Attic24

Lovely Little Snippets

♥ early morning walks around the hilly streets before the sun rises

♥ late November frosty chill, wrapped up warm with scarf, gloves, woolly hat

♥ atmospheric morning light and still water, the smell of wood smoke in the air

♥ warm café & yarny chatter with friends, colourful crochet, frothy coffee and that Friday feeling

♥ a Saturday train trip to Leeds with my girl, starting with a fabulous Laynes coffee

♥ enjoying the unique buzzy atmosphere of Leeds Corn Exchange

♥ this old oval building is really beautiful, both inside and out

♥ I loved the colourful christmas tree very much, a tree after my own heart

♥ enjoying a slice of sunny city life, beautiful architecture and blue skies in Leeds

♥ twinkly lights and festive spirit - a quiet lull, but later heeeeaving with people!

♥ appreciating the stillness of the past few days, no wind, just calm and reflective scenery

♥ spotted a pretty lacy porthole cover, I love this traditional narrowboat crochet craft.

x

Just a few snaps from the past four days, some beautiful quiet morning walks and slow, reflective days contrasted with a busy shopping trip to the city on Saturday. Little Lady asked if I would go with her as she wanted to get another ear piercing and goes to a place inside the Corn Exchange. We caught an early train to beat the crowds and had coffee at one of our favourite places (got lucky and didn't have to queue, yes, it's that popular), and then mingling with the crowds for some shopping. A little bit of christmas present buying but I wasn't really prepared and didn't have the right shopping head on. I bought myself a jumper, does that count?

And now it's Sunday evening and I am warm and comfy and full, I made a terrific lasagne for dinner. J cooked the bolognese in the slow cooker, and I made the bechamel sauce and pulled it all together. As it's the first day of December we lit our Advent candle at the table and after dinner the Little Peeps opened their advent bags that I'd painstakingly put together for them. Stickers and numbers and sweet treats inside 72 individual paper bags, I'll try and remember to take a photo and show you. I know they are big Big Kids nowadays but I do still like to hold onto traditions for as long as they seem to enjoy me doing it.

I've spent aaaaages this weekend  sorting through all my canal boat photos that I've taken during the past year, and feeling so incredibly inspired by the joyful colours and decorative details. It's that time of year again where I'm preparing to share my annual Crochet-Along blanket with you, a little later than usual due to the yarn delays. My friends at Wool Warehouse have been working super hard to get yarn packs made in double quick time and we are almost ready....above is a little taster of the colours I've had swimming in my mind for the best part of this year....

....and here is a first look at the stripe pattern I've designed. It's quite jaunty and playful with a folk art feel to it, inspired by the traditional colours and painted patterns I see on the narrowboats when I take my daily walks along the tow path. I am so in love with it!!

As with all my patterns, this stripe is designed with beginners in mind and is a simple pattern repeat that is easy to learn and delivers some very relaxing crochet time. The colour contrasts are bright and breezy, and really make me smile - every time I change colour I get a little jolt of surprise and pleasure!

Yarn packs will be available from Tuesday, and the Canalboat CAL will begin on Friday 10th January. This will be my 11th crochet along, and I really hope that many of you will decide to join me,  I'll give you all the information and more details on Tuesday. You'll be able to order the yarn from Wool Warehouse and there is a choice this year - my usual Stylecraft Special DK, and also a pack made with the brand new Yarnsmiths Merino DK for those who might want to try a lush natural yarn for a change. It's exciting and makes me long for January, which is absolutely something to be happy about.

I hope you are all doing OK, and I'll be back here on Tuesday morning to share some more canalboat joy. See you then!

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January Days

It's Thursday afternoon and I really should be writing my Sungold CAL post ready for tomorrow, but as you can see I'm here on this page chatting to you instead. My CAL post is patiently waiting in draft-mode because I suddenly really missed writing my normal, every day blogs, you know, the ones that don't really have much substance to them but tell the gentle story of my day to day life.

As it happens, I don't have a huge amount to tell you but I didn't want this brand new month to skitter on by without some sort of acknowledgement. I gathered all my January photos together yesterday and the general overview is a mixture of outdoor views/winter weather and colourful crochet stripes....does kind of sum up my days rather well come to think about it?! 

My white hyacinth is finally in flower on my mantel and it smells so good, a really pretty sweet perfume that lifts my spirits when I get a waft of it. As predicted it didn't flower in time for Christmas, but then maybe having it blooming into a new year month is better than it belonging to the tail end of the old year? 

Two weeks ago we were still in new year holiday mode, but we also had a birthday in the family. It was good timing because J was still on holiday from work so we were able to plan a day out to celebrate Little B's fourteenth birthday. We went on the train to Leeds and it was just the kind of easy outing which ticks so many boxes with a teen. We went clothes shopping with him because he is very minimal when it comes to clothes and wanted to add to his one solitary pair of trousers. We had great success and he managed to find exactly what he was looking for (black, slim fit cargo trousers) - it's such a relief when clothes shopping for the offspring goes well because honestly it can be a very dismal experience otherwise. So yeah, he now has two pairs of trousers instead of just one lonely pair of jeans and I think he's happy about it. A bit hard to tell with Little B, he is very minimal with his words as well as his clothes.

We had a fabulous lunch out at The Alchemist, it's one of Little B's favourite places to go for a drink because they have a good selection of non alcoholic cocktails. I found myself thinking back to when he was born (it's impossible not to reminisce on kids birthdays), and struggling to comprehend how fourteen years can have passed. How do I have this larger than life boy who looks so grown up and asks to go to a cocktail bar for his birthday lunch?

