Attic24

Autumn Snaps :: November 2022

♥ Early November brought the first frosts and our seven o'clock morning walks were suddenly very chilly. Such a beautiful and invigorating way to start the day though, I love the energy it gives me.

♥ Continuing to walk around my lovely little rural home town, observing the beauty of the changing seasons.

♥ Even on damp, dull days the autumn colours cheered my spirits and I took so much pleasure from being out underneath the trees.

♥ Most weekday mornings I head out by myself for an hour or so, mostly to pick up groceries or run errands around the town.  I realised just the other day that this has kind of taken over from the school run that used to be such a big part of my routine, and the thought of that made me smile. 

♥ Two weeks ago we celebrated a whole fifteen years living here at number twenty four. This house, in this friendly town with this remarkable hill view fill me with gratitude every single day. I'm so glad we live here!

♥ Ahh, a random photo of a leaf, of course. This is the exact kind of thing that literally stops me dead in my tracks as I'm walking up the street. The colours in nature fill my brain to bursting, it's no wonder I can't remember stuff - there's just no room for information in amongst the leaves.

♥ November is a month full of cosy. The rapidly shortening days and cold, snappy weather makes me appreciate the comforts of being indoors, covered in the all the yarn. Socks, mitts and blankets, layers and layers of warmth.

♥ Waking up and realising it's Friday - allllllll the happy feels. I get to jaunt down the hill to the café to spend three delicious hours drinking coffee, hooking up something colourful and chatting with my very good friends. I bloomin' love Fridays.

♥ The joy of sharing a love of yarn and colour with my tribe. Sitting opposite my talented friend who's been knitting a circular blanket in the most glorious shades of Autumn. My Fireside cushion really looked good with her blanket, such a photogenic pair.

♥ Haha - mid November, and I was still hanging onto the last remains of summer, I just couldn't seem to let it go completely. The little wood and wire sculpture is a recent purchase from one of my favourite makers Helen of Thimbleville. I love the simple words because they remind me to stay positive on days when it feels like a struggle.

♥ Cheap and cheerful autumn flowers on my table, bringing colour into the room for almost three whole weeks. 

♥ November has long been the month of the indoor hyacinths, ever since I first moved here and found them in the supermarket in November 2008. I've had them in the house every single year since and look forward to them very, very, very much.

♥ Here's an observation though - they really don't seem to smell any more? The scent of hyacinths would easily fill the room once upon a time, but in recent years, not so much. They are still the most beautiful things to observe though - there are six days between the two photos above, don't they grow fast?

♥ A weekend family walk at Bolton Abbey, taking advantage of some unexpected afternoon sunshine.

♥ The low sun was blindingly bright at times, but I couldn't get enough of it. Sometimes I just stand still and face the sun with my eyes closed - J says I'm solar powered and need to recharge my panels. I think he might be right.

♥ Gorgeous, gorgeous light as we drove home over the moors - it's just after 3pm in the above photo. The long, tall shadows are me and Little Lady prancing about while the boys sat patiently in the car waiting for us to finish.

♥ Cosy crochet by candlelight - very, very Novemberish I'd say.

♥ The first mice pie of the season, such a perfect little afternoon sweet treat. I adore these little mini ones that you can buy from the supermarkets and much prefer them to the big filled ones.

♥ November is generally waaaaay too early for me to think about anything Christmassy, but it's hard to avoid as little signs creep in everywhere you look. I can cope with the odd bauble here and there, and maybe some extra twinkly lights about the place.

♥ All in all, November was a good month, really good actually. Ohh....yes! There was also this.....

....a few days spent by the sea which was absolutely, wonderfully restorative and energising. I'll show you some more photos in  my next post xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

 

 

Home into Autumn

Hellooooooo to you all, how have you been? It feels like a good long while since I was here chatting to you but that's mainly because I've been away from home, and I think time away often moves at a different pace to the normal, everyday sort of tick-tock time on the home clock.

Actually, this time last week I was still travelling, making my way from the south France to London, then up along the backbone of England all the way north to Yorkshire. It took thirteen hours in total, a coach, a plane, the underground and two trains, with some weary walking up the hill at the very end. 

I've spent the last week resting quite a bit and easing myself back into gentle home routines. It's been a pleasure to allow my days to gently unfold and soak up the quiet, comforting homely vibes here at number twenty four. 

There has been a distinct chill in the air this past week and honestly, it has felt really beautiful. I've often said that I am happiest when our English seasons run true, and so far autumn is feeling wonderfully autumnal. Happy me!

It was my birthday last week and I celebrated fifty four trips around the sun. I had coffee with my good friend (we have a standing date at a favourite café every Tuesday morning) and she gave me a card, a little wrapped present, a bag of pears and a solitary beetroot (complete with roots and soil attached) which she'd dug up from the community veg plot on her way to the café. It was the funniest gift which made me double over with laughter, and that reminds me I really do need to cook it! I think I'm going to roast it in the oven. She also very kindly gifted me the most stunning bunch of fragrant stocks and I inhaled their sweet, peppery scent all the way home.

Don't they look lovely? Stocks and a muddy beetroot - what more could a girl want, eh?!

My birthday was on Wednesday and the day was bright and blustery, perfect for a lunch time stroll. 

J doesn't often take a proper lunch break when he's working (something which we often argue about), but on this day he made time  to come to the woods with me. We had Little Lady with us too, and I must say I am really, really loving the fact that I still have her at home for the time being. 

The leaves are just beginning to fall in the woodland and although it's still mostly green in the treetops, there are lots of leaves now on the ground. There is seasonal beauty all around, and I am absolutely here for it.

We are continuing to manage without our central heating, and I'm kind of getting used to the house being a bit on the cold side. I can't say I like it that much (I take after my late Mum, and really don't like to feel cold), but I am coping. I'm dressing in multiple cotton layers, adding a thick jumper when I need it, woolly socks constantly on my feet and blankets, blankets and more blankets. If I'm sitting, then I'm covered in at least two blankets. I shall be known as Lucy Layers this season. Thank goodness for the fire, my gosh I worship this thing, it brings me immense pleasure and comfort and I absolutely would not be without it.

Since I came home from France, I'm taking even more pleasure than usual from my every day views. I really do love where I live and looking at it as if I were a visitor is something I do quite often. Do you do the same I wonder? Or is this just another of my weird and wonderful habits?!

