feel.

Incidentally, the beautiful little greetings card that sits on my mantel is by the very talented collage and mixed media artist Clover Robin. I've been a huge fan of Clovers work for several years, and couldn't believe it when Jo told me that the Winter Craftpod would contain a paper collage project designed by her. I might have squealed a bit, just a teensy little yelp of delight.

I absolutely LOVE creating cross stitch designs and find it insanely satisfying to work within the confines of a simple grid. I can't tell you why I love it so much as it has certainly been a surprise to me, but cross stitch (both designing and stitching) really, really, really floats my boat. In essence it's a very easy craft to master, and yet somehow the simple business of making teensy crosses onto holey fabric results in something so wonderfully pleasing to look at. I also love that you can't hurry cross stitch, and this greatly adds to the appeal for me. It's a sloooooow, steady, one-speed activity as you can't really go fast or slow with it, it's a pretty perfect winter hobby I'd say.

I've been enjoying the quarterly seasonal Craftpod boxes ever since I first became a fan and a customer back in the Autumn of 2017. The above photo shows you the contents of the current Winter box - you can see my little cross stitch hoop, and the papers to make Clovers' beautiful winter collage. I think there may still be a few boxes available if you fancy a little bit of seasonal creativity yourself - you can buy the Winter pod as a one-off box, or treat yourself to an annual subscription. All details ((here))

January has gotten off to a slow plodding start for me this year, and really that's quite alright. This is our third week of back-to-school routine and I've been trying to ease myself gently back into the swing of things. My laptop broke just before Christmas, not in any dramatic way (I didn't lose any files or photos) but the screen simply stopped working. I was so cross and stressed out about it at the time, but looking back on it, I think it all happened for a reason. Not having a functioning laptop forced me to take a bit of a break away from my desk over Christmas which I most definitely needed.  I've got a replacement now which I was lucky to get in the January sales, and I am more than ready to get back to using it.

Spending time in the studio this month has been therapeutic and I've been writing lists and making plans for the year ahead. I am still in big love with my planner (it's from the Swedish company Personal Planner) and I also got me some new coloured pens, oh happy days! They are unbelievably cute little mini things, perfect to tuck in my bag with my planner - find them on Amazon UK.

I'm still working on my Dahlia blankets behind the scenes, slowly at the moment because I'm having some pain in my hands which has forced me to rest way more than I'm used to. I'm beginning to work on the final design for the blanket border - this part of the pattern will be released in the final week which is 21st February. 

For those of you like me who use planners, I wanted to let you know that Dahlia planner stickers are still available from EllieBethDesigns. Remember that Rachel has very kindly set up a permanent discount code for Attic24 readers - you can receive 10% off any EllieBethDesigns order, not just right now but each and every time you need a sticker fix in the future. All you need to do is apply the code ATTIC24LOVE  at the checkout.

A big part of my planning process during these slow days of January has involved looking back over 2019 and taking stock. Last year was not the best for me on a personal level and I have been trying to accept that this is actually OK and not to beat myself up over it. So one of the things I'd really like to focus on as we go forward into a brand new year is to firstly catch up and finish off some projects that slipped through my net in 2019.

The first of these will be my Festive Garland - I've already taken all the photos for the tutorial and am annoyed at myself for not getting this out to you last month. I think these bauble decorations are super sweet and they are fun to make using up scraps left over from other projects - hmmm, maybe a Dahlia-coloured garland would look rather fabulous? Either way, I will be hoping to share this with you very soon.

The other project I want to work on is my Granny Bag - do you remember this from last Spring? I started making these whilst in France last year and would really, really  like to see them come together into a bag shape instead of sitting in an abandoned pile.

Speaking of France, that was one of the other things that was never given it's moment here on my blog in 2019. You might remember that I went away twice last year with Stitchtopia to teach two crochet retreats in France? It was an amazing experience and I loved it, every single last bit of it. I took masses of photos while I was away, but somehow when I got back after the second trip in May I never got around to sharing them. I really regret that to be honest, but on reflection I've been thinking that maybe it's not too late to make amends and that perhaps you would still enjoy hearing all about it? Let me know what you think?

So that's where I'm up to at the moment, slowly emerging into this new year, a brand new decade. I'm hopeful for some renewed energy as the weeks move along as I've been seriously lacking in the energy department for quite some time now. Gently does it though, slow and steady feels like the right kind of pace for January.

