countryside · crafts & knitting · foxes in my garden · wildlife

December Days

Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)Leave a comment

The arrival of winter always brings a desire to slow down, to cosy up, to hibernate a little. Winter storms have rolled in bringing cold winds, lashing rain and grey skies but here inside it is quiet, and still, and warm, and there is comfort and peace in the simple pleasures of reading a book or knitting a pair of socks. I’m up early each day to catch the sunrise, or at least a lightening of the gloom, and the quiet moments in between Amy going off to work and Toby getting up are a favourite part of my day, as I enjoy my early morning cup of tea and the freedom to spend a little time on anything of my own choosing.

Out in the countryside all of the Autumn leaves are down, dashed from the trees in the recent early winter storms and now lying damply underfoot. There are always a few weeks at the end of Autumn when you really need to know the route out in the woods as the pathways are hidden under deep drifts of leaves, so it’s easy to loose your way. There is mud too, so much mud, and Toby and I slip about almost like skaters as we make our way along our familiar pathways.

The outgoing migrant birds have flocked and flown for warmer places far away. The birds that over-winter here are just arriving. All summer long there’s been no sight or sound of a blackbird in our garden, but all of a sudden there are six of them, all squabbling over ownership of the topmost branches of the plum tree.

The foxes are back in our garden too, after spending the summer months elsewhere. A sure sign that the weather has turned and that they need extra supplies to grow their thick winter coats and bulk up a little to better cope with the colder weather to come. For the first time we are winning the trust of a dog fox, he accompanies Katsue (the small vixen with the injured foot who started visiting in springtime) and every day gets a little bolder and comes a little further from the bushes. We’ve called him Kai and he is very handsome, hopefully I’ll get some more pictures of him once he’s more relaxed.

Well, I’m going to sign off here until the new year. We’re having a very quiet and simple Christmas, the tree will go up tomorrow and then there will be good food, quiet candlelight and lots of cosying – plus plenty of sock knitting.

Thank you so much for visiting here with me, it’s lovely to have your company and I deeply appreciate all of the kind comments and messages that you send my way. I hope that you have a peaceful few weeks, and that you’re able to spend time with those you love best. I wish you and yours a merry Christmas (if you are celebrating), and a very happy start to the New Year, J xxx

crafts & knitting · new patterns

Sweater Dresses, a new pattern

Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)Leave a comment

 

For the 9 inch animals…

 

 

 

 

 

 

And for the 7 inch animals…

 

 

 

Hello there, I’m just emerging from my cosy little corner, where I’ve been ensconced for the last few weeks knitting away every spare moment in my days, and I’m happy to let you know that I have a couple of new patterns ready to share.

This is an animal outfit that I’ve wanted to work on for a while and I think my teenage self would approve, because in the 1980’s sweater dresses were the height of fashion. I had a maroon machine knitted one with a white Fair Isle design, probably from C&A or Top Shop, worn with maroon tights and maroon suede pixie boots and I thought myself most sophisticated when wearing this to go into town on a Saturday morning!

So this pattern is for sweater dresses/sweaters, worked from the top down, with 4 different yoke designs, each of which can be worked either as a longer length flared dress or a shorter and narrower sweater.

There are instructions for working the lower body and sleeves either flat and then seamed, or seamlessly in the round if preferred. The yoke for each design is always knitted flat in order to accommodate an opening at the back of the neck, making it easy to dress your animal, and there’s a functional button fastening at the back.

Also included is a single colour version with a simple textured yoke.

There is a version to fit the 9 inch animals and one for the smaller 7 inch animals too, if you’d like a copy of either pattern they’re now available on Ravelry and Etsy.

I’m so thankful to the people who have helped me test out the pattern, they’ve already made some lovely sweaters, and I’m looking forward to seeing what everyone else makes from these patterns. If you do give the patterns a go, please do share your makes on Ravelry or the Facebook group.

I am still working on a Coats and Cardigans pattern for the small 7 inch sized animals, and some new 7 inch animal patterns too, so those will be coming up once I’ve had a little more time in my cosy knitting corner.

Well, that’s my news for today. The weather is turning colder here this week and winter is arriving out in the countryside, so Toby and I will be bundling up on our walks from now on. I’ll hopefully be back soon with some pictures from our walks over this autumn.

So ’til next time thank you as always for visiting with me here, and for supporting me and my family by buying my patterns, and for the kind words you send my way in your messages and comments. I hope life is treating you kindly in these unsettling times,

J x

 

countryside · crafts & knitting · in the woods

A month for memories

Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)1 Comment

October is a bitter-sweet month here in our household. We celebrate five family birthdays, two for both of my children who turn a year older, eight days apart at the beginning of the month, and three for family who are now just memories (my lovely Gangan and Gampy, and my father-in-law). It’s not then surprising that this month brings with it so many feelings of nostalgia and is brimming with memories from both my own childhood and those of my children, and I go about my days feeling grateful that I have such a deep well of happy memories to call to mind.

But then October is traditionally a month of reflection for many, with multiple festivals relating to remembrance spanning many different cultures. It is a liminal time between the bright, warm days of summer and winter’s cold and dark, a time for settling in, for gathering together what is needed to get through the harshest months of the year, for cosying up and for reminiscing. Here it’s a time for sweeping the chimney, stacking logs, batch cooking casseroles and soups and unpacking blankets and winter woollies from summer storage, and I busy myself with gathering together everything that comforts on cold, dark days.

Out in the countryside Autumn brings such melancholic beauty, with misty mornings and the colourful seasonal changes. It’s also an exciting time to be out in the woods and one of my favourites, due to the arrival of fungi underfoot. So it’s that time of year when I write my traditional toadstool blog post. Getting out into the woods and lying on my tummy in the wet moss in order to photograph their fantastical forms is one of my great autumnal pleasures. I am always delighted and surprised to see something that I’ve not seen before and even the types of toadstool and fungi that I do recognise are always different and amazing.

Coming back into the warmth and cosiness of home after getting chilled and damp in the woods is also a delicious pleasure. And curling up with my knitting as I start to warm up again is a comfort and delight. Pattern writing is happening in the quieter moments of my days and I hope to share some new patterns with you over the remaining months of this year, pictured above are some of the coats and cardigans I’m working on for the small 7 inch animals, and there are a couple of other clothing patterns in progress too. And in the evenings, when I’ve run out of brain power, simple and rhythmic sock knitting in autumnal colours is a soothing end to the day.

I’m reluctant to state it (just in case I jinx things) but we are beginning to feel on more of an even keel here. Toby is currently, for the most part, content and happier than he’s been for quite a while. I know that change is inevitable and always waiting around the corner but I hope this feeling of calm lasts, at least for a little while longer, as it’s brought such relief and comfort to me and is very much needed.

I hope that things are calm and comfortable where you are, thanks as always for visiting here with me, 

J x