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

 

 

 

 

 

Autumn Snaps :: October 2022

Thank you for all the kind words you sent my way after my blog post yesterday, it's been something special to receive so much feel-good from you all and for me to digest your wise words and take your advice. I've been thinking a lot about my blog today, and remembering how much I love to create and share my stories here in this space - blogging for my own pleasure has always been my priority since day one and that hasn't changed over the years. Having said that, I've learnt that I do still need to give myself permission to take a break when I need it, and to place value on time spent away from my laptop. I need to remind myself that it's not a failure if I miss some weeks here and there, especially not given the length of time I've consistently shown up to open my Attic window - over fourteen years now, one hundred and seventy seven months and counting. I'm really proud of still being here, writing about my life as I moved out of my thirties, through a whole decade of my forties, and now into my fifties.....oooo.....I'm feeling a smidge emotional, I had better get a grip and start chatting about leaves!

Autumn leaves.....aren't they just the best little gifts from nature? Right now the trees are bare and the leafage is just a memory, so it's been lovely to dig back into my photos from two months ago and find some lovely seasonal colour to share with you.

October was a month for visiting Bolton Abbey, I think I went at least three times maybe more. I love to spend time in the woodland when the seasons are changing - the first rush of bright green leaves in May, and then the beauty of the Autumn colour shift in October.

In October I had to admit that my toes were cold and put my sandals to sleep for a while. It's no hardship really, because >>hello<< cosy, stripy handknit socks and my beloved Fly London boots. Believe me, it's a heavenly combination and I can highly recommend both. If you need to learn about knitting socks, then Winwick Mum will hold your hand with her free beginner tutorials. And if you are in the market for some uber-comfy leather boots to house your stripy socked feet, then I can point you in the direction of my Fly London chelsea boots ((here)). I've got two pairs, the purple pictured above (they are a lovely deep dark reddish colour in real life) and the green ones, and this is their fifth winter. I love love love them.

Speaking of hand knit socks, in October I made a real effort to finish off the pair that I cast on in August.

They came off my needles and onto my feet after I got back from France and was feeling the chill, and I'm so happy with them. The yarn is from the Regia Design Line range by Kaffe Fassett and the colourway is called "Moor". It's quite hard to find this range of sock yarn now so you need to hunt around in your local yarn shops or online. I found mine at a small indie online store called KnitUK which is fabulous - the yarn came beautifully packaged with real care and attention. You can find it ((here)). I've just actually ordered the "frost" colourway as it reminds me of my Springfrost blanket. I admit I do get a bit of a buzz out of matching my socks to my blankets, all those colourful stripes are perfect eye candy I have to say.

I've grown to love Autumn in recent years and the colours in nature are a big part of the enjoyment for me.

It's a habit now for me to spend as much time as possible outside throughout the year and I walk a fair bit in the course of an ordinary day. I find it extremely good for my mind, and I think that walking might be even more beneficial for my mental health than for my physical health (although clocking up 15,000 steps a day certainly does some good for the old bod).

I love that there is always beauty to be found, and I am very tuned in to finding it.

My photos are certainly full of all sorts of random things that have caught my eye (most of which I share with you), so I hope you enjoy seeing things through my goggles.

Another photo from Bolton Abbey...I've just remembered that one of the reasons I took so many visits in October was to do with friends visiting or local friends wanting to walk there with me, and for us to see the moon.

Yes, the moon......

......ta-dah!! This amazing installation was hanging inside Bolton Abbey priory church for a few weeks in October and it was wonderful to be able to see it a few times while it was there. It measures seven metres in diameter and features detailed NASA imagery of the lunar surface. It's amazing to think that each centimetre of the sculpture represents 5km of the moon’s surface....it really is a bit awesome.

The "Museum of the Moon" is a travelling exhibition which moves around the world so maybe you've already seen it, or perhaps it will be dangling in a place near you next year. You can read more about it ((here)).

