Spirit Cord Page Savers

Today I finished up some new Spirit Cord page savers. I got most of them up at my ArtFire and my Zibbet shops, but still have a few more to get to listed. I also have more pendants ready, so I'll get to  spinning them into the cords in the coming days.

This evening The Boy and I will be making sushi together. We haven't done that in a while, so it will be nice. I think a fire and a little saki is also in order.

Peace.

A Feel Good Day

Today was one of those rare days where I managed to get more done than I had projected. I put more layers on those mini journals I'm working on, got some state tax work done and in the mail, managed mail, visited with my neighbor, got to the next-to-final-step of determining my seed order for this year. I rewarded myself with a visual meditation in one of my art journals.

It feels good. This day.

That's what I made today.

Peace.

First Coats

I finally have some new mini journals in the works. I made time to prime and get first coats of colors on several. Next up … the layering!

That's what I made today.

Peace.

A Colorful Metaphor

Today I finished a physical metaphor. You see, I feel a need to add color to my life. So I purchased cotton yarn in a riot of colors knowing that I would crochet an afghan.

Crochet is a form of meditation for me, especially this continuous granny square pattern. There's no counting, though I find myself repeating, "maiden, mother, crone" throughout the creation.

So now I have a new afghan, in a riot of crazy colors, to wrap myself in on these cold winter days as I continue my plans and efforts to add color to all aspects of my life.

That's what I made today.

Peace.

A Whimsy Winner!

Congratulations Sharkbytes, you won a whimsy!

I'd like to thank all of you that played and offered the 53 comments that created the pool of chances. I appreciate those comments and love seeing to what folks are drawn. Yet, it was Sharkbytes that snagged the "41 spot." 

Offer her a loving congratulations!

Now … I have some new blogs to visit and new creations to get making! 

Peace.

Repairs, Renewals & Plans

A couple weeks ago I accepted a challenge from my dear friend, Annie. She gave me a old granny square afghan that she suspects her grandmother made. One corner had been chewed and four squares needed to be made, reassembled to the afghan and the trim crocheted to match the existing trim. I made a few practice squares to get the gauge and size as close as I could to do the repair. I did one repair, took it apart, did another, and while it's not as nice as I would like, I hope it will be passable to her. I have a few more minor thread repairs I want to do now. But for the corner repair, I'm willing to take it apart again and give it another go. I just felt honored to be offered the chance to do my best to restore a simple family heirloom.

But this challenge inspired me to make a traditional granny square afghan for myself. I have many yarn ends of many colors and it really is a charming way to use them up. I also had a collection of solid squares that I had made a year or two ago. So I've been crocheting squares of loving chaotic colors and have now begun to join them.

I'm looking forward to continue the piecing and I already love seeing how it's coming together.

Not only that, but today I received a sizable order of cotton yarn in a riot colors to create an afghan in the continuous granny square pattern. I'm really looking forward to starting that project … though I feel a tug to finish this one first. But hey, I can work on this one in daylight, which is best for joining black to black … and work on the cotton one in the evening while relaxing on the couch with The Boy.

Sounds like a plan.

That's what I made today.

Peace.

PS   Don't forget to play Win a Whimsy ~ the winner will be drawn and announced this Friday morning!

Win a Happy 2012 Whimsy!

To honor the flip of the linear calendar, I'm having a "Win a Whimsy" give-away. While I've participated in various giveaways throughout this past year, it's been far too long - a year! - since I've had one here on my own blog! Shame on me.


My inventory is a little slim right now, but I'm offering you a chance to win an item of your choice from any of my shops ~ ArtFire or Zibbet ~ whatever strikes your whimsy! 


The drawing will take place on the morning of Friday, January 6 and the winner will be announced at that time.

So … to enter this giveaway …

• Have a public profile, otherwise leave your email address with your comments. If I can't contact you, you can't win.
• Post each of your entries in separate comments on this post. Otherwise, entries combined in a single post will only be counted as one.
• Any comments determined to be sp@m- or sp@mish will be deleted and not counted as an entry - so please don't leave links unless they're relevant to this giveaway.

How to enter? You have up to six ways to enter for up to six separate entries. Do one, or some, or all of the following, leaving a separate comment for each, each comment being a separate entry/chance to win a whimsy. Make sense?

• Leave a comment  ~ any comment at all ~ and you're entered!
• Visit any of my shops ~ ArtFire or Zibbet ~ and leave a comment about your what item you'd like to have, should you're entry be drawn. 
• Blog about this giveaway and leave the URL to your blog post as your comment.
• Tweet this giveaway and post the URL to your tweet as your comment. You can use the "retweet" button (below) if you like.
• Be or become a follower to this blog, leaving a comment to let me know.
• Be or become a walkinthewoods1 Twitter follower, likewise leaving a comment to let me know.

So there it is ... Best wishes!

Peace.

Reflections in Popcorn Stitches

I published my first blog post on December 29, 2004. It's funny to think that I've maintained a public blog for seven years, and even funnier (in a very grateful way) to consider that some folks have been following it for almost as long, from ByRegion to MySpace to Blogspot.

Popping back to that first post, I'm reminded that I started blogging primarily for me - as a discipline in both witnessing and in writing. My secondary emphasis rested in a vague hope that what I shared might inspire someone else in some nurturing way.

Words took center stage those first four years. When I moved here in 2008 imagery quickly took over. This pleased me, and pleases me still, since I prefer visual stimuli and respond favorably to it in most every conceivable way.

Yet, I love words, for they, too, are powerful tools of expression … creative expression … healing expression. And as I conveyed in that very first post, "… diversity is at the heart of the people's medicine. We have choices. We have the will to learn about them. We have the power to choose. And we have the right to change!"


So today, I changed up my morning routine. The Boy was home and while he practiced guitar I taught myself a new crochet stitch, a popcorn stitch. I'm not sure what I'll do with this stitch, or what I'll make with it … but it's a form of medicine for me, and it's another choice, so I learned about it, so I can choose and change when the time is ripe. 

And this little exercise demonstrated to me, yet again, my propensity for the visual, given the source from which I learned this stitch.


That's what I made today. Peace.


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