A busy month :: Autumn is here

Autumn has well and truly arrived. My scarf collection is making an appearance on a daily basis, my boots are out, my winter coat on, and I get to wear my favourite hats for the next few months.

 My morning walk to the train station is getting prettier by the minute, the trees are slowly changing colour and crisp golden leaves are filling the pavements. I love how the way my walk to work changes throughout the year. However on the flip side, the walk home is dark and I’m missing the daylight and the view of the sun setting on the way home. With the dark nights comes the excuse to hunker down, snuggle in blankets and not feel guilty about getting crafty.

I haven’t been posting on my blog for a while as I’ve spent the past month planning projects I’m hoping to achieve by the end of the year. I always set myself so much to do, with a full time job and a hour commute to work, and then an hour back again, the days are so much shorter than I would like! The dark evenings mean the light isn’t great, so I don't get to see how things look in the daylight and I am unable to document my progress in photos.

During last month I was off sick for a week and in bed and whilst I was waiting to get better I had time to think, relax, look through my favourite interiors books to get inspiration and watch some of my favourite movies.

After being unwell I wanted to kick start things and make the most of my free time, I think you realise how little you achieve when you are feeling under the weather and how much you want to do when you stop and think. I decided to pick up my knitting needles and continue knitting the cosy cable cushion cover I started last year. I put the project down at the beginning of the year but I'm loving the feeling of yarn in my hands and watching my knitting grow. It's a perfect project for after work as I snuggle on the sofa and feel that I'm achieving something line by line of the pattern. It has also got me thinking about attempting to crochet again, (I'll write more about that in a few days time!).

With the dark evenings I have also started to notice small things that would make a difference to the comfort of our home. One of the projects is to make Roman blinds and curtains for our flat. I have two windows I want to make curtains for, and a back door and window that I plan to make Roman blinds for as all the windows are longer or an odd size. I want to create a more insulated and cosy home to ensure we stay warmer this winter. I've been looking at fabric samples, deciding on the style of the curtains, selecting curtain poles and getting my head round how to make Roman blinds and curtains. I had a perfect excuse to go to John Lewis and swoon over the fabric section, even Mr C didn’t seem to mind! I'm still deciding on the fabric but over the next week or so I hope to be able to choose and to make a start on measuring and cutting the fabric. I'm still waiting for a few fabric samples to arrive.

I've also been planning to make new cushions for a while to make our sofa more cosy. I've made one cushion cover already but I want to make one more that is unique and something new I haven't done before. Over the past month I have started to plan the design for the new patchwork cushion cover and I've made a start on making it, so I'll update you shortly.

I have also spent time thinking about Christmas in our home. I have decided to treat Mr C and I to a few new Christmas decorations this year. I have a real passion for all things scandi style. All my decorations are made out of wood and are painted white and red, I’ve collected these over the years and I love them.  For over 5 years I have had a wish list of Christmas decorations I’d love to have. A few weeks ago I took the plunge to make the investment and buy them. I have wanted them after all these years so I know the investment will be worth it.

I am planning to make a few things on the run up to Christmas, including Christmas appliqué bunting, festive cushion covers and Christmas cards. I’d love to create a Christmas quilt for Mr C and I to snuggle up under but I just don’t think I'll have the time. I'm hoping to also do December Daily/Journal Your Christmas to document the run up to Christmas too. I’ll start posting my Christmas related posts during December so keep an eye out then and you'll get a little insight into Christmas in our home.

What projects are you working on at the moment? Have the dark cold evenings made you pick up some hobbies again? I'll update you on the things I'm making, doing and what is inspiring me over the next few weeks, in the meantime keep warm!