Fresh and Gentle Days

Hello Lovelies, 

this morning I'm baking a cake so I thought I'd write a post whilst it's in the oven. I do love a bit of Saturday morning baking. I'm trying THIS recipe and hopefully I'll have a nice picture of a finished cake to add to the end of this post. It smells good at the moment so I'm feeling optimistic.

 

I'm sorry it's been a while since the last time I was here. My evenings have been rather taken up with the Autumn inspired blanket I've started. It's the first blanket project I've made this year and I'm feeling optimistic about this too. 

The title of this post was inspired by a comment from Suzie ( at ambling along Suzie) over on Instagram. I think it perfectly describes the weather November has brought us over the past couple of weeks. 

It's way too mild for this time of year really, but so wonderful to enjoy the fabulous shades of autumn without a lot of cold, wet, gloom and wind.

 

Here I was out with mum on Monday afternoon. We often set off with no real plan and see where we end up :0)

When we come across a view mum fancies painting we stop and she sits in the car and gets to work whilst I go for a walk.

 I can see why she was inspired by this honey coloured squat little church.

And thankfully there were plenty of footpaths for me to explore.

And if I come back before mum is finished I get sent away to explore a bit more. This time I found mushrooms 😊

I love mum's watercolour painting of the autumnal scene. 

We also stopped off at a couple of pretty villages on the way home. Everywhere was looking so nice.

 

I couldn't resist a low angle shot of these lovely fallen leaves here.

Autumn has been so inspiring to me this year. Here is the start of my blanket, made using the colours I'm seeing everywhere at the moment.

 It's just three round granny squares made in solid colours and I'm joining as I go.

I'm balancing time spent sitting with my hook with time spent outside locally. The days are short but consequently the sky is often dramatic by mid afternoon.

and especially at sunset. I could see the autumn shades in this sky too.

so here's where I'm currently up to with my blanket, especially for you my lovely blog readers :0)

Looking down on it you can see it's a bit of a homage to my love of patchwork! Middle son's girlfriend introduced me to a website called Stitch Fiddle which allows you to plan out this sort of project.

 I've worked through lots of variations of designs. I've plumped for a sort of Irish Chain (I think). 

I'm sure the quilters amongst you will know a better description. For whilst I love patchwork and quilting it's not something I have much experience of doing.

So far I'm feeling hopeful that this crochet version will turn out well and I'm really enjoying working to a plan as it stops all that procrastination I suffer with when working with random shades.

Oh, almost forgot....here's the Farmhouse apple and fruit cake ( I used mixed fruit instead of sultanas) fresh out of the oven. Mine only took and hour to cook, so something to bare in mind if you decide to give this a go.

 

Hopefully I'll be back with a review of how it tastes very soon :0)

I hope you are all keeping well and enjoying Saturday. Thank you so much for all the kind comments on my recent posts.

Jacquie x

Inspired by Autumn

 Hello Lovelies, 

I've been on a bit of a mission to tidy up this week, putting stuff away and sorting paperwork. 

I think as the garden becomes cold and damp it feels more important to create a calm space to shelter in. Our indoor living space feels the pressure of so many adults using it. It's not toys I do battle with these days but shoes, coats, tech, and never ending laundry.

An Autumn clean, tidy and declutter seems essential for my sanity.

Yesterday I took the afternoon off and went for a walk though...another sanity essential.

It was a dull day but the seasonal colour is getting really good this week.

I couldn't stop picking up leaves.

This scene was all green a couple of weeks ago.

Now there are  fabulous shades of plum

 

and red

Along with the golds and oranges

When I got home I had a little play with all the leaves I had collected. How lovely are these shades and shapes?

The autumn scenes and leaf colours inspired me to get my yarn pegs out.

I'm still experimenting with colour combinations and thinking about what project I want to use them for, but it's great to feel inspired.

I also collected some dried grasses and seed heads while I was out. I love this simple arrangement on my mantel.

It balances well with the houseplant on the other end.

I made this mosaic for inspiration. It's a joy to capture this moment, when so many leaves are fading into a rainbow of beauty and the berries shine.

I do hope you lovelies manage to get outdoors and make the most of Autumn (or Spring) this week.

Jacquie x

A Mixed Bag

Hello Lovelies, 

I hope you've had a good day. I'm back, sharing the random selection of pictures I captured on my camera today. Things that made me smile.

I love the early morning sun as it shines under our silver birch tree.

It's leaves are only just beginning to start getting their autumn colour, where as my little cherry tree is the most gorgeous orange already and positively glowed in the morning sunshine.

 Here's a bit of a rubbish photo, but I took it as I was so pleased I can finally recycle soft plastics locally. I know the most important change is to try and reduce buying plastic wrapped things in the first place, but in reality that's really tricky at the moment so THANK YOU CO-OP for having recycling bins in your stores.

Out and about with my mum in law this morning we loved this beautiful window display. I especially adored the painting of a winter scene on the glass.

It was Christmassy but overall just felt like a homage to winter and I love winter.

I'm not wishing autumn away though. We went around this beautiful square of grass and magnificent mature trees. I'm sure the residents of the bungalows and flats here must appreciate having this view. I know I would. Such a great way to keep in touch with the seasons and encourage wildlife.

It was a very short walk with mum in law and I was busy this afternoon so I headed out to do a couple of miles after dark. 

It's so mild out again at the moment it was very pleasant , even a bit too warm for my coat wearing self. 

Think I'll be regretting changing to the winter duvet tonight.

Is the weather strangely mild where you are lovelies? 

Jacquie x

Out and About

Hello Lovelies, 

thank you so much for the encouraging comments on our shed project. This weekend we have made more progress and I'm relieved to say we now have a permanent, waterproof roof. WooHoo :0)

That's a great feeling. We had good weather this weekend and seized the day, but it doesn't stop me wishing I could have gone walking instead. 

Last weekend the weather was too windy to tackle the roof and I got up early to have a walk before Storm Brian hit us. I wanted to see a beautiful sunrise and was at the country park by 7.45am. It wasn't quiet the colourful spectacle I had imagined, but I still enjoyed my walk.

and as the sun got higher I loved the golden light. The Cormorants made me smile has they dried their wings on the island.

It was so nice to get out early, see the sun

and breathe the fresh air on a cool and windy morning.

Before going home for some warming porridge.

In the end we were very fortunate that the storm was not so severe here in the East Midlands.

Then on Thursday I got to walk in Derbyshire with my super walking group.

Got to love the autumnal hues and mossy stone walls.

It was in the Matlock area and I just love the hilliness around there. I know it's for the views, but also for the similarity to the area of Yorkshire that I grew up in. I do love picking my way down a steep slope. It's such a nostalgic feeling to me. Though as a kid I was probably running at full pelt, hoping not to fall over :0)

The highlight of this walk for me though, was our walk up through the Lumsdale Valley. It's a place I have shared here before on more than one occasion.

I love the waterfalls.

And the interesting industrial ruins.

Up to this point it had been a mild and still day but we hadn't seen any sun. How thrilled I was when it emerged from behind the clouds as we reached the mill pond.

Which had a glassy surface perfect for enjoying the reflections.

All the autumn colours sing when there's a bit of brightness in the sky.

So while my walk total for October is poor,  I must remember to be thankful to be able to squeeze in beautiful walks like these two. I'm lucky to have the time, in amongst the family, work and shed construction stuff.

I'm not sure I will make my 1000 mile challenge this year but hey ho, there's got to be a balance. I'm happy. Life is good.

Jacquie x