Attic24

Home Safe :: Weeks Seven and Eight

Hello my friends, I hope you are all well and doing ok out there, finding your way gently through these strange, strange days. Finally I feel I have just about the right kind of head space to be here opening up my Attic window for a chat, after what has felt like a very flat, deflated week or two. I have felt ok really, just a bit drained and lacking in any kind of motivation to get things done.

The days flutter past and I allow myself to drift rather listlessly through the hours, keeping a hold (just about) of the small, mundane routines that I've managed to form for myself during these stay-home days. I honour my natural body clock which always sees my eyes opening just after 6 am and wanting to close just after 10 pm. I make time for a morning workout, prepare and eat healthy food, drink more water and less coffee. Enjoy my daily walk around and about the neighbourhood. 

And yet I seem to spend lots of time in the day feeling like I am simply trying to fill the hours until the next meal time or snack time or bed time. I can't seem to settle on anything much and find myself doing the most random things at random times, as and when the mood suddenly strikes. Getting down on my knees and scrubbing those awkward tiles right behind the toilet. Defrosting the iceberg out of the freezer. Potting up some baby petunias that a friend gave me last week. Some stop-start crochet here and there, a flick through a few magazine pages.

It all feels quite disjointed as if I've somehow slipped out of the groove I'm supposed to be on and don't quite know how to get myself back into it. I guess it's just a symptom of these strange times and actually I haven't been too worried about my lethargy. It seems to be a natural result of spending so much extended time in the house, and I am quite sure I'll find my way back into a more productive state of mind soon enough.

It's funny because at the start of Lockdown (a whole eight weeks ago now) I felt convinced that I would be blogging way more than usual, using my days to write, to connect, to chat, to share, to remember. There would be loooooads of time to catch up with blog posts that I've fallen behind with (hello Dahlia Ta-dah post, I'm looking at you, half written in draft and waiting oh so patiently for me to return). But it hasn't been like that at all, has it?! Hahaha! I will try to be here more from now on as I really want to start feeling more productive and balanced again, and to ease myself away from this permanent sluggish weekend-vibe. Have to admit that I am deep down AdOrInG the perpetual weekend vibe mind you, but maybe after eight weeks it's time to make my days count for something more.

As you can see from these photos, I continue to find a huge amount of pleasure in the season we're in and my daily walks make me soooo happy even though they are extremely repetitive. The shadow above shows me and Little Lady, taking our walk one evening and loving the light and warmth that was still so glorious at 8pm.

The woodland is utterly captivating in May, and I absolutely love being out amongst it all. 

The wild garlic began to flower profusely during week 7.....

.....and the sight and scent of it all was almost overwhelming. So much natural beauty right there, and I'm extremely grateful that walking through the woods has become a part of our daily lives. It never fails to lift my spirits even on particularly flat days.

I'm still on with the Aria blanket, although it spent almost a week in the naughty corner. Poor thing, it wasn't at all the fault of the blanket. I started work on the border but didn't pay enough attention to what I was doing and managed to miss out a few colours which meant pulling out two big huge rounds to put it right. It took me almost a week to work myself up to the business of yanking out all those neat stitches, but once I got over myself and stopped sulking it was all OK again and I fell straight back in love.

As you can see, the Aria blanket is already being used around here, and truly the Little People seem to really love it especially as they've been quite involved in watching me making it during the past month. I am so close to finishing it - I'm currently poised ready to tackle the edge of The Edge, all very exciting. 

The kitty is her usual aloof crazy self, seeming to love having us all around but managing to look utterly bored by us all at the same time. I snapped the above photo of her early one morning when the Little People had yet to surface and all was still quiet and peaceful downstairs. She definitely finds Little B a challenge, he makes her ears constantly twitch as he is sooooooo  noisy and boisterous all the time. I do feel for her, my own ears are pretty twitchy these days as it's very, very hard to find any quiet space in this house.

Another week and another tray of lockdown flapjack, dried apricot this time. I don't get bored of making it (recipe HERE if you are interested in how easy it is) and the Little Peeps certainly don't seem to be bored of eating it.

I spent some time jaunting in Magazine Wonderland in week 7, allowing myself to finally open and devour the May issue magazines which arrived at the end of March. My, my, such beauty in those pages, even if the dreamy aspirational quality of the photos makes them ever so slightly deflating at times. I look at the huuuuuuuuuuuuuge grassy gardens and wish for some green space of my own.

