crafts & knitting

grey mostly

Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)54 Comments

I think February must be the greyest month of all and the one in which summer seems most distant. Like most of the UK we've had far too many grey skies of late, sometimes a light silvery grey but mostly dark, brooding and full of rain. We have been very lucky though and are not affected by the flooding but I know some who are and I hope for all those affected that we see a big change in the weather very soon.

Here inside is warm and bright but I've still been drawn to greyness and have been working on lots of February coloured woolly things… 

Shawl

… a recently started shawl

Pattern: Dream Stripes, by Cailliau Berangere

Yarn: SofTrope soft singles in 'netsuke' and 'raku' bought from Meadow Yarn

 

Crochetscarf

… a finished scarf

(details of pattern and yarn here) It really needs a proper blocking to bring out the delicacy of the pattern but I've been a bit too lazy and am already wearing it. It's like a soft cloud and despite my numerous mistakes (mis-counting stitches etc) I'm really pleased with it.

 

I have also been quietly but industriously working on a new pattern for a grey animal, I'm sure you can guess which one 😉

Eles

I'll keep the blog updated with details as soon as it's ready to share

 

At least the mood here is no longer greyish and I'm feeling far more positive than I did at the start of the year – thank you all so much for your good wishes and kind messages about my eyes. At the moment they are stable and I'm just waiting for an appointment to have some further inner eye images taken. Hopefully the results will be fine and I can just go onto regular monitoring appointments and no further problems will develop.

There is also happiness at finding colour in unexpected places. This beautiful small tortoiseshell butterfly is currently hibernating in the corner of my windowsill. On the greyest days he looks lifeless and still but when the sun comes out he crawls up the window for a spot of sunbathing.

 

Small tortoiseshell

Hopefully he can make it through the rest of the winter and when the weather turns warmer I'll be able to open up the window for him to fly away.

 

I hope there is a little colour and happiness in your days right now, will you be pleased to see the back of this winter?

wishing you all the best for Valentines day, see you soon, J xxx

 

general stuff

january

Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)60 Comments

Sorry to have been absent for so long but it's been a bit of a peculiar start to the year here. January is the month when most of Toby's annual review meetings take place and so it's a time to focus on where he is making progress and where he needs more help. It's always uncomfortable to measure his progress as it's extremely subtle and gradual and sometimes he seems to go backwards instead of forwards. He is so very different from most 12 year old boys, being completely without speech and preferring his lego to any other activity and Maisy mouse, Richard Scarry and Baby Einstein videos to any other kind of TV. Still the paperwork and meetings are completed now and we'll see what this year brings in terms of his development.

It's also been a bit unsettling health-wise for me. I've had 2 potentially serious health issues recently, resulting in a few hospital appointments. Happily a series of tests have revealed that the first thing was nothing to worry about but the tests for the second thing have shown that I do have a problem with my eyes. I've been diagnosed with pigment dispersion syndrome which means I need to have my eyes regularly monitored as there's a significant risk of developing glaucoma. I'm in the process of reading up about this and I've been told it's best to avoid strenuous activity and exercise (which is not much of a problem for me!) but if anyone out there has any personal experience of the condition that they'd be prepared to share I'd love to hear from them. The positive side of this is that now I'm aware of the problem hopefully it means that I can take steps to minimise further damage to my sight. Anyway, that's the naff bit of January out of the way. There have been plenty of good bits too…

 

Jamiesons yarn

 

There's been lots of woolly stuff going on including knitting a bunch of animals which I hope to have ready for Easter, working on 2 new patterns which I hope to have ready for testing soon and lots of other bits of knitting and crochet including my frothy scarf which is getting quite long and the tiled blanket which is growing nicely. The lovely yarn above is from Jamieson and Smith and I'm playing about with some ideas for new bunny clothing – but more of that another time.

With all of the mild weather we've also been enjoying the woods and Amy has come with me on quite a few walks recently – it's been lovely to spend some time with her as these days I don't see much of her as she is usually in her room listening to music or on the computer.

 

Wintersolstice

Woodwalk

 

And happily Toby did remember how to open presents this Christmas and he is having lots of fun building very tall towers from his new lego

 

Toby lego

 

Thanks for dropping in. I'll be back soon with some proper news of knitty stuff x

general stuff

happy new year

Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)55 Comments

Just popping in very briefly to wish everyone a very happy and healthy start to the new year.

It's a little tradition for me to remember some of the best bits of the last year in pictures. These are the things that made me happy and as in previous years it is always the same mix: home, family, making woolly things, growing stuff, nature, peace and quiet 🙂

Mosaic2013

 

Here's wishing you a year full of the things that make you smile

J xxx

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PS: we're still in the school holidays here and as we've also been away with family for a few days I've fallen very behind with answering emails. I'll reply as soon as I can x