During October I was mainly fixating on my Springfrost blanket and working on sampling and preparation for the crochet-along kit to launch in November. I have to say that in the run up to the reveal of a new blanket it really does take over so that it's hard to think about very much else.

But looking at my photos I was reminded that I also had this round cushion on the go too, and it often came to Coopers with me on a Friday morning. I'm not sure if I've shown it to you before - I started it when I was in France and it's made using the leftovers from the Fireside blanket (12 shades of Stylecraft Highland Heathers). I've almost finished it, but the cushion pad I bought is a bit larger than I thought (I bought 18 inches diameter instead of 16 inches by mistake) so I still need to work some extra rounds for it to fit. 

October was the start of the leaves beginning to fall, and they continued to gently tumble right through November. It's kind of a bitter sweet time in some ways, the true end of summer with the constant visual reminder that the year is falling away.

We had our half term week towards the end of October and it was a gentle week of rest and relaxation for us here. We did manage a couple of day trips which were soooo good, but I'm going to share those in another post because really I took way too many photos to shoe-horn them into this one. Pumpkin season came and took over for a while, I don't think I've ever seen so many huge piles of them in the shops, or such a variety to choose from.

With my own Little People growing up, the rituals of celebrating Hallowe'en are slowly slip sliding away. Little B was only momentarily interested in the pumpkin carving and although his ears perked up at the mention of sweeties, he didn't really want to be involved this year. I carved my pumpkin quietly in the afternoon and enjoyed the gentle creativity....

....and in the dark of the evening we did have a large number of Littles calling by for treats. My pumpkin was much admired which gave me a ridiculous amount of pleasure, so I do think it's still a lovely thing to do to round out the end of October.

Well, I think that's about all for now, I hope you've enjoyed my rambles. I'll take a look at November next and see if there's anything of interest to show you - ooh, I did take a few days away to the seaside in November, so maybe I'll share some of that with you. A little bit of salty sea air is always good for the soul. 

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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!

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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 :: late August 2022

Hello, hello, hellooooooo!!!!! How're you all doing out there in the Big Wide World?

I've been meaning to check in here for the past week or so, well ever since Little B returned to school actually, and it's been tricky to find the right time of day/evening when I can be fully present without other things clamouring for my attention. Finally I've managed it - it's 7.30pm and I've come to sit cosy in bed with my laptop as it's been a surprisingly chilly day and I needed the comfort.

I had a long debate with myself earlier on today about how exactly to jump back in here, and in the end decided to give you something of an end-of-summer round up before everything starts to get forgotten in the seasonal shift. Although I'm embracing the return to the school and working routines and the fact that Autumn is sitting very close on the horizon, it's always lovely to look back and celebrate every last bit of Summer.

J had some time off work at the end of August which allowed me to take some time down south (more of that in a bit), but also for us to enjoy a bit of a staycation week here with the Little People.

We took a day trip up to Cumbria to visit a National Trust property called Sizergh. It's quite a grand old house with a huge estate, so we did a four mile circular walk with a picnic lunch, then spent some time enjoying the house and gardens which were at their peak in late August.

The kitchen garden was absolutely beautiful and I couldn't get enough of the abundant colours....

....oh, it was glorious!

I also loved this long walled border which was bursting with later summer colour....

....and attracting a good many bees and butterflies too.

It was a lovely day out and I'm hoping we can do more exploring of new places in the months to come.

Closer to home, we've been getting out and about to walk in the local countryside right on our doorstep. The weather at the end of August and into early September was seriously lovely, remaining bright and sunny and warm enough to walk in t-shirts. I can't adequately describe my constant levels of happiness in relation to the warm sunny summer we've had, but it has been pretty sky high. Finally a summer that behaved itself and truly felt like a Proper Summer!!