I gaze at the huuuuuuuuuuuuuge roomy rooms and sigh with longing.

And then I remind myself to continue appreciating my modest house and tiny back yard as I always have done and not get swept up in a tide of envy as no good can come of it.  But isn't the above kitchen just so dreamy? I would really dearly love that kind of space.

Another weekend arrives and so we take our longer walk (around 6 miles), leaving the woods behind and striding out over open fields instead.

Cows have suddenly arrived in the fields to join the sheep and they are always curious about us humans as we pass by their open air homes.

We walk past a farm right next to the canal and have been watching these goslings grow over the past few weeks. Sometimes they are wandering about in the field and sometimes they come down to the water, they really are so fluffy and beautiful. I can't resist stopping to chat to them, even if  J and the Little People roll their eyes and look at me like I'm crazy.

It's extremely relaxing walking along this stretch of the canal as it's a few miles out of town and very quiet. Usually in May it's busy on the waterways with boats sailing back and forth, but of course there are no boats moving about on the water at the moment and that definitely adds to the tranquillity.

I love that lonesome blue boat, moored up quietly right on the bend there. I have no idea whether it's someones permanent home or a holiday boat but every time I walk past it I find myself wondering what it would be like to call a boat home?

The cow parsley is just starting to burst into flower in hedgerows and along footpaths and it is so beautiful. It's treated as a bit of a weed I suppose (it is very prolific and grows everywhere) but I absolutely love it, those delicate little froths of flowers are enchanting.

Another weed growing absolutely everywhere is the dandelion, and due to this long spell of dry warm weather they are already in seed. I don't love them quite as much as cow parsley, but those seed heads do hold a lot of childhood nostalgia. Even as we walked past this clump, Little Lady (age 16) plucked up a stem and blew away the seeds "to see what time it is". I wonder, is this a worldwide thing? Do dandelions grow everywhere on this planet, and do all children use them as clocks? 

Sometimes towards the end of a long day I'll find myself in desperate need of some alone time. I make myself a drink (often a peppermint or fruity tea infusion which I've recently rediscovered after not having them for ages) then head upstairs and gently close the door to my bedroom. I pull on some woolly knitted socks for comfort and settle on my bed to sip my drink and just relax my mind a little. I don't do anything specific, sometimes just sitting and allowing my mind to wander and ponder is enough, and sometimes I pull out my tablet and browse through favourite blogs, Pinterest, or YouTube.

I'm pretty new to YouTube as generally I much prefer digesting photos and written words rather than videos and audio. I don't really have much idea of what to look for on YouTube yet, or what sort of content might inspire me, but I'm quite enjoying discovering a new-to-me medium. I've been enjoying some food channels mixed with photogenic slow living, lifestyle/interiors and a little bit of motivational stuff thrown in. Pick Up Limes is a current fave and although I'm not contemplating going vegan, I have always been very inspired by wholesome, healthy cooking and eating. Also, I really love the passionate and beautiful way in which Sadia prepares, presents and adores her food, it's just so beautiful! If you have any recommendations for YouTube I would dearly love to hear them.

Another thing I do when I retreat to my bedroom in the evenings is light this jar candle beside my bed. It's an old one from last summer and I adore the clean, soft scent of it. It's these little rituals and pleasures which are really keeping me grounded at the moment, I'm holding onto the little things that bring quiet pleasure to my days.

Well another day has passed and this blog post is coming together veeeeery slowly in stops and starts, I'm so sorry if it all seems a bit disjointed here in the Attic. As you know I don't tend to edit my writing (other than a basic check through for typos) so I've no idea if my words are even making sense to be honest, but I hope that even if I'm writing absolute tripe you can still enjoy the pictures :)

Week 8 has very little to show for it as I didn't seemingly feel very inspired to point my camera at anything much. 

There is wild garlic of course, as I can't seem to stop myself trying to capture this season that I love so very much.

Almost every single day we walk this same route into the woods to feast on the green and white display.....

....it's just so abundant and fresh, both the visuals and the scent, and I wish I was better able to describe it to you.

Beautiful, intoxicating, uplifting, every single little bit of it.

We've only seen a smattering of bluebells this year as they are scarce in our local woodland (the garlic more than makes up for it mind you), and I think they are almost over now for another year. 

