Meet Alfie and Polly

I like to make Bella and Angus a little something for Christmas. I tell myself it's for them but we all know it's for me as well. I will continue to do this for as long as they want toys, and after that I'll make them woolen scarves and hats to wear (and yes I realise they probably wont want to wear anything made by mum, but I'll do it anyway). Last year I made them a toy fox and doe and the year before I made Bella a rabbit and Angus a dog. All those gifts were sewn, either by hand or on a machine, and this time I wanted to try a crocheted toy and so I bought a copy of Edward's Menagerie and let them look through it and choose an animal each. If you don't know the book, it's really charming - each animal has a name and a little back story, and they are full of personality. Also, many elements of the pattern are the same (arms, legs, body) with the changes being in the faces, ears and tails, which is where all the character is, so a lot of the work involved is quite straightforward. I'd really recommend it and am considering buying her second book, the bird version, just so I can make myself a bright pink flamingo.

Bella chose the polar bear and I made this first as it came from the beginner level of the book and, this being my first attempt at amigurumi crochet, I wanted to start gently. The patterns are not difficult, but they do require patience and concentration, in particular for all the counting and the constant moving of stitch markers. 

I used Stylecraft Chunky DK in cream, leftover from Bella's blanket and a 5 mm hook as you want quite a tight crochet fabric.

Stuffing it is easy, but sewing it together felt like an effort, trying to get everything straight, in particular the ears, eyes and nose. Any wonkiness adds to character, I'm sure you'll agree...

Angus chose a Jack Russell dog which came from the advanced chapter in the book but really, apart from working with two colours in the head section, the pattern is not that much harder than the polar bear. 

I didn't have any leftover yarn for this one so bought some Boshi yarn from Hobbycraft. Five balls at £4 a ball cancelled out any savings I made using leftover yarn for Bella's polar bear, but you can totally feel the difference in the quality (and wool content) of this yarn compared to the acrylic, so as always you get what you pay for. 

I think my favourite thing about this dog is his little pointed tail.

But, although fiddly, they are lovely crochet projects. Not that I'm in a desperate hurry to make another one for some time now, I think blankets and mittens are more what I want to crochet at the moment.

Angus named his dog Alfie as my in-laws have a Jack Russell with that name and I think he thinks all Jack Russells must be called Alfie. 

Bella named her polar bear Polly. I think she does look a bit like a Polly actually.

I'm joining in with my friend Jennifer's Winter Project Link Party over at her lovely blog Thistlebear. 

Happy New Year

I've been feeling very reflective over these last few weeks, as so many conversations between John and I begin with "this time last year..." On this day last year, 2nd January, we were packing up our home in Leeds into a huge red lorry and locking the door for a final time on an empty house. We stayed with my parents for a couple of months while we looked for and bought a new place, a house that was a lot cheaper than it should've been and we were able to snap up because we'd already sold our Leeds property. Bella and Angus started their new school and I am thankful every day that they are happy there, that the transition was a positive one for them. John found a new job that was better than we could ever have hoped and, in June, I returned to work. So much good luck, yes, but also so much sheer bloody hard work. Last year was all about change, whereas this year - I hope, we never know what life will throw at us - will be about settling. Settling in to our home, to our area, to our lives. 

Yesterday we celebrated the first day of the new year with an incredibly windy walk on West Witterings beach, so windy that the dry sand from the dunes was being blown across the wet sand on the beach and it was hard to talk. I can't think of a better way to start the new year, to be honest. It was breathtakingly beautiful in a very stark, grey way, and also quite busy with families and dog walkers, but luckily it's a big beach and there was enough sand and sky for everyone. Once we were sufficiently battered by the wind we went for posh burgers and milkshakes for lunch then to the cinema to see the new Star Wars film, then home to drink tea in front of the fire. A lovely day all in all.

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I've been looking back through my photos and chosen one from each season from 2015. They were chosen for the way they capture a moment in time but also because I remember how very happy I was at each of those times.

Spring - walking in bluebell-carpeted woods.

Summer - that glorious heatwave we had and the opportunity to go down to the beach and swim in the sea after work.

Autumn - walking in the woods again in the golden light.

Winter - our first Christmas in our new home.

Happy new year to you, lovely readers. Thank you for stopping by and reading, for your comments, support and friendship. I hope 2016 is a happy year for you and one that is filled with peace.