I walk along this narrow road beside the canal almost every day as it's the quickest route into the centre of town, and it's such a sweet way to observe the changing seasons too. 

On bright days when the sun has felt juuuuuust about warm enough for us to sit outside, J and I have had our morning coffee al fresco. There are a couple of small bistro tables outside our regular coffee shop and I've really enjoyed having the October sun on my face as I slurp my frothy coffee. These small pleasures bring such a lot of joy to my days.

I don't really have much to say about the above photo to be honest! It was an afternoon walk to the supermarket to pick up a few bits that we had run out of. The flowers caught my eye as I walked along the tow path to Tesco, and my immediate thought was to take a photo so that I could show you. Blogging is such a deep-rooted way of life for me that I very rarely stop to question myself over it. Take a photo of a boat with some flowers to share with the twenty thousand strangers who visit the Attic every day (give or take a few)? Completely normal.

I almost forgot that in between the slow, mundane, restful days at home last week, I took off on a very quick jaunt. Good job I snapped a photo of the platform or else I would have forgotten! So yeah...three days after returning from France I was back on the trains again, but a quick journey this time just over to York to visit some of my dearest friends. It was a reunion with the ladies who kept me sane during those very early new born baby days, celebrating twenty years of motherhood and friendship. It was honestly the best night, so full of laughter that I had to work hard not to actually pee my pants. I count myself very lucky to have these kind of friends, it's something special to be able to pick up with each other over the years and feel like no time has passed.

I haven't had chance to chat to you much about the Fireside blanket which launched about a month ago. But I just wanted to say a massive, heartfelt THANK~YOU to everyone who bought a yarn pack and started out on this cosy blanket journey, it's been wonderful for me to see so many new blankets taking shape in recent weeks. I know that many of you are new to using Stylecraft Highland Heathers yarn and it's been great to hear how much you've liked it. 

My own blanket is in constant use and it's the perfect size to wrap around my shoulders (my name is Lucy Layers, remember) or cosy across my legs.

A few days ago I came across a photo on Facebook which made my heart skip a beat, and I knew I had to show you.....

......what do you think?? Isn't it BEaUtiFuL??? It's made using the twelve Fireside colours following my random stripe order which you can find ((here)). The pattern is the Seashell Stripe (which I used to make my Dune blanket) and I think it looks absolutely stunning. Amanda, if you are reading this, I just love love love your blanket, thank you so much for sharing on Facebook, what an inspiration.

At the moment I'm using the leftovers from my Fireside blanket to make a circular cushion and I am absolutely crushing on the colours all over again. They somehow look different when in a circle, a bit brighter and more lustrous? Is lustrous a real word or did I just make that up...hahah....I kind of want to say Lush-trous?!! 

Anyhow, this is the second side of the cushion and I'm almost finished so I'll show you later in the week when it's done. I started the project when I was in France as I needed something fairly easy to work on in the teeeeny gaps of time when I was free from teaching and wasn't out walking and falling in love with stone walls and cobbled streets.

Speaking of France, I had a wonderful, amazing time teaching on my Stitchtopia retreat and I fell a little bit in love with beautiful Carcassonne. It was ridiculously picturesque and atmospheric and I took a gazillion photos which I've spent aaaaaages organising and editing over the past few days.

I'd like to share my trip with you, if you'd be interested to see what an Attic24 Crochet retreat looks like? It was pretty colourful (of course) and there was lots of crochet and coffee and beautiful views and the sunniest sunshine.....more soon!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

 

September Seasonal Shift

September was such a lovely month here this year, an absolutely perfect mix of summer and autumn. This seasonal shift has caught me by surprise in the best possible way, and I have to say that one week into Autumn and I am really loving it.

Early September still felt very summery with warm, dry weather and many days of sunshine. My toes were certainly happy :)

Little B went back to school in the second week of September and setting an alarm again after the ease of the summer holidays was a bit of a shock to the system. I do enjoy the school routine though, and once the youngest, noisiest child is out of the house for the day a rather delicious quietness settles on the home front. 

The kitty has wanted to be close to her humans just lately and in the quiet of the morning I really enjoy her cosy company. She's not a cat that you can entice onto your lap very easily, so these kind of snuggles are always very much on her terms and it's lovely when she decides I'm the place to be!

I bought summery flowers for my table and gave our downstairs living room a bit of a tidy up and a refresh. I don't mind telling you that I was very lazy over the summer months when it came to housework, but there is something about the back-to-school vibe which returns the focus to home routines.

I continue to really enjoy my weekly yarny meet-ups at the café and in September I was obsessed with knitting these socks. I managed to finish one sock down to the end of the toes, and the second sock is ready to start with the heel I think. I had to put them away while I concentrated on creating the Fireside tutorial, but with the colder weather snapping in I really want these socks off my needles and onto my feet. It's firmly on my to-do list.

Middle of September I was gifted some beautiful produce from my friend's allotment plot which almost made my cry with gratitude and delight. A punnet of the most delicious sun ripened tomatoes and a bunch of flowers for drying so that they'll last right through the winter months.

Such beautiful late summer colour wrapped in newspaper, a nostalgic reminder of my childhood too as my Mum used to grow these flowers on her allotment.

I made a caprese salad for my lunch with some of the tomatoes and ooooohmygosh it was ever so good. Such simple, fresh flavours and a real taste of summer.

This was a sunny Saturday afternoon walk around local fields and lanes because it was just too nice to stay indoors.

 I stood for ages watching that tractor ploughing up and down the side of that huge hill, it was crazy satisfying to observe the slow but pleasing toil of it somehow. I remember also thinking that the colours of the landscape in mid September perfectly matched the seasonal shift from summer to autumn.

I love this view as we get near to home after our walks out to neighbouring villages. We live in quite a hilly area of the town and I love to see all the old Victorian terraced streets following the contours.

We had some really beautiful weather once we'd passed over the autumn equinox, the sort of bright, clear skies that invite you to walk just for the pleasure of it.

I found myself wandering through the park and up to the farm shop one morning, just to get a feel for the season and see what was fresh and inviting. Lots and lots of baby pumpkins greeted me as I walked in the door, leaving no doubt about the season we are now in. Bye-bye summer.

I didn't buy baby pumpkins, but I did buy chocolate. This is one of my favourite local chocolates made in York and I just love it. I love the packaging and I love the gorgeous flavours they come up with - dark chocolate is my preference and this Blood Orange Gin flavour did not disappoint. Crikey it was insanely good.

