The days seem to be whizzing by at the moment and all of our schedules are up in the air here. Toby had his annual school play last week, which always throws our comfortable routines out of whack as he’s off timetable and his school is open in the evening rather than the daytime for a couple of days. And this week is school half term break, so our days are continuing to have a slightly chaotic feel. Amy is deep in revision for her A levels and is on study leave. In 3 weeks time she’ll have sat all of her exams and then she’s done with her school years – it’s almost incomprehensible how quickly those 14 years have passed, I still clearly remember her first day of school and it’s got me feeling more nostalgic than usual.
Time has passed quickly for our robin family too. The chicks spent 3 weeks hanging around in our garden being fed mostly by their dad and now they’ve flown on and their mum is sitting on a new clutch of eggs in her nest in our garage. I did get a couple of pictures of them flitting about before they departed, they seem so unprepared for the world and I really hope that they do well and survive long enough to have chicks of their own.
As always, knitting is my constant and I’ve cast on too many new projects – most of them in blues. Do you find yourself drawn to certain colours at different times? It’s definitely blue that is most appealing to me at the moment. These socks are coming along nicely and I’m hoping to keep my focus long enough to finish the pair and avoid the temptation to start something else new. The yarn is Eden cottage Hayton in ‘Tarn’ and Madeline Tosh twist light in ‘paper’ and the pattern is a free one – Fair Isle Flower sock by Candice DeWitt.
And I’m working these beautiful gradient mini skeins of Julie Asselin’s Leizu 4ply into a shawl that reminds me of breaking waves, going as they do from deep sea blue to a foamy sea-spray light grey. This colourway set is called ‘Oresund’ and the shawl pattern is Pebble Beach by Helen Stewart.
There’s also another blue yarned project that I’m working on at the moment but that needs some concentration, so I’ve had to put it on the back burner until after half term break when I’m able to call my time my own again. I look forward to showing you then 🙂
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Lastly, I’m sure you’ve been bombarded with emails about the new GDPR regulations brought into force by the EU on May 25th and so are aware that these govern how your information may be used and stored by others. In line with that I have written some new privacy policies that detail what information I collect, how I use it and what rights you have regarding that. I have not sent out an email to my mailing list as everyone on there is only there because they have requested to be and all of the emails that I do send (all 3 or 4 of them a year) have an easy way for you to manage your preferences and unsubscribe.
Any questions please get in touch.
little cotton rabbits 
So pleased the robins have fledged safely Julie. Your knitting is beautiful as always, I love those blue tones. Have a wonderful half term, good luck to Toby in the school play and of course Amy in her A levels.
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The shawl is absolutely gorgeous, I love how the colours blend so beautifully. Fantastic pattern as well. Schedules feel a bit up in the air here too, and I’m very aware that after half term there will only be seven weeks until the summer holidays. Which doesn’t seem very long to get everything done. I saw a young robin earlier today. His red chest feathers were all sleek and smooth, but round the edges his brown feathers were still all baby fluff, he was very sweet. Good luck to Amy, I hope the exams go well for her. And I’m thinking of you too, it must be a big transition to reach such a milestone. CJ xx
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Your pictures are gorgeous, as always your colors bring a smile. Right now I’m knitting The Minimalist by Melanie Rice with Barnyard Knits General Store. Into a little brown phase! Where does time go? My babies will be 33 and 28 this year and I still miss every chaotic moment.
Best Wishes 💖
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Taking time and real effort to make a good post. Cool! Thank you for sharing this post.
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Those socks are so gorgeous and your colours choices are divine
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Beautiful blended colours. Blue = my favourite colour range. Thank you for the update on the robin family beautiful photos.
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That shawl looks so beautiful with all the blues. This was such a well written and calming post, it was so nice to start the day with you 🙂
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Love the blues. Your writing and photos calm me when I seem to really need it. Thank you.
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I love those socks Julie and your shawl too…….I’m a big fan of blue!!
How lovely that the little robins have decided to stay and raise another little family, it shows how much they trust you. Your images are so beautiful. 🙂
V x
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The robin babies are so speckly and cute. I love working with Eden Cottage Hayton, it’s a dream to knit with and the colours are so appealing.
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I am loving the blues! glad the birdies survived and well done mum for starting all over again! xxx
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Brilliant photography. Thank you for starting off my morning in such an uplifting way.
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I am in love with your socks.. I have a passion for blues as well, greens are a second choice for me. I love hearing about the Robin family…your Robins are a little different looking than the ones here in Canada….we are watching a couple families in our yard…one Mrs. is starting on her second brood. Love reading your posts…I look forward to them 🙂
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I’m addicted to knitting socks at the moment – yours are just lovely.
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Half term is always a bit of a trial! My two are back to school tomorrow and I think we’ll all be grateful for a return to some semblance of normality, although this last term of the year is always a bit haphazard!
Those socks are divine and I’ve added them to my Ravelry library. Thanks for sharing. I’m knitting blue at the moment. And sewing blue too! Even the little mice I’ve finished from your lovely patterns are clothed in blue! I’ll be sharing them on the blog soon…I’ll be sure to link back to you.
Hoping life settles a little soon.
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Those blues are so totally gorgeous!!! So is the sock pattern. I knit a lot of socks–might have to think about that one. BTW I have two boys in the final days of their final year at school too–stress levels running high. I also understand the nostalgia! Sending lots of luck to Amy ❤
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Hi Julie. I have been reading your blog for a little while and have always been shy about commenting. I know how much I value feedback, so I decided I would start being a commenter and give that all important feedback!
I just want you to know how much I enjoy reading about your life and how I love your style. Such beautiful colours, always, especially those blues right now. Here in New Zealand it’s Winter, and I have a cold, so everything seems bleak, but reading about those lovely birds and seeing your inspiring knitting has cheered me up. I promise I won’t be a what my sons tells me is a ‘lurker’ any more!
Thanks for sharing your world.
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Julie – you are so inspirational and your knitting is just beautiful. Love the different shades of blue in your current projects. You’ve inspired me to knit Helen Stewart’s Pebble Beach shawl AND the Fair Isle Flower Socks. Only problem is that I can’t seem to stop knitting your darling animals. I have an elephant on my needles at the moment. Again, thanks for being such an inspiration.
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