painted mini moonday

I went outside last night to visit the still-full moon and this is what it looked like to me. Since I don't have much luck taking photos of the moon, I decided to try to paint it even though I'm a beginner in the truest sense. It was such a nice time. Now I'm thinking of painting or stitching every full moon for a year and then hanging them all together. The mini-canvas is only about 2.5 x 3.5 inches. From the checkout aisle at JoAnn's and inspired by this.

Today is a waning moonday in the sign of Cancer. Cancer is watery and also emotional so you know what that means. I don't mind the actual act of making tears so much, it's the after-effects I don't like -- the puffy, sore, tender eyes that take at least one day to go away -- I hate that part. And I do think it's true that tears of happiness don't do that, it's the other kind that cause the problems.

Cancer rules the body area from the lungs to the gallbladder. So take deep breaths, remember digestive bitters at or before mealtime, and eat healthy. Digestive bitters can be something as simple as arugula added to salad or a sip of peppermint tea. Bitters stimulate the appetite and enhance digestion -- they are so good for us, it's too bad about their name. A bitter can't be taken in a capsule because it must be tasted; the taste buds reflex sets off the brain reflex that sets off the digestive reflexes. Some common herbal bitters are dandelion, hops, tarragon, gentian, and chamomile; a few bitter greens are escarole, kale, mizuna, endive, mustard, watercress, and sorrel. 

Here's to a day with only happy tears and healthy bitters for all!

vintage currier & ives pillow

I loved making this pillow cover. The Currier & Ives cloth panel from yesterday paired up nicely with the snowball bedspread. And I had no problem cutting into the snowball cloth, it had been sitting long enough. Even the thread was vintage and it didn't break once. Felt like a dream, it was so easy.

 Happy full-moon weekending! xo

fealty to the past

Beware of shopping in your own house, it almost always inspires more, maybe too many, projects. I came upon my mother's 1964-65 McCall's and one thing led to another, starting with the cute little turtle tissue holder that I hope to make a few times.

Then I noticed scary girl and decided this is why some people are afraid of dolls. I realize she doesn't look too bad here but face-to-face, she's evil. Anyway the pocket on her jumper reminded me of the pockets on an old catering apron. (If anyone in your family has ever worked catering, you have these around!) The glittery crocheted snowflakes (?) were made by my Great Aunt Aggie and they literally fell to the floor in front of me. If I decide to take this further, I'll see how they wash up first before I stitch them onto the pockets. She would be very tickled at this.

Lastly, I spotted my mother's vintage Currier & Ives panel folded up and tucked in a stack of fabric -- wouldn't it make a nice pillow/cushion on a bed? Another take it further project.

Fealty to the past comes from qualities associated with Thursdays along with honor, family loyalty, harvests, clothing, and riches. Corresponds to my morning perfectly.

seasonal changes afoot

Seasonal changes are taking place. The snowflake curtains have been rehung, I think my favorite time of day for them is early morning when everything looks gray. But they're really beautiful at night, too. It's hard to choose. One thing I do know is they are among my favorite of all the things I've ever made in my whole life.  And so simple. (We're always wondering if the humidifier is working and, yes, you can see that it's working just fine!)

The winter potpourri is five or more years old and I keep it in a half-gallon jar in the basement most of the year. It's a blend of whatever I had on hand and whatever essential oils I was drawn to at the making. It's still nice and fragrant but I'm slicing and drying new citrus as the old has browned so much. I've read that potpourris can be kept going for years and years and I fully intend to do so with this.

I like doing a little something each day. I go to the basement and poke around and see what I can find. My only rule is it has to be something I really love. Shopping in my own basement. How 'bout that?

Hoping the seasonal changes taking place in your home unfold softly and easily. xo

keeping on moonday

I have a strong desire to make a winter cloth like last year's Lucia Moon so I'm going forward with a star moondala.  I've ironed a freezer paper star onto blue linen and am appliqueing moon pieces around it. I've never done paper piecing but think this might be the basis of it?

The moon is still growing and today is a waxing moonday in fiery Aries. Some aspects of Aries are action, energy and passion and I'm paying attention to how this translates into my creative life. Even after several years of taking notice of lunar cycles, Aries isn't quite clear for me -- certainly not in the way that Scorpio is. I hope to take advantage of Aries' movement in a couple of areas -- this moondala cloth and also finding my place in the green sleeveless sweater I've set aside for about a year. Proceeding.

With Aries, attention is once again at the top of the body, meaning the head down to the nose. Any worry about catching a cold may turn out to be preparation to actually come down with one. I know because it happened to me. They say viruses have a place on this planet, too, like any living creature. I'm trying to think of it like that anyway!

Keep adding, keep walking, keep advancing. ~~St. Augustine

half-full/half-way

I thought I would begin to do something with these blank slates today or maybe even start stitching a foot for flying dreams, my Magic Diaries project. But then I noticed the moon is half-full and that made me realize that I'm not in a beginning place right now, I'm more in a half-way place. And I do sort of feel floaty and half-minded, come to think of it.

So these red threads seemed appropriate for today -- half-way stitches on flying dreams components. I didn't really have anything "attached" to the color red other than it's a take-notice-and-pause kind of vibe -- but I realize there is a deeper symbolism behind red threads and red strings. I need to look into that. What vibe do you pick up from red threads?

Happy weekending! xo

knitted mushrooms

Oak-dyed-mellow-yellow joins red and white. Knitted, then felted. The white spots are bits of wool stitched on but if I make another spotted one, I'll needle felt instead. After stuffing the stem with wool and adding a little rice for weight, a circlet of wool is attached. The very wonderful  pattern is here.

I'm thinking a whole colony of mushrooms from tree-dyed wool might be a fun way to document wool in the dye-pot. No leaf collecting today though -- maybe pinecones.