Some days have felt very much more autumnal than others, and although September was a pretty dry month we did have our fair share of the damps. Low, low cloud pressing down on the landscape....

....spinning teeny, tiny droplets of water into the hedgerows and over everything, us included.

Other days were just amazingly golden and gorgeous, I mean, look how StUNning this light is!! Seven o'clock and the sun is just rising over the hilltops at this time of year, my goodness it really is something special to be out in the world at that time of day.

A gorgeous reward for those early alarms and a reminder that a brisk morning walk is so, so, so good for the mind and soul as well as for the body.

I am still wearing my sandals on days when it's dry and not too chilly, but I often find that by mid afternoon my toes need a little snuggle time. So far we've managed to keep the central heating off and have been making very good use of the crochet blankets and woolly layers as the temperature continues to drop. I light the fire most evenings now, and am truly embracing the cosy vibe of the autumn season.

So here we are into the beginning of Autumn and summer is most definitely over for another year. I've got an exciting trip coming up though, and I'm hoping for some wonderful, warm sunshine which will be such a treat. On Monday I'm going to be travelling south, all the way down to south west France in fact to spend a week in the medieval walled city of Carcassonne (pictured above). This is a working holiday for me - I'm travelling with Stitchtopia and will be teaching on a crochet retreat with a lovely group of ladies, and I'm pretty bloomin' excited I can tell you.

I'll look forward to catching up with you all once I'm back here in Atticland, I will probably have one or two photos to show you from France.........! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summer Snaps :: July 2022

♥ a rose blooming just outside my front door.....I'm gifting it directly to you, to say thank you! I've just been reading through all the wonderful comments after my last post, such beautiful words and such lovely sharing of news and happy chat and just thank you, thank you...SO much....for taking the time to write to me in the comments. I read and treasure them all, they bring a lot of joy in through my Attic window xx

OK....on with the July snaps.....

♥ a single rose bringing instant happiness into the room, making my heart sing

♥ hot sun, blue skies and fluffy clouds - July weather was a dream come true

♥ in the heat of the summer I was drawn to the quiet shallow waters of the riverside

♥ I can never resist a pretty feather and found four stunning duck feathers on this river beach

♥ enjoying someone else's roses on an evening walk to the meadow

♥ dreamy, slow evening walks at the end of a hot summers day, warm and golden

♥ the summer meadow is in full tilt, swaying with tall grasses and eye catching seed heads

♥ taking a little time to sit, savouring the golden moment of quiet and still. It's 8.30pm in the above photo, the stuff of my winter dreams.

♥ an intense heat wave came and went, we reached 33 degrees (in the 90's!) here in my patch and honestly, I loved it

♥ morning walks with the fam, enjoying the summer warmth and clear views

♥ evening walks just me and Little B, a gentle stroll across dry fields and along quiet country lanes

♥ still enjoying my daily morning coffee break with J, sitting outside in the café garden making the most of the sunshine

♥ many of my meals eaten outside too, I'm sure they taste better this way?!

♥ working away on my latest crochet blanket, falling madly in love with it all over again

♥ this yarn, these colours = cosy, snuggly joy!

♥ this kitty, checking that all is well with the yarn and taking it very seriously by the looks of it.

I know I haven't shown you very much of this blanket in progress, it's been a crazy journey and at times I've felt quite unsure of it to be honest. But now that I am almost at the end (I'm finally on the edge!), well, I am just head over heels in love. It's one of the snuggliest blankets I've ever made, and seems to glow with warmth and cosy vibes. This week I'm starting on the lengthy process of photographing a tutorial and creating a full colour printed pattern for the blanket kit which will be available in September.

So that was July - it was a beautiful month full of sunshine, heat and glorious summer vibes and I tried my best to soak up every golden minute of it. And now that we're all caught up with the ordinary day-to-day snippets of the month, I'm looking forward to sharing my trips away with you. I had a good many wonderful, happy, memorable summer days in July, so much summery goodness came my way and I'm beyond thankful for it. I feel rested and recharged and excited to see what August brings.

Thank you as always for your most excellent company here, I appreciate your visits so very much. More soon!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

A Quiet Week

Hello, hello, how are you all doing this week? Things here in the Attic are the usual mixture of ordinary family life and familiar routines interspersed with bursts of creativity, which is how things generally tick along for me these days. Despite the ordinariness of it all it's still a pleasure for me to string together some photos to share snippets of my days with you, so thank you as always for calling in to visit. 

Last week we had snow! I know, it was very strange to see snow falling at the start of spring but sadly not unheard of here in the north of England. I learnt many years ago when I first moved here not to expect any spring warmth until the very end of April at least.

J and I were out on our usual early morning walk and the park looked so, so wintry, it was one degree so most definitely more winter than spring. The trees which line the pathway in the above photo are cherry trees which flower quite late in the season and I absolutely can't wait for the blossom to arrive. You can see photos of them from two years ago at the end of April (here) so hopefully not too much longer to wait.

I had to share the above photo with you as it made me laugh at the time - it was the same freezing snowy morning and a certain Little Somebody did not want to go out in the cold and walk to school in the snow. This was his "I'm not leaving the house" protest, and quite honestly I know exactly how he felt. I think we all have those mornings from time to time where we wish we could simply wrap up in a yarny blanket and stay home.

The kitty had the right idea - make the most of a sunny patch where a crochet blanket provides the perfect level of snuggly comfort. I absolutely love love love her little kitty feet, she has a mixture of colours on her paw pads, mostly black and brown but it's her back right foot that I love the most. This foot has the cutest pink pads (Little Lady calls them toe beans, which always makes me laugh). Such a sweet, comforting thing to see them all stretched out in the sunshine.

After the snowy weather, spring started to peep back in to our days again although it remained ever so chilly. I don't often walk out on a Saturday morning because I usually enjoy having a slow start before we head into town to the market. But on this last Saturday when I was sitting in bed drinking my coffee, I noticed a golden glow outside the window and realised that the sun was just coming up. The light looked irresistibly golden and beautiful so I made a snap decision to go and chase the rising sun - oh, it was SO worth it!

If you remember back when I introduced my Meadow Blanket to you in 2020, the meadow field is about five minutes walk from my house and has become a place where I'm often drawn to walk when I need to clear my head or feel some sense of calm.