I walked and walked, often two or three times a day I would find myself keen to get out there and walk. J and I continue to enjoy our 7am fast-paced, slightly breathless power walks through the woodland (so good, love love love it), then a solo stroll around town sometime in the morning for me - walking along the canal, a trip to the café for coffee, errands to run, groceries to buy. And then sometimes an evening walk too, usually with Little B, to take in the summery evening skies and breathe it all in.

My daily coffee, taken outside most days through the warmth of late summer. I simply can't imagine life without this pleasurable mid morning pause, I love it so much.

I enjoyed being at home as the summer shone on through late August, our sash windows pushed up high to let the warm breeze blow through the house. 

At the every end of August I set off to travel south on the train down to Dorset. This seems to have become the norm for me now - frequent solo visits every 3 or 4 months to touch base with my Dad, making the most of these times when his health is still pretty stable. It's also lovely for me to be back in my childhood place too, and I find myself soaking in that deep-rooted familiarity and feeling very grateful for it. 

I hardly ever eat ice cream, but on this day I joined in with my Dad and Lady B and had an old fashioned Mr. Whippy with a flake. My goodness, what a hit of nostalgia that was, I felt like I was ten years old! 

We strolled slowly, slowly along the promenade - I think my Dad is honestly the slowest walker I have ever met in my life and I have to dig deep to find the patience to slow my own pace down to a dawdling shuffle. But promenades are good places for slow shuffles, so once I adjusted to it, all was well.

The sea was incredibly calm on this day with barely any waves at all, and even though I prefer it when it's noisy and crashing and salty, it was still lovely.

My trip to Dorset was only short this time, and after two nights I was off on my travels again. I took the train and journeyed east into Hampshire - destination Portsmouth Harbour. I was then heading across the water to the Isle of Wight, traveling at high speed on the fast catamaran that operates between Portsmouth and Ryde. It was all very exciting, and a first time for me to travel on a catamaran (you can see here what it looks like, it was much bigger than I expected). I sat next to the window and tried not to fidget too much with over excitement, wishing that the trip was way longer than twenty two minutes long.

It's been eighteen years since I visited the Isle of Wight - one of my best friends from my art/textile uni days lives here and I used to regularly come and stay with her in the years before I had children. We've been friends for thirty four years, isn't that something? It was absolutely wonderful to see her and her family and how much they have grown since I  last saw them (three ginormous, handsome boys, and I mean they are huuuuuuge, well over six feet tall all of them). We had such a fun time, some delicious meals out, bottles of prosecco, chatting in the garden, picking blackberries out in the countryside, walking the dog and generally just enjoying a massive, long over due catch up.

On my last day there we took a long walk all around the eastern coast and it was really interesting to see how different the beaches are. The coastline is very woody with trees coming right down to the beach in many places.

We stopped off for lunch at a really beautiful café nestled into the trees overlooking the beach. It was warm enough for us to sit out on the decking and enjoy a chilled glass of refreshment and some delicious food with stunning sea views. I felt as though I was abroad....I mean, just look at this beach.......

.............just WOW!!!! Isn't it beautiful? You can see the café tucked into the trees above, and imagine how bloomin' delighted I was with it all.

After three super happy days it was time to say goodbye and begin my long journey home. Back across the water to the mainland (that ship is HMS Warrior, an old Navy vessel docked in Portsmouth Harbour), then a train up to London.....

....where everything was it's usual hectic, noisy, crowded, busy city self. Then it was the final three hours on the train back up to Yorkshire, and I tumbled in the front door at around 9.30pm. It was a lot of hours on the move (eight in total) but I happen to like travelling by myself and really enjoyed every bit of it.

I was away for six days in total, and the day before I left decided to cast on a pair of socks. I've not done any knitting since last year and had this yarn waiting patiently to be transformed into stripes. Socks make great travel projects and I really enjoyed knitting the hours away as I journeyed up and down the country.

