knitting ritual moonday

Life is so fast. Ritual seems to slow it down and helps me to pause and savor whatever it is I'm doing. A new knitting ritual is in the works -- last night in bed right before sleep, I knitted half a honeycomb for the beekeeper's quilt. This morning in bed, I knitted the other half. The night half was increasing, the morning half was decreasing. Sort of like a moon cycle. 

So I made up a little supply basket for the nights and mornings ahead. And do you notice the little blueberry-like stones around the Solstice candle? They are real and were bought from a rock & mineral booth at a fair. The man who sold them to me was an expert and I should've written down their name and where they were harvested from but I didn't. I think it was either Colorado or Arizona. 

Today is a waxing half moonday in Taurus. Some Taurus moon aspects are patience, tolerance, and increased willpower. Taurus energies are thought to be best applied to projects already begun rather than beginning new ones. I see these next days as ideal for activities that normally test my patience. Slow and steady as she goes. Digging in.

Taurus is an Earth sign that influences the jaw, throat and neck area including the thyroid gland, teeth, ears, larynx, and vocal chords. That means conditions of these parts can be either more easily aggravated or more easily treated and healed under a Taurus moon. On the healing end, it's good to remember that it takes time to heal, maybe longer than it took to get sick in the first place, steady progress being the goal. Also, Taurus days can feel cooler than normal so it doesn't hurt to have an extra layer of clothing handy.

Will have to find another time for reading with the new bedtime knitting ritual. Any yeas or nays on these books?

pinecones & honeybees

Wool, silk and cotton cloth went into the pine cone dye-bath yesterday. The photos pretty much speak for themselves, they're untouched/unedited except I sharpened the one with the checkered wool a little. I'm thrilled with the three circles on the silk (this was my first attempt at circular resists). The little circle is from a stitched-on penny and the larger ones are from a can and its lid.

It's snowing today, but yesterday was nice enough for the honeybees to come out. I don't suit up to tend to them in the winter, they're usually pretty mellow when they do come out. Yesterday, I had a couple get caught in my hair, and several landed on me. I thought oh, please don't sting me and they didn't! You see, not a single person has been stung in our yard since they were moved into the hive, and I didn't want my first sting just yet. I know it'll probably happen eventually though, misunderstandings are bound to occur in any close relationship.

Anyway, they were so active I decided to put an additional feeder out, a plate with maybe a quarter-inch of their regular sugar water. I soon discovered that even a quarter-inch deep can cause problems. Several bees looked like they were drowning -- kicking on their backs, trying to set themselves right, all the while getting coated even more with sugar syrup. Some made it out on their own, but some didn't. I was about to intervene but then saw, over and over, other bees rescuing them -- like lifeguards. They take care of their own.

Now I'm thinking about taking a class in goat-keeping. Home-keeping, bee-keeping . . . it seems logical, doesn't it?

Happy weekending! xo

wool stone rug



a need: the sewing room is slowly taking shape in what was once both my daughters' bedroom. It has light carpeting with a big make-up stain right smack in the middle that needed a rug to cover it.

a desire: I've been drawn to the earthiness of stones lately -- collecting and writing on them mostly, but have also been wanting to stitch some, inspired greatly by the magic diaries class.

Well, the need for a rug somehow melded with the desire to sew some stones. While going through some of my home-felted wools, I noticed their colors were very stonelike. Then I remembered the felted pebble rug here and searched for a tutorial but really didn't come up with what I was envisioning. There's this one using knitted balls but I already have the beekeeper quilt going and one long-term knitting project is enough for now. Plus I wanted to use the stone-colored wool cloth I already had.

The first three stones are stitched & gathered and lightly stuffed with wool. I'm thinking a lightweight base with corduroy as a heavier backing, but some details are undecided. Even though it's my favorite, I'm not sure wool is the best filler.

I'd love some tips. Has anyone made something like this?

new moonday activities

I started a pine cone dye bath this morning. It's brewing on a hot plate outside on the patio because I read that pine cones release an irritating steam. It's sort of fun to be cooking something outside even though it's pretty nippy. After I got the pine cones simmering, I made myself a new moon breakfast. Since the new moon will appear below Venus when we first see it in a few days, I made a toast crescent and a Venus egg. You have to use your imagination. Like this *). Then the crows came calling so they had both peanuts and an egg for their new moon breakfast. Today was one of those days where I woke up thinking about the new moon and it was a happy first thought of the new day.  