Aside from birthdayish things, January has been all about easing gently back into routine....

.....walking familiar paths....

...and spending time in much loved places that provide a sense of comfort and familiarity. I do really appreciate the gentle routines and habits which I have built over the past few years, the ones that stay the same week after week and yet still feel so good. 

On Wednesday last week my slow stay-home routine was upended because I had a meeting to go to out of town and found myself setting out to commute there by train. I am mighty glad that this happens only once in a blue moon because it hit hard! Setting out at 7.30am when it was still dark, and then the stress of the trains being delayed and connections being missed and getting myself into a such a fluster with it all.

I arrived two hours later in West Yorkshire, the weather misty, grey and damp. You can see in the above photo, over to the left there is a tall chimney and a solid old mill building beside it? That's where I was going, to the home of Stylecraft yarns.

It was a wonderful day, a time to discuss plans for the future (theirs and mine) and get all over giddy about colours. I have been sworn to secrecy so I can't spill the beans and tell you what the yarny future holds (well not yet anyway) but I came away feeling very excited and inspired.

Other than our trip to Leeds and my trip to the Stylecraft Mill, January has been slow, gentle and home-based. I've really been enjoying the simple pleasure of lighting the fire in the afternoon and settling down to hook up some colourful stripes. Having a crochet blanket on the go at this time of year is honestly such a joy and I can't imagine a January without it. I'm looking forward to sharing some more photos with you tomorrow.

We've been in a very wintry cold snap this week with some snow and hard frost - it's been great! I much prefer these cold, clear, crisp winter days to the dreary, wet grey weather that plagued us through December. This is much more my thing, well,  sunshine will always be my thing.

Almost a month since Winter Solstice and I am really starting to notice the extra daylight in the mornings and evenings now. It's glorious to recognise that the real darkness of winter is behind us and we are slowly heading towards longer, lighter days. Happy, happy, happy about that!!! 

It's been lovely to chat - do tell me how your January is looking and what things are making you happy, I'd love to know.

For me - candlelight, floral scent, family time, routine, colour, yarn, crochet, fireside loafing, frothy coffee, crisp winter walks and the glow of sunset.

Simple pleasures xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

November Days

We went out today, myself, J and Little B, into the grey drizzle of a cold Sunday morning. First stop was coffee in town, a fairly new routine for us on a Sunday and one that I am heavily endorsing. It's just such a pleasure - family time to enjoy a hot frothy drink, and to chat about all sorts of random things. Sometimes I find myself totally surprised by my Little People growing into Big People. They are opinionated and articulate, ready to argue, debate and discuss, and often times I just can't get over the Bigness of their personalities. When exactly did their Littleness disappear?

After coffee we walked along the canal, not just our usual stretch but on beyond the centre of town to the outskirts. We walked for about a mile and a half before stepping off the tow path to go and buy some groceries. We are very lucky in our town to have two main supermarkets very close to the centre so they are very accessible on foot. We also have an Aldi which is further out, and this is where we went to shop today. I only buy certain products in Aldi, so I tend to go around the aisles and cherry-pick the specific things that I know I like and are good value. Extra virgin olive oil is one such product - this has become so, so expensive in the mainstream supermarkets now, so it's worth shopping elsewhere for it. Plus it was good exercise and an easy, un-muddy walk for us to take while the ground remains very, very wet.

On the way home we stopped briefly to watch this lady feeding the pigeons, she was completely surrounded by them and it seemed to me such a lovely scene unfolding in front of me. Often times when I'm out and about I can somehow view my life as though it's not real, like seeing it as a painting or a scene from a film. It's hard to explain the feeling, it's like a sort of visual detachment, and it's really rather beautiful at times. 

Yesterday was also wet and grey and J and I were in town quite early to shop at the market. One of my lovely US blog readers asked me a little while ago if I could show you what the market looks like, so I took a few rainy snaps to give you an idea. It's a street market which means it's linear, with stalls set up on both sides of our very wide main high street.

I found a really cool video on YouTube taken with a drone, showing you the town centre where I live, with the church and castle sitting proudly at the top. You can view the video ((here)), it's only 2 minutes long. You'll be able to see the road, but also notice that as well as the pavements there are wide cobbled "setts" along both sides of the road which are used for car parking and give space for the stalls to set up on market days.

We've stopped to buy free range eggs and locally produced dry cured bacon, and now we've crossed over the road and are on the other side. It's time for our fruit and veg....

....it's always a pleasure to shop in this way, buying from local small businesses and supporting our street market which has been here for hundreds of years.

After our Saturday shop we go for breakfast on our way home, always to the same little café which is strung with fairy lights and plays the sort of music you imagine would be playing in a Parisian café. It's charming and down to earth in here, and the coffee is extremely good.

I always eat a lot of fruit every day and enjoy seeing what's seasonal at the market. At the moment I'm loving these Russet apples, they have a very distinctive sweet flavour which is unlike any other apple. They are quite old fashioned I suppose and you don't generally see them for sale in mainstream supermarkets, so it's lovely to have them while they're in season. They go really well with thin slices of mature cheddar - a regular afternoon snack for me at the moment.

Also in season right now - pomegranates, oh, happy days!!! I AdOrE these exotic fruits and honestly get such a kick out of spending slow, quiet time taking them apart at the kitchen sink and popping out the jewel-like seeds.

Absolutely beautiful, in every way.

