Christmas catch up

Hello there, dusting off my blog with a little update of recent activities. Happy New Year to you all. 

I don't really do New Year Resolutions, however if I were to, I'd aim to be more present with less scrolling. I'd list plans to read, bake and craft more with some home organisation thrown in too. 

Crochet Baby Blanket:: using up colours (purchased with birthday money). I've enjoyed using Rico baby cotton yarn. I purchased some cream acrylic yarn, to separate the bold colours. Just crocheting the border now. 

Photos from Instagram::  celebrating my anniversary last year, library books to read - some for the Summer Reading Challenge - I do this every year (six books over six weeks). Knitting all the greens. Birthday card poster from my parents. Covid back in January, first time. Baking for the WI Horticultural show. 

Finishing Books:: the last book in the Fairacre series by Miss Read. I'm taking a break this year from the Miss Read books. 2025 I'll will be reading the Monthly Book Club choice and one Agatha Christie book - either from the 'Read Christie 2025' challenge on social media, or one of my own AC books. Plus either library books or my own books.  

Family games:: Buzzer round challenges on the PS 2 
The system is old now for modern digital TV's, so it freezes a bit. 

2024 Advent Knit-a-long:: with the Victoria Methodist church - found on Facebook. A Star Table Mat.

2023 Advent Knit-a-long:: Noel table mat. The plan is the same as above, a short reflection and instructions for 4 rows of pattern. 

Reindeer Plant Holder:: A Christmas gift from younger son.

Reindeer thought lost:: found in the loft. Both on the kitchen windowsill.

Christmas Jigsaw:: Mark is busy with this one.

Rainbow Cardigan:: Knitted for the WI charity donation for Rainbow Babies.

Crochet Dog Paws:: crocheted for the WI Christmas Tree, part of the tree festival in the village church. 
The paw prints are stiffened with PVA glue.

Angus:: with his noisy squeaky Giraffe, don't be fooled by the cute face... it's a noisy toy! 

Church Nativity Scene:: knitted by one of the members. This is on display each year, it's a lovely tradition. 

Church Advent Calendar:: children take turns each week to light one of the 4 candles. The centre candle is lit on Christmas Day.

Church Christmas Tree:: beautifully decorated at the coffee morning.

Town Christmas Tree:: in the Market Square.

Mini Christmas Tree:: in the Bathroom

Off to do a little crochet now, this time is important to me. Daily knitting or crochet, time to unwind and relax. Until next time, bye for now. Thank you for reading, I'll be visiting your blogs this week. 

Five on Friday - Show & Tell

Hello there, it's good to be back, I've been catching up with blog reading. Thank you for leaving a comment on my last post. Today I'm sharing my 5 random things. I miss the days of Tricky sharing the Five on Friday Posts. Has anyone kept in touch with him and his family? Have a lovely weekend everyone. 

1) A present for Christmas: a Janie Crow crochet mug. There were no knitting or crochet kits at the local yarn store last year. So I chose a mug for myself... I love it. A quiet sit down with a mug of Redbush tea, or Rooibos as it's called in store. Morrison's own brand is the best. 

2) One Skein Chevron Scarf. I've made several of these now, this one is the widest and longest. I originally found this scarf crocheted on Thistlebear's blog... another blog sadly finished, that I miss. 
Yarn: 100% recycled wool, Kingcole Wildwood Chunky. 

Crochet hook 6.00 mm. 

Pattern is free on Ravelry. 

3) Hat practice knit, far too big... massive! I'll have to re-knit before using the expensive Alpaca yarn. I donated it to the WI charity knit tree (decorated in hats) for Christmas. Depending on the size of hats they went to babies or adults in need.
Yarn: Stylecraft DK Khaki & Meadow. 
Pattern: Patons 

4) Crochet Ottoman Cover: using up all the yarn from @attic24 Lucy's Coastal Blanket  The Coastal blanket and Moorland Blanket by attic 24 are both my favourites. The coastal cushion, I made whilst on a crochet course locally, a few years ago. 

Yarn: Stylecraft DK 
Hook: 4.00 mm 

5) Crochet Willow Square: The pattern is from Jan Eaton's book. I've seen these squares made into blankets on Mitzi's Lazy Days and Sundays blog the link shows the winter one, there is an autumn one in her Crochet ta da cloud. Maybe one day I will do more of these, for now I'll keep ticking other projects off the list first. 
Yarn: Rico DK mustard cotton.
Hook 3 or 3.5 mm

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Some of these projects were shared on my Instagram account but I thought I'd put them altogether on the blog. 
Craft wise - I'm knitting the KAL dishcloth for Advent and a pair of socks for the WI April competition. 
Reading - I'm reading Sheltering Rain by Jo Jo Moyes for the book club. 

