Sunday 13 November 2016

Autumn comforts

As much as I like to complain about the cold, the rain, the frost and the fog, not to mention the biting North-Easterly winds that roll in off the North Sea from time to time, Autumn is without a doubt my favourite time of year. The golden light and the changing colours all around and that lovely fresh feeling in the air. At this time of year, I also seem to become more ‘homely’ if that makes sense. I want to make, craft and bake. I want to protect myself from the cold outside and enjoy simple pleasures such as a piping cup of hot chocolate, or tipple of Brandy to warm me up.

Beautiful Autumnal walks at local places are some of my favourite things to do

So, whilst it’s been a bit quiet (again) here on the blog, some of the things I’ve been indulging in have included knitting lots of little coffee cup cosies for me and my friends; the takeaway cups where I
work are really poorly insulated which means constantly burned fingers. I knitted one for me, and then it spiralled out of control and suddenly I’ve been running them up left, right and centre. It’s fine
though, they are the perfect train project since I can start one on the morning commute and finish it on the evening commute.


I’ve also started turning my attentions to cooking. I guess this is twofold though, not just about the weather, but also about wanting to maintain a healthy diet through the tough winter months. I’m not a huge eater of bread, it’s not something I crave, but I do like a nice rustic loaf from time to time, so I took it upon myself to try out baking an Irish soda bread loaf. I was pleased with the results, although I think that I didn’t work it enough which resulted in quite a crumbly loaf, but that’s a lesson learned for the next time. It did make quite delicious prawn cocktail sandwiches for work the next day.

Pleasing results for my first soda bread

I have a few more knitting projects lined up, including finishing a tank top that I started months ago, and starting a knitted waistcoat for myself. I’ve also been pondering some sewing projects after
discovering a bolt of fabric that I had forgotten about, in a cupboard.

With Christmas fast approaching, I wonder if there are any small gifts I could make for people too? A handmade gift is always more precious, isn’t it?

It would be nice if I could hold on to this homely feeling throughout the year. I don’t know why it only holds prominence in Autumn. Maybe that should be part of my life manifesto for next year, to value the simple things, invest in comfort and try to create (bake, knit, sew, cross stitch) each and every day. Is it too early to be thinking of resolutions?

Now I'm going to spend the rest of my Sunday watching Strictly, and knitting. I hope you all have a great week.

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