I can eat pomegranate seeds by the handful at any time of day, but this week I've really been enjoying them on my breakfast. A generous helping of Greek style yoghurt, drizzled with honey and topped with a little nutty granola, sliced banana, blueberries and pomegranate jewels. Delicious.

J and I continue our morning walk routine and have managed to go every day this past week. Five days out of seven it's been grey, dull and drizzly, but On Friday I was so happy to wake to clear skies - what a welcome change.

The clear skies made a huge difference to the light levels and at 7.15 it was no longer dark. I so wish we had more November days like this instead of the near constant grey wet weather we've been enduring.

I am making a great effort not to let the weather get me down, and I take myself out of the house by myself to walk every single day, even in the rain. There is always beauty to be found out there, and not a day goes by when I don't feel inspired to stop for a moment and capture something on my camera.

The dull wet weather has made the house feel even more cosy than usual, and the twinkly lights stay on all day long. I can really recommend these warm white lights on delicate copper wire, they take standard AA batteries (we use rechargable ones) and best of all they are on a timer so that they switch off by themselves after eight hours, which is so clever I think. They bring such a comforting twinkle into the house on these dull days and I wouldn't be without them.

Flowers in the house this week are these chrysanths and they are sooooo pretty. So cheap to buy at this time of year (this bunch was £3) and they stay looking great for ages. I think the last bunch I had (the dark pinky-red ones with yellow centres) lasted over two weeks

They bring such a lot of cheer into the room, I really do love having a jug of simple flowers in the house and it's not often my table is without them.

Tilly loves the cosy season when we are snuggled in blankets and she gets to drape herself all over us, she loves our company and honestly I love hers too. The weight and warmth of a soundly sleeping kitty on your legs is just the nicest thing.

Bringing colour into these grey November days is vital to my wellbeing, and my current Sungold yarn palette is doing a fantastic job. On Friday I sat at Coopers café and crocheted some simple flowers, what a joyful few hours that was. They are a bit misshapen and curly looking at the moment but once I've given them a little steam treatment they'll be ready for their photo shoot. I'm going to use them to showcase the full Sungold colour palette on Tuesday - only two more sleeps!!! Eeeeeep, I'm pretty excited to talk to you about this blanket and show you more of my inspiration photos. I hope you're ready for lots and lot of flowers, garden views, flowers and more flowers. Alllllllll the flowers. That'll cheer up an average November Tuesday, I'm really looking forward to it.

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Out of Town

Yesterday morning I was out doing the usual thing with J, our early morning walk in the semi darkness. Although I'm generally happy enough pottering through my same old daily routine, yesterday I realised that I've not actually been out of town since I went to Dorset at the end of October, so it's been two weeks without a change of scene. We've not even driven into the countryside to walk, so all my photos from the past fortnight have been local walks and the same old views, and I suddenly felt a really strong urge to escape from it all. 

So I did!

On a whim I hopped onto the 10:25 train to the city, and it felt absolutely marvellous, I was so happy to just be in motion and to be somewhere with a totally different atmosphere. I had a few things which I wanted to look for (new bedding and towels) and a few things which I needed to buy (something to wear for a fairly posh weekend ahead) but other than that, all I really wanted to do was wander around the streets and shops and soak up the city vibe.

As you can see, the shopping arcades were already in full-on Christmas mode which caught me by surprise as I don't generally begin to think about Christmas until December.

I love this arcade which is a relatively new build and houses some lovely shops including John Lewis which is one of my favourite department stores to browse in. This flooring though, it gets me every time - it's sooooooooo shiny!! It has a very reflective surface and combined with the zigzags it makes me feel all off kilter and wobbly, it's the strangest sensation.

Anyhow, John Lewis was dreamy and I spent ages riding up and down the escalators and ummming and aaahhhhing over the household textiles, like you do. I didn't end up buying anything because I didn't want to have to carry it, but it was good to see and feel and make notes for a future online shop.

Leeds has some really stunning architecture which includes these historic shopping arcades, and I absolutely love them. They are so beautiful and atmospheric....

....I mean, just look how glamorous it all is!! You can read more about them ((here)), they really are quite special.

My shopping trip was a success, and I did manage to find something to wear for the weekend which I was relieved about. I'm not a great shopper and really don't enjoy trying things on or making decisions about outfits so I very rarely do it. I have a very small wardrobe and wear the same clothes over and over and over, for years, until they fall apart or look far too unkempt to be acceptable. So yeah, job done, and I'm even a teensy bit excited to wear my new dress on Saturday.

I loved being in the city for a short while and wandering around just immersing myself in the commercial world for half a day gave me a real energy buzz.

Today I was also out of town, and the contrast with yesterday really did make an impression when I looked at my photos this evening.

My good friend who I meet with every week for coffee is off work this week on holiday, so of course I offered up my services as Outing Companion and agreed to go anywhere that took her fancy. I admit I did quietly suggest that the seaside is wonderful at this time of year, but she obviously didn't get the hint and instead she suggested we drive ten miles out into the Yorkshire Dales to the picturesque village of Burnsall. 

We both know this riverside walk very well, and I've pootled along here countless times over the years with the family. It's beautiful in all weathers and seasons but is especially lovely in Autumn.

It's an easy, scenic walk and we had a very specific midway destination in mind....

....leaving the river behind and following the footpath through fields, we arrived.....

....at one of my favourite little watering holes. Doesn't it look welcoming? This is the Old School Tearoom and somewhere I am very fond of when I'm in need of a bit of brunch and a really good coffee.