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Dahlia Blanket CAL :: Introduction

Good morning! If you're here looking for the new Dahlia yarn pack, click on the following link to go straight there >>

❧🏵️DAHLIA YARN PACK 🏵️❧

If you'd like to read on and find out the inspiration behind the Dahlia blanket, I've got lots to show you.....

I've been so excited to share this creative journey with you, and to show you just a little of what I have been obsessing over during much of this year. My head has been so full of floral colour that there hasn't been a lot of room for anything else, but honestly I wouldn't have it any other way. My colour palettes and crochet blankets are always at the forefront of my creative thinking and I pour a huge amount of emotional energy and passion into them. Nobody could ever accuse me of being half hearted about my projects that's for sure - I'm always a 110% kind of person, all in and full to overflowing.

I have to tell you that pretty much as soon as we finished up with the Sweet Pea CAL back in February, I was already craving more floral inspiration. I adored making the Sweet Pea blankets and found myself pondering endlessly on the idea of creating another floral inspired blanket. I noodled over a few different flower options (tulips, zinnias) but very quickly settled on one of mt all time favourites - dahlias.

Photo Source : Sarah Raven

I've been a massive fan of Sarah Raven for many years, and her plant catalogues bring me a huge amount of visual joy. Her range of dahlias are absolutely breathtaking and if you've got a minute, I can highly recommend popping onto her page and scrolling through the collection just to breathe in the colours. Take a little look then hop back here to the Attic........

https://www.sarahraven.com/flowers/bulbs/dahlias 

.......wasn't that beautiful?

Now I did fantasize about turning our shabby little overgrown allotment plot into a full-blown Sarah inspired dahlia patch but in all honesty I am just not that good at growing things. I tried planting some tubers but forgot to protect them and they were mercilessly devoured by slugs and snails pretty much as soon as their delicate shoots appeared. So after much heart ache and deliberation I decided to abandon the idea of big flowers and grow some miniature dahlias in back yard pots where I could keep an eye on them and protect them with organic, wildlife friendly slug deterrent. I loved having them in my yard over the summer and picking a few small stems to have on my table was wonderful.

If you've been visiting the Attic over the years, you will be familiar with my enduring dahlia crush - market dahlias have kept me very happy for many years (just found this post from 2009). I love having fresh flowers in the house and the more colourful they are the better.

I am very lucky to have real life friends who are very much better at growing stuff than I am, and was thrilled one day at Coopers Café when I was gifted with some beautiful stems wrapped in newspaper. Oh, the joy! I can't put into words how fabulous it is to be given something like this, it was just the best feeling ever.

As you can see from the above photo, Judi's home grown newspaper wrapped dahlias were absolutely gorgeous and I adored having them in the house. I also had a jolly good play with them when I was teetering on the edge of choosing a dahlia inspired colour palette - you just can't beat having real life inspiration at the tips of your fingers.

As well as feeding my brain with real life flowers and a tonne of images on the internet, I took plenty of inspiration from this fabulous book too.

{ "Dalias" by Naomi Slade }

This book is really beautiful with the most eye catching photography...

....there is also lots of practical advice about growing dahlias, as well as page after page showcasing all the different varieties of dahlia that you can get your hands on.

However, the best inspiration can always be found where there are experts involved, so I spent some time surfing the web trying to find out where I could go to see how the professionals do their dahlia growing.

I discovered a small nursery up in Northumberland where they have been growing and breeding prize winning dahlias for almost one hundred years. Imagine that?!!! Established in 1921, Halls of Heddon is a small family run business, specialising in dahlias and chrysanthemums. During August and September you can visit the nursery in Heddon-on-the-Wall to see their growing field in full bloom, oh yeah......what a trip that would be!!!! Can you just picture me in such a place????

So on a sunny Friday in mid September, J and I made the one hundred mile journey north to see what we could find.

Oh.

My.

Goodness.

Nothing prepared me for the dizzy reality of seeing more than 10,000 dahlia plants growing in one place.

After parking the car we started out exploring the covered areas first. These were like huge open sided sheds with clear plastic roofing, designed to allow the air to circulate but protect the floral blooms from the wind and rain. 

