Little Cotton Rabbits

Ten years and a giveaway

Ten years ago today, on September 3rd 2006 my four year old son Toby was about to start school. It was a big deal for me because not only is he severely autistic but I was ending a six year period of being a constant stay-at-home mum and I wasn't entirely sure what to do with my days.

To counter my anxiety at whether he'd cope with the dramatic change and to keep my mind occupied I wrote my very first blog post and so embarked on a journey which has meandered and rambled over the last decade to arrive at this very point here.

When I began I had no plan or any real aims. I was simply looking for a little online companionship and something to keep me from feeling isolated and anxious about Toby and all of the challenges he continues to face. Well, I found that and so very much more. I've made friends both near and far, both online and in person. I've been on the receiving end of the most wonderful encouragement and compliments for my knitted makes and over the years have been lucky to have sold and sent off many of my knitted animals to all corners of the world. And more recently I've had a fabulous reception for my range of knitting patterns. In short I feel so incredibly blessed and lucky to have stumbled in here and found such a wonderfully supportive community.

 

 

To celebrate my anniversary I am having a giveaway of two animals. The 2 winners can choose an animal each from the batch I have almost finished which will also come with a change of clothes and a little suitcase to keep them in. To be in with a chance of winning one of the two animals in the giveaway please just leave me a comment on this post. The giveaway will close on September 12th and I'll use a random number generator to pick the two winners on September 13th.

 

 

 

As a thank you to all the knitters who visit with me I also have a special discount code which for the next 3 days (ending on September 5th) will get you 25% off any of my patterns:

TEN25

So if you've been meaning to try one of my patterns or if there's one you'd like to add to your collection then please just enter the above code at the checkout either on Ravelry or on Etsy (please note that you will have to enter the code in order for the discount to be applied). If you want to use the coupon code here on my shop please note that you will have to use the 'add to cart' function and not the 'buy now' in order to enter the coupon code.    Sorry, the offer has now expired

I've covered a lot of blogging ground over the last 10 years and had planned to show you some of my favourite moments and pictures but there are too many to know where to start. So instead here are some of the changes of look my blog has had and a few stats...

2006

2010

2012

 

 

10 years of blog stats:  7,832,269 total page hits, 703 posts and 36,917 comments

When I think about ten years passing it seems to have gone so very quickly. But when I look back at the photo taken on the morning of Toby's first school day (September 4th 2006) and how tiny Amy and Toby were, it feels like such a long time ago and really shows how much has changed.

 

So, as I start my second decade of blogging I'd like to say a huge thank you to everyone who visits me here, especially those of you who take the time to leave a comment and those of you who buy my patterns and finished work. It means so very much to have your kind support, thank you xxx

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Please leave a comment below to be entered into the giveaway draw. Comments will be closed on the morning of September 13th and two winners will be drawn by random number selection.

Thanks so much for all the comments! The competition draw is now closed and the winning numbers are 107 which is Justpootling and 2018 which is Maggie Richardson.

Because there were so many comments I decided to give an extra animal away and the random number generator picked 1703 which is modestine.

summer productivity

 

 

 

 

 

These long summer days are perfect for ripening fruit and we've indulged in a favourite summer holiday activity of strawberry picking at the local pick-your-own farm. I love that they grow the strawberries in raised troughs, there's no bending down to hunt for the best berries or finding them covered in dusty soil, instead the berries hang plump and delicious from the plants and are easily picked and popped in a punnet. It's made me very happy to be carrying on this tradition with Amy. We had a lovely morning spent together and topped it off with lunch in the farm cafe - I had a twice baked goat cheese souffle on a bed of rocket, pear and pomegranate salad and she enjoyed a mexican pulled pork parcel, delicious!

 

 

 

Back at home summer has brought bounty to my garden and we are enjoying fresh feasts of french beans, broccoli and peas. I like to pick them just before we are ready to eat so they are as fresh as possible. Here's how we like to eat them...

Ingredients:

• French beans / peas / broccoli
• A clove of garlic (or more if you like)
• A couple of handfuls of chopped cherry tomatoes
• A handful of chopped fresh herbs (rosemary, sage, thyme and marjoram are good but I tend to pick whatever looks best at the time)
• A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
• Fresh ground black pepper

Rinse and lightly steam the beans and peas (or broccoli), then let them cool a little while you saute a clove of garlic in butter over a medium heat until soft. Once the garlic is soft but not browned throw in a couple of handfuls of chopped cherry tomatoes and let them soften while you chop some fresh herbs. Add the herbs to the pan and give everything a good stir, you can add a little more butter at this stage depending on whether you like a thick or a runny sauce. Pop the beans and peas (or broccoli) into a dish and scoop the garlicky, herby tomatoes over the top. Slosh over the olive oil, a twist or two of black pepper and a few more herbs and eat with some crusty bread to mop up the juices with. It makes a delicious summer lunch or a good accompaniment to grilled steak or fish.