On this quiet, misty grey Thursday morning in November, the café was quiet when we arrived which allowed us to nab the very coveted window seat. Oh, happy, happy day!! As you can see, the view out of the window is absolutely beautiful....

.....with the café's free range chickens wandering around on the grass below. It really is an idyllic spot to sit and rest for a while in the cosy warmth while waiting for food and drinks to come to the table.

We stayed in the café eating, drinking and chatting for almost two hours, long enough for the mist to eventually lift and the sun to make an appearance. Doesn't it look gorgeous out there? Anyhow, aside from the scenery and greenery, I know that what you're really interested in is my coffee of the day, so here you go, I photographed it especially for you......

.....ta-dah!!!! It's a beauty!! This was actually my second cup of the day, uh-huh, I did splash out and have two, sometimes one just isn't quite enough. Do you want to see my brunch too? I thought you might......

.....now doesn't that look like it would really hit the spot? It was scrumptious, it really was.

It was early afternoon by the time we started to make our way back across the fields.... 

.....and the sun made such a difference to the colours of the landscape, it was really beautiful.

The river Wharfe is quite wide and fast flowing along this stretch but there are spots close to the riverbank which are more shallow and still. 

I kept thinking about my day in the city yesterday, and how today couldn't have been more different. It was extremely tranquil, not an inkling of hustle or bustle to be found along the riverbank.

I read somewhere that the village of Burnsall (in particular this old stone bridge) is one of the most photographed villages in the Yorkshire Dales. I've no idea if this is true, but it certainly is very photogenic.

It was built in 1609, over four hundred years ago. Amazing history right there.

Well it's been lovely catching you up with my comings and goings, I've had a really happy few days doing different things and I do feel that it's done me good. This weekend promises to bring even more out-of-routine delights, because I'm off with Little Lady to look round another city University, and this time we've booked a hotel stay to make a weekend of it. I'm really excited actually, me and my new dress are ready for some city adventures. Bring it on!

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Routine Feels Good

Following on from yesterdays chat about my new-found Springtime lockdown routine, today followed a similar pattern and I felt really good about making it happen. I didn't manage to get out quite so early this morning as I didn't set an alarm and woke naturally at 6.30. But I tell you, it felt wonderful to wake up and know that I already had a plan in place, and that there was no need to ponder on things. I can't tell you what a difference it made, it was quite remarkable how much more settled I felt when I woke up. I was striding out the door at 7.20, and it was a truly beautiful day to be out and about. 

I appreciate the feeling of stillness that hangs in the air this early in the morning, there is something very calming and tranquil about the day being still in it's early waking hours.

It must've rained in the night as everything was damp this morning and the hedges were still holding onto the raindrops.

I love to see the signs of spring slowly appearing and the fresh zing of newly unfurled leaves never fails to make me happy. It's a magical time of year and I can see why so many people are spring lovers. 

J and I set out to walk early again this morning, around 8.45 I think it was when we left the house. The sunshine was glorious, and it was just about warm enough to ditch the coat and manage with a warm hoodie. It felt so good after many months of woolly layers and wellie boots.

We walked home through town so that we could pick up our coffee, and on a whim I stopped to buy a loaf of bread from the veggie stall on the market. I figured that fresh crusty bread would go well with my homemade soup for lunch so I bought a brown sourdough loaf made here in Skipton by a local chef who started up his own micro bakery last year. It's hands down the best sourdough I've ever tasted, the flavour is so so so good. Of course it really didn't help me with my quest to kick the toast and sugar cravings to the curb, but that's a burden I'm willing to deal with. Everything in moderation.

It was a happy delivery day here today as not one but two parcels arrived in the post this morning. I bought myself a new dress (this one) from one of my favourite clothing companies, it's a really soft cotton material and I can't wait to wear it on days when it's warm enough for bare legs and flip flops.

I also purchased some of my most favourite chocolate (again, NOT helping with the clean eating mission, but I ordered it at the weekend when I was in full self indulgence mode). Lime and Sea Salt dark chocolate, honestly the flavour combos in this chocolate are like heaven to me.

Hmmm....I'm seeing a seasalty theme appearing here......guess I must really be missing the sea?!

This afternoon I felt the pull to crochet and it felt really good to sit for a few hours to quietly work with hook and yarn. Do you like the look of the yarn? Isn't it a feast?! This is a brand new product from Stylecraft and I've been lucky enough to get my hands on all of the colours available - there are 38 in total. This is a DK weight organic cotton which comes in 50g balls, and I absolutely love it. It's soft and smooth with a matt finish (it's not a mercerised yarn) and it's a delight to crochet with. I was worried that my hands might not like it as cotton doesn't have any elasticity and can quite often be tough to work with. But I haven't had any difficulty with this yarn and I think it's going to become a firm favourite. 

I spent the whole afternoon lost in the bliss of these soft, spring like colours, crocheting up a pile of flowers and leaves. It's been ages since I felt inspired to dive into some decorative making, and it felt so good! Happy, happy me!!

So I have a bare twiggy branch that is waiting for Spring to arrive - tomorrow I'll show you when these flowers find their twiggy place. See you then xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

  

 

Blogtober 2020 :: Day 17

The above photo was taken back in the spring around Easter time (hence the hot cross bun) and I was on the final stretch of stitching this lovely cross stitch. 