This is where they grow all the big blowsy flowers, the ones that take your breath away with their size and flamboyance.

Many of the blooms were bigger than I had ever seen in my life.....

...look......

...!!!!!!!!!! Bigger than my HEAD!!!!!

These are known as Dinner Plate dahlias and honestly they absolutely blew my mind. 

The outside field was filled with hundreds of different varieties and hybrids in every dahlia-ish colour you can imagine. 

Row upon row of the most stunning flowers....

....it was quite overwhelming (in the best possible way).

I just love the sheer joy of dahlias, they are so vibrant and charming and never fail to make me smile.

I don't know how long we spent wandering up and down the rows in the early afternoon sunshine....

...but it was one of the happiest and most inspirational days I can remember in a long while.

J snapped the above photo on his phone, of me crouching down amongst the flowers taking photographs. I was pretty giddy I have to say, barely holding it together.

I took soooooooooooooooooo many photos, I just couldn't seem to stop myself.

238 images to be precise.

I am trying hard not to bombard you with a humongous amount of dahlia overload right away, so here is just a teensy-weensy sample of what found its way onto my camera....

Ahhhh, so much floral colour and beauty, quite overwhelming really. I'll show you a lot more in the coming weeks as we get ready for the Dahlia CAL....you've been warned - flower spam will be hitting the Attic!

Once we'd finished in the field, I decided to try and see if I could purchase some cut flower stems to take home with me.

I didn't have to look very far as there were already a good number of stems freshly cut that morning, waiting for me to do a crazy happy dance around them. 

I think I had real hearts in my eyes when I saw this little lot!

I tried hard to think about my yarn choices right there on the spot, and how the flower colours would translate to Stylecraft Special shades (oh, you know I'm pretty accomplished at doing that). I picked out the stems one at a time, placing them in a bucket to make a real life floral colour palette. It was such good fun and I think I did pretty well!

My precious cargo was tucked safely in the back seat of the car ready to travel one hundred miles south. We had such a beautiful drive home, coming off the main A1 and driving over the top of the Pennines instead. Let me show you...

...it was such a lovely, memorable day, better than I could ever have hoped for.

But of course, the end of the day trip wasn't the end of the dahlias for me.
Do you want to see what came home with me?

OK............here you go......

................WOWSERS!!!! Aren't they just STUNNING? 

I was so so so so happy to have these flowers to play with...

...oh my heart. Aren't they delicious?!

By the time I had these flowers at my disposal, I had already chosen the colours I wanted to include in my Dahlia blanket. I still had a huge amount of fun playing around though, arranging the flowers into something of a colourwheel.....

....what do you think? I didn't quite get the deep red right (my camera makes the dark red flower look very dark) but I absolutely love the sweep from dark to light and the way the colours all seem to belong to each other.

Building colour palettes is something that makes me so happy, it's feeds my creative soul in a way that often takes me by surprise. It's fun and exciting, and so very satisfying when after a lot of playtime (often over many months) it all comes together to create the most beautiful visual harmony. I love it so much!

As is usual for my blankets, I've chose fifteen shades of Stylecraft Special DK for my Dahlia blanket

Top row, left to right...

🏵️ magenta 🏵️ fuchsia purple 🏵️ shrimp 🏵️ apricot 🏵️ powder pink 🏵️

Middle row, left to right...

🏵️ boysenberry 🏵️ pomegranate 🏵️ spice 🏵️ lemon 🏵️ blush 🏵️

Bottom row, left to right...

🏵️ claret 🏵️ lipstick 🏵️ tomato 🏵️ saffron 🏵️ fondant 🏵️

You can find the Dahlia yarn pack in my shop at Wool Warehouse, click on the following link...

❧🏵️DAHLIA YARN PACK 🏵️❧

These colours are extremely harmonious together, mainly because they all sit very closely together on the hot side of the colour wheel. They blend and sing especially well when arranged in this particular order ↑↑ and I really love the way the colours instantly transport me back to that warm, sunny flower field. 

For my Dahlia blanket, I'm using an easy variation of a Spike Stitch which I think suits these colours perfectly. I wanted something that would echo the flower petals and I'm really super-happy with it.