The lambs in the big field are growing large now, and they aren't at all bothered by us humans. We always linger a little at the top of the hill, partly to recover from the long climb up, and partly to take in the sweep of the view which has our home nestled into it. Sometimes on quiet, still afternoons when I'm sat in my little back yard, I can hear the lambs and sheep baaaaaaing from their hilltop field and it's such a comforting sound somehow. I do really love where I live.

Last week was quite a cold one, and woolly jumpers and socks were most definitely needed even inside the house. My hands don't do so well when I'm cold so I do my best to keep warm especially when I plan to crochet. Little B took the above photo of me warming up my fingers before getting on with the Aria border - this was after I had finished sulking and pulled out the Wrong Rows and I was happily enjoying this blanket all over again. 

The kitty doesn't take more than 2.5 seconds to jump in and claim my space if I happen to get up and leave the Big Chair for any reason. Mind you, I can't blame her as this over sized old chair is such a cosy spot and one of my favourite places to sit during the day. She really does seem to appreciate my crochet (especially after it has been warmed up by my backside first). 

I'll be working on the pattern and tutorial for the Aria blanket this week - it's a lot of work but I'm really looking forward to getting stuck into it. I'm sorry I don't have a release date for this yarn kit and pattern just yet but as soon as I know when it's possible for my friends at Wool Warehouse to make it happen, I'll be sure to let you know. 

Well I think that's about all for now, thank you as always for taking the time to digest my witterings and keep me company with your lovely, lovely comments, I appreciate them so much. I hope you are all keeping cheery, and that your spirits are positively inflated and not deflated. I am sending you all the brightest, cosiest happy stay-home vibes.

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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 Four

Here I am again, gently navigating the continuing strangeness of our Home Safe days. Last week was week four and the second week of our school holidays, so it felt especially slow and indulgent in many ways. 

The weather has been very dry and very sunny, although my goodness it has been super chilly too with a couple mornings where we woke up to ground frost. But oh, the blue, blue, blue skies have been heavenly, and I am drinking in all this bright light and colour like a parched starved thing!! It's almost too delicious for words, the frothy gorgeousness of Spring in full tilt. The large blossom trees around the neighbourhood are just this week beginning to open their flowers (we are many weeks later up here in north Yorkshire than the southern counties) and it is such a delight.

We continue to walk every day, enjoying the precious chance to escape these four walls and stride out along our local footpaths, tracks and fields. I am so grateful for what we have close by, and although I feel a little envious of those with gardens and greenery right outside their back doors, I do appreciate how lucky I am to have fields, woods, canals and rivers I can easily walk to.

We often rest a while at this curved stone bench to catch a breather, it's such a lovely addition to the woodland (you can read about it here) and offers a beautifully peaceful little stopping point along the walk. There is a woodland poem carved all along the stone seat, next time I'm there I'll make a note of it to share with you.

It amazes me how much change we see in the woods every single day, even if that change basically amounts to the ever expanding shades of green appearing all over. It is just so LUSH. Wild garlic reaching its peak (no flowers yet, but soon...) and many of the trees beginning to unfurl their delicate new leaves. I adore the feeling of Spring rushing towards us, there is such a palpable energy in the woodland air that you can't help but feel uplifted by it.

We walked out across the fields to Tarn House again on Sunday (this has become our weekend walk) and it was nice to be out in the open air for a change. I love woodland walking but sometimes I crave the open countryside and long views out across the surrounding hills. 

I did a couple of evening walks with Little Lady last week which is always a pleasure, she is great company, very chatty and we get along extremely well. Walking in the evenings has a completely different feel to our daytime jaunts, it's more relaxing in many ways with the soft golden light, low, low sun and lengthening shadows. 

Life on the home front has been a slow plod, and there isn't really much to report. I spent an afternoon clearing up the back yard, dismantling my collapsed and dilapidated old plastic tent-greenhouse, shifting around some large fruit trees in pots (inherited gifts from my very good friend who relocated earlier in the year and couldn't take them with her) and generally having a long overdue sweep up and tidy. I cleared my pots and they are now awaiting fresh compost and fresh flowers/plants, although at the moment I really don't quite know where/how I am going to get those from. I've been sitting out in my old camping chair in the afternoons, making the most of the newly cleared sunny sheltered corner (where my greenhouse used to be), sometimes wishing I had a real garden to play in but also quite content with my low-maintenance little yard situation.

I've also LOVED (really, really loved) hanging out my freshly laundered bedding to dry on the line, it's such a simple thing, but the pleasure it delivers at bedtime is massively huge. Sun-dried cotton bedding is just heavenly to sleep in, no two ways around it.

