Little Cotton Rabbits

February, the waiting month

 

 

February always feels like the month where you need the most patience. The shortest day of the year may well be weeks behind us now, but February days can feel as short, dark and cold as it is possible to be and although we all know that Spring is on the way, concrete evidence of that is hard to find. The grey days coupled with lingering sniffles have us feeling a little blue here, even the mood-enhancing effects of cake seemed more short-lived last week and we've all needed a little extra comfort and cosiness.

Unsurprisingly I've been finding mine in knitting and I'd like to show you what I've been working on but I'm not quite ready to reveal, so that will be for another day. I have finished the Snawpaws mittens though and as today had the brightest start that we've seen in weeks I grabbed them and my camera and set off for an early walk (leaving the others to a half-term break lie-in).

We're lucky to have such a good choice of places to walk and today I chose the New River canal and Amwell nature reserve. Though the trees are still bare I've come home reassured that Spring really is just around the corner: there were plenty of catkins and buds; frilly anemone leaves underfoot in the woods and a feeling of renewed intimacy between the resident swans. The male swan spent a good deal of time thrashing the water with his huge wings and putting on quite a display for his mate and it's nice to think that there will be a new clutch of fluffy grey signets hatching out in a few months. A little robin was trilling away in the hedge and flew down to greet me, perching on a fence post just beyond arms reach. He was most amenable to being photographed and offered me several poses to choose from, such a bold and entertaining little chap as he was. It was a lovely morning to be out and I'm glad I made the effort and resisted that tempting lie-in.

I'm hoping to get out later in the week for a snowdrop walk because once they've emerged there's no denying that Spring has begun. 'Til then I'll be keeping Toby entertained and busy and hopefully squeezing in a few rows of knitting here and there. Hope the week ahead is good to you, see you soon.

 

 

 

Mid December days

 

 

 

 

 

Well, I'm not doing well with my plan to pop in here more frequently am I? There has been productivity to my days since I was last here though; I'm scribbling notes and testing ideas for a new pattern and have been knitting lots of new animals from the existing patterns too. Having made two recent batches of finished animals has really brought home to me how much I love making them and how I'd like to make more next year, probably seasonal batches with a little theme, so I'll keep you posted here about progress.

There's been so much knitting in my December days, it's the perfect antidote to all of the planning, shopping, preparing and general business that comes with the time of year. The little bunny at the top there was made as a gift for a friend and I'm making a few more as stocking fillers (pattern is my free teeny tiny toys pattern)

I've finished and am wearing the scarf  above, knitted in the beautiful Blend No. 1 from Ysolda. I do love the softness of this yarn and it is wonderfully warm and soft next to the skin. The pattern is the Flora Cowl by Carrie Bostick Hoge but I've made it into a long scarf instead of joining the ends to make a cowl.

Also in my WIPs basket under plenty of bunny bits are lots of personal projects, a pair of mittens, 2 pairs of wristwarmers, a shawl, a scarf, a crochet blanket and 3 pairs of socks - I seem to have finally succumbed to the charm of sock knitting. Goodness knows when any of these will get finished but I'm not in any hurry.

As well as finding peace and contentment in knitting I've also been seeking out silence and solitude in the woods. It's such a perfect place to find calmness and I always come away feeling refreshed. The pictures below are from walks over the last few weeks in Cowheath wood, a mixture of pines and birches bordered by ancient oaks and hornbeams.

 

 

 Well, I'm off to knit a little before the chaos of the weekend descends. Next week will be all about the build up to Christmas, so I expect it will be a busy one for us all. Here's wishing you some peace and calm amongst the chaos and success in ticking off most of your to-do list! See you soon x

 

autumn knits and woodsy walks

Time seems to be whizzing past faster than ever at the moment and I can't be the only one who feels a sense of panic every time there's an advert break on TV, full of Christmas urgency as they are. But I'm not feeling remotely Christmassy yet so I'm thinking I'll just stick my head in the sand and listen to the radio instead. In my mind it's still early autumn, a notion helped by the fact that many of the trees here are still in green leaf but it is a little wishful thinking I suppose. Last posting dates for Christmas really aren't that far away so I'm doing my best to finish off a batch of animals. I am getting there but progress is slower than planned. This is Albie and he's all ready to travel but his brothers and sisters are still in need of tails and buttons. I hope to have them ready in the next few days and will be sending out emails to my mailing list shortly with details of when they'll be available to buy.