Right now in very early spring the meadow is still pretty muddy and uninspiring and it seems impossible to believe that in only a few months from now it will be absolutely filled with flowers. The blackthorn trees are in flower in the hedges but other than that, there is no sign of the floral goodness that I know will come. Mother Nature really is astonishing, don't you think?

In the bottom corner of the meadow field there is a little gap in the hedge where you can access the canal. This is the opposite side to the paved towpath where most people walk and it's a just a narrow, muddy footpath but it's always nice and quiet and makes a nice return walk home for me.

I always smile to myself when I catch sight of the above sign nailed to the tree there - "PLEASE SLOW DOWN" - heehee, well of course it's for the boats (there are two swing bridges up ahead to slow down for) but I can't help but take heed of the message. Okaaaaaay then, time to slow the pace and take it gently, after all, it's the weekend and there's no real rush.

Saturday mornings are one of my favourites of the whole week, and I've often talked about it here on my blog. The morning is for walking into town with J to buy food at the street market and independent shops, followed by a stop at one of our favourite little cafés for breakfast on the way home. It's a simple thing really, but it ticks so many of my feel-good boxes and always makes me feel very grateful for this life that belongs to me. It's not glamorous or exciting, but there is a lot to be said for spending happy time with your other half enjoying simple pleasures.

I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned it, but I grew up in a family where only my Mum worked and we existed on a very low income which meant continuous money worries. My Mum planned the weekly food shop to the penny with simple meals all made from scratch on a very tight budget. Eating and drinking out was never a thing I experienced growing up, except on very rare occasions. If you have grown up like this, I can tell you the memory of the hardship never leaves you. Now as an adult I can afford this luxury and I have a genuine gratitude and appreciation for the fact that I can eat out regularly and enjoy a daily coffee at a lovely café. I feel so, so lucky!! Every single Saturday I feel lucky beyond even being able to put it into words, it's a deep feeling I get right into the very bottom of my stomach.

My Saturday afternoons are usually slow, leisurely things. It's a time when as a family we all seem to be busy doing our own thing - we are usually all at home but mostly occupying different parts of the house (the Little Peeps in their bedrooms and J usually in his computer den in the cellar). As it's a rarity for me to have the downstairs room to myself (well, shared with the kitty) I love, love, love settling down in the Big Chair to read, crochet or stitch. I really value peace and quiet and never listen to music or have the television on during the daytime. It's a lovely thing I think to simply enjoy the gentle sounds of the house going on around me - the ticking clock (I have a really satisfying ticky one on the wall in the sitting room), laughter or chatter from the kids online with friends, the low rumble of the washing machine. It's a peaceful domestic soundtrack which I've come to appreciate very much.

I decided on a whim that I fancied some slow stitching, my mood just felt like something slow and mindful. I settled on some embroidery - this really cute little wild violet design is one of the projects in the current Spring Craftpod. Oh, it was wonderful to stitch, very dainty using mostly just one strand of embroidery floss, and yes I definitely needed my glasses! 

Sunday mornings are made to be taken slowly and I really, really take full advantage. I'm usually awake quite early because during the past six months I've worked hard to establish a good sleep routine and this means I generally go to bed and wake up at roughly the same time each day, even on weekends. The difference on a Sunday is that I can extend the time I spend loafing around in bed, and goodness me, I absolutely adore being in bed! The sheer comfort of a cosy, slept-in, still-warm bed is hard to beat. I'm burning my favourite "Late Summer" soy wax melts from the Botanical Candle Company, although I've just ordered myself some Orange Blossom ones for spring so that I can save Late Summer for actual summertime.

On Sunday mornings it's not unusual for me to have two or three coffees in bed before I'm ready to get up and get ready for the day (only the first one is caffeine, I then switch over to decaff)....ahhhh, isn't it sometimes the ordinary little moments in life which deliver the most pleasure?

Above photo.... 9:09 am....

.....and two hours later we were sitting on the river beach at Bolton Abbey - ta-dah!!!

It was unplanned, but after a quick family chat about maybe heading out to walk somewhere seeing as the sun was shining after a very wintry week, we quite quickly managed to all get it together to go out. It's becoming more and more rare for us to have both Little B and Little Lady out walking with us at weekends so I really relish the times when it happens.

J and the kiddos spent most of our beach time skimming stones across the still surface of the river, while I occupied myself building a pebble tower, like you do. So satisfying to balance them just right.

I am always in "mummy-mode" when we go walking and never leave the house without a snack in my bag. Honestly, Little Lady turns 18 in a few weeks time and yet I still think I need to pack a snack for her. I need to get a grip. Mind you, she didn't complain when the chocolate egg came her way, so I'm letting myself off the hook with the over the top mothering. 

It was a lovely, fresh, sunny walk and I really enjoyed the family time. Got to make the most of it these days, because by the end of the month I'll have two adult teenagers, and only one child left.

I finished my embroidery on Sunday afternoon. Although the original project was for a sunglasses case, I decided to add in some herbs (these were given as an alternative design) and keep my embroidery in it's hoop as a little spring picture. I really love how it turned out......

.....ta-dah!! So, So sweet. As it happens, I have wild violets growing in one of my big back yard pots right now so I picked a couple for my photo just to be a bit extra. They're now popped into a teeny polka dot egg cup of water and sitting pretty on my mantel, and my sweet violet and herb hoop is hanging on the wall there too. I've not yet gone all out to decorate my mantel for Spring, mainly because it still feels so much like winter here, and also because I'm really, really enjoying my Winter Garland. Gosh that thing is so flippin' pretty, I adore it. I'll try and remember to take an updated mantel photo for you soon, and note to self, that dried out finished-up hyacinth bowl needs replacing (adding to my to-do list).

I mentioned at the start of this blog (waaaaaay back two thousands words ago) that I've had bursts of creativity recently, and I wish I had something better to show for it. I worked obsessively on my new blanket during the past few weeks, making and joining  around 24 complete squares before coming to a rather crushing halt. I realised that it just wasn't working quite as well as I'd hoped (my heart didn't soar when I looked at it) and so I decided to step away for a bit and try and decide whether to start over, or if maybe it might be OK once I've taken a breather. I'm really not sure right now which way it'll go, and I feel like I can't really show you at the moment until I'm sure of it myself. 