Another week of menu planning, food juggling and cooking, and all is well. I do really enjoy being in my teensy-weensy kitchen rustling up healthy home cooked meals for myself and the family. I need to get a bit better at writing the Monday Morning shopping list though, as I keep managing to miss off vital ingredients. It's no good making a menu plan if you don't actually look at it when making the shopping list. Ah well, we've been managing and our evening meals when we all eat together are real highlights of my days.

I continue to stitch, stitch, stitch my way through these slow home days. I'm so mad at myself as I managed to hurt my hand again last week picking up a very heavy shopping bag (osteoarthritis in my joints) so I am not able to crochet for a little while until that eases up again. I am very, very glad to have my stitching projects waiting in the wings to carry me through the days when my hook isn't an option.

I finished my "Love is All You Need" cross stitch and framed it up last week, so so happy with it! I'll take some photos and share with you later this week. I've now started stitching the April subscription project from Cotton and Twine which I've been very lucky to receive as an early preview. It's an absolute joy to work on and I've been quite obsessive over it.

Mostly I sit at the dining room table working on it in a quiet, solitary frenzy, but a couple afternoons last week I took it outside to stitch in the sunshine. My first ever alfresco stitching, and it was oh so good. I promise to show you more this week. If you want to see what the finished design looks like, click ((here)) for a peek - it's super lovely!

A dinky white fluffy cloud in a blue, blue sky - just a little moment in my day when I looked up over the rooftops and felt elated by the weather and the season. No more winter. No MORE WINTER!!!! Just a bit happy about that state of affairs, might have squealed a little at the joy of it being Finally Spring.

Soft and gentle routines continue here in the Attic, the days punctuated by many trips into the kitchen to prepare and cook food and drink, either for myself, Little B, or the fam at large. I drink coffee throughout the day (all decaff I might add), and really enjoy the familiar ritual of both making it and drinking it. I like to heat up and froth my milk (just by hand using a little whisk, nothing fancy) then stand as close to the coffee machine as I can while it slowly empties into my mug as I absolutely adore the smell of fresh coffee. I really miss my daily cafe visits, as much for the aroma and the familiar, warm comfort as for the milky caffeine drinks. 

Last week I completed five more morning PE workouts, making four whole weeks now. I am so bloomin' surprised by a) how much I enjoy it and b) how much stronger my body feels. Little B still does it with me, but his enthusiasm isn't always A grade. Sometimes he spends half the time rolling about on the floor wrapped in a blanket, sometimes his sole purpose seems to be to put me off balance and make me wobble, but we have fun with it and I'm careful to encourage him without trying to enforce it. 

I did a little bit of internet shopping last week, small treats and indulgences that arrived on my doorstep and made me happy. I bought a new candle tin in one of my fave scents for Spring - Bergamot and Green Tea. I also replaced my run-out posh hand soap (this one) which I love so much, it makes the ordinary  business of hand washing feel like a treat every time.

And there we are, another ordinary, very mundane week in the Attic, staying home and keeping safe and relishing life's little pleasures and small joys. Family time, quiet time, familiar walks and home routines. I'm so happy it's Spring, did I say that already? This week, my plan is to go out every single day to walk underneath the blossom trees, and that's as much planning as I'm prepared to do. 

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Home Safe :: Week Two

Today marks the start of the third week of the UK lockdown due to Coronavirus, and although we are now into the Easter holidays for the Little People, it doesn't really feel any different to the past couple of home-school weeks. It's been a time of acclimating to our new routines, and I would say we are doing pretty well on the whole. I don't think our days in any way feel "normal" just yet, and quite possibly they never will while we are living with such restrictions. But we are managing to create some small daily habits and gentle structure to our days, and maybe that's the best thing to aim for as we all muddle through.

I am so very grateful for our daily family walks, an hour each day where we can breathe in deeply, stretch our muscles and soak up the calmness of our immediate local neighbourhood. It really does help to balance our days, it helps a lot actually. We are pretty much doing the same walk every day which takes us up some steep streets of houses, along a farm track and into the very top of the woodland. We then follow footpaths up and down through the trees in a circular loop until we come all the way back to the farm track. We climb an old wooden stile, heading up across a huge sloping field until we reach the dry stone wall at the top (you can see our hilltop view in this post). We rest a while here, taking in the sweeping view of our town nestled in the valley, before walking all the way down the grassy slope and back to the streets which lead us homeward. 