 

 

As mentioned lots of the trees here are hanging on to their green, although there's a definite shift in the colour spectrum and some are already resplendent in autumn bright colours. It was recently half term break here and wood walks are always a good way to keep Toby busy (happily he's back to enjoying them again). Being close to ancient broadleaf woods with a network of well trodden pathways is something that I am extremely grateful for and they never disappoint whatever the season but autumn is really the time when they are at their best.

There is something so very peaceful about walking quietly in a wood and it always does me the power of good not least because it's a truly sensory experience...Your nose is delighted by an earthy blend of growth and decay. In the heart of the wood you can stand completely still and loose yourself in the gentle sounds; the sigh of the breeze moving the leaves; the chatter of small birds; the drilling of a woodpecker somewhere off to the right; the sudden, startled scamper of a squirrel as it looks up from burying acorns and realises you are there. With a kindly wind direction you may even be able to creep up on a muntjac, underfoot moss masking the sound of your approach until you are close enough to see individual hairs on his coat as he browses his way through the undergrowth on tippytoe pointed hooves.

Sadly I cannot capture the sounds or smells here for you but I can share some of the beauty that the woods near us provide...

 

Danemead wood, Ermine Street and Broxbourne Common, late October 2016

 

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.

 

Autumny things :: out & about

 

 

The woods in Autumn are one of my most favourite places to be. It's such a sensory experience - a wonderful rich smell of damp earth; a rustling sigh as hundreds of leaves part company with the trees at the slightest breeze and a sparkling quality to the light as the low-angled sunlight is shimmered through all of the leaves still clinging fast. There are good things to eat too. I'm not confident enough to gather mushrooms but a handful of sweet chestnuts or blackberries instantly evokes childhood memories of autumn Sunday afternoons spent foraging in the woods with my Mum, Dad and brother. I do love being out in the woods on a bright autumn day.

Sadly though Toby seems to have gone off wood walks at the moment. He's been getting rather agitated when I've shown him the PECs card for the woods and biting his hand a lot (you can see it's badly calloused in the picture below). I did manage to coax him out with custard cream biscuits for one rather short stroll over this half term break but he was keen to get back to the car.

Amy walked with me on wednesday afternoon, both of us with our cameras in hand as she's preparing her coursework for her photography GCSE. We took a lot of pictures because there's lots going on in the autumn woods. We saw mini beasts; snails, butterflies and beetles, tiny fairy-tale porcelain fungus and toadstools and out on an open stretch a muntjac deer was crossing an autumn-sown field and stopping every now and then for a quick nibble of the fresh, green shoots. There was a fair bit of good-natured elbow barging between us over the best position to photograph from and lots of her shots came out better than mine. It was a memorable afternoon out with my lovely girl.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back at home the late afternoon skies have been crossed with migrating flocks of birds. I love watching them heading south to keep ahead of the colder weather and wonder how far they are journeying.

 

 

 

Autumn is in full flow here and I hope to make it out to the woods lots more before the leaves are all on the ground. Hopefully I'll be able to keep tempting Toby to come out with me and he'll re-discover his woodland mojo.

 

Pictures taken at:

Amwell nature reserve, Hollywell Lake with the dragonfly meadows and Amwell walkway, September 26th

Bencroft wood, Hertfordshire, October 26th

Panshanger Park and Osprey lake, October 28th

 

woodland wonderland

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The last couple of weeks have been a bit tough for Toby. He's been having many more meltdowns, lots of anxiety and has been much more wakeful at night than his usual hour or two. The hardest thing is not knowing what the cause of this latest 'spell' might be - he has never developed speech and his communication via PECs is limited to him requesting items and activities so there is no way for us to explore what he might be feeling. He has been under the weather health-wise and there have been some changes in school but we're really left to guess work, trial and error and a general feeling of despair at not being able to help him work through it.

Lack of sleep does funny things to your mind (which is probably why it is employed as an effective interrogation technique) and I find I'm a lot more prone to feeling down when we're in these cycles with Toby. Knitting always helps of course but last week I felt the need to be out in the fresh air. The woods in autumn are a beautiful place to be and I do find them spiritually refreshing. I spent a very peaceful couple of hours wandering around alone with a complete absence of human noise and human demands. I saw lots of grey squirrels busy with their winter store, two muntjac deer and a multitude of different birds all too quick for my camera but I did enjoy taking pictures of the plant life.

All the mosses and fungi are particularly abundant at the moment since it's been such a mild and damp autumn. It felt good to be alone in the woods, looking at the tiny small worlds that go on mostly unobserved and it definitely helps me get some perspective back when things are hard going. I count myself very lucky to have such a beautiful place on our doorstep and I'm getting to know its secret places well. Modern existence often separates us from nature but it's to our detriment and I plan to keep heading wood-wards when things get a bit tough here.