Little Cotton Rabbits

October ramblings

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the end of last week I went walking in a local nature reserve at Broxbourne woods where I was delighted to come across a slow worm sunbathing on the path. Although he looks very snake-like and does have a forked tongue he is actually a legless lizard (apparently his ability to blink and shed his tail make him not a snake). He was so blissed out in the patch of sunlight that I had to step over him and even though I took lots of photos of him he didn't seem bothered by me. He'll probably be starting his winter hibernation in the next month so I expect he's extra bold on these last sunny, warm afternoons while he tops up his tan!

I also met a group of lovely ladies. These beautiful Red Poll cattle have been introduced to the pasture in a habitat conservation project involving legacy grazing. The Red Poll breed is native to the East of England and they certainly looked very at home and were completely relaxed about me walking through their field.

Whilst out and about I've been enjoying the cosy warmth of the void shawl (pattern and yarn details in link on my Ravelry project page). The yarn is really soft and comfortable to wear and the shawl is pretty flexible, looped twice or three times depending on how cold the breeze is. The pom-poms are still in place despite Toby's attentions and I'm hoping he'll be able to help me to make him some pom-poms of his own to play with as a distraction from playing with mine.

Back at home I've been finishing off patterns, starting new socks and getting winter woollies out of storage ready for wearing. I've also been enjoying the October issue 79 of Knit Now magazine which has an interview with me as part of the Knitter of the year awards that I won a prize in earlier in the year. The awards nominations for 2017 have just opened so if you'd like to nominate someone then head over to their page for more details.

Well, I'm off to continue with pattern writing, won't be long now I promise - hopefully I'll be back with news in the next post, til then keep well - there seem to be coughs and colds everywhere at the moment so fingers crossed you avoid them x

 

 

change afoot

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There's been a change in the air this week. Autumn is breezing in on the wind, loosening the leaves from the trees and whistling through any windows left open. I've changed the duvets from lightweight summer throws to cosier covers to snuggle under and whilst it's not yet been cool enough to warrant lighting the fire I've been stacking logs in the basket ready because the change is noticeably distinct. 

The cooler weather is the perfect excuse to carry on with warm-winter-woollie knitting and my void shawl is all finished. It's the perfect big snuggly wrap to keep out those autumn breezes. I had a tiny bit of yarn left over and couldn't resist making a few pom-poms for the ends, I'm really pleased I did as they are a sweet finishing touch, though I'm not sure how long they'll stay attached as Toby seems quite fascinated with them.

The book I mentioned in the previous post 'A modern way to eat'  by Anna Jones has been provding me with lots of lovely new recipes to try, but I'm finding I'm not a fan of them all. I tried really hard to like her recipe for the wonderful sounding Golden Tumeric milk which is made with almond milk, tumeric, cardamom and honey but I failed dismally. One sip was enough for me I'm afraid! It's a pretty concoction though with a lovely warm colour that goes well with the socks I'm working on at the moment. They're knitted from the pattern BFF socks by Cookie A in Madelinetosh Twist light yarn in 'harvest' with contrasting heels, toes and ribbing top in 'paper', my project notes are here.

On my walks I've been noticing lots of mushrooms and toadstools, it's their season and they are everywhere at the moment. I hope to go exploring and find more next week, family life has been busy and chaotic so I've not been out adventuring as much as I had hoped for but Autumn is still to reach her best here so there's time yet.

I hope to be back more frequently very soon and to have news on new patterns and the giveaway I'm planning. Til then keep well xx

 

three-quarter year resolutions

 

 

 

 

 

 

The new school year is always eagerly anticipated here. Not only does it bring a welcome return to comfortable routines but it also seems like a second chance in the year for new resolutions and plans.

Toby is settling in well with a new teacher and class assistants (happily his classmates are all the same) and Amy is enjoying being in the top year, her last year of school ever. I've spent the last few days clearing up summer holiday mess, tidying things away and getting myself in a sorted frame of mind (or at least trying to) and I've at last had the chance to sit down and properly go through a couple of new cookery books that I bought over summer.

Back in July I started intermittent fasting - the 16/8 kind where you fast for 16 hours each day (in my case 7pm until 11am the next day) and then eat normally during the 8 hours inbetween. When I get up I drink lots of hibiscus tea to keep the hunger pangs at bay - it's quite compelling to watch as it brews with streams of dark red pouring out from the teabags to turn a bottle of water as red as a robust red wine in just minutes. Most days I do make it to 11am before eating anything, though I'm not letting myself feel guilty about the days when I cave in and have a bit of buttered toast at 10am.

The idea is that a longer fasting time between eating gives the body time to process the food and burn away extra fat stores and there are suggestions that it has health benefits too, including helping balance insulin levels. The health aspects are those that most interest me but I'm also loosing weight on it, so far 11lbs in 10 weeks so I'm very happy about that. I'm trying to make sure that what I eat in my 8 hour window is mostly healthy (though I still have cake and chocolate and sugar in my tea) and so I've been looking for new inspiration and have found it in 2 books by Anna Jones.  Now I've got a long list of new recipes to try and one of my favourites so far is 'overnight bircher with peaches'. It's delicious with any fresh fruit and is a nice 11am breakfast or fits the bill perfectly for a pudding when I fancy one. I think it tastes even better when eaten from the beautiful tactile cup that I bought from Rachelle Blondel - her wonderful ceramics are organically formed and lovely to hold. 