This is a great stitch to crochet, a really clever construction which makes it very easy to see where your hook is going on each row. The counting is minimal (yay!) which makes it easy to keep on track, and I would definitely say this pattern is a good'n' for beginners, or for those looking for some soothing rows to sit on the sofa with.

I'll be sharing a full photo tutorial for this spike stitch on my blog at the start of the CAL in January. I'll also be creating some printable pattern sheets for those who don't need all the photos and prefer to have a traditional paper pattern tucked in your bag (or downloaded and saved to your tablet/phone).

Having these colours in my yarn bag has brought me so much pleasure over the past few months, the vibrancy of the shades has really lifted up my spirits. By the time we come into the start of the New Year, I'm sure that they are going to feel even more special, bringing sunny warmth into the grey of our winter months.

I want to let you know that I've been working really, really hard on trying to get a head start on my Dahlia blankets so that I could show you just how well the colours work together. Similar to the Sweet Pea, I've worked the fifteen Dahlia colours in two different ways - there is a Mixed Stripe (the colours worked in a "planned random" order like a big bunch of flowers) and a Colourwash (the colours ordered in a dark-light-dark sweep from top to bottom)

I haven't quite finished the mixed stripe blanket yet, but there is enough of it to give you a pretty good idea of how it'll look.

Both versions are stunning I have to say, the colours are just gloriously uplifting. If you are struggling to decide which blanket you like best, I've created a little sneeky peek for you. You don't need to look if you'd rather keep an element of surprise, but I know from last year that many of you prefer to have a look at the blankets before starting the CAL to see how the colours are playing.

CLICK HERE to download Dahlia blanket SNEEK PEEK!

Now, for those of you who are "Planners who Hook" (Or Hookers who Plan), I've got sticker news for you! My lovely friend Rachel who owns EllieBethDesigns has worked her magic with my Dahlia colours and designed a special sticker sheet for the Dahlia CAL. I'm sorry the above photo isn't the best (such low light levels here), but the colours really are lovely in real life.

The art work she's used is just beautiful as you can see, the dahlias look soo pretty! Rachel's shop is taking a weeny break right now but the good news is that next Friday 29th November her shop will reopen for her famous "Bright Friday" sale. This means a generous discount, yippeeee!!! I'll give you the direct link here on my blog and on social media closer to the time, but do bookmark her shop if you don't already know it >> {https://www.elliebethdesignsuk.com}

❧🏵️DAHLIA YARN PACK 🏵️❧

I really am obsessed with these yarn colours and the way they look all together, and I'm so so excited for the blanket to begin. Just a reminder that there is no need to sign up for this CAL - it's all very relaxed here in the Attic so all you need to do is gather your yarn together and join in when the pattern is released in the New Year.

I'll be writing more about the CAL a little closer to the time (just over six weeks until the CAL starts), but here is a quick round-up of information for you :

♥ The Attic24 DAHLIA CAL will will run for 8 weeks in total, beginning on Friday 3rd January - that'll be the day when the pattern will be published here on my blog and I'll give you all the information you need to get started. I'll then give weekly updates every Friday throughout January and February 2020 so that we can make the most of weekend hooky time.

♥ There will be a full picture tutorial here on my blog for the new Spike Stitch pattern. Each week I'll share the colour stripe order for the two different versions of the Dahlia blanket I'm making (Mixed Stripe and Colourwash)

♥ The DAHLIA YARN PACK contains 15 x 100g balls of Stylecraft Special DK and is enough to make one blanket/throw. There is no printed pattern included in this pack, all pattern info will be here on my blog, with updates every Friday throughout January and February 2020. 

♥ The Dahlia blanket will measure approx. 120cm x 175cm. You will need two packs if you wish to make a larger/double bed size blanket. I'll give starting chain/pattern guidance for those of you wishing to make larger (or smaller) blankets.

Thank you so much as always for your friendship and encouragement for my blankets, both here on my blog and on social media too. I appreciate it deeply, right down to my toes.

Thank you, thank you xxxxxxxxxxxxx

ps a note about my yarn packs - I am thrilled to be working with Wool Warehouse who do an absolutely amazing job of enabling crocheters all over the world to join me in my ongoing colourful blanket making. I earn a commission on all the Attic24 yarn packs sold through Wool Warehouse, and I am truly grateful to everyone who supports me in this way. Thank you so much. xxx