The sock yarn matches perfectly with my latest blanket too, a delightful happy accident which is making me very pleased with the visual harmony. I'll be able to share my new blanket with you very, very soon - yarn packs will go on sale on Wednesday 21st September. I'll be here to tell you all about the blanket which I've named "Fireside" (cosy, warm and comforting vibes) , and as always there will be a free pattern and tutorial for you too. I'm really looking forward to showing it to you.

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Summer Snaps :: early August 2022

♥ Enjoying my walks in the woodland with J, we walk most mornings at 7am and it's such a beautiful way to start the day. The smell of the summer woodland during a light rain shower is one of the freshest scents I know. It's the very definition of the word "lush".

♥ During the extremely warm weather of the last few weeks, I've really appreciated the dappled shade under the trees. Not just the cooling feel of all that greenery,  but the dancing light and shadows has felt soothing somehow.

♥ Woodland walking and a morning coffee - enjoying my daily rituals no matter what the weather. Yes, I do still love a hot milky brew even on the hottest summer days! Mostly I prefer to take time to go out and sit in a café (especially if they have outside tables) but when J is very busy and tied to his desk I fetch us a takeout. I'm still pretty obsessed with these pastel de nata and absolutely love that my local coffee shop sells them and will wrap one up in tin foil for me to bring home with my coffee.

♥ Crocheting outside in the yarden, enjoying the way the sunshine makes the colours of this yarn glow. Gosh I do really adore this blanket.

♥ An evening walk with Little Lady which involved a slight detour afterwards for some refreshments. We went to a bar in town with a gorgeous outdoor terrace and indulged in a pair of very good mojitos. It was lovely.

♥ A visit to the beautiful RHS Harlow Carr gardens, my goodness it was utterly gorgeous there in early August. The giant herbaceous borders are spectacular and I found all the colours really inspirational. It was the three of us (me and J, with Little B), we took a picnic and had a really enjoyable day. I took loads of photos (of course I did) and will pop them into their own blog post I think.

♥ A family walk out into the Yorkshire Dales, well it was more of a hike really as it was nine miles and a pretty tough climb up to the top of Simon's Seat. Walking over open moorland we found enough ripe bilberries to pick and bring home, and J made two delicious jars of jam with them.

♥ This was a challenging but brilliant walk (the four of us on this day) and again, I took lots of photographs because it was exceptionally scenic. Can you see in the above photo, the shadows of clouds moving across the hillside? I absolutely love-love-love when you get to see that happen, I love it almost as much as still reflections in water. I'll try and find time to show you more of this walk very soon.

♥ A sunny pub beer garden in the late afternoon, in the picturesque Dales village of Appletreewick. It was at the end of our long hike and my goodness, it felt so good to sit down and rest our weary feet! From the pub garden we could see the very top of the high craggy rocks where we had eaten our picnic lunch earlier in the day.

♥ The sky in my wine :) tasted soooooo good after such a long walk!

♥ Visiting the market every Saturday morning with J, it's something we both really enjoy and always a lovely start to our weekend. Right now the summer fruits are abundant and we are eating our way through enormous amounts of strawberries, peaches and plums. Our favourite fruit and veg stall has changed positions on the market and is now right next to a homemade brownie stall.....oh.......it's dangerous stuff.

♥ I couldn't resist bringing some home for the Little People and they were suitably grateful for the Saturday treat. They are too sweet for me (just as well to be honest), but I have it on good authority that they are extremely good.

♥ August so far has delivered us the very best kind of summer weather with endless days of hot sunshine and clear blue skies. To say I've loved it is a humungous understatement, I've been ridiculously overjoyed about the weather and just full of summer happiness. We had a stunning heatwave here last week with temperatures reaching into the 30's which is pretty unusual for us up in the North of England. Oh my, I loooooooooved it!! 

♥ Spending so much time outside has been a huge source of pleasure for me this month, from my early morning woodland walks right through to evening strolls as the sun goes down. 