So that's about where I'm up to - life in the slow lane and I'm absolutely OK with that. I'm going away tomorrow, a solo journey on the train tracks down to Dorset for a short break to check in on my Dad. I'm hoping that when I come home that I can look at my blanket with fresh eyes and make a decision on how to go forward with it. In the meantime, I'm about to start work on a smaller crochet project which has spent far too long on the back burner, so that should keep me happy while I'm away from home. Fingers crossed for weather which is more spring-like down south, here's hoping.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

ps this second verse from John Masefiled's poem always sings in my head just before I go to the coast :

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide

Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;

And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,

 

And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

 

x

 

 

 

 

Friday Five

Five small things that have made me feel happy today....

Number 1 :: Spending the morning with my Yarny Tribe ::

My Friday mornings spent at Coopers café always make me happy - good coffee, crochet time, and a hefty dose of laughter and chatter with great friends. I crocheted 6 fern leaves and 1.5 hellebores, time well spent.

Number 2 :: My new pencils ::

My new pencils arrived and I am obsessed with them, they are perfection and they smell like my childhood. Derwent pencils are such a classic, historic brand and I am delighted to own these beauties. Happy, happy me.

Number 3 :: The scent of these narcissus ::

The whole downstairs of the house is filled with the scent of these flowers and I absolutely love it, although I hear that many people really dislike it? They look so pretty too and I am enjoying them on my table very, very much.

Number 4 :: chasing the sun ::

It's been a very drizzly grey day for most of today, but in the early evening it finally brightened up which sent me running out the door to chase the light. It was glorious - the most stunning reflections and a fiery sun which I just managed to catch before it disappeared behind the rooftops.

Number 5 :: cosy hand knit socks and the warmth of a fire ::

It's wintry cold here, single digit temperatures, woolly socks required. Lighting the fire in the late afternoon is one of my favourite household jobs and relaxing beside the hearth always makes me happy. 

Coffee, crochet, friendship, coloured pencils, scented flowers, reflections, sunset, cosy fireside, woolly socks. 

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ps, Number 6 :: my hill view came back - yay!! x

 

 

Small Mindful Moments

It was such a beautiful day here yesterday, most especially in the early morning when I went out for my daily walk with J. It's a wonderful feeling to walk in the early mornings before many people are out and about and definitely worth the early alarm clock. I've got a great morning routine going at the moment and I'd like to talk more about it at some point in a separate post -  I've been meaning to update you on my wellness and give you some feedback on the SAD lamp and my HRT journey etc. I'm never quite sure how much of this personal stuff is appropriate for public bloggy consumption, but if there is a chance that my own experiences might help even just one other person, then I think it's worthy of a short chat.

Making time to walk in the early mornings has been a game changer for me and it's had a massive impact on my general health and wellbeing. Even in the winter months when we were walking in darkness I felt the good that it was doing me, and now that we are walking in daylight again it feels bloomin' amazing.

Walking with J does remove the opportunity to allow quiet thoughts and mental mindfulness and I miss that sometimes, but on the whole I feel lucky to have the company. I still find myself very aware of my surroundings and always practice what I call "visual mindfulness" when I walk with J. I often stop dead in my tracks to take in the beauty of the scene playing out in front of my eyes, I mean, how can you not stop and stare when the park looks like a beautiful watercolour painting?? 

I paused beside the canal yesterday morning to watch the reflections for a minute or two. I am quite obsessed with reflections in water, there is something so mesmerising about them that I find I just have to stop walking and appreciate them. Yes, it really was a lovely day yesterday, cold, sharp and bright, and I drank it in right down to my toes.

Today however, it was yucky out there and our morning walk was an unpleasant, drizzly-wet affair. I try really hard not to let the weather influence my mood but my goodness me it's hard work at times. I'm very affected by low light levels and I also really dislike it when I can't see my hill view, but living here in the north of England, this kind of weather comes along often. In a weird way I do think it's important to stop and lean into the discomfort from time to time - mindfulness doesn't always have to feel like rainbows.

I'm still experiencing major Blanket Bereavement now that I'm no longer crocheting my harbour blankets, gosh I do so miss those easy, therapeutic rows of ripply colour. I've been faffing with some bits for my Winter Garland during the past week, I made some frosty leaves and worked for a good many hours on the Snowdrop design over the weekend. It's so very nearly there, but still needs a bit more tweaking. I'll create a proper photo update to share with you very soon.

I went looking for some easy crochet therapy yesterday, and dug out my pile of little Harbour Sampler squares which needed 8 more making to complete the 15 colours in the palette.

This afternoon I sat with my needle and began the slow, methodical process of stitching them together which I actually enjoy very much. It's soothing work, a bit like hand stitching a patchwork quilt or working on a cross stitch design - there's an unhurried, methodical rhythm which is very meditative.  One day I'd love to make a whole blanket like this (a much bigger version of my Attic24 banner, do you remember that?). Maybe I should just start it right now, you know, crochet a few squares here and there and slowly stitch them together in a random patchwork of gorgeousness over a long period of time. A slow burn blanket which spans a year or two. What do you think? Should I? Should I really???!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

 

 

Winter Comforts

Hello my lovelies, how are you all doing? I didn't manage to create a blog post last week in between my Friday CAL posts and I found that I missed it. So yesterday when I was doing a little bit of planning for the week ahead, I decided that more effort is needed to make the time to do what makes me feel good. Writing and sharing photos from my ordinary days happens to be a most excellent activity for my soul, and luckily I never seem to run out of things to air out in public. It constantly baffles me that I continue to do this blogging thing year after year, and more importantly that I continue to get so much out of it. Who would have thought it??

I had a bit of a to-do list running yesterday, an actual real list written down in my planner which I ticked off with much satisfaction. One of my tasks was to pot up the next generation of hyacinth bulbs for my mantel to replace the worn out ones that finished flowering in the new year. At the moment I can pick up a plastic pot of hyacinths from the supermarket for just £2 which is a such a bargain and brings me so much pleasure. They can easily be removed from the brown plastic pot and popped into an old bowl, then finished off with some home-grown moss and a bit of a twiggy support system. Tick! Such a good feeling to work my way down a list that contained such worthwhile, cosy jobs.

I got a new candle at the weekend, a gift from J who waited patiently while I sniffed out a million different candles in the shop. I am very fussy with my taste in candle scents as I don't like anything too sweet, too floral, or too woodsy/musky - my preference is for fresh fragrances, often with a citrus undertone. Or anything containing eucalyptus. J picked this one out for me and I was a bit dubious when I read that it was lavender and cedarwood (which is usually a woodsy no-no for me), but I absolutely love love love it. It's named "time to be CALM" and my goodness it really does deliver on that score, the fragrance is incredibly soothing as it fills the room. Hyacinths in a stripy bowl and a new candle to enjoy - winter pleasures that go a long way.