I find I don't get bored of this walk, even doing it day after day - every day has it's own unique feel depending on the weather and the time of day that we head out. It's been fantastic to witness the wild garlic growing ever greener, and to see fresh new buds and the may blossom emerging. The Little People complain a little about the repetitive nature of it all, but we are quick to remind them to be thankful for what we have on our doorstep, to be happy that we can take these walks and experience nature in all it's wonderfulness. 

Little Lady doesn't always come with us, but I do love it when she does. A few times she's been for a daily walk on her own, choosing to head out in the early evening now that we're into British Summer Time (yay!) and it's not getting dark until after 8pm. But I really appreciate her company and happy chatter, and try to encourage her to join us as I think in these strange times it does us good to be able to talk with each other. 

I always carry my camera with me when we walk, but don't always feel in the mood to take photos. But I had an idea that I'd like to chronicle these weeks here on my blog so that I can look back and remember in years to come. In my mind, I call these posts my "Lockdown Diary", but I decided to change the title to be more positive and have settled on "Home Safe". So these photos today are a mixed bag of things that were captured on my camera last week. I sincerely hope that you don't get fed up of seeing a stupid number of woodland photos, I'll try and hold back with sharing endless trees with you.

Little B and I did some baking last week, for the first time in a long time. It was my idea - a solution one afternoon when he seemed to be climbing the walls with boredom and in need of a distraction. He really enjoyed it, taking control of the weighing, mixing and beating like a little pro.

We made and iced buns, finding everything we needed already in the cupboards, including some rather dodgy looking blue food colouring and some charmingly named "unicorn sprinkles". Cadbury mini eggs are a permanent fixture on our weekly shopping list right now (they just hit the spot when a little chocolate fix is needed) so they provided the finishing flourish. The buns didn't last long, and I am thinking a tray of cranberry and sultana flapjack will be the next thing on my baking schedule.

The kitty is finding it hard having us around all the time, she is used to a quiet house during the day and undisturbed kitty naps in the Big Chair. She has started taking herself away somewhere in the house to sleep in the daytime, I've no idea where exactly she goes but I do get where her head is at - I often find myself wishing I could find somewhere to hide away for some solitude!

I tell you what though, she really can't resist the lure of my crochet blankets, especially if a convenient human is positioned underneath one. Within seconds of me getting comfy on the sofa for a bit of magazine browsing, she lands, turns a few circles then slumps down to nap. It's the most comforting thing to have the warm, heavy weight of a dozing kitty on your lap, but it never fails to make me feel reeeeeally sleepy myself, like I could just nod off sitting up. It's the ultimate sedative.

I'm making some progress on my cross stitch and am still really enjoying stitching this design. Last week I kept it out on the dining table and found myself picking it up and stitching little bits in odd pockets of time in between doing other things. I like it best when I can really get in the zone with cross stitching, but I've been finding it hard to settle for any length of time as my attention span has been quite short of late. I want to start the Craftpod Spring embroidery too, but also there's my crochet Spring Garland, and I feel like if I have too many WiP's going on at the same time my mind starts to feel overloaded.

Another day, and another walk to the woods, this time made a littler more exciting by the arrival of a sheep and lamb train! The farmer was moving them from the small field to the big sloping one, and it was just lovely to see and hear the lambs.

Wood anemones are in full flower in the woodland and on sunny days when they spread their petals right out they look ever so pretty. Bright little beacons of Spring, I do love them.

One of the very best things that has come out of this strange stay-home time is the introduction of daily exercise here in the Attic. And I'm not just talking about the walking we do, but about actual, proper jumping about, heart-pounding exercise, the stuff that makes you heave to catch your breath and leaves your legs wobbling like jelly. Like many other families, Little B and I have been tuning into YouTube at 9am every week day to do a live PE workout with Joe Wicks the Body Coach. At first I decided to do it to encourage Little B to burn off some of his excess energy, and to create some structure to our school mornings. He eats breakfast at 8am, then at 9am we do the half hour of PE, then he gets straight into the shower afterwards and gets dressed ready to start some school work. The routine has been working very well for us, and I guess the half hour of PE takes the place of our usual walk to school along the canal and the 15 minutes of mad running around in the playground that Little B starts his day with.

