Let Us Dance

March is the time of in between. That time that cannot make up its mind.

In early Roman days it was the first month of the year. 

January and February had no place as of yet,

 making it a ten month calendar year. 

The new year began on March 1st 

and in many cultures and religions

is still celebrated as such to this day.

Why was this the case for the long ago Roman civilization? 

Because the hardships of winter were finally over, 

meaning they could return to the battlefields of war.

Today, March is the month that blesses us, once again, 

with the glories of an all encompassing,

 long anticipated Spring.

In the great order of the universe,

it perpetually brings back the fresh renewal of life.

For me there's always a return to bunny knits 

like the organic cotton baby hats

that I enjoy creating for little ones over and over. 

I don't know what it is,

 but there's something about seeing bunny ears 

on top of a child or infant sized head

 that just captures my heart and puts a smile on my face.

The joy of the process is in the finishing details

 of choosing the color for each crocheted rose,

whether to use a creamy glass pearl in the center

or a sparkly iridescent Swarovski crystal 

 and what type of ribbon to tie around the ears.

This particular March is bringing me back around to something else.

Something that was deep inside me long before I ever touched that first 

strand of yarn or took up my first set of knitting needles or crochet hook.

It has been embedded into the fiber of my being from the very beginning

and has always coexisted with all else I've done in life,

whether I chose to ignore it or give it voice...

My abiding love for the written word.

Reading it, yes, but what I mean here is writing it.

So in February I made a decision to nurture this part of myself again.

Now that March has arrived, bearing its promise of rebirth,

I am finding myself settling into the tempo of taking

 online courses with a goal of honing my writing skills

and eventually having some works published

 in the forms of poetry and freelance writing.

I spend my days in a merry dance of knitting, reading and writing.

This is an easy fit for me, as these are my favorite things to do already.

But it's been a lot of years since I had to do the reading and writing

part as assignments that will be graded by an instructor or professor.

Also, over the last few years, 

the knitting has worked itself into a full time job.

Therefore, getting all of these things accomplished, 

as well as living a packed full life in general,

is like watching my graceful granddaughter
as she performs a beautiful ballet.

It all has to flow in rhythmic step together.

I am currently taking three classes and am learning

once again the importance and value of time management.

It's all a bit challenging but I find myself loving every single moment.

I feel like I am in the early Springtime of my personal journey.

There is a road of adventure and growth in every step.

Words chase each other around and around inside my head

all day and night until I grab hold of them and work them into 

the order they are begging for.

Knitting, reading, writing...

Knitting, reading, writing...

Repeat...

This is the dance I am doing these days.

The song of my here and now soul...

The dance of my once and future heart.

"Let us read,

and let us dance;

these two amusements will never 

do any harm to the world."

~ Voltaire

Winter Bliss

Now that another holiday season has been celebrated

 and the gift of a new year has been given,

holding its promise of secret surprises and wonders that lie before us,

 we still have the winter to settle into and savor. 

For many of us this is the time of year we find restful, 

reflective and sometimes quite productive inside our homes. 

Among the many other things I try to do, such as organize cabinets,

 tidy drawers and make note of projects that need doing in this beloved old house,

 I enjoy the hours spent inside this place I call home,

 with family bustling in and out, friends coming and going,

 and always another work in progress on my needles.

For Christmas I made a lot of chunky knitted items,

 which I really enjoyed.

As knitters, we all know they knit up quickly,

 bringing that instant sense of gratification we have to have sometimes, 

especially when time is of the essence.

However, my true love is for smaller stitches.

 Typically, I prefer patterns that require needles

 in the range of US size 1 to 5,

 with 7 or 8 being "Big" for me. 

Therefore, everything about these tiny Magical Fairy Mushrooms

 was completely enchanting.

 I loved watching as they came to life on my size 1{2.25 mm} needles,

 along with a very small cable needle.

Although I know how to knit cables without using a cable needle,

 having acquired a nice collection of them over the years,

 I actually enjoy using one.

However, for those of you who would like to try this technique

 but don't know how to,

 the best video I've found on YouTube for

 cabling without a cable needle is provided by Marly Bird.

I recommend you practice it on larger knitting needles until you get the hang of it.

The little pink tool in the picture with a hook on one end and a point 

on the other end is one of my favorite tools!

I use it to pick up dropped stitches or for picking up stitches 

when making socks or the thumbs of a mitten.

 This is the smallest of three different sizes.

You can find them at Hobby Lobby made by Susan Bates.

As for the whimsical mushrooms, 

if you are a knitter who wants to make some, 

use the link I've provided for the free pattern.

I would like to say how much I truly appreciate it when

a designer gives permission for the finished product of 

their pattern to be sold. It's an added bonus when the pattern is free.

If you would like to purchase some ready made you can find them

 for sale in sets of three on my shop...

Midsummer's Eve Trio

Woodland Sprite Trio

Pixie Party Trio

I really do love tiny knits. I enjoy the process from start to finish. 

Here are my top three reasons:

1) They are slow and mindful, forcing me to take more time,

which causes me to feel more restful and peaceful. 

Therefore they have a more meditative or reflective quality about them.

2) The stitches are tiny and compact,

 making them aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

Stockinette stitches line up nice and tight.

Garter stitch rows pop in perfect ridges.

Cables are firm and stand out boldly.

3) There's a dreamy aspect of long ago childhood days

that washes over me when I hold

 anything miniature in the palm of my hand.

Sundrenched, cartwheeling, bicycle riding days

 followed by fire fly chasing evenings.

 Or winter afternoons spent 

lying on a snow covered lawn 

making angels with my best friend.

January seems to be a good time for my tiny needle knitting.

I usually find myself taking personal stock once again,

as so many of us do, at the beginning of each new year.

I believe anything that causes us to slow down 

while we're snugged up inside so that we can have

moments of introspection is a really good thing.

While the earth is having her time of rest, 

we can enter into our time of reflective thinking.

A time of contemplating our life; our experiences; 

our relationships with God, people and all of humanity

and how we can draw on all of these things

 to improve ourselves in the year ahead.

Another one of my Winter Bliss pleasures is

 the reading of and listening to many books.

My current read is this wonderful book 

that my daughter Hilary gave me for Christmas.

I start every new year, as odd as it may sound,

 reading a Christmas book.

It's been a long-standing tradition for Hilary

 to gift me a new Christmas book every year.

She goes on a hunt with great relish and I wait

 in even greater anticipation to open it.

If you are on Goodreads and would like to connect

 with me you can find me here.

I would love to see what you're reading.

As always, a blissful part of my daily life

 is to keep critters outside and inside fed and happy.

I love feeding my squirrels and am rewarded by some who eat from my hand.

And I'm thick in the throws of the antics of full blown "puppyhood" …

While I was in the kitchen, believing Percy to be napping in the living room, 

he was actually having a toilet paper party in said room.

 Just having turned six months old on December 26th,

 we have now entered into the toddler phase of life, it appears.

Whatever it is that brings happiness to the moments of your life

in these long winter months that are a fresh new beginning,

I pray you find them to be restful, restorative,

 peaceful and productive on an inward level,

and most of all deeply blissful.

"Life isn't about finding yourself.

Life is about creating yourself."

George Bernard Shaw