Another thing on my to-do list this weekend was to hang my new picture from Janet Bell, I chatted about it in a post last month.

I really love the picture which is called "Morning Light", it's got a beautifully cool, wintry feel to it which perfect for the season and now completes my set of four. I have the others hung on walls around the house, with the idea that every 3 months I'll give one pride of place above my fireplace. How lovely to think that the next one to follow on will be this one, gosh I can hardly wait, although I am trying very hard not to wish the time away this year.

You may have noticed that my mantel is currently garlandless which is making me feel like something is majorly missing from my life. Four years ago I made a very simple Little Balls garland in wintry shades (pictured above, you can read more about it in this post) but every winter since then I always think to myself that I'd really like something more nature inspired. I've made an Autumn garland, and a Spring garland too, and now I would love to make a winter-inspired one. I'm just not sure what to include - perhaps snowdrops might be cute? Or the palest of pink winter blossom mixed with some frosty leaves and maybe a flurry of weeny snowflakes? I'm feeling very inspired to just dive in and gather together a winter yarn palette and see what flies out of my brain and onto my hook. Watch this space.

I received a really happy parcel in the post this week, a little purchase I made which has absolutely delighted me to no end. Isn't it just the cutest thing you ever did see?

I stumbled upon the happy world of Thimbleville on Instagram and fell instantly in love. Helen makes the sweetest little collectibles out of painted wood, buttons, polymer clay and vintage items - the bobbins are vintage wooden Dewhurst sylko cottons that still have the original label on the underside, just precious. I love my little bobbin house so so much! Helen's handmade items sell out very quickly in her online Folksy shop, so if you are interested my advice would be to follow Thimbleville on Instagram and keep an eye out for future shop update announcements. Then sit tight and get ready to shop like a ninja, you'll need to be stealthy and swift. Just saying. 

I've made a conscious decision this year to truly embrace the winter season and to appreciate all the good that comes from spending lots of hours indoors. I have to say I'm really enjoying winter this year, it's a revelation for me to feel this way and I am genuinely loving the feeling of cosy hibernation. At the weekend the weather was just terrible, the market was cancelled and yet I felt unusually delighted by it all!

Maybe it helps that I am now in a new phase of parenting where I have less demands and more child-free time for myself during the weekends which I've not had in almost two decades. It means I can happily settle down on a wild and wet February afternoon to enjoy some quiet crochet or gentle pottering around the house while the rest of the family is each doing their own thing. It's just marvellous, and is making a big difference to my wellbeing. 

I continue to nurture myself with healthy food and am really enjoying my meals, especially the ones that I prepare and eat by myself (breakfast and lunch). In wintertime there is often a craving for comforting carb-heavy foods (buttered toast is a particular weakness of mine), but for my lunches I'm trying to lean away from the carbs and focus on good proteins and healthy fats instead.

The above bowl is a typical kind of lunch for me at the moment, and is so tasty and nutritious, a real pleasure to savour. In essence it's a good protein (a sweet chilli salmon fillet in the case), some kind of healthy wholegrains (a brown rice and quinoa mix in this case), then plenty of veg/salad (baby leaves, cherry tomatoes, cucumber and edamame beans here). I added a bit of crumbled feta cheese which needed eating up and a drizzle of homemade honey/mustard dressing. Yummmmmmmmmm!

With all the cosy hibernation happening at the moment, I'm not tending to be out and about all that much. I do have a pretty solid routine of meeting up with friends regularly each week, and J and I often sneak out for a quick coffee in the mornings, but other than that I'm surprisingly content to simply stay at home. I don't tend to go to the shops unless I really need to (for food mostly) and I'm not feeling the need to leave the familiarity of this little town either. My life feels quite small and safe and repetitive right now, and I am absolutely embracing the comfort of that fact.

We usually try and get out and about with the Little People for a weekend walk, even if the weather isn't especially inspiring. I know I always feel really good afterwards, even if at the time there is a reluctance to leave the warmth of home and venture out into the cold. The landscape is very drab right now, the fields and woodlands seeming bleached of all colour with the exception of the moss which is having a fiesta all of it's own. I LOVE seeing so much beautiful, bright green moss in winter, it really makes me absurdly happy. The colour of it is so uplifting, a vivid brightness that I am very drawn to.

A rather majestic stag appeared amongst the trees at the end of last year, another stunning work by artist Anna and the Willow. We've had quite a bit of rain recently, so the poor thing looks like he's stuck in a sea of mud, but hopefully things will improve as the weeks move on and better weather comes. Another few months and the wild garlic will be growing, I'm excited to see some fresh green shoots again.

I took this photo of my hill view at the start of last week (yes there is a hill out there) - you can see that when I say we've had very heavy grey skies I really do mean it. I don't think I can ever remember such a dull, grey winter as this one.

The light is slowly changing though, and our days are noticeably lengthening so there is much to look forward to.

J and I are still taking our early morning walk together, I can't recall when we started this habit but it has really become an essential part of my morning routine. We set out at 6.45am, and for a good many months we've been doing the whole 45 minute walk in the dark. 

This morning though - wow - it was a crisp, freezing cold frosty morning with clear skies and for the first time we got to see actual daylight and the birds were singing!! Such a beautiful change to our walk, and very, very much appreciated. Its magical to observe the seasons each and every day, such a wonderful aspect of daily life.

Well I think that's about all for now, After chatting to you I feel inspired to go and pull out some yarn oddments in delicate winter shades and start hooking up some pretties for a new garland. I'm excited!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

January Feels Good!

I was walking down the cobbled hill this morning on my way to the shops and found myself thinking about you all, and realising that I was missing our friendly chats about this and that and nothing in particular. I love creating my weekly CAL posts but they are very time consuming and not nearly as easy for me to write as my normal everyday style posts.

So, hello-hello, I hope you're feeling good as we navigate these early days of the year, and as always let me tell you I am so thankful for your company. 

