Hello! Just popping in very quickly in amongst wrapping a big parcel, making a packed lunch, sorting laundry, dashing out to the shops, and packing for a few days away (and trying to remember to breeeeathe). Life is busy. Sometimes hectic, but mostly just the kind of normal busy that comes at this point in the summer. Haircuts and new school shoes, outings and a birthday and mini holidays. Squeezing the most out of the last week of the summer holidays, making memories, and prioritising family time. The latter isn't easy, both J and I have been very busy with work lately - lots of problem solv ..read more

Aren't zippers amazing little things when you actually stop and think about it? While I've been making these bags I've been zipping the cute little coloured zips back and forth and really appreciating their cleverness and usefulness. I haven't made many things with zips really, because sewing them into fabric (or crochet) always seems to be an overly complicated affair and just a step too far. That is why, when I hit on the idea of using a ready-made zippered bag, it seemed like such a GrEaT idea! Crocheting around the bag so that the zip is already inserted AND you have a ready made canvas l ..read more

I'm just back from spending a week by the sea in Northumberland, it was just the tonic I needed and I've come back feeling beautifully rested and refreshed. While I was away, I had an update from the lovely folks at Stitchtopia to tell me that my much-asked-for UK crochet retreat was online and ready for booking. I had made a promise to myself that I would announce all my 2024 retreats here on my blog before putting the links out on social media, to give you my lovely blog readers first chance to book if you wish to. My first UK retreat will be in April 2024 and will be held at a beautiful c ..read more

Hello, hello, hello, I'm baaaaack!!! Maybe you didn't even know I'd been away, but I did indeed journey far away from the Attic (1526 miles to be precise) and now I'm home again trying to navigate myself gently back into normal life. Did I tell you I was going to Madeira? I think I might have mentioned it in passing - I was teaching a crochet retreat with Stitchtopia and it was absolutely, utterly and completely wonderful. Oh, I LOVED my week in Madeira, it's such a lush and beautiful island with a sub tropical climate and the sunny warmth did me a lot of good. The above scene was part of the ..read more

We are almost at the end of this early summer month and hand on heart it has been an utter dream. The weather - ohhhh - the WeAtHer!!!! It has been perfectly perfect, really hot and sunny and light and bright. And then after a good few weeks of parched dryness we had some terrific summer storms with giant claps of thunder which shook the whole house, and I mean literally, the house ((shook)). It was quite scary at the time, possibly the loudest thunder I have ever heard in my entire life. We've also had some wild downpours, bringing us the most lush smell of summer rain on dry ground. I've lo ..read more

I took these photos a few weeks ago, an evening in early June when I felt the meadow call to me. I expect you've heard me talking about The Meadow before - it's a beautiful, natural piece of land about five minutes walk from the Attic, tucked away through a wooden gate at the edge of the local park. I often find myself drawn to it when my mind is overly full or I need to unwind or think about things, sometimes in the still of an early morning, but most often in the golden lull of a summer evening. I absolutely love the tranquillity and peace that I experience when I walk there and it ga ..read more

Well today I have something lovely to share, and I hope I can do so without getting too ridiculously over excited.  It's not often that I set out to "promote" myself but I do like to chat to you openly about things that are happening in my life and the joys that come my way as a result of me putting myself out there on the World Wide Web. You may remember me writing about teaching a crochet retreat in the south of France back in October? I shared my trip to beautiful Carcassonne on my blog, and if you missed it here are the links >> ((Carcassonne Part 1))  and ((Carcassonne P ..read more

Friday was our last full day in Dorset, and we spent the morning looking after my Dad. There's been a LOT going on in the background of my holiday that I don't feel I can share at the moment, but I think/hope we are finally on the way to getting some much needed help. J drove us back to the caravan via a beautifully scenic rural route and I thought Dorset looked very beautiful indeed. On the spur of the moment we decided to go for a walk on Friday afternoon, a five mile round trip from the caravan following the South West coast path to Hive beach at Burton Bradstock. Much of the walk was thr ..read more

A trip to Lyme Regis was one thing I really wanted to do while we were here as it's one of my most favourite places in Dorset with so many layers of good memories residing in this picturesque place. Sadly, we didn't have a very big window to visit yesterday as we were needed back in town for a very important meeting with my Dad. But four hours is enough time when you know a place well and we really enjoyed our time. We parked the car just a little way out of town and walked down the hill, turning off the main street and walking along the most beautiful winding little back lanes to avoid the ..read more

♥ Another beautiful May day, so unbelievably grateful for this heavenly weather. ♥ A morning of domestic duties with my Dad, followed by a much needed coffee in town and a trip to the toy shop which hasn't changed  a jot since the Littles were very small. Purchased a deck of playing cards for £1 and some sherbet because I felt sentimental for the olden days of mothering little Little People. ♥ An afternoon stroll down the lanes to the pub, I just can't get enough of this beautiful garden. ♥ An hour later, a slow amble back up the  lane to the caravan. Loving the simple, quiet, ru ..read more