Part way into the second week of following this routine, I suddenly realised that I was enjoying the workouts myself and now I actually wake up looking forward to it. It's been over a decade since I did any sort of exercise besides walking, and my muscles have been properly complaining! But oh, I do feel so good for doing it! And as you can see in the photo above, we have the best exercise mats ;) 

I have my breakfast after my exercise now on weekdays, which makes it around 10am. Like many of us at the moment I am pretty time-rich and so breakfast has taken on something of a weekend vibe for me lately. I'm really happy about that I have to say! Slow, weekendy brunch-style meals are my absolute favourites, and I am enjoying them enormously. I am obsessed with making these little oat pancakes, they make me sooooo happy, like I want to squeal with joy after every mouthful.

In these days of enforced stay-home, I am so, so grateful for my creative habits, most especially crochet. My Spring Garland is keeping me busy and making me ridiculously happy - the fresh happy colours, the floral cuteness, the simplicity of making small things which come off the hook at a fast pace, all of it. Love love love love love it. Last night I finished up all the crochet (40 flowers and 40 leaves) and today I worked on photographing the tutorial for my new Polyanthus flowers. Tomorrow I have the pleasure of pulling it all together and creating the garland, and I am very excited about it. I'll be able to share the patterns and making process with you all on Wednesday, I absolutely can't wait.

Last week was cold here in Atticland and even though we now in British Summer Time, the temperatures remain wintry. Luckily we have enough fuel in to last us through this month, and I am still relishing lighting the fire on the evenings when we need a little extra warmth and cheer.

I also pulled my Sunny log cabin blanket back onto the bed and love having the extra little bit of weight on top of me at night and the bright colours to cheer me up in the mornings. As always I've been finding a lot of quiet comfort at bedtime, climbing under the soft, well washed flowery cotton and feeling so thankful for the simple fact of being at home with my family all safe and under one roof.

I hope very much that you are all feeling safe and cosy at home, and that despite the worries we are living with at the moment, you are finding small joys in the ordinariness of your days.

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The Crag :: Happy Memories

Sunday 22nd March 2020 ♥ Mothers Day

It already seems so long ago since these photos were taken, when in fact is was only nine days ago. It was a glorious day in Atticland and in the warmth of the afternoon we drove a few miles out of town to climb the crag. We packed flasks of coffee for J and I, hot chocolate for the Little People, and some essential chocolate biscuits too. The walk isn't a particularly long one, it only takes maybe half an hour to climb from the reservoir up to the very top of the crag, but it is tough!

I was telling Little B about the time when he first made this climb at three years old (you can read about it here), and how brave he was to make it up there at such a young age. I remember it so clearly, his struggles, the tears, the sheer determination and the utter jubilation when he reached the top. Seven years later and what a different story, that boy has sooooo much energy in his body that he practically sprinted up there, so full of life and enthusiasm. Little Lady and I were more sedate in our ascent, stopping often to take photos, chatting in between the huffs and puffs, and generally enjoying our time together. Climbing (or driving) to a high-up place to take in long reaching views is one of my most favourite things to do, and it never fails to make my heart soar. I am so very glad to live in a place where we have hills and moors and crags, that's for sure.

At the time when we took this walk, we didn't know that we were very soon to be in Lockdown, and that this would be our last drive out into the countryside for a good long while. I'm so grateful that we now have these memories to look back on, and that we made the most of that sunshiney week in mid March when we still had the freedom to roam. Being able to capture memories is one of the many reasons I adore writing my blog. It's such a beautiful way to preserve and remember the little moments in time which might otherwise become lost and forgotten.

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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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Brighter Times

We had a little snowfall at the very end of February, enough to create a very pretty view from the Attic, but a really hazardous walk to school. It was icy, slushy, wet and slippery, meaning that we skidded our way down the hill, slopped along the canal side and arrived with sopping wet feet and a very grumpy Little B. I really wish we had all worn wellies, but somehow I just didn't think it through in the rush to get out the door on time.

Once all the icy snow had melted down in town, things looked much brighter and I could fully appreciate the perfection of the wintry hills which surround this little rural town.

It's been extremely cold and windy here just lately, and although I can see the very first little signs of Spring here and there, it still feels a long way off. I'm hopeful that there will be no more snow though, especially now that we are in March and can pretend that Spring is imminent.

Yesterday I was on my own for much of the day, and on impulse I decided to wrap up warm and take a walk in the early afternoon. I desperately needed to breathe in some cold fresh air and clear my head. I was delighted to see not only blue skies up above but also some very early blossom looking beautifully dainty and pretty.

