Little Cotton Rabbits

A gift of time

 

 

Well, it's almost Christmas and so I'm going to sign off here for a couple of weeks. I have all of the presents for Amy and Toby wrapped, the larder and fridge are well stocked, the log pile is full and the christmas tree is up and decorated, so I think I'm organised. I've not had to gift shop for H as it's been years since we bought Christmas gifts for eachother - we learnt quite early on that he doesn't know much about yarn and I know even less about bicycle chain sets and derailleurs. So it was by mutual agreement that we decided to buy our own gifts at Christmastime. This year he's looking forward to using a new set of titanium spoked wheels and I'm going to be enjoying these goodies...

 

 

Devotions, The selected poems of Mary Oliver;

heavenly smelling 'resurrection' Aesop handcream;

beautifully bound Slightly Foxed editions of Adrian Bell's triology of books 1920's farming life in rural Suffolk ;

soothingly tactile mug for tea from Andrea Roman, A R Ceramics;

Viola yarn, organic Merino DK in 'Silver Birch' and Merino fingering in 'Rosehip' from Loop London.

 

However, the gift that we do always give to each other is one far more precious than any material possesions, and that is time. Over the Christmas period, when Toby is off from the routine of school, things can get intense and wearying and so each of us makes sure that the other one has at least 2 hours of free time each day, time when the other person is responsible for the constant supervision that Toby needs. For H this might be going out cycling or spending time up in the attic playing a computer game. And for me this sometimes means going out for a wood walk alone - seeking the peace that I always find in quiet natural spaces; sometimes it might be time for a warm bath (though often that doesn't work out too well if Toby hears the taps running as it turns into Toby-bath-time instead, especially if there are scented bubbles involved); and sometimes it's just space within the busyness of the day to sit quietly listening to music or watching a film and having some uninterrupted knitting time at home while H takes Toby out.

Over the next 2 weeks I'll be looking forward to my little peaceful parcels of 'me-time' and curling up with one of these books, or casting on some mittens with some of this yarn. But before our holidays begin I need to go and pick up Amy from uni and then we can start our festive time altogether.

And with that thought, I'm going to leave you with the wish that your festive celebrations, whatever they may be, are full of small joys and that you are surrounded by those you love most and share many tender and happy times with them,

with love and my warmest best wishes to you for the holidays and for the bright new decade that awaits us,

J xxxx

 

Early December

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Out in the woods most of the trees have shed all of their leaves now, but those that do still cling to the branches, mostly on the oaks and birches, have been burnished by the early morning frosts and shine like gold in the low winter sunlight.

There is something so very peaceful and calming about the woods at this time of year and when I'm walking alone I rarely see anyone, though I did meet a lovely lady and her dog the other day and we compared funghi pictures and best places to spot different kinds. But most of my wood walks are anti-social affairs, where I walk alone slowly, quietly and almost reverently, trying to attune my senses to the woodland world so that I can hear the rustle of falling leaves, smell the damp, richness of generations of decaying leaves and notice the subtle shift in the colours of the leaves, each one slightly different to it's neighbour.

Coming home I always feel a sense of cleansed calm and a peaceful stillness that quiets my mind and I try to hold on to that as long as possible by sitting with a warm cup of tea and my knitting. Inevitably though the waiting chores call me back to the busyness of the day and life speeds up again. Are there things that help you find peaceful corners of your busy days? Do tell me about them in the comments if you have time.

 

Well, I have some 'thank yous' to say today.

Firstly, Thank You so much to Andrea at Fruity Knitting who recently invited me to be on one of their shows. Unfortunately for me the timing didn't fit, and with everything that has gone on with Toby this year I currently feel a need keep things here as simple and flexible as possible, so I didn't feel I could commit to an interview. But it certainly was a great honour to have been asked. I'm sure you already know about their 60 minute fortnightly shows featuring interviews with various fibre artists ranging from knitwear designers, sheep farmers to yarn producers - they are one of the most popular, well produced and informative knitting shows on You Tube, so if you've not come across them before, they are well worth a visit.

Secondly, a big thank you to Verena at BaerReport for the article about my knitted bears in the November issue, I was very flattered to be included in this lovely magazine all about hand-crafted and collectable bears.

Thirdly, Thank you to Sarah at Yarnologie magazine, for featuring my hedgehog pattern in the festive summer issue, there are some really cute projects to make in the issue and the front cover is so sweet!

 

Finally, before I go I wanted to share another wonderful you tube channel with you, Talasbuan. I started following Mathais and Tova on instagram because Mathias takes the most beautiful photographs and I quickly became enchanted by their off grid life in Jamtland, Sweden. They both have such intergrity and dedication to living a simple life that honours the animals they raise for food and they are inspiring in their hardwork as they begin to restore a much neglected small holding in a clearing in the northern woods. Their beautifully filmed vlogs centre on their daily life: caring for their animals; building a log cabin, root cellars and shelters for the animals from the surrounding timber; growing fruit and vegetables and preparing nutritionally dense, ethically produced, organic food. Recently they produced a short film to announce an exciting event - watching it is a beautiful way to spend 2 minutes of your life, and gives you a taste of the magic that they share on their channel, please take a look and if you are as moved and inspired as me, perhaps follow their channel or become a patron... New Beginnings, by Talasbuan

Well, that's all from me today. Like most of you, I'm up to my ears in lists of things to do in the next two weeks. I hope your preparations for the festive season go well, that the queues diminish as you approach all checkouts, that you find the perfect gifts for those you love and that you have a little quiet time to yourself in amongst all of the craziness, J xxx