♥ It's 8am in the above photo, and I'm walking into town to run a few errands before it gets too hot. 

♥ On my way home now, just after 9am and the streets are still beautifully quiet. The town seems to be extremely busy this summer with lots of visitors flocking in on market days. I get a bit of a quiet thrill walking around and playing tourist in my own town, pretending I'm on holiday when I'm actually just popping out to get groceries.

♥ Summer lunch in a bowl, full of fresh flavours. I adore this kind of meal and eat it regularly. Raw courgette noodles (this simple gadget is still one of my faves and I use it loads), with lightly blanched yellow beans (a homegrown gift from my friends allotment) and the sweetest cherry tomatoes. Toss the veggies in a little olive oil and lemon juice, then add some protein (cooked chicken and mozzarella this time) then season and add some fresh basil to finish. Yummmmmm.

♥ Finding a shady spot underneath the tangle of honeysuckle and clematis in the back yard on an incredibly hot afternoon. Can you imagine how happy I am with all this blue sky and bright sunshine to hang about it?!

♥ Coming to the end of my crochet blanket and picking up an old cross stitch project. This is a Cotton & Twine design from two years ago and I only had twelve little buzzy bees left to stitch, so I got busy and completed it.

♥ Ta-dah! I now have all four seasons complete and really love displaying them on my (dusty) mantel. One thing I haven't done much of this summer is housework!

♥ A gentle evening stroll up on the moors to take in the beauty of the heather while at its peak. Oh, it's ridiculously stunning up on those hilltops at this time of year, just breath taking scenery in every direction. It was around 8pm in the above photo and the sun was almost ready to sink below the horizon - yes, yes, I took dozens of photos and will show you some more very soon. 

♥ This last photo was taken yesterday morning as I was nervously pacing the floors, straightening out the blankets and tidying up random objects to keep myself busy. I was waiting for Little Lady to return from school with her A level results and I was suddenly anxious in a way that took me completely by surprise. My goodness, it was an emotional ol' parenting business yesterday! Thankfully I'm pleased to tell you that she did extremely well, and I burst into tears. She got the grades she needed to secure her first choice university place which is a major achievement......but she has made the hard decision not to take it for now. Knowing her as well as I do, I think she is absolutely making the right choice for herself and I'm so incredibly proud of her. Teenage life is such an adventure, it's a thrill ride for sure.

I hope you've enjoyed these snippets, I'm having the best summer this year, such a lovely balance of all good things. I wish I could find more time to share here, I've literally got hundreds of photos that I'd like to show you - we had an amazing holiday week by the sea at the end of July, and then some beautiful staycation days out (Harlow Carr and our Dales hike which I've touched upon in this post). I'll try hard to make the time to upload some more summer blogs. I hope this season is treating you well, grasp every bit of goodness in each day, there is so much to enjoy.

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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!

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And so into June

So here we are, racing through June at such a pace I can hardly catch my breath. Just this morning I happened to catch sight of the date and was astounded to find out that we are already in the middle of the month and goodness me, the Summer Solstice is less than a week away! Say what???!!! I remember it was just the same last year, so maybe this is what May-June feels like at this time in my life? I think it's because our winter season seems to take foreeeeeveeer to be over and done with, that once Spring finally arrives it rushes in and out like a flood tide. 

Towards the end of May my Dad and Lady B journeyed all the way from Dorset to visit for a week, it was a holiday that had been postponed since 2020. Back then in pre-covid times my Dad's memory and general health was very much more robust, so I was a little worried about how he would cope with the lengthy train travel and also being out of his usual environment and routine. Lets just say it was a challenge - whether he was really aware of it or not I'm unsure, but his level of general confusion was pretty heart breaking. So yeah, it was a very intense week, not stressful as such, but highly emotional and draining nevertheless. 

