Little Cotton Rabbits

merry Christmas x

Well, December days have dashed by and Christmas is upon us, which I shouldn't really be surprised about seeing as this year has fairly whooshed by. Are you ready? I'm not far off being so and I have today and tomorrow to catch up with everything that needs to be done. My deadline is 3pm tomorrow when the children get home from the last day of school and the tree and decorations will go up, signalling the start of seasonal celebrations here. I always feel a bit guilty that out of all Amy's friends our family is the very last to get into the Christmas spirit but I think she understands as once the decorations are up we have a constant surveillance job to make sure Toby doesn't pull the tree over or eat non-edibles!

 

 

Today I am putting the finishing touches to teacher and therapist pressies. I'm finishing off some knitted stockings and the christmas tree bears above. I'm also making bags of peppermint bark which has become a Christmas tradition that I really enjoy - it is so easy to make and is always well received.

 

 

Talking of presents, if you have bought any of my girl animal or dress patterns this year there is a little freebie pattern supplement that you can download from ravelry. It's a small thank you for your support of my pattern writing in 2013. I hope to have lots more patterns next year and look forward to sharing them with you.

 

 

Well, I'm off to chop and bag up the chocolate (and nibble the off-cuts!). I hope that you and those you love have a very merry Christmas time and a happy, healthy start to 2014. See you in the New Year and thanks as always for dropping by xxx

9EKQQRTYMZ2W

autumn knitting

The last couple of days have been the perfect autumn kind -  misty mornings with dew festooned cobwebs...

 

 

...dissolving into warm days of sunshine that sparkles through the rich colours of the leaves.

 

I'm so glad to live somewhere that has four distinct seasons, each one bringing changes in what we eat, what we wear and what we do. Autumn always makes me feel like baking; tidying the garden; airing the winter weight duvets, blankets and winceyette sheets and unearthing the the jumpers, scarves, gloves and snuggly socks from the backs of cupboards and drawers. I've been baking lots of biscuits and quite a few apple cakes (this has been such a good year for apples and we've had bags and bags from our neighbours tree). Our current favourite cake though is a lovely lemon and thyme cake from a Nigel Slater recipe. It's really delicious, very moist and lemony and good with a dollop of cream. It's a tad messy in the making, although that may just be me - I am useless at zesting lemons.

 

 

Autumn is also a time to be knitting things that are toasty and warm, ready for the colder months to come. I've finished off my mittens and am really pleased with this Purl Bee pattern, I'll use it again in future as I really like the rounded mitten top and the placement of the thumbs.

 

I've made myself a slouchy beret too. I messed up though by increasing too many stitches and didn't notice until after the border. I couldn't face unpicking so pressed on and the finished hat is probably a bit too baggy, though very comfy to wear.

Pattern: Ethel Beret by Andi Satterlund

 

I'll use the pattern again as it's very sweet (though next time I will concentrate better when I work the increase row). I love the little knitting needles on the border and had lots of fun making the pompom, I even got Toby to help a little with winding the wool for it.

 

Well, that's my news. It's half term break here next week so I'll be busy keeping Toby occupied. Luckily he is still enjoying some of the presents from his birthday, especially his duplo (and the box which doubled as a hat) and the huge helium balloon which is still buoyant and providing much delight two weeks on.

 

Thanks for dropping in and visiting with me. Til next time, keep well and happy

J x

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PS: I knew there was something else I'd planned to say, I am such a scatterbrain at the moment.

We are having another photo contest on the little cotton rabbits ravelry group. It starts this coming Monday (October 28th) and will run until November 10th. The theme is autumnal animals and it's open to anyone. All you need to do to enter is to take a fitting picture of an animal you've made from one of my patterns. We'd love to have you join in, all of the details are here.

Tausigma has also started a photography club which will be a great place to share tips on taking better pictures, ask questions and share ideas.

2012 in pictures

Today Toby is at CHIPs club and Amy is out with a friend so I'm really enjoying the peace and quiet of a couple of hours all to myself. I thought I'd pop in briefly and share a few of my favourite pictures from the last year, a few of the things that brought me smiles and pleasure...