I really love cross stitch designs, I think they are such a beautiful combination of simplicity and complexity and I've found that I am especially suckered in if the design includes flowers. I was sat looking at this particular cross stitch yesterday, admiring the satisfying neatness of all those hundreds of little stitches blending together to make the overall design work.

It was a WiP for quite a long time, almost two whole years in fact. I purchased and downloaded the design from an Etsy shop called "Tiny Modernist"* at the height of my cross stitching frenzy in 2018, and this was the fourth hoop that I stitched.

You can read about the first one ((here)) and the second and third ones ((here))

This design fits really neatly into an 8 inch hoop, which not only makes it a joy to stitch, but also gives an easy option for framing and displaying the finished work.

I like to use a "flexi-hoop" as they come with a little hanger attached at the top instead of the traditional screw that you find at the top of a wooden embroidery hoop. You can find them in all different sizes online, there is an 8 inch one on Amazon ((here)) which is similar to the ones I use.

I actually don't mind the wood grain effect but as I already had some pretty blue spray paint in the cellar (purchased for another project) I decided to have a go at changing the hoop from brown to Mediterranean Blue. It was a bit messy, and I discovered that I am veeeeeery impatient when it comes to waiting for things to dry thoroughly (note to self - tacky is not the same thing as completely dry). But on the whole I'm pleased with how it turned out.

Once I wrestled the cross stitch back into the flexi hoop and was happy with the way it looked, I trimmed the fabric with pinking sheers, then stitched around the edge with a strong length of embroidery floss so that I could pull it tight to gather in the edges. I like this simple way of finishing a cross stitch hoop, it's a bit homespun but I like the idea that the back of the stitching remains visible. I'm quite proud of my stitchy backsides as I do try and keep them neat and don't feel the need to hide them away.

Finally, I painted around the cut edge with a little PVA white craft glue to stop any fraying ends of fabric escaping, and left it all to dry thoroughly. Not  a tacky surface in sight, but thorough dryness you understand. 

Want to see how it turned out?

You know, with the blue frame instead of the brown?

OK...

here

you

go.....

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

It looks pretty good I think?! I added a final little ribbony flourish and it was ready to hang.

A few months ago at the start of the summer holidays, I decided that trying to write on my laptop downstairs was just not working out for me. It's nobody's fault, we were all stuck at home and we only have one single room downstairs (aside from our miniscule kitchen) where family life happens. I found it impossible to concentrate with J and the Little People coming in and out of the room, the cat mithering me for food and the background soundtrack of television invading my thoughts. When J decided to re-watch the whole of The Sopranos from start to finish (oh my goodness, the language! The noise!) I made my mind up to relocate myself ASAP.

I had a little narrow desk down at my studio which wasn't being used, so I fetched it back home, shifted an old heirloom nursing chair out of the corner of the bedroom and made space for a new work area. It's not ideal having a work space in the bedroom, but there isn't really any other place in the house where I could go, so the bedroom it is for now. I still do my creative work downstairs at the dining table or sat on the sofa (or the floor in front of the fire too) but I am really appreciating being able to close myself off from the fam when I need some peace and quiet to write. 

We haven't decorated in here since we moved in thirteen years ago, but as the walls are simply white washed they have been fine for us to live with. However, I would very much like to add some decoration to this space above my desk, maybe a little shelf and some pretty things to hang on the wall there.

I decided a few weeks ago that I'm going to slowly begin collecting some art work especially for my new desk area, and I'm really excited by the whole idea of curating a little space especially for my own enjoyment. This week I received two very lovely parcels in the post, and thought I'd share them with you.

The first parcel contained the above print which is by the very talented artist Brie Harrison. I am a huge fan of Brie's work, and have a few of her postcards dotted about the place. When Brie contacted me and asked if she could send me one of her prints by way of a thank you for a spontaneous shout-out I gave her on social media, I was really touched. I spent a while deliberating over which one to choose (all her giclée prints are just beautiful) and in the end I opted for the one shown above, called "Oaxaca Plant"

I can't tell you how beautiful it is in real life, I've never actually seen a "giclée print" before and oh-my-goodness, the quality is incredible. The finished print is very matt with the most vibrant colours, it honestly looks as if it has been freshly painted. I really love it, so much.

My other parcel contained a rainbow, oh yay for brightly coloured fluffy, frivolous things!

I purchased this from a lovely lady I follow on Instagram, her name is Natalie and she sells her work under the name "Love Indy" *. I saw that she was busy making lots of colourful new stock to re-open her online shop a few weeks ago and I was powerless to resist the lure of the pompoms. This is such a beautifully made decoration and I could tell instantly how much love and care has gone into perfecting the design and making the pompoms absolutely perfect. 

When I laid the above three things out to photograph earlier this afternoon I was immediately struck by how well the colours all go together. Don't they look lovely? I'm calling it a win!

So now I need to decide what kind of shelf I'd like before I begin knocking nails into the wall to hang my pretty things, but I'm excited to make this tiny little corner of the room a lovely spot to call my own. 

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@brieharrison on Instagram ( ♥ thank you Brie for the beautiful gifted print ♥ )

@love.indy_ on Instagram (*pompom rainbow not gifted)

@tinymodernist on Instagram (*cross stitch pattern not gifted)

 

 

 

 

Blogtober 2020 :: Day 10

Helloooo my lovelies, so good to see you in the Attic on day 10 (ten!) of my Blogtober journey. Today has been so, so nice in a very gentle, quietly productive weekendish way. Firstly, I relished not having an alarm waking me up and slept in until almost 8 o'clock which was heaven. During the school week my alarm goes off at 6.30am which is actually OK for me as I am most definitely a morning person. 