 

 

The garden is also being productive in other ways. We currently have a family of newly-fledged robins chirping noisily in the hedge and I'm over the moon that we have blackbirds nesting in the clematis. I've watched them build the nest over a couple of weeks, then the male popping in with tasty treats for the female while she sat incubating the eggs. Last weekend she was out of the nest and we heard the first tiny cheeping noises from inside the deep cover and since then both parents have been busily dashing in and out with beak-fulls of worms. I am a bit worried though that food is a bit scarce as it's been very dry recently, so yesterday I went to the fishing tackle shop and bought a couple of beakers of worms and I'm leaving a few in a little dish in the hope that it helps keep those hungry mouths fed. I'd be so thrilled if these little birds make it to fledging day - the odds are rather stacked against them, especially around here where nests are often decimated by magpies, so it will be wonderful if they do.

 

 

 

There is even a little productive knitting going on here too, though not as much as I'd like a Toby is a demanding chap during the school hols. Still, I'll pop back soon and show you what has been on my needles, 'til then keep well and thanks so much for stopping by x

 

An evening walk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since finishing her GCSEs 3 weeks ago Amy has been at a bit of a loose end and it's been nice to spend a little more time with her. On Thursday evening we went for a long walk together, exploring some of our local countryside around Great Amwell nature reserve and walking the Amwell walkway which follows the course of a dismantled railway branch line. It was a lovely evening and we saw and heard lots of wildlife including rabbits, butterflies, dragonflies, some huge Roman snails (Helix pomatia which was exciting as they are quite rare and endangered here in the UK), a green woodpecker and lots of water birds. I was really hoping to see a barn owl but we weren't that lucky.

Along the path that runs through farmland we had an uncomfortably close encounter with a herd of cows, young bullocks I think they were. When we first walked through their field they were laying down but on the way back they were drinking and grazing, stopping when we walked past and becoming very curious about us. Disconcertingly they followed us all the way down the field, getting closer all the while and we were relieved to reach the stile and climb over, leaving them on the other side.

Before returning to the canal we climbed Widbury Hill and enjoyed the views across Ware and the Lea Valley. On the way back down, with the rich evening sunlight warming our backs we could hear bells pealing out across the fields as the ringers practiced at the church and it felt like a perfect moment in time.

It's not easy to remain connected to your child as they navigate their teenage years. Often I feel that my words and advice are not welcome and mostly actively ignored. Spending time with me is often pretty low on her list of priorities, so sharing moments like these with her is a precious thing and I treasure them all the more because of their comparative rarity. It fills my heart with pleasure that despite her usual preference for spending time immersed in the technology of computers and digital communication she can still enjoy and access the simple and rewarding pleasure of being quiet, observant and appreciative in a beautiful place.

 

In the bluebell woods

Hello again, hope you're well. Sorry that I've not been around much lately. The children have had a lot of time off school recently because of an odd arrangement of the Easter holidays and although they went back on Monday I've spent most of this week deep in pattern writing mode. It's going well but they're not quite ready so I'll post more about them when they're finished.

Spending a week mostly at the computer has left me feeling a bit cabin-feverish so earlier today I packed myself a little picnic and took myself off for a walk in the woods. It was the perfect antidote to staring at a screen and I thought you might like to accompany me. I had walked there 2 weeks ago when the bluebells were just breaking bud but today they were really at their best, I just wish I could have shared the wonderful scent with you because the whole wood was perfumed ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This little oak apple (oak gall) fascinates me. It's caused by a gall wasp laying an egg in the developing leaf bud and so changing how it develops. I'll be paying it a visit throughout the year to see how it grows. It's already changed a fair bit since I first saw it 2 weeks ago ...

 

 

Well that's it from me for today. I got home just in time as it's raining heavily now so I'm going to go put my PJs on and snuggle with some knitting until dinner. Thanks for dropping by, I hope to be around here a little more once these patterns are finished and if you've emailed me recently and are still waiting for a reply I'm sorry, I hope to catch up with emails next week.

 

Happy Easter

 

 

Just popping in quickly to wish you all a very happy Easter weekend.

It really feels like the start of spring here with blooms and blossoms popping up everywhere. It feels good to be heading back to the long bright days of summer and thoughts are turning to what to grow in my little vegetable garden this year.

 

 

 

 

There's lots of knitting going on too but nothing yet ready to show. I know it's taking ages for me to get this next pattern out, there have been lots of distractions recently with more paperwork and meetings to do with Toby but it is being worked on and I will keep the blog here up to date with any news. Thanks for being patient with me :)

Enjoy your Easter weekend x