The Colour Collaborative: December: Berry

So often when thinking about these posts I am reminded that the best colour combinations begin in the natural world. It could be in the big expanses of a winter sky, a sunset or sunrise, a forest or a sea view, or in the smaller things like a shell or pebble, a flower or a single fallen leaf. It all starts with nature and then we take it from there. So I can't really talk about berries at this time of year without including holly, that prickly stalwart of Christmas decorating. It gets everywhere; in wreaths hung on front doors, in boughs strung across mantels, aflame on top of the Christmas pudding, and it's image is replicated a million times on Christmas cards and rolls of wrapping paper.

It's the simplicity of the colours that work so well: red, green and white, instantly recognisable as festive colours. Bright garnet berries, deeply coloured, shining leaves and, hopefully, a glistening snowy backdrop to make those already vivid colours pop even more. And it seems I go to these colours year after year when I decorate our home for Christmas.

Those same colours appear in our food too, in the sweets we buy, the cakes we bake and the gifts we decorate.

I clearly like decorating with these colours in December, which is strange really as they're not ones I would choose at any other time of the year. Maybe next year I'll experiment with pinks and grey or silver and gold instead, but I doubt it. There is something about these colours that I want in our home in the middle of winter; the glowing red brings warmth and the freshness of the green reminds us that spring will come, so really these are perfect colours to lift and comfort in a dark midwinter.

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Don't forget to visit the other Colour Collaborative blogs for more of this month's posts, just click on the links below:

Annie at Annie Cholewa

Jennifer at Thistlebear

Claire at Above The River

Sarah at Mitenska

What is The Colour Collaborative? 

All creative bloggers make stuff, gather stuff, shape stuff, and share stuff. Mostly they work on their own, but what happens when a group of them work together? Is a creative collaboration greater than the sum of its parts? We think so and we hope you will too. We'll each be offering our own monthly take on a colour related theme, and hoping that in combination our ideas will encourage us, and perhaps you, to think about colour in new ways.

Food, Family and Fresh Air

I have grown to love this week between Christmas and New Year even more than Christmas Eve and the big day. Life slows down and I'm not sure what day of the week it is, and it doesn't really matter anyway because we don't have to be anywhere. But this week still feels special and festive - there is still delicious food and drink to be eaten and shared, new gifts to be enjoyed, opportunities to catch up and celebrate with family and friends, walks to be taken, whatever the weather. I recently learned that the Norwegians have a word - Romjul - for this last week of the year which describes a balance of being cosy inside and enjoying the great outdoors, spending time with those you love but spending time alone, too, thinking about the year that's passed and the new one to come. I like that. 

Well, I don't know how balanced it is, but over the last week I have been:

:: Enjoying my blackberry gin.

:: Not minding early starts if they involve presents under a tree and happy faces. 

:: Feeling proud of my efforts in the hunting down of badger related stocking fillers.

:: Walking along our favourite coastal paths, even on the greyest of days.

:: Feeling spoilt, with delicious English sparkling wines (thank you Abigail) and a shiny new watch (thank you John).

:: Wishing it was colder so I could wear new Christmas jumpers, and also wishing it was less wet and thinking of those who've been affected by the awful weather.

:: Helping those naughty dinosaurs demolish the gingerbread house. So much fun!

:: Eating, and rather a lot. Especially leftovers, the highlight of which was my turkey sandwich, which I dream about in the run up to Christmas: sliced turkey on bread with some leftover stuffing, mayo, cranberry jelly and sliced gherkins. It has everything - sweet and sour flavours, softness and crunch, and it's quite filling too.

:: Browsing new cookery books and planning January meals which involve more vegetables and less meat.

:: Marveling at the earliness of all the bulbs this year, like this snowflake flower I saw out and about yesterday. At home my tulips are coming up! Go away, it's too early for Spring.

:: Considering annual membership to the National Trust after visiting beautiful Mottisfont House, one of the most child friendly and welcoming National Trust properties I've ever been to. 

:: Wishing I had a Shepherd's Hut in the back garden. Small stove, armchair, basket of yarn - I can just picture it, it would be so lovely....

:: Admiring the winter landscape, especially the bare trees.

I have also been avoiding all shops, even the online ones, thinking about next year's craft projects, reading lots of crime fiction, in particular Donna Leon and Agatha Christie, and sneaking in a little daytime sewing and crochet when there is a moment. 