On top of the worry about my Dad's health decline, I also tend to experience a surge of emotions at this time of year - ever since I lost my Mum five years ago, the month of May weighs heavy on me. I'm the kind of person who tends to deal with these things silently and inwardly which is probably not the best way, but keeping everything tightly wrapped up is just the way I am. I'm still trying to come to terms with many things to do with my Mum and the way her life came to a very sad and abrupt end, gosh this kind of deep rooted stuff isn't easy is it?

Anyhow, I'm not here to dig into my past because my childhood and my relationship with my parents has always been quite the messy tangle which I keep locked down tight, but I did just want to let you know a little of what I've been going through lately. Thankfully these times never seem to last for long and I'm pretty adept at bouncing back - boing! I'm here, it's mid June with summer almost upon us and all is warm and well.

At the beginning of June the UK commemorated the Queen's Platinum Jubilee and as such we were treated to a four day bank holiday weekend. The weather was mixed (of course it was) but it mostly held dry if a bit on the chilly-breezy side. The town was hugely busy with visitors, both on the pavements and the waterways and I love the hustle and bustle of a high season holiday weekend when the atmosphere is joyful and celebratory.

On my friendly little street with it's terraced houses all tucked together in close proximity, we collectively organised a laid back Jubilee street party. We applied to the council for a permit to close the road to traffic, hung up strings of red, white and blue bunting and gathered together enough food and drink to feed a small army.

It was a lot of fun just being able to sit in the middle of the road and chat to neighbours from up and down the street, most of whom we did already know (thirty houses in total). There was cake....

....and of course there was Pimms served in paper cups. It was really ever so British and made me remember how very much I love Pimms (and cake) in the summertime.

May and early June is such a l-u-s-h time in the countryside and the abundance of greenery and general floral frothiness has really lifted my spirits lately. 

My daily morning walks in the woodland have continued to keep me simultaneously grounded and uplifted and I'm so thankful for this place that I call home.

Up until this week, the weather has been unseasonably cold (and very windy) during the past few months. I really hope that Summer will bring plenty of warmth and sunshine as I desperately feel a need for both.

I've been keeping an eye on the elderflowers around and about as I'm hoping to make a nice big batch of cordial again this year. The above photo was taken nine days ago, and since then most of the bushes I walk past are now in full floral froth. It's a glorious time of year and I absolutely love to (literally) bottle it up - I'll go and buy the sugar, lemons and oranges tomorrow so that I can get busy with it over the weekend if it stays dry. The recipe is on my blog here >> {Elderflower Cordial recipe, scroll down through the long-winded chatty blog post to find it}

What else to tell you? Building work finished here early last week, resulting in the safe dismantling of an old disused chimney stack and the back wall of our house being repaired and repointed. We asked the builders if they could leave the actual chimney pot for us as I thought it would be fun to plant something in it - my goodness, we were totally unprepared for the monstrous size of it, it's gigantic! It must stand four feet tall and was on top of a stack of heavy stone which was as high again - imagine, an eight foot tall chimney sitting very precariously on top of our bathroom roof, it blows my mind every time I think about it.

Our back yard is still in disarray because the scaffolding hasn't yet come down. I'm impatiently waiting for that to happen and then I can get busy with cleaning and tidying and planting up my pots for the summer.

The past few weeks I've been in full Mum-mode, supporting Little Lady as she revises and sits her A level exams. I think she's doing remarkably well in terms of managing both her time and her wellbeing, putting in many hours of revision and coping with a certain inevitable level of daily anxiety. She's only got two more exams left to do now, so next Tuesday I anticipate there will be much rejoicing, and I will finally be able to breathe out again.

This past week or two I've been working steadily away behind the scenes, finalising the colour palette for my next CAL blanket which will be revealed in November. I generally work around five months in advance which can be quite challenging for someone like me who much prefers the do-it-right-now spontaneous approach. Ahhhh......I can't wait to show you more, so exciting! I'm now working on the stitch design and it's been the usual frustrating, stop-start affair, but I spent a good few hours noodling with yarn and hook today and think I'm finally getting somewhere.

