flowers

I think it rained here for 24 hours straight over the weekend. Mostly softly but sometimes hard. Rain is my favorite form of inclement weather. And it's an opportunity to catch up on indoor things. I was going to mop the kitchen floor until I realized this would be the worst day ever to have clean floors with two dogs.

Rain-soaked pansies in a little vase. And my moon ritual cloth, pathways, with simple green stitches symbolizing the current moon cycle. I can't wait to have this on the coffee table to place objects onto -- might do that while I work on it. Week 14 of Journal52 is sweet treats. I could not get into this prompt for the longest time. Sweet treats or sweet anything were just off my radar until flowers came to mind. Honestly it still doesn't make sense to me but I do like the colors and I do love flowers.

Today is a waxing moonday in the sign of Virgo. That means it's a good time to carry out plans and projects already decided on -- we're very good on detail right now -- make time for rest, Virgo tends to overdo it.

To the magical teachings of flowers. What will we learn?

spring things

Their bloom was interrupted for several days but this is still a good year for lilacs -- they survived rain, snow, and freezing temperatures. And so fragrant, it's almost too much.

The origami seed packets are for an outreach project of my herb group. Did you know the Monarch butterfly is at risk because of loss of habitat, specifically milkweed? Milkweed is its only food source in the larval stage but agricultural methods, population growth, and weather have nearly destroyed the natural stands of milkweed. There is a big movement to replant whatever milkweed is native to your area. Even though you may not live along the Monarch butterfly's migratory route, there are many strays and they will visit your milkweed until they get back on track. It is sobering to realize how far out of control the situation became.

Not much time for stitching lately but this month's pathway sewing ritual will be "in the green." It has to be, everything is green everywhere I look. I only have two more books left to read in the Outlander book series so thought I'd prolong the inevitable by reading something else, The Orphan Train. So far so good.

Week 13 of Journal52 is spring cleaning. Cleaning is not one of my strengths, but garden clean-up is different. I love seeing how all the plants are doing, which ones are returning, who's gone toward the light.

Astrologically-speaking, a few big things happen today -- the sun moves into Taurus and a waxing moon enters Gemini. I guess you could say things are going and growing -- growing under earthy Taurus and going (here and there) with airy Gemini. Sounds like spring.

red sunflower prayer flag

I'm reposting photos of the prayer flag I made after the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear power plant disaster in Fukushima, Japan. From what I understand, there are still many problems as a result of those events although we don't see much about it in the news anymore.

I wove, stitched and hung the red sun prayer cloth in March, 2011. In September, 2011 petals were attached to change it into a red sunflower because sunflowers absorb radiation -- and there was a sunflower planting project underway in that stricken region.

The red sunflower prayer flag has been hanging outside in the garden for the past four years, I believe it has served its purpose -- to release hopes and prayers for comfort and healing to all who were affected. What is left here now, the transformation of cloth and thread by time and weather, is something I love. For many reasons.

Today is a waning moonday in Aquarius. If there is something you are releasing, it's time to let go of the last of it. What remains may be something you love.

xo

reverence, obedience and the invisible

A little rosemary bookcloth is ready to go to work -- I love using cloth bookmarks, my paper ones always get mutilated. I just got the book and haven't actually started it yet but it looks promising. How can it not be wonderful --  by Alan Chadwick -- and with that title.

The pages in my calendar planner are wispy thin but washi-taped edges make them easier to page through. I thought the pile of freshly-washed and folded cloth looked like washi tape too when stacked just so.

Journal52 Week 11 is inspiration, my page is all about color. I'm just learning this about myself -- how lovely it feels to work with color, especially painting which is new to me. Trying to keep my inner critic out of it, she is such a pain. One thing for sure is painting page backgrounds will always be something to look forward to during this year-long art journaling project.

Today is a waning moon in the sign of watery Scorpio. Under Scorpio's psychic tendencies, we see how deep we go and what it is we want, especially what we want to end.

Deepening to see then.

violet moon

Winter came back today, we all knew it would. I just hope we can slink through this cold front without any snow because the trees are already blooming and leafing out and that would be so sad.

It feels like I've fallen behind in nearly every aspect of my life. After thinking about this, I've decided I don't want to catch up because that only implies more rushing around. So back to my word for the year -- flow. Flow can be slow or fast, light or heavy. It can be stopped and it can resume. I guess flow is really just being happy with the pace of life, however it goes. A new rust object for dyeing, Jan brought me the horseshoe on the far left. I think he found the other one, too. 

I miss stitching moons. Happily I came across some long-forgotten moon squares once intended for a moon quilt. Decided I still really want to make a moon quilt so basted violet moon onto a background of harem cloth. But something was not right. Looked at it on and off for a few days. Decided I hated the metallic thread; decided I hated the dark purple blanket stitching; one too rough and the other too harsh. A quilt has to be soft, right? Took it all out. So much better. This required an awful lot of decisions to be made.

After living for quite a few springs now, I notice things -- the same bird songs, how the air smells, the way some rooms in the house get darker as the sun rises higher, muddy pawprints on the carpet, and excitement for the seeds I plant. And so much hope.

The full moon is coming up on Saturday, April 4 so here's wishing you a big circle of light and hope. xo