I've lost touch with a few blogs, either they don't write any more or... who knows. If you can recommend any interesting ones that still blog, I'd be grateful. Knitting is my main interest at the moment, with a little crochet, reading and cooking too. 
I'm blogging once a week for now, any more and I'll feel swamped again.  
Thank you for stopping by to catch up.
Ttfn
Cathy x

Finishing Projects & Catching Up!

Hello there! I've recently finished the blanket I'd been working on for way too long. It's Attic24's Woodland Blanket that I crocheted as a gift for my Mother-in-law. I wasn't sure about this blanket when it was first released as a CAL (crochet-a-long) by Lucy. It's lovely, bright and cheerful with a stunning pattern of waves but I'm just not a lover of orange. So though I never chose to crochet it for myself, making it as a gift was satisfying. Overall I preferred crocheting the Moorland blanket seen in the background but that is probably because I knew I'd be keeping it. My blanket has remained on the sofa as I enjoy seeing it.
Of course any craftwork you do should be enjoyable and with the gentle ripples of the woodland design, the colours flow through a sequence of dark to light - from the forest floor to the sky above. Do have a look at the link to see how Lucy was inspired by her woodland walks to create this stunning crocheted blanket.

M holding up the blanket

QT throwing some shapes

Why stand if you can sit. QT is extremely fussy with food lately, switching varieties within a few boxes and feeling thin. He's on meds and will be visiting the vets soon for a thyroid check. I feel sure his weight will be questioned but at 18 yrs old, rarely going out and sleeping lots, I'm sure this is all to be expected. He seems happy within himself and is keen to see what's occurring - except if it's hoovering.
We did trim his nails this week and he sat on my lap as good as gold. We bought the clippers from amazon and watched a youtube video (who doesn't) and snipped the ends off. He is extremely good whilst grooming him too knowing he'll soon have 6 Dreamies for his trouble. Such a good natured fellow, a soft gentle giant.

QT looking philosophical, and deep in thought, probably thinking about his next meal.

Scattering on some leaves

I found the crocheted leaf pattern on attic 24 website too, a few were requested so I chose some colours from the leftover pack and added these to finish it off.

Leaves sewn on

So what's next... I've crocheted a few more scrubbies, crocheted a small basket (I made the largest one - which is quite small) and continued trying to de-clutter but mainly keeping up with the cleaning. I've decided to cut down on social media 'again'. After starting to follow a few Instagram accounts, I'd noticed that between facebook and instagram I was frequently popping on both, catching up with videos and stories etc. In the real world of home and family life, I found less books were read, less crochet was enjoyed and less of anything generally was achieved. So for now I've removed both apps from my phone and only log on using the laptop - once a day.

Already I feel happier, I'm back to reading and listening to more audiobooks too. I honestly haven't missed it and have loved being more creative and absorbed in reading. I've even made a birthday cake and stew & dumplings today. Cakes haven't been made for quite a while, which is sad because they should be baked more often. I think a chocolate cake will be baked at the weekend and that's got to be good.

I've listened to Stef Penney - The Invisible Ones, this was a good story that left a few unanswered questions at the end. There's an interesting interview by the author on youtube about the book. If you've read this book, please let me know what you think about the ending (regards Ivo, the find in the trailer cupboard - that JJ should've have reported - & the arranged marriage). Sorry, I'm trying not to give away details but I'm seriously confused. Considering someone 'in the family' knew all about Ivo, how can 'this marriage' be arranged?

Another book I've enjoyed listening to and can recommend is Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz. Wow, all I can say about this book is that it's fantastic. A book within a book that takes you on a journey, with shocks and revelations guaranteed.

I've also  read a book that was lent to me The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris. I suppose you could say this is a love story, a book of hope and courage. It was certainly a harrowing tale showing the depravity of man in causing immense suffering and annihilation of  the Jews. One review of this book says it lacks tension, urgency and terror with no atmospheric build up. I for one am glad these elements of the book were minimal. I've read several books about the horror of the Jew's plight and frankly I'm sickened by it. The suffering and complete lack of humanity, deliverance and mercy shown towards this nation of people breaks my heart. I'm glad I read the story, it was good to hear of love holding together a couple during the worst time of their lives. I especially loved the blurb at end where the son asks a question of his parents marriage - where many marriages are ending why theirs is strong. Gita answers of Lale - “I know he is not perfect, but I also know he will always put me first.”

Craftwise - I've also had another attempt at my socks though when I tried them on they were enormous around the ankle & leg part. They looked more suited to socks for Nora Batty, wrinkles she would have been proud of. I've unpicked one of them and have followed the calculation on Winwick Mum's blog to ensure a correctly fitted sock. It transpired that I needed a much smaller sized sock & consequently a smaller length knitting needle. So whilst awaiting delivery of the needle, I continued knitting a jumper that has spent too many years languishing at the bottom of a cupboard.