Goodness knows how many hours I've spent at the dining table during these past few weeks as it takes a LOT of time to work through the colour and pattern design process for one of my blankets. My whole heart and soul goes into each and every blanket and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Well I think that's about all for now, I hope you are doing ok out there in the world and enjoying these mid year months. Despite the emotional ups and downs, this really is my very best favourite time of year by far.

Thanks as always for popping into the Attic to visit, it's always so good to be here for a chat and a catch up....see you again soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

This Week...

This week...the Huntress wore a delightful Spring dress decorated with fresh wild garlic flowers and it made me smile big and wide.

This week...I enjoyed coffee in the park with a good friend, loving the sunshine on my face while we chatted and caffeinated.

This week...I received a beautifully wrapped gift in the post, a surprise from a very generous friend. It turned out to be the most inspirational book, I promise I'll show it to you very soon because I think you'd like it.

This week...I enjoyed running errands on a gorgeously warm and sunny spring afternoon. Walking to the shops is always a visual pleasure and I often feel like I'm on holiday as I go about my quiet business.

This week...there was a lot of  noise (and mess) as we have builders doing emergency work on the back of our house. That glorious old chimney stack is going to come down because its leaning dangerously, and the whole of the back wall is being repaired.

This week...I admired the old Yorkshire stone that our century old house is built from. I'm looking forward to seeing it repointed and brought back to life.

This week...yesterday in fact, I took my Little Lady out to breakfast and thoroughly enjoyed both the food and her good natured, chatty company.

This week...my Little Lady officially left school to begin her A level study leave and it's proving to be a highly emotional time for yours truly, unexpectedly so. She dressed up so beautifully for her farewell celebrations and it reminded me of this long-ago post when she was just four years old. And now....she's eighteen and no longer a school girl. All the Mummy feels, alllllll of them.

This week...I finally finished my umpteenth round of sampling and came to a decision about my latest blanket. It needs reworking with a bigger hook size and less colour changes, so I'm preparing to start all over again from scratch. Weirdly I'm not unhappy about starting over (I'd already made about a quarter of the blanket), I'm just excited to get busy with it again.

This week...I tried hard to find the joy in my working-from-home situation. It's been noisy with the builders knocking seven bells out of the back wall and the whole house needs a good tidy and clean. Everything has felt a bit overwhelming this week to be honest. But the kitty has been such a sweet companion and despite the messy chaos, I felt grateful for this rather haphazard home-based working life of mine.

I hope your week has been a good'n' - tell me something you're grateful for, I'd love to know....

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Spring Joy

After a long winter, the spring season has exploded all of a sudden here in my patch and it really is quite something. Despite the temperatures often remaining very wintry, it's been utterly beautiful and I've been out there drinking it in at every opportunity.

The blossom in the park reached it's peak at the start of May and it was absolutely breath taking this year. During my early morning walks I would stand underneath those floral branches and sigh with pleasure. They filled me with joy every single morning (even in the drizzle).

I went for a little rummage in the antique centre one morning and realised it had been a good few years since I'd last been in. It's a very quirky old place set across three floors, kind of ramshackle and chaotic with an old fashioned, nostalgic atmosphere. It's a wonderful place for a poke about as you never know what you might find - I picked out this teeny old glass bottle for £2 and it was love at first sight. It's perfect to display some miniature spring blooms, and yeah I'm a bit in love with that cute little viola too.

Do you remember me telling you a while back that I've got some new bedding? I've wanted to change my bedding for ages as my bargain £10 supermarket set has faded a lot with constant wash and wear over the years and was looking very tired. As I only ever own one set at a time, it's important to me that I really, really like it because it will be on my bed all the time for many years to come.