I'm really happy with my weekday routine and love getting up early and doing my morning workouts, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy my weekends off! I love the change of pace at the weekends, and Saturdays and Sundays still hold something of a special feel for me even though I spend every day of the week at home.

Around 9.30 J and I walked into town together to do our rounds of the market and local shops. We visited the cheese stall and the fruit/veg stall on the market, then called into the baker, the butcher and finally a quick whizz into M&S foods for a few weekend treats.

Saturday is generally the only day of the week that I don't always cook from scratch - we bought pizzas for the Little People and J and I had a ready-made meal tonight, a really delicious Thai veggie curry from the M&S "Plant Kitchen" range. Often I do cook for J and I on a Saturday when the LP have pizza, and I choose something that would be harder (and way too expensive) to do for a family of five. It might be steak for example, or pan fried seabass fillets which are a fave. But honestly, I do really appreciate the times when all I need to do is cook up some extra veggies, pull a pizza out the oven and wait for the microwave to ping.

After our shopping we walked home with heavy bags full of fresh produce, stopping off on the way to recuperate over a coffee (ohhhhh, can you see a pattern emerging here? Please don't judge my coffee habit!). I don't need to tell you that it was outRAGEously good haha! I practically inhaled it, well honestly at one point I really did literally inhale it because J was making me laugh so much.

We always buy looooooads of stuff from the fruit and veggie stall, enough to last us almost a whole week. I load up on masses of fruit as all of us eat fruit daily so I fill two huge fruit bowls in the kitchen with apples, pears, satsumas, bananas, and then berries and grapes etc in the fridge. I buy whatever veg looks good as the variety of produce varies from week to week. Today I bought the most beautiful looking red pointy peppers which inspired me to make my "Red Soup". The Little People named it the red soup when I first started making it years ago as it has red peppers, sweet potato, red onion and tomatoes in it, making it the most glorious colour.

I bought a basil plant to use in the soup, and to (hopefully) keep growing on the kitchen windowsill - I wonder who remembers my crochet herb pot which I made forever ago? I still really love that quirky little make.

I had soup on my mind when I came home from the market so decided to make it straight away so that I could enjoy a bowl for a late lunch. Here is the recipe in brief....

Chop up 2 red peppers, half a large sweet potato, two large handfuls of baby plum tomatoes, 2 onions and 2 cloves of garlic. Spread it all out on a baking sheet, drizzle with a little olive oil, then season well. I used this salt which I recently bought after reading an article about the Dorset Sea Salt Company in Country Living Magazine, it adds a real depth of flavour to cooking which I love. Plus, it comes from Chesil Beach which makes it extra special, a little taste of home.

Roast the veg at 200C for about 40 mins, giving it all a toss around at the half way point.

Make up 600ml of vegetable stock and stir in 1 tablespoon of tomato purée.

Mix the roasted veggies in with the hot stock, then whizz it all up in a blender, doing it in batches if necessary.

Last year we bought a new blender and it's one of our most well used kitchen gadgets - we absolutely LOVE it and use it almost every day. The Little People regularly make smoothies (we keep a bag of frozen berries in the freezer at all times), and I use it to make cooking pastes and sauces, pancake batter, and of course soups. It has a powerful motor so doesn't complain at the frozen lumps of fruit and ice cubes, and it whizzes up a very smooth soup in no time at all. I can highly recommend this one if you are looking for a multipurpose blender (find it on Amazon HERE, it's the 1200W one).

So yeah, I put half of the stock/veg mixture in the blender at a time with a large sprig of fresh basil and whizzed it all up.....

Oh. My. Goodness. SO GOOD!!!!!

This red soup has a very rich, satisfying flavour - I grated a little strong cheddar cheese on top and had it with fresh sourdough bread. I think I'll be making weekend soup more regularly from now on as I really, really enjoyed it - do tell me, what is your favourite soup to make?

My lunch was a late one (2pm ish) and afterwards I noticed the weather was bright and I fancied pottering outside for a little while. I had a sudden urge to bring some colour into the front garden, it was honestly a MaJoR compulsion to go do it right there and then. So before I could even question myself, I had pulled on my coat and was racing down the hill to find me some floral colour. Just like that - one minute eating soup and the next minute I absolutely had to go buy plants!! I do wonder at myself sometimes.

Twenty five minutes later and I was home again with five little pots tucked in my bag. They cost £1 each from the supermarket - two ivies, two cyclamen and a winter cherry, aren't they cheery?

↑↑ This was the place I had in mind for them - this little old wall basket sits to the right of our lower cellar door at the front of the house and it's been making me feel a bit sad just lately. It still has the old stalks in it from last year's deceased geraniums and every time I caught sight of it I would feel bad about it's neglected state. 

Time to make amends!

↑↑ This little pile of green gorgeousness made me so happy because it is Home Grown!! There is a patch of grass beneath our old wooden bench in the front garden that has become more moss than grass, so I was gently able to lift some of it up to use in my wall basket, to stop the earth tumbling out of the gaps. You know how much I adore moss (like I love it very, very much) and so to have my very own growing mossy stuff is like a dream come true. 

And this is how it looks after my £5 investment, plus a little bit of time and minimal effort really. There is still a bit of a gap at the front so I think I might look for some pretty violas to go there as I do love those cute little things. 

Whilst I was searching for floral colour in Morrisons I found this ready-planted terracotta pot for only £4, so that came home to number 24 too, to sit on my front step.