This new moonday in Aquarius isn't just the beginning of a new lunar phase, it's also the first day of the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese tradition. I've only read a little about it but it's looking like a good time -- high energy, all things possible, powerful, and lucky.

I always try to do a few things to sychronize myself with the new moon's energy of beginnings and possibilities. I usually write some wishes on paper, cloth, or stones. Or make intentions by placing objects in a round basket. Sometimes I stitch something lunar or read something moon-related. I always draw an oracle or tarot card for guidance during the following moonth. Today I have an urge to write some wishes on the undersides of stones when I take the dogs walking. I'd like to make wishes for enough rainfall this year for the plants and trees to thrive, for clean air, for people to tread lightly and clean up after themselves. This comes up because we're facing a possible drought situation in Colorado again. Will I scare people off if they see me writing on rocks? On second thought, maybe I'll just mentally project my wishes.

The moon in Aquarius is a time for work and play in community with others so we may find ourselves drawn away from solitary activities and carried to and fro from here to there and back. It is an airy, imaginative and energetic time as well, befitting the first day of the Year of the Dragon.

Aquarius influences the lower legs to the ankles so we should remember to put our feet up and take a well-deserved rest. Aquarius is a good time for nonstrenuous types of movement. Another thing to remember is standing still too long often aggravates varicose vein conditions in our legs but maybe even more so under an Aquarius moon.

Hoping you're feeling the energy of possibilities. xo

goose print anchor

Canada geese migrate to Colorado in the winter and hundreds spend their days in the park where I walk the dogs. I don't let the dogs off-leash when they're around because it doesn't seem like good karma to disturb them. One more reason to walk later in the day when they've flown off to their sleeping park, also nearby.

Geese footprints look like little anchors. Not to be too airy here, but I got to thinking. Anchor-shaped footprints from a creature of water. Goose-print-shaped anchors stabilize boats in water. But anchors aren't just related to water, lots of things can be anchors. A physical body anchors a spirit. Roots are anchors, Earth is, even a focus is. Which reminds me of the Anchorites. I'm thinking about all this as I stitch on a nine-patch for flying dreams -- is stitching, itself, an anchor? The geese prints seem to be clues of some sort.

I'm wondering what comes up for you around this idea of anchoring?

Happy weekending. xo

::on the kitchen table

:: The prayer flags are ready to be hung outside. Ready to align with the winds of change. Ready to release some hopes and wishes for us all.

:: Amaryllis in all her sensual glory. The stalk is 28" and the blooms are outright humbling -- all this from an egg that bears year after year. Only plant eggs can do that.

:: Piles of magazines. Every few years, I let go of a magazine collection. First to go was my Mothering collection, then Martha Stewart Living followed by The Herb Companion. Now it's the ME Home Companions. It's not a real clean letting go with these though -- I've just got to leaf through them one last time.

What's on your kitchen table?

chiming half moonday

A dark and light piece was woven this morning to the chiming of three angels. Even when the chime isn't lit, they make little tinkling sounds. The Sun XIX was my Solstice card for the coming year, appropriately, and the herb on this card is angelica. It's interesting that I planted angelica last year and it will bloom this summer. I normally don't really feel that much connection with angel energy but once in a while I bring angel objects together without even realizing it -- and I go whoa, the angels are here again.

Someday the weaving will be a moon, half dark and half light.

MLK. Today a courageous man is remembered and honored. Even though I was young and basically unaware of social issues when he illuminated the darkness, I feel lucky to have been alive at the same time, that in some way our lives intersected.

This moonday's waning half moon is under the sign of Scorpio. The waning moon phase is when to let go of things -- and not just stuff or projects but also inner baggage. Scorpio helps us to deepen and go inward to reflect on exactly what it is we want to carry along on this life journey. Just as the moon's gravitational pull lessens on the Earth now, we may more easily release that which we hold too tightly.

It's believed that a waning moon is the time to do things like mow the lawn and trim your hair and fingernails. I've been tracking my haircuts but learned there's also the season to consider because evidently hair grows faster in the spring and summer. So I really haven't figured anything out yet.

Scorpio's influence on the body pertains to the sexual parts and the urinary system. Conditions of those parts may be either more easily healed or aggravated. When you keep in mind that Scorpio is an intense water sign, this makes sense. A good few days to stay hydrated -- I've been forgetting to do that lately.

Good letting-go vibes to you. xo