Along with healthier eating I'm trying to get back into the swing of pattern writing so I'm structuring my day into chunks of 'work' knitting and 'play knitting' time. The knitting pictured above is what I'm currently working on in my play time (along with various odd socks) and will be a lovely big, soft wrap for when the colder weather arrives. The pattern I'm using is 'Void' by Melanie Berg and I'm knitting it in The Uncommon Thread's Lush Worsted yarn, a heavenly mix of merino and cashmere with a little nylon for strength, my project details are here.

As soon as I have something concrete to share on the work knitting front I'll be back with news. I will also be having a giveaway to celebrate my just passed 11th blogging anniversary (on September 3rd) but first I need to get myself organised properly, so that will happen later in the autumn.

Thank you so very much to everyone who commented on the previous post. Such wise, compassionate and heart-felt words deserve a proper reply and I feel a bit bad that I've not yet had the time to do that. Until I get the chance to I just wanted you to know how deeply I appreciate your kind comments, thank you xxxx

 

Late Summer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our summer days have merged into a flow of lazy, mostly at home days and I'm at that point in the school summer hols where I can no longer remember which day of the week it is.

We've been spending lots of time outside; swinging gently in the shade or lazing on a picnic blanket in the garden; walking in the woods and over hills; riding on the little steam train near here and eating lots of ice-cream. It's been mostly relaxing and Toby is coping. He's also beginning to adapt to the lack of pudding that I mentioned in the previous post and though it's still a work in progress it looks like petit filous yoghurts are becoming his new pudding of choice, which is a great relief!

Out in the garden things have been really productive this year. I'm still picking french beans, raspberries, rocket and kale and the cylindrical beetroot that I planted from seed has done really well and is deliciously fresh - seems I'm not the only one to think that either. Everything is still flowering too, the little oregano flowers are attracting lots of bees, hoverflies and butterflies and we've been watching the rapid growth of a surprise self-seeded sunflower.

There's even been a little knitting going on: I've finally finished and blocked a shawl that has been languishing in a bag for a year or more (Dream Stripes by Berangere Cailliau, details here); have quite a few pairs of socks on the go, as I'm clearly still under the spell of the sock knitting fairy (above are Wildflower and Honeycomb socks by Olivia Villarreal, details here) and there have even been a few animals emerging from my knitting basket too (more on that another time).

We've got exactly a week left until school starts again so we're just going to keep things simple here and try to savour the last summer break days, because days of warmth and sunshine are now numbered for this year. Mornings are becoming hazier and cooler, the evenings are shortening noticeably and the leaves in the woods are taking on that late summer dusty green. Autumn is waiting in the wings.

 

PS: I knew there was something I'd forget and that's the pictures of the tiny cucamelons that a kind friend gave to me as seedlings. Incredibly and despite unwanted attention from slugs, snails and squirrels they actually have tiny fruits!

 

 

In need of an intervention?

 

Umm, still sock knitting here, and a little obsessively truth be told. I'm not quite sure why, but it might be because the weather here has felt distinctly autumnal lately. Or maybe it's to do with the undemanding rhythm of knitting socks - just going round and round knitting two, purling two is rather relaxing and a nice break from the rigours of writing patterns which quite frankly is taxing on the brain. In either case, I do so love knitting and just sitting here doing it rather than working to the broken rhythm of noting down every stitch and fussing over wording descriptions so that others can follow instructions feels good, so I'm allowing myself a little holiday from pattern writing over the school summer break. It may well be that I have a shed load of socks at the end of these 6 weeks and whether I'll need a knitting intervention remains to be seen!

The pair I've just started (above) are from a really pretty pattern by Olivia Villarreal - Wild flowers and honeycomb socks which I'm knitting in beautiful The Uncommon Thread Tough Sock yarn in shades 'tea smoked' and 'toast' - perfect for a spot of Sunday morning knitting with a nice cup of tea. I've also almost finished the 2 pairs that I mentioned in the previous post (below) so am definitely making up for years of never knitting socks!

If you are waiting for my next animal pattern please forgive me for asking you to wait even longer and thanks for your patience and understanding while I take a little breather and indulge my newly found joy in sock knitting. Rest assured that there will be a new animal pattern coming up after the summer and I'm also working on extra ideas for clothing too, more news will follow. 'Til next time, wishing you peaceful days, restful nights and a little of what makes you happy xxx

 

 

 

Early morning sock knitting

 

 

 

Amy is going on a school trip today so we were up at 5am this morning. After dropping her off it didn't seem worth going back to sleep so I'm now sat in bed with a little sock knitting to bide the time until it's time to wake Toby up. For some reason I'm a bit hooked on sock knitting at the moment which is quite a good thing because I have built up a rather large stash of gorgeous sock yarns. It's good to be whittling down my stash a little (and of course it means I can go browsing for a little more once I've made room for a few new skeins). My particular favourite sock yarns are The Uncommon Thread 'Tough sock', Eden Cottage 'Hayton' and anything from The Wool Barn. With all that lovely yarn it looks like sock knitting will be much more common here in future and happily I'll also have some lovely leftovers for bunny cardigans and sweaters.

The patterns I'm working from are 'Lucky me Socks' by Pia Kammeborn (above) and 'Emily's Favourite Socks' by Emily Foden (below) and notes on the yarns I've used etc. can be found on my Ravelry project page if you'd like more details.

Well, I think I have time for a few more rows before I go and rouse Toby with his breakfast tray of toast and gingerbread men, see you soon.