Misty update

October 1, 2012 Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)57 Comments

I was going to show you a picture of the misty afghan now that it has 96 squares (12 x 8). I spread it out neatly ready to take a photo but when I came back from getting the camera (which it seems is never where I think I have left it) someone had decided it looked like a good place for a picnic!

Picnic 2

Picnic

I am planning to add one more row, making the finished blanket 12 x 9 squares and then I'll make a start on the border. I'll try to get a photo then without it being obscured by a bowl of cheerios and a munching boy!

garden stuff

garden tidying

September 28, 2012 Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)33 Comments

For the last few days I've been dodging the showers to be out tidying up in the garden because most of my harvest is over for this year. If I'm
lucky I'll get a few more handfuls of raspberries from our canes and
maybe 2 more pullings of carrots. Funnily the carrots have done really
well this year – just when I had decided that I'd not bother growing
them again they decide to prove that they are a worthwhile crop, so
they will be on my list of seeds to buy for next spring afterall.

The beetroot is also still going well and is such a pretty crop. This year I gew a variety called Chioggia which has pink and white rings when you cut it. It doesn't stain your fingers as much as the full-bodied red kind but is just as sweet and earthy to eat.

It's time to tidy up the beds and fix the protective fronts and backs – back in spring I was lazy and didn't seal up the gaps and so the cabbage white butterflies have feasted on my cabbages and broccoli – that will learn me!

I do love growing things in my garden and it's a bonus when you can eat them too. I've roasted the beetroot I picked earlier and will shortly be peeling them, tossing in some balsamic vinaigrette and eating them with some goat's cheese, salad and crusty bread for lunch.

Do you grow things to eat and if so what are your favourites?

crafts & knitting

1,193 different kinds of happy

September 25, 2012 Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)62 Comments

Though actually when I was reading through those 1,193 (!!!) comments on the giveaway post it struck me that they weren't all so very different because there's a commonality in what people find happiness in: family (both the human and animal kind), time to yourself to spend as you like, making things and other small and simple pleasures. I've genuinely enjoyed reading all of those comments, smiled at so many of them and nodded in recognition lots of times. Thank you all so very much for taking the time to share your happinesses. I will go back and read through them whenever I need a little pick-me-up, they are a wonderful reminder that happiness can be found all around when you can take the time to notice it.

Sept 12

1. saffron, 2. sunny, 3. delfine, 4. elspeth, 5. ellamae, 6. jemima, 7. danica, 8. rowley, 9. abner, 10. sylvie, 11. dorrie, 12. beatrice, 13. Alouette, 14. ethel, 15. Violette, 16. winsome, 17. fayette, 18. maelie, 19. aurelie, 20. christabel, 21. merry, 22. didi, 23. florissa, 24. clarise, 25. brodie

Anyway, the draw has been done (I still can't believe how many comments
were left!) and the random number generator picked comment number
611, which was Ellie.

She gets to choose from the batch above which are all finished and their photos uploaded to flickr now (click on the name links to see any of them in detail).

Thanks again to everyone who took the time to comment, I truly appreciate your kind words about the things that I love to make. Thank you x