I stopped to crochet a basket for the knit & natter challenge - 'knit/crochet a basket or bag'. I wasn't going to do this challenge as my blanket needed finishing. However, feeling pleased that the blanket was finished and being admired in it's new home, I felt restless at not joining in with the next challenge. I'm crocheting another basket at the moment before finishing the jumper sleeve. Ater that I will finish my sock and if it fits, I'll need to unpick it's partner.

It's teen 1 birthday today - 19 years old! I know I say this often, I really don't feel old - but boy how my kids have aged. It's shocking! His cake had a homemade cake band - printed and laminated with 'Red Dead Redemption II' and 'Pulp Fiction' on it. He was happy, so that's good.

I hope you are all well.
Bye for now & thank you for stopping by.
Cathy

New Year - Hope it's a good one!

Hello there, Happy new year to you for 2019.

Grab yourself a cuppa and make yourself comfortable. So sorry it's been a long while since my last visit. How have you been, do leave a comment below to let me know?
I lost my way a bit regards regular blogging, editing and faffing about with photos.
Thank you to everyone who left lovely comments on my blog last time, it really is very kind of you. I love to read your comments and I've tried to keep up with visiting your blogs too. Today, I just wanted to drop by and say hello and chat about what I've been thinking about since last time. Sorry there's not any QT photos this time, I'll try and include some next time.

New Year Thoughts
For now I'm aiming to try and blog once a week and see how that goes. In the future I may do some more 'Weekend Stitches' (crochet), maybe a 'plan for the week' & even some cooking. For now, I'm aiming small with weekly commitments, that sounds manageable for now.

I'd 'still' like to be more present eg less social media and more actual making or reading time. Which I know sounds crazy as I take up my keyboard again but...
Also I'd like to finish more projects that I've started and knit more socks. I'd love to knit a pair a month which at the moment is too big a challenge but if I knit 2 pairs, that's double last years effort! I'll finish the my blanket and then set a goal for sock knitting, I think that'll be best.

Crochet
At the moment I'm busy crocheting attic 24 Woodland Ripple blanket. It's a gift so unfortunately I won't get to keep it after all my hard work. I'm not particularly keen on the colour orange, so I can live with that. I am glad it'll be permanently here as a record in photos. I decided not to do the new CAL (crochet-a-long) which is attic 24 beautiful Sweet Pea blanket.  As usual Lucy has designed a crochet blanket for the new year, this time with a beautiful colour scheme using sweet pea colours. I'd originally planned to do her coastal blanket and have the colours ready, but... I need to finish the woodland one first. It does produce happy memories of your own walk in the woods. For me that would be in The New Forest, Queen Elizabeth Country Park both in Hampshire. Sherwood Forest Nottingham and The Lake District.

Christmas books

Reading
I've just finished Let Me Go by Helga Schneider, wow what a book. The story is not the usual account about Jews, instead it focuses on a daughter visit to her Mother a former SS officer. At only 150 pages, it's an intense quick read, both emotionally disturbing and haunting to boot.
At the moment I'm reading Christmas at Thrush Green, I've read it before and it's an enjoyable read though not officially a Miss Read book, as her editor Jenny Dereham wrote it with guidance. If you like tame & cozy village life tales maybe you'd enjoy this. Sometimes it's just nice to read a gentle comfortable book.

Cooking
Last year I was using my slow cooker more than I had previously. I came up with a few recipes that could be bagged up ready to store either in the fridge for a few days, or freeze & cook later straight in the pot. Somebody mentioned cooking mince (5% fat) straight in the slow cooker without the need to brown the mince first. What a game changer that is, if prepared in advance it can all be placed in a bag with the other ingredients until needed to. I'll try and get some together to show you soon.
Over Christmas, mince pies, peanut butter pies (swap mincemeat for peanut butter - teen 1 favourite) and sausage rolls. No Christmas cake or pudding this time. I've also cooked a few soups, flapjack and shortbread.

Cleaning
I've been following Team Tomm - The Organised Mum Method - mainly through instagram but also her facebook page. Both have links to her blogs which provide the print outs, recipes and interesting information. I quit the facebook support group as it was more social media - that for me was unnecessary. I'd given up with Flylady but felt I needed to have some cleaning routine going on, as the major clean ups before guests are too chaotic. How I long for a Mrs. Bird ref  Paddington Bear of the Brown family. She cooks, cleans and launders, she sounds wonderful. Anyway that's not likely to happen, so armed with a routine it's getting easier each week.