I climbed the steep hilly streets to enter the woodland along the top path and it was such a tonic. There is nothing better than striding out along a quiet woodland pathway, alone with my own thoughts for a while.

Blue skies feel like the biggest treat at this time of year when we are so often living under a blanket of grey cloud.

I stopped to say hello to the willow horse.....

....and swooned over the swathes of wild garlic beginning to cover the woodland banks. I keep telling myself Spring will arrive and I shall be so beyond ready for it when it finally gets here.

It was a tad muddy in the woods, and I was so thankful that in my spontaneous rush out of the door I had the good sense to yank on my short wellies. I gave myself a mental pat on the back at the precise point when the mud squelched right up over the top of my foot.

This is the little access road which leads out of the woods and back to the streets of the town. It's always blissfully quiet along here, and yesterday the dappled light and dancing shadows of the sunny afternoon made me so glad to be outdoors. 

Back at home and I had to smile as I caught sight of my sofa, strewn haphazardly with heaps of crochet and looking glorious. All my blankets are very well used and appreciated, the newest editions joining the older creations creating a rather jumbled but delightful sort of yarny nest effect. I think there are currently six blankets on this piece of furniture alone and I love the utter cosiness of it. 

I've been in my studio today, working on some design and colour palette ideas. I've got both crochet and stitching projects in the very early design stages right now and it's very exciting inside my Creative Mind, if a bit tangled. There's a lot going on up there!

Today I attempted to choose colour palettes for both threads and yarn, delighting in thinking about Spring/Summer designs and the colours that fit. The yarn I picked out is for a Spring garland that I want to make - I'm thinking cute little primrose type flowers.

And that huuuuuuge, delicious colour chart on my table is for DMC embroidery threads, and shows all 500 colours. Five Hundred! It is a thing of inspirational beauty, and has caused much swooning and stroking I can tell you. I had to pick out just eight shades (!) which was a major challenge - after a lot of umming and ahhing I managed to narrow it down to seventeen and I'll make my final selection when I have the actual skeins in my hand.

I have to tell you I'm so happy to be back in the Attic and have really appreciated your kindness in response to my last post - thank you so much. This past week in particular has been very challenging as I've faced some difficult decision making, but there are brighter times up ahead I'm sure of it.

Oh.......I've just remembered something else I've been meaning to share too......

....I'm going to be back at Black Sheep Wools in Warrington, Cheshire on Saturday and I'm so looking forward to it. Do you remember I was there last year? I had a fabulous time and can't wait to step back into the craft barn again. It would be lovely to see you if you can make it, I'll be there with with my yarny friends Christine and Emma and alllllllllll my blankets for a day full of crochet, colour and chatter.

BLACK SHEEP WOOLS : Saturday 7th March : 10-4

It'll be a fun, informal day and it's free to attend, more details about the location etc are on the Black Sheep Wools website >> ((here))

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Fair to Middling

Do you know the expression "fair to middling"? I don't know if it's a world wide saying, or if it's something specifically linked to Yorkshire, but it really tickles me. Often here in Yorkshire it's used to describe the weather, and it means not especially good, but not that bad either, so kind of average or mediocre. It perfectly describes how I generally feel about trudging through the depths of a long Winter season - it's not dreadful by any means, but it really is my least favourite time of year by a long chalk.

The past nine weeks of January and February combined have been difficult for me on a very personal level, and it's always hard for me to know whether I should be coming here and telling you this or not. You probably just don't want to hear it?!! However my blog is (and always has been) an open, honest account of my life as it rolls out day by day, week by week and as my posts are generally unplanned and spontaneous you pretty much get the unfiltered version of what's running through my mind at the time. When I'm not feeling myself it becomes hard almost impossible for me to write, and you have probably noticed a shortage of life-posts here on my blog of late. Thank goodness for the absolute joy of the Dahlia blanket CAL which has been like a beacon of light and happiness for me during this tricky time. 

But the truth is, I've missed writing and sharing in this space - I've missed the easy dialogue spilling freely from my brain and out through my fingers and I've missed your words gently winging their way back to me. Writing my blog is a kind of feel-good therapy for me I guess, much in the same way as writing a journal or talking to a very good friend. And yes I've missed it, I've missed it a lot actually. So even though I am still wading through a few dilemmas and dealing with some "difficult stuff" in my real life world, I have decided to open up my window and invite you all in regardless. Come in!! I have missed you!! It's messy and chaotic here in the Attic, but I am choosing to ignore all that and focus on the good.

