kantha stitching

I'm slightly daunted by the idea of finishing my knitting project during the month of February so naturally a little sewing diversion is in order. I haven't given up on the knitting already, just decided finishing a smaller piece first might build confidence. I've resumed kantha stitching a woven heart cloth made with cottons, eco-dyed silks, and a strip of Rumi cloth. A few of those tiny rose quartz beads might be included, too.

The pineapples at the grocery store were $1 each. Not huge, just right, and perfectly sweet. I decided to try growing the leafy stalk as a house plant -- the way to do this is to twist the stalk out of the fruit, remove two rows of leaves and then make thin slices with a sharp knife until you see root buds around the edges. Then it needs to harden off for two days at room temperature before being planted in soil or rooted in water. I'm going to root it in water to watch the magic happen. I've never done this before although the project was probably in every kids' science book I ever came across. Which is pretty many because we home schooled.

That's my daily kefir-straining ritual up there -- it never fails to grow -- you can see the lumpy-looking kefir grains if you look closely. I combine about a tablespoon of kefir grains to fresh raw milk in a pint jar, shake it up and set it on the counter to thicken and kefir-ize itself. I haven't had a bad cold since I started making and drinking kefir, close to two years now, I think. Whatever works, right?

I've been waiting in the darkness, so to speak, for today, the beginning of a new moon phase. The last few dark moon days have been quiet and dreamy -- reading, nesting, cleaning, and imagining. But now it's time to awaken hopes and dreams. It's time to believe in things imagined, but not yet seen or felt.

Thanks for visiting and a happy new moon to you. xo