J and I did our usual early morning walk routine this morning and it was a bit miserable really. It was cold, dark and wet, a light drizzle at first and then by the time we were coming out of the bakery it was full on pelting with rain and we got absolutely soaked. But as you can see from the first photo, by the time 9am rolled around all the rain clouds had disappeared leaving clear blue skies and the most glorious bright sunshine in their wake. Oh, I was so, so glad of it I can tell you. We popped down the road to the coffee shop mid morning and sat a while on the comfy sofa together drinking cappuccino. It's always a short and sweet kind of coffee break as it's a working day for J and he doesn't like to be away from his screen for too long, but I really love that we make this happen for ourselves a few times a week. It gives me a feeling of pure contentment right down to the ends of my toes.

I'm very lucky that I get to spend some wonderful hours each week in the company of great yarny friends at Coopers Café too, gosh, I do so value that part of my life. I've just looked back into my archives to try and remember when our creative group first started out at Coopers, and discovered it was almost NINE years ago, what a shocker! Wow, I honestly had no idea it was that long. I love love love my Friday mornings spent chatting and hooking - right now I'm working on my Harbour Colourwash blanket which is a really enjoyable way to spend a few hours. I'm currently a week or so ahead of the CAL schedule so kind of doing it in real time which is a bit seat-of-pants-ish, but all good fun.

So we're almost three weeks into January and it's been a pretty wintry month so far, but not unpleasantly so. We've had a real mixture of dull, foggy grey days.......

.....and the most delightful, clear, icy cold days which I've loved. 

Even though I'm no longer doing the school run, most mornings I do still find myself heading out to walk somewhere for one reason or another. It's a habit that feels very deep rooted and I'm certainly not complaining, I welcome the quiet alone time, walking with just my own thoughts and enjoying a little bit of mindfulness.

I continue to observe the daily weather, sky, clouds, trees, views and reflections as I walk....and I can't imagine living a life where all this goes unnoticed. Everyday life is full of so much remarkable detail, don't you think?

Every so often I get the chance to head out of town and I really appreciate those times a lot. At the start of the year we renewed our annual season ticket for Bolton Abbey, and I walked there with a friend last week.

It was a cold, clear day and we were wrapped up in woolly socks, hats and mittens to keep the extremities cosy. It was a lovely morning, a chance for my friend and I to catch up and chat while also doing some healthy exercise which felt like a very Januaryish thing indeed.

You might remember that J and I are lucky enough to both have Mondays free from work commitments, and if the weather is good we often take a walk together. Lately we've been staying close to home and walking very locally from our front door, but this week we decided to drive out into the Yorkshire Dales and walk along the river.

It was such a beautiful morning, so still and clear that the river looked more like a pond in certain places. This suspension bridge across the river Wharfe is extremely bouncy and it's quite an experience walking across it - it makes my legs feel very wobbly!

Can you see me in the above photo, looking at my own reflection in the river?

It was a cold day, with the ground still frozen in places where the sun hadn't yet reached.

One of the lovely things about walking on a week day is the blissful quietness of the footpaths - this is a very well used, busy trail at weekends, but on Monday there were just a few dog walkers out and about enjoying the crisp, sunshiny winter weather.

Reflections in water.......it's my thing.......need I say more???!!

On the home front, my January days have been peaceful, slow and absolutely lovely. I've been gently easing myself back into familiar, well established routines and am feeling really good actually. I've not made any new years resolutions or set any intentions for the year ahead - for me personally, I find that January is the completely wrong month to try and do this. I prefer to come through January and February with as little change as possible, then come March I might feel ready to think about new intentions.

I packed away the Christmas decorations at the weekend which included a major sorting out of everything, repacking into some new storage boxes, and recycling a lot of unwanted stuff too. It was a long overdue job that's been on my virtual to-do list for about five years (at least) so I'm very happy to have got it done. I bought a few new decorations last week from Oxfam in the online sale, and thought you'd appreciate seeing them - aren't they beautiful?

They are handmade in India and the detail is incredible, I can't tell you how much I love them (there are still a few left online if you want to look - here you go). I can't wait to unpack them in December and see them on my tree, I'll most likely have forgotten all about them by then, so it'll be a nice surprise for future me. I do like nice surprises.

In celebration of the season we're in (and I'm really trying my best to celebrate Winter this year, rather than just enduring it), I treated my home to a new framed print. It hasn't arrived yet, but I'm so excited to have it on my wall above my fireplace. It's by my fave artist Janet Bell and is called "Morning Light" - I already have three of Janet's prints that I've bought over the years so I guess I am now a collector (how lovely that thought is). My idea was to have four prints for the four seasons that I could hang above the fireplace, changing them around throughout the year. I'm pretty excited about the whole idea I can tell you. By the way, Janet currently has 10% discount on her website for the whole of January if you wanted to treat yourself or your home (use code HELLO2022 at checkout).

I haven't really taken that many photos indoors this year so far, so I really need to do more of that. I try to create one or two new photos each week for my Instagram account though, so I thought you might like to see them here too. The above one was totally un styled - this is pretty much what my sofa looks like on a daily basis, so I simply held my phone up and captured an image. Instagram can be very over-designed, but I much prefer the un-styled, un-filtered, natural look of things.

This is the photo I took earlier on today, and yes I obviously did have to spend time setting this up and getting it just so. I had an idea that I wanted to see my three coastal inspired blankets all together, so I had to go around the house to try and locate the coastal ripple (eventually found it in the Big Teen's room). I absolutely love how they look together - each so different, and yet they are very harmonious together too. I love my blankets SO MUCH. My goodness, words can't describe the true depth of my love for these handmade yarny things. Love love love love love, times a million.

Oh, do you know, thinking about coastal inspiration has reminded me that I haven't yet shown you any photos from our New Year trip away, how very slack of me!! Tut tut, shocking bloggy behaviour indeed. As you can see above, it was absolutely FabUlOus, we had fantastic weather, did loads of coastal walking and had the best time. I came home feeling so energised and re-charged, and definitely want to do that kind of thing more often if we are able.

I'll start looking through my photos to put together a holiday blog post very soon - it'll be nice to share some coastal inspiration in amongst my Harbour CAL posts I think.

Well, I seem to have come to a full stop (.) so I'll sign off for now.....I hope you are taking these days slowly and gently and finding happiness in your days xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

 

Early September

Early September is here and as much as I don't want to admit it, I can most definitely feel the slip-slide of summer as it gently  begins to make way for Autumn. This past week we've had the most wonderous warm sunny weather though, a real gift for souls like me who hang onto the summer till the very last moment. I'm still picking sweet peas even though the plants themselves are looking rather dead, I know, how lucky am I? Every time I think it'll be the last bunch, somehow more magically appear and it feels like some sort of summer miracle. The flowers are just so beautifully painterly, like little watercolour studies on each petal. I love them so bloomin' much.

