Tag: winter

hats

~ Gillie ~ 2 Comments

On my return from Loch Ness Knit Fest in October, I showed the Boss my purchases.  Yes, all my purchases!  One of them was this gorgeous little number from Tine and Floyd.

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The Boss took a shine to it and suggested it would make a fine hat.  In particular it would make a fine hat with ear flaps.  A fine hat with ear flaps that would be perfect to keep his head and ears warm whilst out fishing.   Since the wind off the North Sea is pretty piercing if you are on land I can only assume it is vicious when out at sea.

So I disappeared down the rabbit hole that is Ravelry and found this wonderful pattern by Mitzy Moore

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Obviously I am doing it in one colour way, but after a month or so of lacework I am loving the speed with which it knits up!  I’m not sure about the bobble though.  Not quite his style I don’t think!

What’s on your needles today?

Love Gillie x

 

 

autumn

~ Gillie ~ 1 Comment

 

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The colour of the light in the early morning and last of the windfalls feeding the pheasants who have taken up residence in our orchard remind me that autumn is coming to an end and it will soon be time to prepare for winter.

The changing seasons bring up all sorts of different emotions in me.  During the long hot summer this year I wanted it to go on forever.  I wanted to be able to get up and fling on a sundress and flipflops every day and dreaded the mornings when I would have to think about what to wear because I would need woolly tights, cardigans, I would have to think about coats and scarves.  There would be the usual marital grumbling about whose turn it was to bring in the wood and empty the grate so we could light the fire.

Autumn arrived gently, warm days lasting longer than expected and gradually interspersed with shorter colder ones.  Fortunately there have been few grey days; I think it is the lack of colour that gets me down in the winter.  The harvest was truly bountiful, my preserving pans, dehydrator and pickle and fermentation jars went into overdrive.  I have put down my light cotton crochet and picked up my soft winter knitting.  Our meals are heartier and warmer, the Christmas cookbooks have come out and I reread Making Winter and The Christmas Chronicles.  It is time to dig out The Box of Delights.

I am ready now.

Love Gillie x

 

simple

~ Gillie ~ 8 Comments

I had a eureka moment this summer.  Actually that’s a lie, it was more of an aaaaaaaaaah realisation moment.  One of those moments when stuff that has always seemed a bit out of kilter suddenly makes perfect sense.

I have always thought of myself as an autumn/winter person.  The kind of person who loves snuggling up by the fire with the dogs and a good book; crispy winter walks; big rambunctious winter casseroles.  And indeed, I do love all those things.  But I love warmth and sunshine and long summer days more.

Perhaps because of our wonderful summer this year, following the dreadful excuse for a summer we had last year I have been outside much more.  The garden has been more productive and the foraging has been superb.  It’s been wonderful.  I don’t want it to end, I don’t really want winter and darkness.  I want the light to last.

I tried to cheer myself up with the prospect of Christmas.  And that is when I began to panic.  I have always gone full pelt at Christmas.  Not necessarily spending money but  in making, baking, preparing, decorating, gathering.

I don’t want to do that this year.  Having spent all this time taking things out of our house I do not want to bring any back in.  But that’s not all there is to it.  It isn’t just a question of things or stuff it’s a question of attitude.

I want simple.  I want a simple Christmas. Simple decorations, simple food, simple celebrations.  It doesn’t make them any the less valued or special but the thought of a heavily decorated house and a freezer full of meals that will probably still be there in January makes me feel just a little bit ill.

I can’t stop the present fest on my own.  The Boss and I tend to give each other things we need.  Last year we both unwittingly gave each other saltpetre for preserving and smoked salt which we both love.  Not perhaps the most traditional of presents but it made us laugh that we had both been thinking along identical lines.  Or we give days out.  That’s how I got to spend a weekend at Taste The Wild and a fabulous overnight at The Crab and Lobster.  But I can wear the present fest down.  I can do simple.