Eco thoughts
Sandwiched between cleaning and decluttering is another blog that I just want to share with you. Wendy Graham at Moral Fibre is on both instagram and a website blog, she is an author of a book with homemade cleaning recipes, called Fresh Clean Home. The information is all on her blog. I've not tried making any cleaning recipes yet, she uses essential oils to help with fragrance and cleaning.
Nb - please be careful with any essential oils that you use around the home, as these can be dangerous to pets. Cats in particular can't cope with many essential oils and scent in general.

Decluttering
Who isn't? Very much the 'in thing' at the moment. I'm following Small Sustainable Steps which is gaining in popularity on instagram. Amanda provides you with plenty of ideas and sets regular challenges to help you declutter your home if this interests you.

Thankfulness
A friend of mine said my blog helped her to 'smell the roses' which I thought was a lovely thing to say. Google explained this - 'To become calm and reflect upon the finer or more enjoyable aspects of life, especially when one has become overworked or overly stressed'.
So with this in mind I want my blog to continue with appreciating the good things in my life, not particularly in consumerism but in family life, the home and simple beauty.

Lastly
As many are now back at work and in education, I wanted to wish you all the best. May you learn more, work hard and enjoy life!
Thank you for dropping by, please leave a comment and I'll try and answer any questions.
Cathy x

Hello from QT

Hello from QT

Well hello there, I didn't think Biscuit lady was going to write a blog this week so whilst she fell asleep watching the Grand Prix today, I thought I'd put paw to keyboard. She's taken a few strange photos and loaded them on the computer, one of which is a photo of my furry paws! How rude! Still, I coughed up a fur ball on her bed this morning so that'll teach her.

I'd been missing teen 2 this week with his Guitar Hero 'noise'. He went away for a whole week to Lancashire with the church youth group. I heard he turned into a frog, seriously humans are so strange! I'm going to have to watch him and see if he changes again, I've heard frogs are very tasty, yum yum.

I love sleeping in his room, the sun streams in and warms my fur purr-fectly. The best bit is biscuit lady leaves us in peace, something about the heavy rock noise. Occasionally she brings laundry to the cupboard and wakes me up, erh excuse me, I'm trying to sleep!

                       

Teen 2 as Kermit - throwing a Dab! at the hero's dressing up evening

My furry toes

I'll leave you to see what Biscuit Lady's been up to this week, she looks like she's waking up now. I need to keep an eye on my birds. My people filled up the bird feeders yesterday and it brings out young families for my 'cat tv'. I'm wanting to find the soot covered one that's been down our flue 18 times now! The Land Rover lover is sure it's the same bird.

They've got 'bird freeing' down to a rotten fine art that goes like this - I'm banned from the lounge, the curtains are shut making the room dark. The patio doors are flung wide open, then the inspection hatch is open and whoosh, the bird flies away. After some noise, depending on who is carrying out the operation, I'm then allowed back in. Really, it's so undignified. I'm in charge of this house and it's an outrage, I shouldn't have to 'leave the room'.

I'm not sure what QT's been upto with my keyboard but I've just got time to write this before getting his dinner. The Grand Prix has finished, apparently Vettel won. I knew that.

Sorting & FinishingThese are the leftover colours from the Attic 24 - Moorland blanket I made. I showed you the crocheted triangles last week. Here are the triangles joined in a row to make some bunting for celebrating family birthdays etc. The joining band at the top, mirrors the colours of the blanket edging. My inspiration for this came from Nicki French crochet book.

My bunting in the Moorland pack colours

Colour on a rainy day

Enjoying looking atSome pretty candles that look too delicate to use. M bought these with the wooden cat candle holder for me, back in July. I'm not sure I'll ever use them but I enjoy looking at their intricate beauty.

Crocheting
Another blanket of Lucy's at attic 24 this time it's her Woodland blanket, it'll be a gift for my MIL so I need to get cracking.  The pattern has treble stitches, some missed stitches and some with 2 trebles in one stitch. This is followed by a row of double crochet (UK terms). The plan is to crochet 3 colours a day, if I want to finish it soon.

Reading

Conclave by Robert Harris is the September book choice, I think I've given up with the August book which is 'The Loving Husband' by Christobel Kent. I'm hoping if I have time I may come back to it after this one.

Warming

By the fire, the first fire of the season. Despite the bird/s whizzing down the flue sending a cloud of soot in their wake, we'll still need to have the chimney swept. When M opened up the inspection plate soot had dropped down onto the metal plate inside.


Thank you for stopping by to read my blog, QT has appeared again asking for his dinner. Thank you for all your kind words left on my blog last time. I'm still catching up on blog reading and it's been nice to get in touch again.

From QT and me (Cathy) bye for now!
x