Little Cotton Rabbits

And Winter has arrived

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winter is decidedly here. We've had a few days of sub-zero temperatures and the early morning frosts have been beautifully sharp and sparkly. Yesterday Toby and I bundled up and went for a long walk at Panshanger. The ice crystals adorning every blade of grass, twig and seedhead made for a very beautiful landscape and even the barbed wire fences were prettified by the decoration of frost.

And then this morning we've woken to around 15cms of snow!

I'm glad to have lots of cosy woolly jumpers, scarves and mittens and will be wearing my wrist-warmers constantly now until the weather warms. It looks like the rest of this week is continuing to be freezing, so there will be a little more knitting by the fire going on here. I'm now in the final stages of laying out the three new patterns and am lucky to have some lovely people helping me to error check them. Though it will still be a few weeks before they've been thoroughly checked, so I'm aiming to be able to share them in the new year.

Hope you have a good week doing a little of what you love, J x

Fungi in the woods part 2, and some small bears

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Autumn is in full swing here and the leaves are now falling thick and fast, covering the woodland paths and the verges of the back roads with a carpet of golds, oranges and reds. It has been a fairly mild and damp autumn so far, and many of the toadstools have lasted well. I've seen such a huge variety of them this year and these are just some of the more photogenic ones. I do so love this season, it's a magical time for walking out in the woods and with so much to see I've stayed until I'm tired and chilled, so coming back home into the warm to snuggle with my knitting has been especially welcome.

Pattern writing for the small bears, small mice and small sweaters is progressing and with all of the samples now made and I'm at the stage of taking the step by step photos. Then it will be photo editing, laying out the pages and finally checking everything through. It's a long old process but I'm getting there slowly. I'll keep you posted with news once they're ready.

Well, that's all of my news for this time, see you again soon x

 

October :: In the woods

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was my intention to pop this post on the blog in the last week of October but unfortunately my blog provider Typepad had some major problems that week and this blog was down for much of that time. It was a bit nerve-wracking, as the thought of losing 16 years worth blogging was not a happy one. Apologies if you were trying to view anything during that week, especially if you were trying to follow one of my tutorials without any of the pictures showing up. Fingers crossed they now have everything permanently fixed, it certainly all seems to be working properly again, so all is calm and well again here.

Above are some of my pictures of the huge variety of fungi I've found out in the woods this year. I've been four times since the beginning of October and every time have found something new and rather marvellous. Autumn is such a wonderful time to be out in the woods and I'm deeply grateful that we have such rich and varied woodlands around us which are full of so many different types of wildlife at all times of the year. I even encountered a small herd of lovely, gentle Red Poll cattle, who are there as part of a conservation grazing project. They were lovely company and seemed quite interested in watching me take photos, gradually grazing their way over to me to give me a sniff.

Out in the woods many of the trees are still in green leaf but then the autumn so far has been mild and rather wet. Not happy nut hunting weather for squirrels and back at home our resident friendly squirrel has been quite soggy looking.

Inside at home there is knitting and pattern writing going on, though at a slower pace than I'd hoped for. The other day I worked out that I only get 22 hours of Toby-free time a week in which to be able to fully concentrate on anything, the rest of the time my brain is mostly mush as it tries to juggle between family and work life - which is probably why I keep knitting samples only to find that I've already knitted that piece. I am holding on to the thought that moving at a snail's pace is still actually moving, and that progress, however small it may seem, is being made.

Well, the weekend is beckoning, with lots of wood walks with Toby and hopefully some early morning tea, toast and knitting in bed for me whilst he sleeps in. I'll be back soon with some more amazing fungi finds and hopefully a little knitting news, 'til then keep well and happy x

 

October :: Knitting

 

 

 

 

The changing of seasons from summer through to autumn is about midway through here, the leaves are yet to fully turn and drop but there are fungi everywhere out in the woods and the days are starting off with a definite chill in the air. For me this means a welcome return to prime knitting time and I've been busy sorting out the messy mass of projects that I started over the summer months.

I'm hoping to have patterns for a small bear, small mouse and some small sweaters ready by the end of the year (I've set myself a long deadline to hopefully hit it and minimise any deadline related anxieties). And I'm also working on a few tweaks to the Seasonal Dresses pattern - I've wanted to change the front cover for a few years now and make a few small tweaks to how the pattern repeats work on some of the designs, I'm hoping to add in a new design too. I'll keep you posted on progress.

Once I'm organised on the pattern writing front I'll be finishing a couple of animals ready for my annual giveaway - my 16th blogging anniversary was on September 4th, but as often seems to be the case these days, I just wasn't ready. And talking of anniversaries it was Toby's 21st birthday yesterday! Time really does fly doesn't it? He had a lovely evening filled with all of his favourite things, a big helium balloon, new duplo lego, bath toys, sweets, a new dvd and a new musical book, cake and curry and custard - though not all together in the same bowl :)

Well, I'm off to make the most of my 'working hours' and hopefully tick something off my to-do list today. I hope you're having a good week where you are and thanks as always for dropping in to visit with me, J x

 

snippets of summer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The much longed for rain has at last come, and it's come, and come. It's been wonderful to feel it on my skin and to smell that unique scent that the arid land gives up after rain - isn't it brilliant that there's even a special word for it - petrichor.  The land has soaked it up and quenched the parched plants and trees, and green has returned to the countryside all around us here, it is beautiful.

I ran out of steam a little in August, hence the lack of posts here. Caring for Toby 24/7 is intensive and full on and therefore not much else gets done. He returned to college last monday and so I spent last week tidying the house, sorting laundry, and tackling all of the householdy things that were neglected during August. I'm now 'back at work' and have a large email backlog to work through - I'm so sorry if you're waiting on a reply from me, hopefully you'll receive one this week. Once I've tidied my inbox I'll be starting pattern writing again. Lots of knitting was done on the cooler summer days but it was haphazard, and I have little knitted body parts and scribbled notes scattered throughout the house. I finished a shawl and was also seized by the desire to start knitting mittens. This always seems to happen to me during the hottest months of the year, I suppose it's a form of planning for cooler times. However, I seem to have started 4 pairs! It seems that in all aspects of life I'm in great need of some serious organising.

Anyway, here are some snippets from my summer...

• Hulling and chopping strawberries and discovering perfect little hearts inside, 
• The pictures along the river Beane are where I ate my birthday breakfast croissant and coffee, having taken myself off for a peaceful, reflective walk at 7am and where I saw dragonflies, a flock of geese and the colourful darting of a kingfisher - a real birthday treat before the hustle and bustle of the day.
• Finishing a shawl, knitted from the 'Hollows' pattern by Melody Hoffman
• The mittens I'm working on are mostly from the 'Antiquity' pattern by Alicia Plummer and the mustardy coloured pair are knitted in 'dyeing light'  RamJam from Daughter of a Shepherd beautifully hand-dyed by Woollenflower. The yarn is rustic and on the outside edge of what I'm able to tolerate next to my skin but the colours are so very lovely that I just don't care. I admit to being just a little obsessed with this yarn at the moment :)

I'm so looking forward to Autumn this year, and to all of its delights: cooler temperatures; damp woodlands; fungi forays; cosy clothes; blankets on the bed;  lighting the fire; casseroles and hot puddings and lots of knitting. And I am definitely looking forward to getting organised, hope to see you again soon, J x