I fancied something relaxed that had the look of faded linen and I fell for this Pyjama Stripe design which has exactly the relaxed holiday vibe that I was after. It's not actually linen but is 100% cotton so it feels ever so soft, and I bought some blush pink linen covers for our second set of pillows. It occurred to me when I was plumping my pillows that my Dune blanket would go really well with this new look, adding to the coastal feel. It's inspiring me to think about decorating and refreshing our bedroom, it's about time we gave that room a bit of attention I think.

May weather so far has been very mixed, and in amongst the unseasonal cold we've had a few warm sunny days here and there. You can be sure that I've been out and about making the most of it and we enjoyed our first al fresco morning coffee of the year a few weeks ago. One of our favourite cafés has the cutest little courtyard garden for customers to enjoy, and it felt so good to be sitting outside enjoying the early spring warmth. 

The past couple of Sundays we've taken a local walk along the canal, setting out quite early before the tow path gets busy with cyclists and walkers. We have a good reason to walk this way, and that reason has feathers......

......which belong to this flock of chickens!

They free roam in this large field right next to the canal, and close to the farmhouse there is a wooden stand where you can put money into a little flowery tin and pick up a box of eggs. It's one of the joys of living in a rural area, and being able to see the chickens looking so happy and content going about their clucky business makes the eggs extra special.

The eggs in question are very fresh and are excellent for poaching because the whites hold together in a very satisfying blob (if you've ever made poached eggs using this method, you will know the utter satisfaction of whites that hold tight).

The yolks are super-golden.....

....and make my oat pancakes turn out bright yellow. As a result of our canal side jaunts, my Sunday brunch meals have mostly been of the eggy variety, and have made me very content with weekend life.

I'm getting a lot of joy from food at the moment, there is something deeply satisfying about making a meal for one that sits beautifully in a bowl and looks colourful and nourishing.

This was my lunch on Monday, a roasted sweet potato and chickpea salad with a simple olive oil/lemon juice/maple syrup dressing that really hit the spot. The secret ingredient was little snippets of sundried tomatoes, gosh, the flavours were something else.

J and I are walking every morning still, and have gone back to our woodland route now that mud season is over.

The wild garlic is in full flower and looks unbelievably beautiful at the moment. I think any flowers en masse have a really striking effect and although I get to see this spectacle every single year, I can never quite get over the sheer abundance of it.

The flowers are so, so pretty, and don't get me started on the heady scent in the woodland after a night of rain....I can't find words to do it justice.

On the morning when I was taking the wild garlic photos above, I came across a huuuuuuuge feather just laid in the middle of the pathway waiting for me. It was absolutely pristine and so big, just like you would imagine an old fashioned ink quill pen to look. I can't imagine what bird it would have come from as it's way bigger than any feather you'd expect to find in the woods. Any ideas?

Tilly was beside herself with the Wanties so I've had to hide it from her for now because I just know she would have hunted it down if it joined my feather collection on the mantel. Yes, I have a feather collection - of course I do. In fact, if you cast your eyes downwards and look at the photo below, you'll see it on the left of the mantel next to my Observer books....

.....do you see the feathers? Or were you too mesmerised by my gorgeous tulips!?! It's a good time of year for shop-bought tulips, they are plentiful and affordable and I really love having them on my table.

Talking of tulips, I came across something last month which I've squirrelled away in my brain for next year - a possible visit to an actual tulip field here in England, wouldn't that be something? The field in question is down in Norfolk and opens to the public for a few weeks each year to raise money for charity...oh my heart....I pretty much hyperventilated with excitement when I saw the photos. The open season is ticketed and in high demand I think, so it's a trip that needs careful planning with some good fortune thrown in. 

Ahh, it's been really good to catch up with you here in the Attic, I love sharing snippets of this and that, the little joys that make up my days. The spring season is extremely short here in the north of England because we have such lengthy winters, but in a way it makes them even more special. I hope you're enjoying this season too, and finding lots of little joys in your own days xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx