in the green

I ended up with a circle. After thinking about my full moon cloth all weekend and coming up with several ideas, this is what finally took hold as a background. I thought it would somehow be different so now I'm not sure anymore -- that's the problem with expectations. It reminds me of my grade school uniform, a green plaid jumper and a white blouse. That might or might not be a good thing. 

Today is a waning moonday in the sign of Capricorn -- a great time for making plans, setting goals, taking care of business. Maybe even some ambitious cleaning and organizing. 

Capricorn affects our skin and our skeleton, especially the knees. Capricorn's color is green. And the banded malachite stone down below is associated with the sign of Capricorn as well.

Things are starting to make sense after all. Hoping for delightful surprises, connections, and synchronicities for everyone this week. x

calendar cloth pillows

It worked. I tapped into some of that growing-moon energy and finished up both a book and a pillow. The pillow top was woven out of cloth strips and then kantha stitched -- the back is creamy, delicious hopsacking  (I first started the top way back here). I stitched on a month of calendar cloth to mark the time of year -- funny I don't really care to record the exact year but the point on the wheel of the year, now that's I want to know and remember. Must be age. The book was Winter of the World by Ken Follett, second in a trilogy. Next up is All That Is by James Salter, has anyone read it yet?

I noticed the pom-pom'd pillow was made in the month of April, too.

The full moon is tonight so I'm thinking green and white for April's little moon cloth. Green for growth and white for snow because that's pretty much what it's been like outside up until yesterday. I'm really not complaining, water is precious here.

There should be some nice dandelion and nettle greens ready to pick today. I guess I'm craving green. xx

yellow button moonday

It's going to be yellow for the lady sweater buttons. The African violets that are still blooming made the decision for me. I mean really, there's no way around it. The vintage button in the photo is too large but it's the perfect color. 

This morning I picked lettuce from the cold frame, enough for a good-sized salad tonight. It was sunny and warm for a couple of hours but we're expecting up to a foot of snow later today and tomorrow. The woad, Isatis tinctoria, doesn't seem to mind a weekly dump of snow and is nearly at the point of bloom. I'd really like to have it as a permanent part of the dye garden so might cover it before the weather action begins -- as a biennial it needs to bloom to reseed itself. 

I saw a gibbous moon in the outside dye-pot -- today is a waxing gibbous moonday in the sign of Virgo. Being just a few days from the full moon, planetary energies are building toward completion and celebration. We can use our energy to progress in a similar way by focusing and working on things already begun. I hope to complete a project or two over the next few days -- remembering the road is better than the inn, the journey toward the goal, but also knowing how good it feels to finish something.

We live in sobering times. So here's to continuing and always living from the heart. xo

sewing bee

I'm sure I wasn't the only one who needed to do something with my hands as the sad events of the week unfolded. Five puffs up there for the beekeeper's quilt. Speaking of bees, I just discovered a gem -- The Great British Sewing Bee, a home sewing reality/competition series. I love this kind of stuff and if you need an escape, it will do the job. There are three episodes so far on YouTube. 

xo

a duplicate stitched hexipuff

I had never duplicate stitched on knitted stockinette before, but it's so easy and was just right for today. A little bee is in the works on a hexipuff for the beekeeper's quilt. I think I'll keep going along this line -- more bees, some ravens, owls, foxes, and rabbits. Yes.

The beeswax/cloth wrap is new to me, but I'm already in love with it. I have high hopes for this product and you can find it here.

Yesterday I had 16 healthy tomato plants. Then I set them outside for a few hours of sunshine. When I opened the door to bring them in, our two dogs bolted out in search of rabbits and they both ran over the tray of tomato plants. Most were knocked out of their pots, some lost leaves, and a few stems snapped. So today I have 12 not-so-great tomato plants.

Today is a waxing moonday moving into the sign of Cancer. Moonwise, it's time for making, doing, planting, growing, and building. Cancer's watery influence makes us more sensitive (in tune) so we can and should trust our emotions and intuition now. It's also a time for nurturing ourselves and others. The parts of the body affected are from the chest area down to the gall-bladder.

A Cancer moon day is fruitful and highly conducive to planting in the garden. It's snowing here, so I'll stick with doing and making in the house today.

To living in harmony.

homemade: citrus cleaners & a keyhole garden

Citrus cleaners -- the orange is strained and ready to go while the lemon needs a few more days to infuse. It's new to me, fingers crossed. I followed these instructions. 

Have you ever seen a keyhole garden? This is a little different from a permaculture-type keyhole garden  (shaped mainly to create more edge) because it's a nearly self-contained system that stands up to weather extremes. I've watched this over and over, many hands make light work comes to mind, and it makes me want to round up some people and go outside to build something.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you have yourself some happy weekending. xx 

calendar moon cloth #4

March's calendar moon cloth was finished just in time for today's new moon. I'm trying to complete each full moon art project before the rise of the following new moon -- so far, so good. This little piece has a woven base of dark/light cloth strips and a dark/light moon to symbolize the Vernal Equinox in March. The red cloth and threads are reminders of my current focus on my root chakra and the white/black stitching all over the piece represents roots. The house has many eyes but only one is highlighted -- that's for keeping an eye to the moon.

Happy New Moon! If you'd like to share your moon art, I'd love you to leave a link or email me a file. xo

a waning cloth

Today is a waning moonday in Aries. Wane means to decrease gradually so the corresponding moonwork for this time is to be still and allow whatever is to be, to be -- to let go. I made a waning cloth this morning to ritualize my letting go of something. A problem can start out so dark and overpowering sometimes. Then you sort of learn to live with it and after a while, lo and behold, it's only a wisp. And sometimes it even disappears completely.

Another calendar page project using a tea box base. This is the best template I could find because it only needs to be glued in one place. I used a spray adhesive to cover both sides of the tea box base with calendar pages. It will be a nice gift box. 

The best thing about knitting buttonholes is getting to choose buttons. I'm partial to the blue shades with the deep purple yarn but wooden buttons might be nice, too. Which I don't have any of, so that means getting to go button hunting on top of it all. I know I'm only inches into this lady sweater, but it's been nothing but pleasure so far. By the way, this is the first photo I've taken of it that shows the true color.

We're expecting a spring snowstorm tonight and tomorrow. Since we've already had some foretelling hot days, I'm going to savor it wholeheartedly. Maybe even some hot cocoa tonight. 

A good week to you. xx

raw brownies & the lady sweater

Raw brownies were made, thanks to Deb, and I recommend them wholeheartedly. The only trouble I had was not having enough dates to make them stick together better. It blows me away that such simple ingredients can be so good - you'd swear there was sugar in them. The first night we had them in little bowls with heavy cream drizzled on top and now my husband has started mixing a bit of raw brownie into his granola. Me, I just sit and eat it with a spoon right out of the pan.

The lady sweater, has only been ripped and restarted once. That first buttonhole derailed me. I had to finally give in and practice a buttonhole technique with some other yarn and after that, well, it's coming along okay. Now I want to hurry up and get the next two buttonholes done before I forget again.

The raw brownie recipe is both below and here where it began. Just make sure you have enough dates!

Wishing you some happy weekending. x

little bits

Stitching, gathering, making, brunching. A half-red moon went on the cloth, not sure about that gray w/red couching yet. A mottled stick landed with like items. Orange and lemon rinds are infusing in vinegar to make cleaner. And tulips on the table, brunch for the 13 of us hosted by my daughter and son-in-law.

Today is a moonday entering the sign of Capricorn. The waning moon draws us inward and at the same time Capricorn wants to put us to work. Isn't that the way life is? But I'm thinking these combined energies will be good for planning/organizing projects that require patience and structure.

Body parts affected by Capricorn are the bones, especially knees, and our skin. For gardening purposes, this third quarter moon in Capricorn is good for planting below-ground (root) crops like carrots, potatoes, beets, radishes, etc. Remember to go easy on the knees!

To a good week for all of us.