 

1. edge, 2. a bundle of bunnies, 3. blossom, 4. Misty morning in autumn afghan, 5. garden, 6. waiting for arms..., 7. campout, 8. carrots, 9. line, 10. hedgies, 11. misty afghan, 12. packing

 

Hopefully there will be plenty to smile about in 2013.

We've had a good start here at our house, the first day of the year was bright and beautiful and Toby and I were awake at dawn to see the sun rise and then off to the woods for a lovely walk - a perfect start to a bright new year. Amy and I have been busy in the kitchen with our new years resolution to bake more...

 

 

These are little lemony yoghurty 'baby bundt' cakes from Nigella Lawson's 'How to be a Domestic Goddess'. Tomorrow we are making cheese scones - though all this baking does put in jeopardy my second resolution to loose a bit of weight! My only other new years resolution is to try to worry less about things I cannot change and focus on each day at a time. Have you made any resolutions this year?

I'll be back properly next week after the children are back to school and I've caught up with some much neglected housework - look forward to catching up with you then.

 

Finished

Yay, I've finished my Peerie Flooers and am looking forward to wearing them on my next wood walk with Toby, which will definitely bring me a smile - I do love them!

 

 

No doubt there will be quite a few wood walks (weather permitting) over the next couple of weeks because here we are again at the last day of term. Toby went into school this morning laden down with homemade peppermint bark for all of the teachers (this is so easy to make and is really good, so it's now my first choice for teachers gifts).

 

Tomorrow is the start of 17 days of full-on Toby watching. Keeping him safe and entertained with the changes in routine and the added differences that Christmas brings will be a challenge but hopefully there will be some good times sprinkled in there too. I'm hoping for a quiet and calm Christmas with good food, plenty of sleep and some peaceful walks in the woods (with warm and pretty hands!)

All that remains is for me to wish you and those you love a very merry Christmas and a happy New year wherever you are xxx

 

Kitchen poetry 3

Well despite the lack of chill in the air these past few weeks the leaves have started changing colour and the clocks have gone back, so it feels that autumn is well and truly here again. Its arrival has made me want to get ready for winter and I've been making lots of soup for the freezer. Soaking split peas for split pea and ham soup (from River Cottage Everyday)

 

and roasting butternut squash for Squash & Cumin soup (recipe from my mum)

 

 

To serve 6:

3 teaspoons of cumin seed

1 teaspoon of coriander seed

1 teaspoon of caraway seed

1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

olive oil

1 medium squash (either butternut or onion) around 1kg in weight

2 large onions

3 garlic cloves

50gms butter

750ml stock (vegetable or chicken)

220ml creme fraiche

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 190 degrees / gas mark 5. Cut the squash in half and remove all of the seeds, place in a roasting dish, drizzle over the olive oil and bake in the oven for up to an hour until soft. Toast all of the spice seeds in a dry pan and grind to a powder.

Finely chop the onions and garlic and sweat in the butter until they are soft and translucent. Set aside until the squash is done. Scrape the roasted squash flesh from the skin and put in a deep pan with the onions, ground spices and stock. Simmer for a few minutes. Add the creme fraiche and blend to a thick, smooth soup. Good to eat with warm crusty olive bread.

 

Even my knitting has been touched by autumnal colours - I've been working on a very soft and very decadent new scarf in gorgeous pure cashmere (Jade Sapphire 8ply cashmere in Chamomile). I've gone for a very simple garter stitch because when the yarn is this special I don't think it needs fancy stitches.

 

These autumny pursuits have inspired Amy and I to write another bit of kitchen poetry...

 

When autumn comes a-knocking

Amy and I make soup,

We also kick through fallen leaves

and shop for yarn at Loop!

 Poem by Amy & Julie

 

Making preparations for winter is something lots of people are doing at the moment and there's a wonderful project just started by Silverpebble and Thriftyhousehold called Making Winter which aims to celebrate all of the lovely things that winter brings. So if you fancy sharing some of your favourite wintery things pop over and join in x