I love the little splash of colour that greets me now as I climb the nine steps to my front door. Note to self - do not forget to water the new growing things. Must. Not. Forget. 

After all the gardening activity, everything came to a sudden halt inside my brain, and I needed to sit down and re-group for a bit. I think I just got over excited being all domesticated, what with making (and eating) soup from scratch and gardening all crammed in together...well, I needed a small frothy coffee and a little bit of gentle yarny stitching to quiet myself. 

I finished off the second half of the gusset decreases on the second sock (I'm knitting two socks together), so that was a good job done. Now I've got the pleasure of whizzing down those easy foot rows and before long I hope to find myself at the toes. J will be pleased I think, he's wearing the other two pairs I made him every day on repeat.

Just as I was cooking dinner retrieving food from the oven and microwave, J shouted to me to come and look out of the window. We'd had a sudden heavy rain shower and the most beautiful double rainbow was arcing over the rooftops right in front of our house. It was so beautiful, a real uplifting sight for sure.

I hope your day has been wonderfully weekendish, do tell me a little of what you've been up to, I'd love to hear......

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City Delights

I am very much enjoying having J at home with me this week, it's a treat for us to have so much child free time together and we're having fun going out and about. Today we went on the train to The City to do a little bit of Christmas shopping which is something of an annual ritual for me at this time of year. Having the Mister with me made it a different experience altogether, and also made me remember that we are both completely different when it comes to shopping.

Our first stop was a new shopping arcade which only opened in October, and wowsers, what an impressive thing it is. I wished that I had taken more notice of the outside of the building as it looks incredible from the pictures I've seen (have a look here to see what I mean). Inside was quite overwhelming, everything was just soooooo shiny!! So much gleaming, reflective, shiny materials, my eyes felt like they might just pop out of my head trying to take it all in. The floor completely did me in, those reflective zigzags made me feel like I was going to trip over any minute. The shops were all incredibly posh too, and were a little bit over the top for me, but then again I was kind of expecting it to be that way. Aside from wanting to just experience all the shiny new-ness, we actually needed to visit the new John Lewis store to pick up a particular gift.

I do have a soft spot for large department stores, there is something rather exciting about having access to so much beautifully displayed stuff on such a large scale. And I happen to love love love riding up and down escalators, it greatly pleases my inner child which I suspect is very much more giddy than is normal for my age.

I left J in the technology department and wandered across to the christmas department to gaze in wonder at the vast displays of ornaments. I had an urge to go and stroke household textiles on the floor below (I am inexplicably drawn to the shelves of fluffy towels arranged by colour), but J was having none of it. He shops like a missile - knows his target in advance and goes straight to it, acquiring it with the minimum of fuss and not a millimetre of diversion. I am the complete opposite, I am a browser and a wanderer and am so very easily diverted it's ridiculous. I have secretly decided to go back to this amazing store at another time and spend an age wandering and stroking, riding up and down through all the levels as many times as I can.

The older shopping arcades in Leeds city are just incredibly beautiful, and I love strolling around here.

I didn't see anyone else really taking in their surroundings, but to me it was impossible not to stand still and gaze about.

We were passing through this arcade so weren't shopping here as such....

.....but I couldn't resist taking some photographs of it looking so glorious and festive.

Ahhhh, gift shopping.....what can I say? I don't enjoy it all that much, and I'm not very good at it either. I picked up a few things from favourite shops for friends, and some small bits for the Little People. But ultimately, after going at it for 3 hours I felt drained and as if I'd failed somehow. 

J suggested we use our last hour in the City to sit and have a drink rather than traipse around more shops, and I was so happy about that idea. 

He took me to a place that he sometimes visits with friends - it's actually a hotel bar, but the fact that it's on the 13th floor makes it rather special.

The views from up here in the SkyLounge Bar are spectacular, so different from my green rural Attic view, but stunning all the same.

We ordered drinks and decided to sit outside on the narrow terrace which runs along the whole length of the thirteenth floor. Despite it being winter and the fact that we were so high up in the air, the terrace was sheltered and warmed by outdoor heaters above each table, and it felt absolutely lovely to be able to sit outside.

I was a bit naughty and ordered myself Hendricks gin and tonic to take the lingering edge off the shopping experience, gosh I really, really enjoyed that drink!

We had time before our train to have a little wander around this area which is a curious mix of historical and new, residential and commercial. It was interesting to see the canal boats here, and it suddenly occurred to me that this is the very same canal (the historic Leeds-Liverpool canal) that runs through my town.

Walking home from the train station along my own familiar stretch of canal this afternoon, I felt a surge of relief to be back. I do enjoy the occasional city visit and a change of scene every so often, but oh it is so so so nice to come home again.

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 More little snippets from the Attic....

