Category: wildlife

crafts & knitting · wildlife

Early April

Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)30 Comments

Spring is in full swing here and the days are lengthening and warming up nicely. The plum tree blossom is now just faded confetti on the ground, but for a few weeks it was a glorious sight, especially when illuminated by the ghostly light of the full moon or warmed to a rosy glow by the rising sun. Do you see the red kite gliding overhead? It was only a few years ago that these majestic birds returned to this area, but now we see at least one every day and sometimes as many as six circling high overhead, they are wonderful to watch.

Here we’ve been plodding on quietly and keeping to familiar and comforting routines. There have been lots of walks in the woods with Toby, some pottering in the garden and some knitting of course. I’ve been wanting to use this beautiful hand-dyed yarn for a while and have spent far too long browsing on Ravelry and pondering which would be the right pattern for it and I’m very happy with the one that I finally chose. The pattern is simple and relaxing to knit, just what is needed right now, and it’s knitting up beautifully. The yarn is ‘Honey is Cool’ Falkland Merino 4ply hand-dyed by Ocean Rose and the shawl pattern is ‘Hollows’ by Melody Hoffmann.

Lastly, as you can see there is a new little friend emerging from my needles. He’s a little shy at the moment, having not yet been knitted any clothes to wear, I’ve been really indecisive about what to dress him in but I hope to be able to finalise his outfit from a couple of ideas that I’ve been working on and share the patterns soon – I’ll keep the blog up to date with developments.

Thanks for visiting here with me, I hadn’t intended to be absent from the blog for so long but finding the time seems to have become a little more difficult and sometimes it doesn’t feel like I have anything interesting or relevant to share. I do however plan to be here a little more often, so hopefully see you soon and until then I hope that life is treating you kindly, J x

 

countryside · garden stuff · in the woods · wildlife

Snapshots from February

Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)23 Comments

 

These are some pictures from my February, but words seem hard to find right now. What to say when the world has undergone such a monumental change? Feelings of helplessness and hopelessness abound and it seems unlikely that anyone in the world will be untouched by the ramifications of this horrific war in Ukraine.

It is hard to balance feeling both overwhelmed and distraught at world events with moments of contentment and happiness in our own individual existence, it creates an uncomfortable mix of emotions that are hard to accommodate. But it is human to feel both, and so I am sending the hope that you are finding some moments of peace and pleasure in your days. As always I turn to nature for solace and find it constant and steadfast in it’s ability to calm racing thoughts and soothe physical tension. There’s knitting going on too, but it seems so inconsequential at the moment and I don’t have anything finished to show.

I’m still trying to work out how best to help, for now I’ve donated to the British Red Cross Disaster Emergency Committee fundraising appeal but there are many many other charities raising funds to help. If you or your loved ones are directly affected you have my very deepest sympathies.

 

 

crafts & knitting · garden stuff · wildlife

Christmas tree bears & a new friend

Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)11 Comments

 

This year it seems to be proving harder than ever to get organised for Christmas. I had so many things on my to do list for this week but on Monday Toby developed some snuffles, and although he has no other symptoms and isn’t unwell in himself I felt that keeping him home from college was the responsible thing to do because the current situation has us all feeling a little paranoid and extra sensitive to other peoples coughs and sneezes. Anyway, I’m going to be deleting a few of the less essential things from my list and what doesn’t get done by friday will simply have to stay undone 🙂

I have ticked one thing off my list today though and that is to upload a new and updated version of my tiny bear Christmas tree decorations. I first shared this in December 2008 and I thought it could use a make-over and a few new photos. The instructions are the same as they were and are very simple and fairly quick, if a little fiddly, to follow. If you wanted to make some of your own you can download the new copy of the file from here:  download now

And you can see all of the projects that others have made over the years (including lots of sweet adaptations) over on Ravelry.

Lastly, out in the garden I have a new friend. I am still missing Kit the fox and will never forget her frequent visits over the last 2 years, but the antics of this little squirrel definitely put a smile on my face. We’ve had plenty of squirrels in the garden before and they have all been typically skittish and wary, but this little chap is a very friendly character and follows me around the garden. I now have hazelnuts in my pocket whenever I go outside, and he politely takes each one in his little paws before scampering off to stash them somewhere – by now he must have the largest stash in the area!