The above photos were taken on a random Monday about a month ago - our car had to be dropped of at the garage for it's annual MOT and the garage we use is about five miles away. So with the weather being unusually great for January (nothing fair to middling about clear blues skies and sunshine!) we decided to walk home all along the canal tow path instead of getting the bus. It was atrociously muddy in places, but even with all the precarious slip-sliding it was still a beautiful walk. 

Life on the home front has in general been okay these past few months, if a little mundane. I've been seeking out my stitching projects when I've needed to lay down my hook and rest my hands and I'm so happy that I found my way into the world of cross stitch (two years ago now). It's given me an absorbing creative hobby which delivers a lot of pleasure - obviously it's not as good as crochet for tipping my pleasure-o-meter over the edge but it's a pretty great second best really.

As well as this ongoing stitchy WiP ↑↑ I've been making some seasonal cross stitch pieces just lately, and have been absolutely loving them. I'll be sharing these with you very soon as they really need their own blog post I think.

Just lately I've been giving a lot of thought to my everyday routines and have been attempting to make small but significant changes to the way I balance out my time. One of the things I'm trying hard to do is to reclaim my evenings and weekends. When you are self employed and you LOVE what you do to earn a living as much as I do, it's so easy to allow it to consume every single day. Or if it's not consuming the day exactly, it has a sly habit of sneaking in around the edges and stealing away great chunks of precious time. I'm mainly talking about laptop/screen time and social media here, rather than crochet or creative making.

I have to confess it's been quite hard! I love the online creative world that I'm part of and really enjoy browsing and engaging with blogs, Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook. But I do recognise that screen time needs to have limits, and I've been making a huge effort to disengage as much as possible during the evenings and weekends. I have rediscovered my love for magazines, remembering how relaxing it is to curl up on the sofa under a blanket and gently turn the pages, drinking in the photography and reading the narrative. I'm still a work in progress though and haven't quite found the balance that I'm craving just yet, but I'm getting there. 

I've been enjoying the outdoors as and when the weather has allowed me to venture out, gosh it really has been pretty vile around here. So. Much. RAIN!!!!!!!!!! We've had aalllllll the rain, the light misty drizzle, the heavy downpours, the icy-sleety hail and snow, the horizontal blustery stormy rain, the short sharp showers and the endless days and nights of persistent wet stuff falling. The ground is sodden and flooded and there is mud and standing water absolutely everywhere at the moment.

But we've been out in it all the same, tramping around in the woodland where the pathways remain pretty solid and walkable even when the rain falls and falls and falls.

I spotted the first bluebell shoots pushing up through the leafy woodland banks and felt a rush of joy for those beautiful fresh green leaves. Thank heavens for the small signs in nature that tell me winter is losing it's grip, I live for those signs in February!

Often on the way back from the school run I find myself meandering along the canal not feeling ready to be back indoors. Fresh air and walking (even when it's wet) is pretty vital to my well being and so I make sure to allow time in the day to give myself this pleasure.

Even a dull, misty grey stroll through the park can lift my spirits, I breathe it all in and practice a little bit of mindful gratitude as I walk.

↑↑ this is one of my favourite park pathways to walk along as those trees either side are cherry trees. They don't look much in winter but in the spring they will be smothered in pink and white blossom and I absolutely can't wait for that. Can you see the old weathered picnic bench there to the right? I often stop here in warmer, drier weather to sit and drink a coffee on my way home from the farm shop, gosh I am really longing for those days to return. Roll on Springtime, I'm a-waiting for you.

A little bit of Spring gladness on my mantel as a succession of bulbs come and go. These particular hyacinths grew tall and strong and smelly and were the most delicious shade of sky blue (I wish I had photographed them before they went past their best). I replenished my old Cornishware bowl with fresh shoots this morning, white hyacinths this time round.

And in other news, after some slow, stop-start progress around the edge of my Colourwash dahlia blanket this past week I finally finished the border, yipppppeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!! I'm so so so happy with both of these blankets, they are utterly joyous and stuffed to the brim with happy sunshiny vibes. I'm hoping to take some photographs in the next few days in preparation for a bit of a Dahlia Ta-dah post - this CAL has given me so much to be grateful for, and I want to celebrate that fact.

I must say, it's so so good to be back here again, like cleaning my windows and loving the view after a time of misty, foggy greyness. More soon!

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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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