I hope your Christmas was happy. Ours was lovely - completely exhausting and seemingly over in a blink - but still lovely. Gifts were well received and I keep checking the time on my new watch just because I can. But my highlight was on Christmas Night when I went to check on the kids before going to bed myself, and found both or them sound asleep and clutching their crocheted toys. Bella's polar bear was carefully arranged under the blanket next to her head, whereas Angus's dog was buried under his arm. That sight made my heart burst. 

Merry Christmas

I love Christmas Eve. Even though the children are bouncing off the walls and there's still a lot to do, there is something about this day that makes me not mind the cooking, the preparing of guest rooms, the last minute wrapping. I would even go so far as to say that I enjoy it. 

Late last night I finally finished the crocheted dog and polar bear I am making Angus and Bella for Christmas. I'll show you them another time but they are pretty cute. I hope they are well received, as I really do love to make the kids a little handmade something or other each year to supplement the other gifts under the tree. 

Later on today, the kids and I will go to my sister's for mince pies and drinks, but I don't think Christmas will start properly for me until about seven tonight when John gets home and we open the prosecco and do our little Christmas Eve rituals with Bella and Angus. John has four days off this Christmas (four!) and we will cherish every single one. We are at my parents' tomorrow. Part of me wanted to host Christmas lunch but I can't deny that their range cooker and enormous dining table is better suited to catering for ten than our single oven. We have friends coming to stay on Boxing Day and after that, well I have no plans. Except to read, do some jigsaws, crochet, go for walks, eat, drink, lie on the sofa, watch Agatha Christie dramas on TV, play with Bella and Angus, catch up with some blogs. 

I made a gingerbread house from scratch this week, and it was a lot of work. Fun, yes, but extremely time consuming. Making gingerbread has always been one of my Christmas rituals but I think that a whole house may be a step too far. 

I followed my friend Rachel's advice and decorated the walls before assembling them, which was loads easier, and I'm pleased with my piping and my little star shaped stained glass windows (made from bashed up boiled sweets). I especially like the flake chimney with it's topping of snow.

But I think I may buy a kit in future - I'm sure homemade tastes better but it seems to me that the gingerbread house is more about the fun decorating with sweets rather than the quality of the gingerbread underneath. 

The kids are allowed to demolish it on Christmas Day but I just want to look at it a little longer because it is very pretty. 

Merry Christmas my friends. Thank you for you friendship and support, for reading, for your comments, your interest. I hope you all have a very happy and peaceful break.

Home For Christmas

This weekend we've done a whole lot of nothing and it's been glorious. Yesterday was declared a Stay at Home day and while the kids played I pottered around the house, did some housework and washing, decanted my blackberry gin, baked some mince pies (ready rolled pastry and shop bought mincemeat, but we're calling them homemade) and we have all enjoyed watching a lot of Christmas television, The Box of Delights, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and Home Alone in particular. The classics. Today we ventured out to the shops briefly for festive supplies (more yarn for Angus's crocheted dog, and sweets to decorate the gingerbread house with) and even made it out for late afternoon a walk around the harbour in the setting sun. Actually, that brief walk was amazing. I don't know about you but I haven't felt much sun on my face lately, what with the incessant mild, wet weather we've had this autumn. It's much too warm and seems to rain every day. I would like to wake up to a hard frost, to one of those very cold, crisp, blue skied days. Wouldn't that be nice?

I've also been fiddling around with the arrangement on the mantel. You know how I love a pretty mantel display, and how I have struggled to fill this enormous slab of wood that sits above our fireplace.

This will be our first Christmas in this house, and so I gave a lot of consideration to what to put where. I know it looks like I put all the decorations in one place but a few favourite bits stayed in their boxes this year, like our toilet roll tube Nativity scene and my alpine tea light holders. I realised that I don't have to get absolutely every single thing out every year, that some things can stay packed away. My two homemade stockings still hang either side of the fireplace, as they always do, and I picked out the red with some pretty IKEA lanterns and a poinsettia. 

We found some tiny baubles in the loft that were just perfect for my bare branched tree, and the rest is a mixture of favourite bits and bobs, while sort-of sticking to a red, white and wood theme. 

There was one old favourite I did unpack though, and will enjoy taking out of the Christmas box for many years to come: my felt gingerbread house.

I've been toying with the idea of making a real one this year, an actual edible gingerbread house. We'll see how that goes. 

(Also - I don't know why blogger has centered half the text in this post. I did not tell it to. Grrr.)