Seasonal

Up Hill and Down Dale

Dorset Summer 2015

Seasonal

❄ A bowl of leafy clementines on the table, bought as much for the vibrant colour as for the fruity goodness. I've got an annoying cold at the moment, a head full of cotton wool and a very sore throat so I'm snacking on these little oranges and hoping the vitamins will do me good ❄

❄ The scent of a gorgeous seasonal candle filling the whole house. I love lighting these candle tins during the day when I am home on my own and don't have to worry about the hazzards of hot wax+Little People. I've got a Christmas Spice candle ready to light tomorrow when I shall be Decking the Halls (ie the fireplaces) ❄

❄ We had our first mince pies of the season this weekend, deliciously baked by good ol' M&S. Personally, I much prefer shop-bought mince pies to homemade ones and don't mind admitting it even though my friends tut disapprovingly ❄ 

❄ Sitting on the sofa, keeping warm by wearing my woolly poncho whilst crocheting the edge of it. I finished it last night and blocked it this morning, I can't wait to show you. It's very satisfying to make something wearable that can provide much needed warmth and comfort at this time of year ❄ 

❄ A few weeks ago I hopped on the train and journeyed to the city to do some Christmas shopping in the Big Shops. It's something I do every year, but this year was even more fun as I went with friends ❄

❄ The beautiful old shopping arcades looked even more beautiful than usual, decked out in their seasonal finery. It was a joy to wander around gazing at it all and marvelling at the sheer number of teeny tiny lights ❄

❄ I'm almost done with my Christmas gift buying now, I've bought from local shops as well is in The City and on line. I find all the festive purchasing and decision making very draining I must say, I'm glad I'm nearly done with it all ❄

❄ A seasonal Attic view, I love this December photo very much. As you can see, it snowed here at the end of last week, just a few icy flurries for us here in town but up on the hills there was proper real snow ❄

❄ Walking to school last week, listening to the excited chatter of the Little People as they discussed the possibility of imminent snow fall. Oh my, I love their excitement so much, especially Little B who recalls with vivid clarity the day I took him sledging when he was two years old and is desperate for a repeat performance ❄

❄ My Christmas cards arrived! Really, really pleased with them. Just need to get down to the business of writing and sending them now. I'm also enjoying my advent tree very much during these December days, the little woodland critters make me smile every morning ❄

❄ I definitely want to make more cards, the whole process of designing, making and photographing, then waiting for the box of cards to arrive from the printers is really exciting! I know it's a bit late for this year, but I wanted to tell you that I decided to upload my owl photo to Flickr so that it's there for anyone who wishes to download it and use it to make their own cards. I've left the image un-cropped as I found it easier to crop at the time I actually made the card. You can find it {h e r e} ❄

❄ ...just a few of the seasonal things that have made me happy during the past few weeks.....I confess I struggle a bit with this time of year and find I'm not generally at my best in December. It's the Winter Solstice on Sunday, I shall be celebrating the fact that each and every day next week will be a little teensy bit longer than this week. Roll on Spring...❄

 

❋...more little snippets from the Attic...❋

This Week...

December Flowers

Crochet Christmas Card

Cowl-neck Poncho

Scrumptious

It's half term here this week, so I am home slobbing about with the Little Peeps, relaxing and unwinding and generally trying to be as lazy as possible. J is home from work for the week too, although he isn't quite as good at slobbing as we are. This morning, despite the grey skies and threat of imminent rainfall, he managed to chivvy us all out of our pyjamas and out into the cool of the morning to Take A Walk. It was good actually, the right thing to do, and there were only a few spots of rain. We stopped at our favourite local bakers up the road and purchased paper bags of sweet baked treats, then walked up the hill, past the chickens, behind the castle and into the damp woodland. A stop beside the pond to tuck into those paper bags (mmmmmmmm caramel shortbread), then on up the steep steps to emerge in the open. I didn't have my camera with me or else I would be showing you pictures of twigs and green moss and waterfalls and a beeeeeautiful carpet of snowdrops. You'll just have to imagine all that, see it in your minds eye, if you don't mind.

What I can show you are the things I brought home with me. Some little twigs of sweet catkins plucked from the fallen branch of a tree. Such shocking storm damage, it was heart breaking as the tree was quite considerable in size and had been completely snapped in half. But I didn't feel bad about bringing the catkins home in my bag to make a lovely little posie with some snowdrops from my front patch and some of the bendy-droopy narcissi from my mantel. I love assembling a little posy of seasonal stems to pop into my old ink bottle, it really does give me such a lot of pleasure to do this simple thing.

I also brought home these scrumptious leafy clementines that I picked up from the market on our way home through the town. Ten for one pound, their incredible colour and fresh zesty presence on the table gave me a little heart flutter. And oh my, the taste. It's the taste of sunshine for sure, so juicy and sweet and a fabulous antidote to a grey English winter.

Mollie Makes arrived through the post this morning too. I have been a subscriber from the very first issue, but to tell the truth I am about to end my subscription as I don't always find a lot in those pages that makes my heart leap these days. It is a tad too On Trend for me, lots of cool, quirky designery people doing cool, quirky designery things. It is a bit too over-styled for my taste too, but that's just my personal opinion and I can see that it's still a very well loved magazine for many. Funnily enough, the thing I most like about browsing this magazine is the advertisements. I love to find new people, new shops, new sources of creative inspiration, and today I felt like I unearthed a diamond.

The diamond is delightfully called The Homemakery, an online shop selling yarn, fabric, haberdashery and papercrafts. This is a truly beautiful wesbite. Very visual, charming, wonderfully designed and inspiring from the start. The products for sale at the Homemakery are really scrumptious, just look at these ribbons!!!!!!!

And this wonderful bakers twine too, oh yum yum! There is so much to tempt in this gorgeous place, and it gave me such a lift just skipping from item to item, drinking in the colour and the creative possibilities. There is a sweet blog too. I love making new discoveries like this. Do you have any favourite places on the www that you can recommend? Anywhere you routinely go to when you want to feel inspired? Do share!

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♥...more little snippets from the Attic...♥

Sociable Crochet :: Part I

Better

Pom Poms and Pretty Things

October 2012

Dorset Summer 2012 :: days 5&6