Last weekend when the weather was joyous, we took off across the fields for a walk and made the most of the wide open views. Little B did an awful lot of moaning about the temperature (he's a winter lover and really dislikes any kind of warm weather), but I'm learning how to tune him out when he goes off on an extended negative rant. I loved the sunshine, of course I did, it was hot and wonderful, and the little fluffy clouds and lush green fields made me stupidly happy.

I live for these beautiful sunshiny days in September (well all year round to be honest), and my gratitude was sky high. Leafy tree tops and dappled sunshine - yes please, always and forever.

A few mornings this past week we've started the day under a blanket of grey mist - a little reminder that the seasons will be changing very soon. The above photo was taken just after 9am on Thursday which was the day that Little Lady and Little B were both back in school. I'm still adjusting to this new season of school routines, in particular the fact that I no longer need to leave the house to deliver or collect a child. After 15 years spent walking back and forth with primary school children it still feels very surreal watching Little B set off down the road without me. 

As I'm dressed and ready to start my day when the Little Peeps head out to school, I've found myself also desperately wanting to leave the house at the same time. The routine is so deeply ingrained that it feels wrong not to be out and about by 9am and so I've just allowed myself to do what feels right. Instead of walking to school I walk to the bakery, or to the supermarket, and as soon as I set off I feel my sense of equilibrium settling in place.

The afternoon school run however, oh, I am absolutely thrilled not to be doing that one any more. I am greatly appreciating the luxury of waiting for the offspring to walk in the door by themselves without any physical exertion from me. 

Little B had three whole days of secondary school last week and so far so good. Every day he brought home new exercise books and delivered a verdict on the subjects he'd studied. It's been interesting to hear him chat about his new experiences, and I hope his enthusiasm continues as we trundle through the next six weeks of this half term.

Little Lady is in her final year of school and says she's enjoying being back into a routine and getting organised for what is going to be a busy year of study and decision making. September is always such an important month when you have school age children, it's like breathing out a huge sigh of relief when you didn't even realise you were holding your breath.

Yesterday morning J and I went into town as we usually do every Saturday, to visit the local shops and the street market. During the past year this routine of ours has very firmly set itself in place and I absolutely love it. 

I really enjoy being able to walk into the centre of our little town, taking in the picturesque canal and old buildings and feeling that sense of belonging. Once we've gathered in all the produce and groceries we head to the café to have breakfast, and every week without fail it feels like the biggest treat. I am so grateful for our gentle lifestyle and simple pleasures, for the easy routines that keep us grounded and the happiness that it brings. I consider myself very, very lucky.

Sunday is often a day when we go for a walk if the weather is dry, and this morning I'm delighted to say that we walked as a family of four which hasn't happened in a while. 

We didn't drive far, just a few miles to a neighbouring village to do a circular walk which involved climbing to the top of that craggy hill in the photo above. We do this walk a few times a year and it's not for the faint hearted - the climb is rocky and steep....

....but the view from the top is well worth the physical effort. It feels so good when you reach the top and get to sit down and rest, a mixture of exhilaration and deep relief. We each had flasks with us (hot chocolate for Little B, milky coffee for the rest of us) and some chocolate for revival purposes. Morning coffee with a view, it was mighty fine I have to say.

I've been feeling a bit under the weather this past week, and I admit I found the climb quite challenging as my fitness levels have dropped off over the summer months.

I've made a promise to myself that as from tomorrow (Monday) I'm going to start doing my morning workouts again - they only take 7-10 minutes so really there is absolutely no excuse not to do them. Although it's been pretty nice to skip them over the summer holidays and give my body a rest, I like the way they make me feel and September seems like a grand month to reinstate some healthy routines. It's a reset kind of a month I think.

Tall, tall summer grasses are everywhere in the countryside at this time of year, wafting in the breeze and bringing with them an unmistakable end-of-season vibe. Autumn is around the corner - it's not here yet mind you, so hold onto your pumpkins for a while longer! As you probably know, I like to follow the astronomical seasons which means I celebrate the solstices and equinoxes rather than the first of the month dates set by the weather people. Autumn equinox falls on the 22nd September this year, so still another nine days left to appreciate late summer.

It's been cloudy but mild today and I spent a while sat out in the back yard this afternoon, very aware that my al fresco days are numbered now. The yarden is looking wild and a smidge unkempt I have to say, but I am always so overjoyed to be able to sit surrounded by flowers and greenery that I can easily overlook the straggliness.

I brought in my blankets from outdoor storage today, the ones that have been well used in my back yard and on picnics and outings all summer. They need a wash and a freshen up, so that's on my to-do list this week.

Did I tell you I finished my Yuletide blanket? I think last time I was here chatting I was almost finished but not quite, well, tis done and dusted now and I couldn't be happier. It's such a wonderful blanket, different to anything I've ever made before with it's own unique colour palette and slightly vintage retro feel.

Even thought the blanket is finished, I haven't finished with the colours just yet - I made some little stars to use for photographs....

.....and also the beginnings of a Yuletide Garland for my fireplace. I've wanted to make a winter garland for a while now, and this seemed like a good time to get creative with ideas whilst my head is still so full of these colours. I've been working on some new little designs this weekend - an ivy leaf, orange slices and the beginnings of some eucalyptus leaves (they still need more work). I've LOVED the creativity that has flowed in abundance this past week, I've felt really inspired in lots of different ways.

I've been working on a tutorial for the Yuletide blanket which is my usual full-on photo heavy affair, and I'm confident that I can help newbie crocheters feel like they can tackle this design. I also created an 8 page colour pattern which will be included in the Yuletide yarn pack, so yeah, I've been quietly busy here in the Attic doing my hooky thing.

My friends at Wool Warehouse have also been busy and we are all set for the Yuletide blanket kit to be ready on Tuesday 14th. I'm writing a Ta-dah blog post to share the finished blanket with you, so all links for the pattern and the yarn pack will be included in that post. I think the aim is for everything to be online at 8am on Tuesday - of course I'm ridiculously excited, and nervous and elated and apprehensive, the usual mixed pot of emotions. I really hope you like it as much as I do.

And on that note, I shall bid you farewell, and I'll be back on Tuesday morning with lots of blankety photos to share with you. Thanks as ever for visiting, I appreciate you muchly xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx