Frayed Ends

Some Harvesting- Roses

2011-05-19T11:57:00.000-06:00

Look at all the rose petals. A few days ago the rose bushes were burgeoning with beautiful flowers. So I did the 'Morticia' thing and picked them all off. Then I sat down and watched a History Channel special while I separated the petals from the rest of the flower. It came out to about a gallon and a half of fresh rose petals.

I took them up to the third floor, where it is warm and dry and spread them out on this drying cloth. I checked on them today, and they have dried, but they aren't done yet. They have reduced their volume by about 2/3rds. These smell lovely! They will be used to make teas and incenses. They will also be put into oils and perhaps a few mojo hands. There is now a second crop out on the rose bushes of about the same quantity. I think we may take these fresh and make rose water out of them. The rose water is a great astringent and toner for the skin, very good for that emerging acne of the hormone laden teenage years. I also use it as an offering during full moons, and as a component in the blend I make for water used to pour ghost roads. When adding a rose flavor or scent to a smoke, I prefer to use rose water as the moistening agent while rubbing the herbs into the mullein.

Magically speaking, these rose petals are of a delicate vibration, and make many things sweet. The dried petals would be ideal in a sugar jar for love and beauty in the home. They would also go well in the sugar jar with some cloves for eloquent speaking or 'honeyed words.' Rose petals are of course known for their use in love work. But the love here is very young, naive, and innocent. So, if you are looking for any other flavors of love, be sure to add to those roses. Another thing to note, is don't burn roses for love. The changing of the smell doesn't seem to carry through the love feelings or energies.

Rose petals are also great in an anointing oil for enhancing the psychic senses. I prefer to add lavender if I'm going up in vibration, and mugwort for going down in vibration. For communing with fey on midsummer's eve, adding in some flower petals from the mallow family also has a synergistic effect for me.

Nothing Like Time....

2011-05-16T15:17:00.001-06:00

...to make the heart grow fonder. Or something like that. I've been away for some time, at least a couple of years. To say things have changed would be an understatement. But in the way of all things, they are still pretty much the same.

I feel like dusting off the proverbial pen (and hopefully the camera) and seeing what I can make out of this place again. Not sure where I am going, or at what pace I shall travel.

Half of the library piled into the dining room to be sorted.

My gardens are growing and maturing bit by bit. I am still knitting and crocheting away. I have even added weaving to the list of crazy fiber pursuits. I've been spending a lot of time with my herbs in my apothecary, concocting new blends for incense, smokes, oils, and other sundry things. Been working on organizing the library too. It is a bit daunting, but it needs some love. I have a craft room, set up and ready for lots of fun. Just need to get up there and get to it.

Ramblings

2009-04-23T21:35:00.002-06:00

It's late, and my mind is swollen with words. Dancing and prancing in the way of what I want to see with my third eye. If it weren't for the frantic mating behaviours of the birds around here I would think winter would have given spring a miss and gone right into summer. But the birds have flipped out with spring fever.

Nest building is in full swing, and they are chasing one another. Males chasing off other males, and males chasing females. They are scouring everything for nest building material. There is a patch of pampas grass up the street away that rattles most of the day as birds troupe in and out, wrenching away pieces to take home with them. They have completely decimated all of the little seedlings I raised inside under lights since January. I planted them out, and they ripped them out. Even the poisonous ones!

But it is all part of the great cycle, and it brings me warmth and joy to see life continuing in all circumstances. I wake to their morning territorial challenges, laughing that they sound so sweet and enchanting to the human ear. And I watch their battles and chases, viewing them as playful and loving in my own disconnected way.

Now is the time of year when the plans for my life not only abound, but down right multiply exponentially. I have plans for all parts of the yard, and each room in the house, and many of them are massive. Life and activity ramps up this time of the wheel and I can feel myself carried on the currents. Just as at the downturn of fall into winter, I can feel the pace slow and I draw within myself. Now is a time of outreach, or affecting the world around me. Of finding life in every corner, and of rejoicing continually in the renewal of the universe.

All things in their time and season.

But even as this burgeoning life flows through my soul, I must keep pace with the other side of the cycle of life. That of death, and compost. I find myself at the end of a long relationship. My heart is heavy with the sorrow that will most likely ensue as it does not seem that the relationship will end naturally and peacefully. Unfortunately, that is some of the reason I can no longer invest in it. My friend does not walk the walk, but talks a big talk. I knew, but I went anyways. I have just been disrespected and hurt too many times at this point to continue to be able to invest myself in this. My friend is at a point in her life where she is not seeking change. I am at a point in mine where change is nearly the only constant. We are more than 30 years apart in age, and the generation gap also gets in the way. But, without respect I can not continue to play the game, for whatever ends I may reach. It is sad, but all things must end. I hope, with all my heart, that we can part amicably, for I have no wish to burn bridges or cause pain. I know that pointing out my grievances would do no good, and result in no growth. As I have tried in the past and only received a handful of hurt for my troubles. So I will try to let things slip and hope we can grow apart peacefully. Although, just as I knew going into it, that I would be hurt in the way that I am now, I know that my ideal will not play out. It just doesn't hold true to previous experience. There may be a 'witch war' as they say, but at the very least there will be vicious words directed my way, and ill thoughts hurled through the ether. I will survive.

The good news though, is that there are many new avenues opening up in respect to meeting other witches. The closing of this door is finally allowing others to open. I am definitely a witch that works best in groups. And I hope to find a group that I fit well with, and that I can fill a space for them. Mutually beneficial is important to me. And proper fit can't be found through a coven dating service. So I continue to Seek, as we all do. Hoping to find some friends that may be on the same crooked path, if not for long, at least for a while. At times we all must journey alone, but it is nice to find a friendly soul along the way.

Full Moon

2009-04-09T23:01:00.001-06:00

Lady of fullness, Lady of Light,
Bring me prophetic dreams tonight.
Let me know their meaning when I wake,
So that by them, right action I may take.

Semi Permanent Plant Labels

2009-03-04T12:19:00.005-06:00

I wanted some rather permanent plant labels for the near 300 bulbs I am putting in the front garden this year, so I looked around online and decided there was no way I was dropping nearly $0.60 to a $1.00 per label. I am crafty person, I can make just about anything. And I always have a ready supply of assorted supplies (my husband calls it junk) around to make things from.

I decided something looking like these: http://www.jamaligarden.com/pID_21171.asp would be the easiest to accomplish after several experiments. I also had a ready supply of aluminum, steel and assorted allows in my can recycling bins. While my first attempts are not as neat as the commercially available ones, I am sure my technique will improve by the time I get to the 72 I would like this season. Yesterday I managed six of them in about two hours, and perfected the pattern and plan. I may even make a cardboard template to standardize my sizes.

Here is a basic rundown of the plan:

Supplies: 1 wire hanger and 1 pop can per label.
Tools: wood board to bend against and protect work surface, kitchen knife (with a sturdy handle to use as a burnisher also, or something else to fill that role), wire cutters (dikes), and needle nose pliers (my leatherman filled this role), gloves if you don’t have tough fingers. :)

1. Cut the top and bottom off of the can with the kitchen knife.

2. Score the cylinder from the inside with the knife and bend back and forth for a clean edge.

3. Print side down, bend the long edge of the can over the edge of the board to create a straight sharp fold line.

4. Bend all the way flat with fingers.

5. Burnish down the fold with the butt of the knife.

6. Fold up this side again, it will fold easily on the edge of the exposed metal. This seals in the rough, sharp edges from your cutting the can with the knife.

7. Burnish down this fold also.

8. Repeat the folding and burnishing (3-7) on the other long edge.

9. Fold the short side, print side down against the board as was done for the long side.

10. Complete the fold and burnish down. Repeat on the other short edge. You only need to fold the short ends once, as they will be wrapped around the wire, enclosing the raw edge there.

11. Cut the wire hanger at the folds closest to the hook.

12. Straighten out the hanger as best you can.
13. Find the center of the wire and determine the width of your label. You will need at least 3/4 of an inch on each side of the can as it is now to fold in securely. You can measure this out if you want. I just eyeballed it and adjusted as needed.
14. Bend the wire into the upside down U shape, trying for right angles.

15. Lay the wire against the back of the label and tentatively fold up the sides, don’t press down hard here. It will take some adjustments to get it centered and straight.

16. About 1/4 of an inch in from the folds, use the dikes to cut the top and bottom folds to create tabs to tuck to the short sides under. 4 cuts total.
17. Tuck the short ends under the tabs created. Adjust and wiggle as needed.

18. Use the needle nose pliers to firmly crimp down the label at all for tabs and along the inside edge of the wire as best as possible.

If you want you can again bend the wire under and in to look more like the ones I linked to first. I also some that were angled in from the label down, or had the label bent back about 45 degrees from the upright stakes. The wire is easy enough to bend that you could do whichever you wanted out in the garden for what works best for the plants at the time.

First Morning Glory Blossom

2008-06-28T16:53:00.000-06:00

I discovered our first purple morning glory today. And our heavenly blues have come up from seed. I had given up on them.

Gardening

2008-06-27T16:59:00.000-06:00

Today I planted Basil, Dill, and some Cilantro/Coriander. Also found some baby zuchinni. We have lots of big tomatoes still green on the vine. And the sweet 100 cherry tomato plant is just covered.

More Garden Time

2008-06-24T23:47:00.000-06:00

I spent yesterday and today working in the garden. And I think only about an hour of the total ten was spend digging in the dirt. My main pursuit was trellising. I managed to build teepees out of various materials from our yard and garden. I built a rather large ponderous one about 8 to 9 feet tall I am guessing for the summer squash plant. This was made out of sheet rock corners Superman found in the garage. Then I built some smaller ones only about 7 foot high for the tomatoes out of some re-bar, old pipes, and branches I found in the yard. I created some cross pieces from carpet wool to hold the plants in. And I hope to get the squash in place tommorow. I also dug out the carrot patch again and put in another path. Lots and lots of wild morning glory up the fence there.

I did come across some bags of grass clippings today in running my errands, and brought a couple home for mulching. But just didn't get to them this evening. After 10 pm tonight, me and the boys went out and harvested two huge bundles of yarrow by moonlight. I didn't even make a dent in what was there. The bundles were too big to hang on the rafters in the kitchen, so at the moment they are in my entry way. I need to find somewhere else I can hang bunches to dry.

I have a lot more trellises to put in tommorow. As I would like to get the other tomato plants and the beans all done before they get too big. And then Thursday we are going to plant a sunflower house. It is a bit late, but I think we can still enjoy it.

Herb Spirals

2008-06-20T11:56:00.000-06:00

With my growing interest in gardening, recycling and permaculture I'm exploring ways to make my life easier and my soil better.

One thing I found today is an herb spiral. This looks like something I would find entertaining, and the benefits to the plants sound great! By creating many little micro climates in one place I will be able to grow a wide variety of herbs without running all over the yard.

I am not sure where to put it, but I am sure that will come to us as we work on planning things out.

Elsewise around here I am working on crocheting a hassock, all made with recycled stuffing and structure. The cover is from several scraps of acrylic yarn I have in my stash and I am working several tapestry crochet designs into it as I go. So far I have started and then ripped out six different tops. I gave up on the top for now, and decided to work on the sides. Since I seem to be coming up with all the ideas for what I want on the sides while I struggle with the top. I am on the bottom area right now, and this is the chart I am adapting for the tapestry crochet pattern:

I have nine repeats of it going around. So far I am using a gold colored yarn and one called 'Claret' it is sort of a dark Burgundy color. Looks very much like the Griffindor colors from Harry Potter. I am not sure where else I am going with it.

Inside I still have about 20 tomato plants in small pots. Two days ago (on Wednesday) I did manage to plant the 4 pumpkin vines over on the north side of the back yard near the grapevine trellis. I had to dig out a big chunk of bricks to get them in. Almost all of our pathways in our garden are filled with bricks, but I still have tons more. I did line the front beds of iris with them. The whole family spent an hour and a half Wednesday night putting in the beds and planting the iris bulbs. Our neighbors came by and chatted while we were working, and Superman took them back and showed off our veggie garden. I also planted some peppermint under where the hose drips on the north side of the house in the front, and some chocolate mint in the south bed with the roses. My mom gave me all the mints and the iris. Hopefully this coming Monday I will get some papyrus. A good friend of mine has a big plant, and we are going to cut it down and make some papyrus paper and she is going to give me a small chunk to start in my house. Right now I have a pot for it in the living room in our southern bay window, but I am not 100% sure that is where it will stay.

I have also started working on another book. Right now it contains all of the almanac info for my area (Southern Kansas) for 2009 and the first two months of 2010. I am going to see where it goes. I know many friends in other areas who want some of my books calculated for them, but it is a lot of work to calculate all of that out. So far I have included about 800 or so holidays and their history, along with how they are calculated, all of the retrograde charts for the first 19 planets, the moon phases and signs, moon void of course data, planetary hours of the day for sun and moon, and various notable astrological configurations, along with lots of astronomical data that is visible from out earth spot. I would like to work it into a daily planner format. But the problem becomes that there is six or seven pages of data for each day. Which seems a bit cumbersome. Even adding the days planetary hours onto a day chart breaks it over into a two page spread per day, if there is room to write in appointments.

I would like to add our local planting and harvesting data for our county. But getting it down that small seems like it would really limit its usefulness. I just have much more testing and puzzling to do on the whole matter.

Garden

2008-06-19T13:34:00.001-06:00

Today I planted some walking onions from my mother. They went into the bed where the yellow onions were. I had planted them from seed in the second week of the gardening.

Books and other things

2008-06-03T09:22:00.004-06:00

I just picked up Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell on the recommendation of one of my current teachers. So far it is great fun! I crocheted a new bookmark for it of course.

Another of my favorite Filigree Bookmarks. Mr. Norrell is a practising magician, which none of the other magicians in Yorkshire are. They only study about magic. Mr. Norrell has a vast library which is of course the envy of the Society of Magicians in York. But, he is very polite as he looks down his nose at them, and tricks them into giving up magic (what else would a magician do?) so he can acquire their books and they will quite hounding him.

Being a bibliophile and a pursuer of the occult myself, the descriptions of Mr. Norrell's library were great fun. Having moved into this new house, it is taking some time for the books to settle into their homes. I have the hardest time with single category classification. And, I am glad I did not take the books downstairs to my ritual room and potion storage areas, as since the April and May rains have come we have discovered that our basement leaks! Joy of Joys. It is the East wall and the mortar needs to be repaired we have discovered.

This morning, while tending to the gardens, I found our first blooming lily from the couple that lived here before us. It is a tiger lily and absolutely gorgeous. I need to trim the roses again, and will do that this evening when it has cooled off a bit. It is late morning, and already the not-mercury-any-more has climbed above 90 F.

In the mean time I am working on some crochet of course. And I have also picked up the knitting again. Been doing much better on this swatch and just need more practise. Someday I will be knitting lace shawls, and that is all there is to it.

To the right is the beginning of my new sun hat. So far I have an ivy lace pattern in the crown, but that is all. I had wanted to do some sort of relief of a charted grape leaf shortly after the lace area. But I tried it out with some fp and bp sc, and it just didn't work out. So, that has been taken out and I am trying something different. I don't know what that will be!

In the mean time I joined a CAL (crochet-a-long) for a mystery shawl. So far it has turned out to be great fun! I usually tend to crochet rather tightly, and this is a good challenge, using a very thin thread and a large hook.

Ramble On

2008-05-31T10:55:00.000-06:00

Well, it has been an eventless morning. We were supposed to go and sell herbs at the local farmer's market, but it was raining and hailing something terrible at 6:30am when we went to setup. We bailed. I just didn't think the dried herbs would hold up, and I had some fresh plantain, but I didn't want it to get damaged.

So me and my partner Dame K decided to retreat back to our waterbeds.

In garden news, the morning glories are taking off, and I had some huge pumpkin seedlings come up in the seed pots yesterday morning. Just dirt when I went to bed, and then two 5 inch seedlings the next morning. I am also absolutely inundated with tomatoes and watermelons! When I went to transplant the volunteer tomato plants, there were a lot more than I thought. I had originally estimated around 40 or so plants, it is a lot more like 90. And the little seedlings are getting huge. And all of the watermelon seeds sprouted! I thought I might get half, so I went ahead and planted all of them. Oh well, now I am also distributing watermelon sprouts along the with tomato seedlings.

Fact for the day: Calamine is another name for zinc carbonate.

Here we go!

2008-05-25T23:36:00.000-06:00

Well, after about 5 hours with both me and my hubby digging in the garden trying to remove a layer of gravel 18 inches deep, we give up. My parents were over for the holiday dinner tonight (side missive: Even after having been married and on my own for nearly 12 years now, it really feels like a milestone to have my parents over for dinner without a big to do or any major cleaning.), and we showed off our garden accomplishments with great pride. We talked about all of the problems and challenges we had overcome so far, and the many more we had to go.

My mother is really my first experience of the concept of fertility in my life. Not only did she bear me and my brother (obviously), but her garden over burgeons continually. She gardens like fish swim, as if she were born to it. When spending time in her gardens I can feel her love and attention oozing back out of the plants and the earth. As a child I fondly remember thinking of the new flowers in the garden as springing up beneath where she had set to sketch and weed the evening before. Her abundance in this respect has always inspired me and driven me to pursue a fertile abundance in my own life, and to nurture and rear new life and growth around me. And for many years I have always had a black thumb. And so I turned my efforts to the harvest part of the cycle, something I do excel at naturally. I am excellent once the plants are grown, and at wild crafting (ethically and sustainably of course), and in making the preparations and storing and preserving the harvest both in edibles, medicinals, and now magical plants and their parts. But never before could I grow anything myself. I killed any number of very hardy houseplants, including cacti and air ferns. And in the garden at our last house I managed no plants, and to kill off all of the honeysuckle, mints and poison ivy that was taking over when we moved in. So, to say the least, to share in the pride of my garden with my mother is quite a heart swelling moment. She even commented this evening that she never thought I would be working in the garden unless I was helping someone with a harvest.

Anyways, back to the garden of gravel. My mom suggested that we simply plant what we have in the ground and fold in some compost and just go from there. When she saw how much work it was going to be to try and take the gravel out she said it was just too much and we should just try to work with it. And you know, I had forgotten her wisdom of going with the flow and working with the land itself. I am so glad I can still hear her when I need it most.

A simple piece of pratical advice about my garden may not seem like much, but the joy of hearing the wisdom of my mother, from my mother is a very big thing to me, and something that really drives the joy wheels of my life.

Little Bastards

2008-05-24T13:29:00.000-06:00

Oh! I have just about had it up to here with these little bastards. In the front they are eating my mint, in the back my new little bean seedlings. And whenever I go outside they tell me off!

Superman wants a BB gun to shoot them with, and I am just about ready to break down for it.

One thing they are good for at least is eating all of the fallen maple tree seeds. These things have taken over! Everywhere I turn in my yard there are either drifts of helicopters or a little mini-forest of maple trees with two leaves.

I have been ripping them out of my garden and flower beds, pulling them out of gutters, ripping them out of my deck boards, and sweeping them off the driveway. Superman, was just up on the roof shoveling out a gutter full. We had a little line of seedlings all along. It was our own miniature wind-break growing right out of the house!

Putting in the Garden

2008-05-23T13:41:00.000-06:00

Well, I guess I must now officially add gardening to my long list of hobbies. We have been spending the last couple of weekends putting in a veggie garden, and lots of house plants. So for outside we have 9 tomato plants (1 is already giving us tiny tomatoes, and 4 of them I just planted this morning), 1 artichoke, 1 summer squash, 4 butter lettuce, and 6 asparagus plants. In the seed beds I have planted carrots, zucchini, leaf lettuce, onions, garlic, wax beans, radishes and cucumbers.

Out in my front beds I've got four rose bushes that were here when we bought the house, and have added some digitalis from seeds, some spider worts, spearmint, peppermint, lemon balm, and some pretty purple wild flowers I found by the river.

Inside I have starts for another 33 tomato plants, cantaloupes, watermelons, dill, basil,more mint, honeysuckle and pumpkins. And in planters we have some sage, rosemary, parsley, 2 airplane plants, several pothos, scented geranium and some petunias.

I spent about two hours this morning working on the next beds. The problem is we have encountered the section that was driveway in the backyard. And it is filled with gravel. I dug and dug, and picked, and scooped and dug some more in a little area about 4 by 3 feet. I had to dig down about 18 inches to get all the gravel. And now I am out of buckets! I need to make a sifting screen and find a wheel barrow or some other containers to catch the soil and store the gravel. I guess I can pile the gravel on a tarp, but I need a container up off the ground to sift through and get the gravel separated from the soil. I gotta go raid the garage and see what I can build.

At the moment it is the heat of the day, so we are all inside doing our afternoon interior chores. Me and the kidlets will go back out this evening since Superman has to work late and rebuild two file servers that crashed early this morning! Oz and MoTo have a friend over for the afternoon and they are a rolling batch of loud noise! But they are great fun. It is the first day out of school for them and they are all having a blast.

The kids spent the garden time digging up the pavers from a buried patio we found the in backyard and moving them into the garden to build the paths. And of course some rain forest jungle dancing (better known as playing in the sprinkler), stalking the jungle animals (chasing birds and squirrels in the back yard), and bush whacking through the dense forest in search of buried Mayan temples (swatting at the tall grass with sticks).

Still haven't managed to unpack the digital camera, so there will be pictures as soon as it turns up. I have managed to completely clear out and rearrange the front office in the last week, and I am now slowly unpacking and moving back in.

Finally Back

2008-04-03T13:45:00.000-06:00

Well, we did buy the house! It is gorgeous. But in the move I seem to have lost the digital camera, so unfortunately not many pictures this time around. Much has happened in my life though. The moving is still in process, as we have just in the last week decided what the last three rooms of the house will be functioning as. One of them will be my new sewing room! I am not very sure about where to put everything. I also need some serious shelving. At the last house my sewing room was in the garage, which had a section of cabinets that went floor to ceiling, and I used those for a lot of storage. This space is a bit smaller, and like most older houses, we have a dearth of closets. So I have to figure out where to put everything that used to be in those cabinets. I am also having to separate out things that all lived together before.

And it is hard to choose as the house is so much bigger now. Before I had a lot of cords with tassels. Some of these were from costuming, some from magic work and used for covens, some where from graduations, and some were from dance costumes. Well, now the ritual room is in the basement, and the dance studio is in the outside building (a converted garage), and the sewing room is on the second floor! And to top it off, I have a lot of other craft (no pun intended) pursuits besides sewing that all shared space before, but I am not sure it will all fit in the second floor room. So I was thinking about moving all of the yarn related craft supplies into the first floor office. But I am still wavering.

The ritual room is coming along nicely. I discovered several old tables in the garage when we moved in, and have used some of them downstairs. The house also came with six bookcases that we have yet to decide completely on. And whether to keep my Craft books on the built in book cases flanking our first floor fireplace is a question, or move them downstairs with the other Craft related things. It is going to take me a while to get used to this big old house.

I did finish the seraphina shawl in December. I have gotten several compliments on it. It was a great take along project because I didn't need to carry the pattern with me. I ended up using the entire ball of yarn for it. It ended in one nice thin black row at the bottom.

I also finished the snood I was crocheting. I haven't had a chance to wear it yet though. Wearing a snood in these modern times can earn a younger woman some strange stares. But I think I might be able to wear it to the Ren Faire in a couple of weeks.

New House, New Job, New Shawl

2007-11-16T11:49:00.000-06:00

Wow, where has the time gone?

So much has been happening lately. We are buying a house, and the negotiations have been crazy. But I think we are done!! We signed what they agreed to yesterday, so I am hoping it all goes through and we can get on to the closing at the end of November.

I also started a new job on Monday, and it has used up a whole lot of my time! And I am only part time this week. I start full time tommorow! Ack.

In the mean time I got my invite to Ravelry!!! I am so stoked. But I am a little disappointed that I won't have time to use it! I have met lots of neat people so far at my job, working as an order taker over the phone. It's not glamourous or like my dream career, but it pays, and that's what counts right now.

I can crochet on my breaks, so I have started the famous seraphina shawl. And I guess I am conforming, because not only am I stitching up a shawl that has been done by everyone, but I am using the Jo-Ann's Sensations Boucle to do it!! It looks gorgeous all worked up, but it is a bitch to work with. My hook sticks, it doesn't slide, it is near impossible to frog, and I can't go very fast with it. At least this whole shawl only involves dcs and chs.

I have much more to blog about, but I am running out of time! I won't be able to catch much tonight. Perhaps soon.

I do have a new pattern that I am putting the finishing touches on. Men's slippers. I think I will sell the pattern online once I finish the testing. There seems to be a dearth of men's patterns. All of the men in my family are raving about them, so I think they have passed the product testing phase!

More Crocheted Bookmarks and Current Projects

2007-11-09T09:02:00.000-06:00

This bookmark is my latest. I made it for a friend for her birthday, which I thought was Sunday (according to her daughter), but it turns out it was yesterday! Ack! Oh well, that is how life goes.

She crochets too, and recently gave me a beautiful little crocheted wire amulet bag with beads. I thought it was wonderful. Along with it she included some sage from Winfield, some sage from Coronado heights, and some water from New Jersey (complete with sand). I was delighted. I love to collect waters from all over the world. When friends go off to visit family or far away places I always send them with a plastic peanut butter jar and ask them to bring me back some water. Sometimes I get funny looks, but it all works out.

Anyways, back to the bookmark. I did it all freehand, and just made up the pattern as I went. I tried several different things for the long body of it after creating the woven pentacle. First I thought I would try to modify a wide belt pattern, just doing fewer repeats. But I couldn't figure out how to make it a belt from the instructions and not an isosceles triangle. I then tried some strange rendition of the hexagon stitch, but the edges were quite crooked. So in the end I went with the tried and true granny bookmark formula.

I attached it to three ch loops on the edge of the pentacle and went back and did the edging and went around the circle at the top when I got there.

I much prefer to stitch items like this in one continuous thread. It seems to make them stronger, but it probably also has to do with my hate of weaving in ends. Is there really any thread worker out there who enjoys that process?

I usually try to use the left over ends to do something to reinforce the piece, but of course that doesn't always work out.

The pentacle itself is technically my own pattern, but I have seen many of them around. Working out the changes in size is always difficult. I did this particular one with a US size 4 hook (2.00 mm). I started out by chaining 51, leaving about a 10 inch tail. *Then 3 sc into the second ch from the hook. Sc in the next 9 stitches.* Repeat from * to * 4 more times. Now weave the end away from the hook into the pentacle shape. It will be a bit wonky at first, but it will work out. The spaces where there are 3 sc are the corners and should help the piece to turn. Slip stitch the sc your hook is currently in to the first of the 3 sc on the other end. Now, use your hook to slip stitch the starting chain to the 50th chain with the tail left from starting the work. Pull this stitch through.

At this point you can thread the tail onto a blunt needle and use it to stitch down the points where the pentacle overlaps. I pined it to my foam board and worked it out so it would be even, then gave it a shot of starch and a bit of water. I pressed it quickly and then went back and stitched around the inside edge of the pentacle, being sure to catch both pieces of stitching to anchor them together. I went around one more time on the outside edges, and then wove in the remaining tail.

Now you can go back to your regular working loop. Slip stitch one more sc into the middle of the 3 sc. Sc in this stitch and chain 7. *Sc in the middle of the 3sc on the point of the pentacle and chain 7.* Repeat from * to * three more times, joining to the original sc with a slip stitch. Chain one and sc in the same stitch. *Sc 10 times in the chain 7 space, and sc in the top of the sc.* Repeat from * to * four more times and join to first sc with a slip stitch. This completes the pentacle. Fasten off, or go on to turn it into something nifty. Could be a square or circle for a larger motif piece, or the center of a doily, or a bookmark, or just a crocheted pentacle.

This is my current project. It will some day be a snood. But I am designing it all on the fly, so there has been a lot of riping out!

Next to it was last nights break from pattern making! It is a tiny little witch hat from the left over gold thread I used to make the bookmark above. No pattern or anything, just stitching to relieve tension.

There is a better close up of the snood below. It hasn't been blocked yet, so I tried to stretch it out so you could see the pattern. I used some granny stitches in the center section, and some pineapples. The large solid sections I am on right now have some front posting in them.

I am just starting on a fishnet pattern around the outside edge. I am not sure where I will go after that.

The yarn seems to be 100% cotton. It is actually yarn from my great grandmother. She crocheted a lot, and when she passed way her daughter (my grandma) gave me her crochet supplies. My grandmother knits mainly, and can crochet, but doesn't very often. She mainly uses it to bind off or start knitting in some circumstances.

This yarn was one of many that had a border or edging crocheted out of it and stopped and fastened on the ball. I am not sure what to do with all of these edgings as I really don't think I will ever use them. But as a piece of family and crochet history, I hate to unravel them.

I found this at Jo-ann's back in the clearance section the other day. We were killing time before we had to meet the inspector for the new house (!!!), and my darling spice let me drag them into Jo-ann's. The sign said it was two balls for $3, but it ended up ringing up as $.99 each. So I was delighted. It is a wool and nylon blend called cosetta purple. By Sensations yarn company. Jo-ann's is clearing out all of this company's yarn. It feels very soft and fluffy, and I have no idea what I will do with it. It is a 128 yds in the ball. I could knit a scarf out of it I suppose, since my knitting skills could use some shoring up. But I just haven't decided yet. I do think it is fluffy enough that I would like to keep it light and knit it. Perhaps a kooky hat!

New Little Witch Hat

2007-10-23T12:37:00.000-06:00

Just in time for our Samhain trick or treating, I finished my sweety's Witch Hat. It is made like the other witch hats I have done but on a smaller scale.

I started with 3 sc in a magic ring and increased by 3 each round. It is crocheted in a spiral to save me the frustration of joins. The band is just done with tapestry crochet, and the buckle is crocheted in with copper embroidery floss. I left very long tails on the copper and used them to sort of over stitch and weave back in the ends all at once.

I made the cone part and took it down around the back so it would cover her ears in one piece. I just turned once I got to the forehead area. Then I broke the yarn and stitched on the brim. It is roughly 3 sc, followed by 2 sc in the fourth stitch. I went around the posts of the stitches of a round just below the purple band. After that I went in a spiral in sc increasing by about 3 per round. I didn't really count this as I was just following the shape as I went.

I then added on the ties. I started at the lower front edge and chained until I had the length I wanted. I then did sc back up the chain and around the bottom of the hat. After 10 stitches I did a sc decrease until the last 10 stitches. This gathered in the back of the hat and made it curve under the back of her head. I then chained down until the length was the same as the other tie, and did sc back up it. I ended off and wove in the ends. It turned out beautifully and it keeps her nice and warm!

In Blows the Storm

2007-06-06T17:33:00.000-06:00

Well, a foul mood has struck, the storm clouds are rolling and tumbling in the sky and the greyness is creating a thin cataract cast over my eyes as I desperately try to cling to my last dribble of sanity.

What could it be that causes this tumultuous tempest to have descended upon my happy form? As with all large explosions, it is often a well timed series of small but not less unfortunate events. It began last night when I realized with quite some dismay that the shawl I have been knitting for my mother had a dropped stitch. I did not despair much at this, as I figured, surely, I could fix this. Then as I began to lay out the 36 hours of knitting work on a nice clean sheet on the floor so I could begin surgery, I realized it wasn't one stitch that was dropped, but about 30 that had slipped off one row at a time as I worked on the shawl this weekend in the tight confines of a truck cab with four other people on our road trip (fabulous trip btw, but that was then, this is now).

I spent a couple of hours trying various ways to un-ladder the work. I searched knitting sites in vain, and had a variety of crochet hooks and cable needles prepared for the delicate procedures. In the end, I discovered that I had two choices, pretend it was supposed to look like that, or rip back about 40 rows and start from there. It was then, the innocence of youth wandered into the room and blithely pointed out another error. Somehow, I had thought I was casting on about 30 ish inches for the edge. At this point, even laying at rest it measure more like 70. And so, with less than two weeks to go, I carefully measured my second gauge swatch that was now about 70 inches by about 3 yards, and spent the rest of the evening patiently rolling it into a ball.

And so, I hang this story with yet another thumbtack on my wall of experiences. These experiences I treasure, even though each is bitter tasting, because they teach me things. You can't become a mastermind without falling on your face a few times, okay a whole lot.

To add to the wonderful foundation of knitting sorrow, today I was faced with two children who, in no uncertain terms, have decided that chores are not worth allowance and electronics privileges. While this in and of itself does not upset me, it bugs me a bit to have to pick up the slack a few days before we go camping, while I am re-knitting in such a short time frame.

A little chocolate drizzle over this icing was that my dog not just unplugged, but totally ripped out the co-ax cable to the cable in my bedroom. So, for about two weeks, no knitting watching tv or movies in bed.

And for whipped cream we have a camping trip I need to pack for this weekend, and alas, I do not know what my dear husband wants me to pack! For sprinkles, the fridge fan busted today, the pool filter got stuck, then clogged with hair, and it still is not clean after four hours off and on of attention, the incense I purchased out of town this weekend got wet, two pieces of mail arrived postage due thanks to the rate hike between when they were mailed and now, and my oldest stepped on a bee this afternoon.

The rest of the irksome day's happenings aren't enough to register on my makes-me-twitch-o-meter. But they still add up.

Progress and Decisions

2007-05-23T10:37:00.000-06:00

Here is where I am currently at on my basket project. Things are coming along nicely. I am not sure where to go once I get this pattern finished though.

I am debating whether or not to continue with the twisted stitches method, working increases between the black diamonds, and decreases inside. The other option is to switch to charted diamonds and work them that way. I also have four more colors to add in. Most likely I will combine the charted with the current twisted somehow. Still haven't puzzled out the details.

I am also not feeling too fuzzy about the current shape, I think it needs to be more flat. I was working 12 increases per round for the flat bottom, and I dropped to six per round as I move up the sides. But I think I need more than six and less than twelve. Which is going to be tricky on a pattern based on six. I am also debating ripping back about three rows to start some big diamonds with their points lower in the design.

In other news, I am doing the beginning research for a new column. I am going to be writing about books, as I spoke about in a previous post. Any thoughts, hints, or tips are most welcome. If you have books to recommend, or suggestions for what you would like to see in a column about books in the pagan/occult world, please send them my way.

As with most of my other work, this column will be cross posted here for your reading enjoyment.

House Friends, Progress, and Ramblings

2007-05-14T08:41:00.000-06:00

This little guy is one of my house friends. I love spring when they all come out and start to move around the house in the light. This little guy is about the diameter of a dime, and this picture is of him on the ceiling. I have only seen about 15 out and about recently, but I imagine the population in the house is somewhere around 50-70.

They are of the genus phidippus, and are jumping spiders. I find them just cute as a button, and I like the fact that they eat other bugs and spiders! About every three years I buy a batch of eggs from our garden center and plant them in the couch to ensure a robust population in the house.

Since we have a lot of bugs here, living by the river, it does help. Although, I am definitely not winning the war.

Here is some updates on my progress with the crocheted basket. I have just finished the flat bottom and the very next round I am going to begin the gentle curve up to form the walls of the basket.

Things are going well so far, and I have only had to rip it back three or four times. I consider that pretty well considering that I am making it up as I go, and only have a very general plan in mind.

I worked on this on Sunday, Mother's Day here. My sweet husband and kids let me relax and watch movies while I crocheted. This biggest problem I encountered was how tangled my three yarns became as I continually switched colors. Anyone out there have any tips for this problem with tapestry crochet? Or perhaps I am picking up the yarns wrong when I switch? Having to stop every 15 minutes and untangle the yarn between the hook and the holders is a bit frustrating.

Mostly I watched 'An Ideal Husband' that I had recorded with the DVR a while back. I am not a huge Cate Blanchett fan, but she was quite charming in this. Although Julianne Moore was by far my favorite, but I tend to love the villains. It was a charming and very funny yarn. I wasn't terribly into the romantic side of things, but I love turn of the century stories and Old English. The rest of the time I caught up on episodes of The Riches. I am a huge Minnie Driver fan, and who doesn't adore Eddie Izzard? I am still a month or so behind on the episodes, but I will catch up eventually.

I am pleased to feel ahead on my writing for a change. While I have been focusing on this new aspect of my craft, the housework has fallen behind, but I am still pleased with myself. I will spend today catching up on the necessaries, as I listen to past episodes of Cast On. While knitting is not my primary fiber pursuit, I still enjoy the podcast immensely. Stop by and give Brenda a listen if you haven't already.

In the mean time, I am trying to keep track of column ideas and articles seeds. I think the next one will focus on books. Not only recommended reading lists and book reviews, but how to find out of print books, how to care for old and damaged books, and how to use bibliographies. I think this information would be of use to the greater occult community, both new and old. I may even delve into the depths of book creation and repair.

I also spent a portion of yesterday refreshing my memory of wood kilns, for pottery. For many years I have built and fired my pottery in wood kilns. Living near the river, I have access to natural clay deposits, and enjoy harvesting in the summer, when the organisms have had a chance to deposit a good layer. It then takes time to clean it, and form it. Then I have to build a kiln and chop the wood and fire it. But as a work of Craft and a transformative process it is a great teacher. A friend and I are exploring taking a group of young Warriors out to a local site for the same process. I think we will build a small tunnel kiln in the ground, and perhaps mix some low fire clay with the local clay we harvest. Time constraints will probably limit us to only 3 hours of firing time or so, since we will have to remain on site for the cooling also. Or perhaps, we may explore building the kiln here in someones backyard. More things to explore and ideas to pursue that call me away from folding laundry and doing dishes. But alas, the family deserves my care, and so I part for another day.

Crocheted Jacket and a New Idea

2007-05-11T09:56:00.000-06:00

Today I thought I would share with you my crocheted jacket. This is the first garment I crocheted. It is all granny squares as you can see. And it was an exceedingly simple construction.

I used Red Heart acrylic yarns, because it was what I had. I also have some bits of scraps from my yarn stash here and there. Each square is four rounds, with three different colors for the center, and a black round for the border.

I made four half grannies for the neckline. Each sleeve is 4 wide by 4 squares long. The back is 6 squares by 5 squares. Each front is 6 squares tall and 3 squares wide, With the second row being 5 tall, and the third being 4 tall, with the half grannies stepping it down. So that is a total of 92 squares!

The bottom edge has squares that have a really intense red in them. It was a scrap ball and I managed to just get these squares out of it for the bottom edge.

It is all attached with a single crochet in black. I have been secretly debating about extending the bottom so it would be around mid-calf length. Right now it hits around mid-thigh.

I have not put an edging on it, since I keep thinking I am going to extend it. But in the meantime I haven't been making granny squares either, so perhaps some day.

This is what I am currently working on now. The picture is my inspiration. I am making the basket. At first I thought about just using a coil method to weave the basket. But honestly, I haven't done that since middle school, and I thought I might do better just simple crocheting.

I am crocheting over a piece of wire as I go, so that it will be a bit heavier and stiffer. I want to use it for dancing, just like in the photo. Weight is really important. I may even go grab my lead curtain weight and crochet over that for the base too.

Right now it is on an H hook, but I am thinking I might start working with two strands in each crochet and go up to an I or a J. I am still experimenting to get the look I want.

I am also going to browse the raffia when I go do the shopping this afternoon. Perhaps that will give me more the look I want.

This second photo shows the other colors I have picked out to add in later. The background will be the light tan color I already have in there.

I am excited to make one, because these big baskets are very hard to find around here. And I am not to keen on mail ordering something I want to be able to balance on my head. I like to try it on before buying, and with them running anywhere from $50 to $200 each, I want to make sure I get what I want.

So I am hoping this little experiment turns out well. I will keep you updated on my progress.

Rainy Walks

2007-05-10T12:03:00.000-06:00

Part II

My mind flashed back to the present. Kia was ready to go home; she was wagging her tail and waiting patiently for me to realize we had stopped. I realized my legs were aching and I was ready to head home too. We had walked in a large circle, and only had about a mile back to the house. I sat down with Kia on the wet ground to relax a little bit longer in this cool morning before returning home. As I stretched out my legs, Kia licked my face, wanting attention. After rubbing her ears for a bit, I got up and we started home. We wandered through the near by park, enjoying the wet grass, the budding trees, and the freshness of everything just washed in the new rain. The rhythm of the walk, the smells and the cool air transported my mind right back to that night.

I was a bit nervous, but I felt like I shouldn’t show it. After all, I trusted these people, and they didn’t seem nervous at all. Every time I looked at one of them I could feel their happiness coming through their smiles. Selene and Karyn went over to the pile of backpacks again, and came towards me carrying a bundle of dark cloth. As she handed me the bundle, she explained that this was for me, it was a robe. I was a bit puzzled, and I guess it showed. Karyn jumped in with explanations as she hugged me. The five of them had made the robe over the last year, I was impressed. I hadn’t even known I would still hang out with them back then.

“It is for you to wear when you are with us, on ……. special nights.” She seemed to stumble over the word special. Selene suppressed a smile at this, and I thought it odd. But I was quickly ushered away to the other side of the oak tree to change. At first I was afraid someone would see me. But after I looked around a moment, I quickly realized we were all alone out here. Selene had said to take my time, and linger a bit. Karyn said to look at the moon. So I stripped off my clothes, and slipped the robe over my head. And I looked up at the moon. After a moments thought, I took off my boots and wet socks too.

The moon was very bright; it looked bigger than it was in the sky. I could see a lot of stars out too. As I looked up at the moon, I almost felt like it was looking back at me. I shook my head to clear away the thought and started back around the tree towards the group.

Everyone had donned similar robes, and they had pulled up their hoods, so I couldn’t see their faces. Brian was standing at the little doorway we had left in our trench looking at me. As I went to join the group around the fire, he held a hand up to my chest and stopped me. Darius was down on the ground lighting the bundle of tinder. And the others were gathered around him, holding out their arms so their robes would block the wind. Just as they began chanting together, the wind changed directions, and I couldn’t make out the words. But soon there was a blaze of light from inside the little circle of robes, and they stepped back as the fire caught.

They all came to join Brian and I, and Darius and Selene began to ask me many questions. I found the answers coming easily, even though I had never heard the questions before. They were odd riddles, but I puzzled them out quickly, thinking back to the many stories my friends had told me over the time we had been together. And then, Brian came and placed his hands on my shoulders and pushed back his hood. He was very solemn and very serious.

“In order to join us as a sister, you must take the same oath as we have. You must take this oath of your own accord, understanding it fully. If you wish to take this oath, we will call forth the witnesses.”

I responded that I was ready, because at that moment, there was no doubt in my heart, that this is where I needed to be, and these were the people I needed to be here with. I was invited to sit by the fire as they prepared. They bustled around me, first pouring out the contents of the cauldron into the trench, and then taking the cauldron over to the stang. I watched the warm vapors rise as the cool earth was filled with the liquid. They began walking around both inside and outside the trench, knocking on the earth and calling out. Sometimes I understood what they said, sometimes I didn’t. But it wasn’t long before I felt many people arrive. I couldn’t see them, except just at the edge of my vision, but I knew they were there. Brian came and took up my hand, as he helped me to my feet.

“Only a few more.….”

I snapped back to the present, as I realized we had just walked past the house. Kia was pulling the leash back the other way. Feeling a bit sheepish for spacing off, I turned with her and went back to the house. The evening still hung on my mind as I put the leash away and fixed Kia’s breakfast. I fixed a glass of ice water and sat down on the couch to continue my musings.

As I began to think through the rest of the amazing evening, I unconsciously recited the words of my oath out loud to the room. And like a thunder clap, there it was, as plan as day! The thing I was searching for, that empty spot that had been heavy on my heart for the last season. It had been several years since I had had to part ways with my group of friends and I missed them terribly. Selene had passed away only a year ago, and the thoughts of her funeral tempered the joy of my discovery with bitter sweet reality.

I knew what I had to do. It was so plain now, just like all of those riddles that night. I went back into the bedroom, and took the lantern off of my bedside table, given to me by Karyn to light my way. She had said, when the time was right, I would know how to use it. This lantern would serve well as a beacon to anyone who needed to find me. I opened the little drawer in my desk in the living room, and pulled out the little tinder box with the flints that Darius had given me. ‘Sometimes we need warmth, and sometimes we need a signal fire’ he had said.

As I worked carefully over the small bundle of tinder with the flint, saying the proper words, Kia came to sit and watch me. The tinder took a spark and I cradled it and nursed it to a flame. I touched the flame to the wick in the lantern and turned it down so that the flame was bright yet controlled. As I walked the lantern out to the hook in the back yard, I spoke to the little delicate flame inside.

“The old magic needs to live here again. It is time for the fire to spread, and for me to pass on what I was taught. Light the way for me to find the next in our line. Be a beacon to them that they may find me on their walks. Let those who are called awaken to the knowledge that a warm hearth fire has been lit for them, and that the door is open for them to come home now.”

With that, I went back inside, and gathered up my jacket. I had a feeling that I just might bump into someone interesting at the local coffee shop today.

Crocheted Snoods

2007-05-10T10:25:00.000-06:00

So, we have already established that I like to crochet. And, I think briefly we touched on my strange and twisted love of history. And hence another fusion of passions: snoods.

I am a practical kind of lady, and tend to look to the past for what other practical ladies did. Snoods fit the bill for me and my hip length hair.

These two snoods are both my own inventions for the patten. Modeled by looks on some I found from the Civil War era. I did try to find and then follow some patterns, but they always came out way too small. I have A LOT of hair, and I finally gave up and just kept trying it on as I went.

The tan colored one is actually some sort of chenille yarn from an exchange long ago. It turned out to be fairly stretchy after it was all crocheted up. But oh my! It was such a pain to frog it! In fact after trying to frog it twice, I gave up and just cut the yarn and started again.

The brighter yellow in the edge is a grosgrain ribbon that has a piece of elastic about an inch long holding the ends together. The elastic stays enclosed in the ribbon the whole time to allow it to slide inside the yarn. I wore it without the elastic for about a year, but by then it had stretched out a little too big, and it wasn't staying on my head even with the hair pins.

The pattern is made of chains and treble crochets. I increased the number of chains between the tr on each round, joining the rounds. I then switched to a triangle pattern for the band done with double crochets.

The purple one is made from some gorgeous silk yarn that was a Yule present from a crocheting friend of mine. There is a piece of round elastic concealed in the last row of single crochets on the outside edge.

I like the way it turned into a sort of web pattern. And even though the holes get to be rather large before I gathered it back in for the edging band, it still holds my hair very well. The pattern is simply chains with single crochet attachments, worked in a spiral. I then switched to some sort of hexagonal/square pattern for the band, not really sure what it is, but it ended up looking nice!

Some snood trivia: Did you know snoods are more like hair nets than hair bags? You are meant to style your hair neatly and securely, then place the snood over the top to hold the style down during activity and wind. There are also two types of snoods, full head snoods, and low snoods, that hold the hair in a hanging bun at the nape of the neck. The low snoods are often connected to either a headband or a large barrette. Snoods are also usually made of yarns/threads with a lot of grip, so they hang on to the hair.

Crocheted Bookmarks

2007-05-09T09:47:00.000-06:00

Today I thought I would share another one of my passions. Besides loving hats, I am a certified bibliophile (and a sesquipedalianist logodaedaly to boot).

So to keep track of all of my reading pursuits, I have been crocheting bookmarks.

I like for each book to have its own special bookmark. There is something charming about knowing that this book means enough to have its own work of art crafted for it.

The top green one with the ribbons I worked up a little while back from a pattern I found online. It is cute, and I think I may work some more with some changes. It currently lives in a copy of the Zohar.

The bottom one I also found the pattern online. It was rather difficult at first to see how it was going to work out, but it turned out great, and is one of my favorites. It is currently residing in Mules and Men, by Zora Neale Hurston.

The pink one is a filet design that I made up as I went. I originally was going to make this pattern, but then when I got to the first filled square, I realized that it was design for a 4dc mesh with half squares, and I had only done a 3 dc mesh. So I just made up a goddess type pattern as I went.

I am not a fan of pink, but I had some left in my stash from my great grandmother. So I used up the last of one ball of pink, and then when I ran out, I grabbed another ball of a variegated pink and white to make the tassel and connecting chain out of. And I used up yet another little scrap of pink thread to tie the tassel with and create the neck. This pretty little number is living in "Over Sea, Under Stone," the first in the Dark Is Rising series by Susan Cooper. If you like the Harry Potter books, you should definitely check these out. I am re-reading them again, and I just love them.

The top two crocheted bookmarks here are the same pattern. Usually called a V shell, or just a shell pattern. My great grandma taught me this, and I have several variations of them around. One lives in The Herbalist by Joseph E. Meyer. If you are interested in herbs, or old remedies, this is a book you simply must own. It is an invaluable reference. The other is spending some time in a collection of Sherlock Holmes stories: The Annotated Sherlock Holmes. The link is to a newer version than what I have.

The next one down in green with the six petaled flower is just something I made up one night. It is currently residing in "The Mystical Qabalah" by Dion Fortune. Another one of those books you must read if you are interested in Western Occultism. I am reading it again for the more than I can remembereth time.

The bottom white one was inspired by this pattern for a book thong. Of course I didn't really follow the pattern. This one is living in Cleopatra - a Biography by Michael Grant. This book is a bit ehh. It is definitely history, and can be dry at times. I find myself putting it down often, even though I like the dates and names type of history reading. But a friend loaned it to me, saying that is was supposed to be the most complete look at her entire life, not just the parts she was famous for.

I still have lots of crochet thread left in my stash from my great grandmother. So I am off to make more bookmarks. If you have an odd or unusual pattern link, send it my way.

I found several of the patterns I used here.

Some crocheted hats

2007-05-08T11:28:00.000-06:00

I have always loved witch hats. I love the way they look, the mystique they carry, and all of the meaning behind them.

I also love to crochet. So I combined the two and made some hats. I went looking for a pattern on the Internet to just get me started, as I had never made a pointy hat before. I thought with a pattern it might help with my math a bit. I found one pattern, which surprised me. I figured there would be more than that. But, there was only one. It was done in double crochet, with 3 increases per row. The pattern called for joining each row with a slip stitch and beginning a new row with a chain 3. Not my favorite, as I am not a fan of the seam look in crochet, but I followed it faithfully anyways, since I didn't really know what I was doing. The result was this black hat. I put wire in the brim, as it seemed a bit soft. The wire really stretched it out at the crown more than I liked, so I went back and wove in a chain with some spirals on the ends to act as a draw string.

This black and green version was my next attempt. This was all done in single crochet, using the tapestry crochet technique. I carried all three yarns through out, and it made a very sturdy hat. I had no pattern, and I made up the design as I went.

I did this starting with 3 single crochet in a magic ring, and increased randomly by three each round. I did not join rounds, but instead worked in a spiral.

After the fourth round with twelve stitches, I used some bright orange scrap yarn to mark off thirds of the hat. I carried these little bits of yarn all the way to the brim, just weaving them through as I went. Then I only had to make one increase in between each marker. It made it much easier, and I didn't have to count.
When I got the cone wide enough to fit over my head, I increased for the brim. I did one single crochet in the stitch, then two single crochet in the next stitch around the first round. This did not work out quite perfect, so I skipped about a sixth of those extra single crochets, rather randomly. I kept working in my color pattern with the tapestry crochet.

I then worked the brim with only one increase in each round until I felt it was big enough. I used some wire from the hardware store to put in the brim. After fastening off the dark green and black and weaving them clear back to the top, I single crocheted without an increase over the wire. When I got back around to the start, I slip stitched into about 8 stitches to securely cover the point where I had the wire ends overlapping. I used a bit of duct tape on the wire, as twisting it would have been too bulky. Then I wove the light green back up to the top, and knotted each yarn to its start tail and wove those ends in too. I like to do this with hats, as it ensures the ends don't come loose. Since this was done with cheap Red Heart acrylic yarn, it keeps the rain off very well.

This is my third attempt. I used the same formula as for the green hat, except I placed the three increases all in a line. This results in three points on the bottom edge. This is a home spun yarn with a thick blue plied with white, and then a thinner tan plied with some brownish. I have no idea what the content is or anything, as it was yarn I received in a trade long, long ago. When I got the cone big enough to fit my head, I realized I didn't have enough yarn left to make the brim, so I opted for ear flaps instead.

I stitched each flap starting at one of the points and towards what I was now calling the front, that has the center point. They are 13 stitches wide, decreasing on each side and turning every row. I stopped at 3 stitches on the last row. Then I went around the ear flap and across the back to the other flap, and repeated it. I went around the ear flap and across the back again to the first ear flap and made the ties. The ties are just a chain, with a double crochet spiral on the end, I then single crocheted back up the chain and went around the front of the hat in single crochet to put on the other tie. When I was finished I wove the end in back to the top and tied it to the starting tail, and wove those ends in.

The hat turned out to be a bit longer in the back with those extra rows, and it fits down warmly over the nape of my neck. The front center point dips down right between my eyebrows and looks very cute. Since the yarn is so knobby, the hat holds tightly together and can be bent and shaped and it will stay.

Rainy Walks

2007-05-07T16:27:00.000-06:00

I awoke again to a dreary, rainy morning. It was Saturday, and at least I had the day off work. The nagging thoughts were there again, that I needed to be doing something more with my life. Here I was, in my thirties, working a good job, and just kind of coasting through life. I had no drive, no passion anymore. I knew there was something out there; just begging me to come and find it, but it still eluded me. What was it I was searching for? What was that calling inside of me?

I brushed off the thoughts and got out of bed. After my shower I took the dog for her morning walk. This was the best part of my day. Off we went through the city, wherever our feet took us. The cool wind on my face, the steady rhythm of our walk, the smells of budding spring all around and the joy of finding something delightful just around the corner. Perhaps we would find a bird’s nest, or a new tree we hadn’t seen before, or some flowers, just waiting for us to come along and enjoy their delightful scent. Kia led me on as we trotted from block to block, and I let my mind drift. I thought of the group I had encountered back in college. They had said they were magicians, and they performed some rather odd rituals. But the more I got to know them, the more I realized the rituals weren’t odd, just unfamiliar to me. I had spent several years hanging out with them, and occasionally catching glimpses into the other world they seemed to live in. After a while, I realized I was learning from them, and soon yearning to join them there. I caught the smell of the wet grass under my feet, and I remembered the night they asked me to join them for the first time. It was the full moon, and I remember the walk to the field.

It was spring, like it is now. The wind was cool that evening, and the air was wet with the rains of April still in the air. We were walking quietly in a line, following Darius at the front. He was leading things tonight, and he had picked out a location for us. We were out in the Flint Hills of Kansas. We had all driven out there together that afternoon. The drive had seemed like any other road trip, lots of fun songs in the van, junk food and jokes. But after our picnic dinner, things began to take on a solemn tone. We went back to the van and drove off onto a back dirt road filled with holes. After stopping at what seemed to me a random point we gathered our back packs and set off in this line for our ritual site. I hadn’t packed any of the bags, but the one on my back sounded like it might contain some metal wrapped in cloth. It wasn’t heavy, and I was curious as to what it was we were carrying.

I looked up ahead again, brining my thoughts back to the present. Darius had stopped and was surveying the land and sky. He seemed to be looking for something. It struck me briefly that we might be lost, a bunch of college students out in the middle of nowhere as the sun set. But soon he set off to the East with a definite purpose, and my mind was reassured. Selene fell into step beside me. She was Darius’s partner in the group. They both had lovers outside of this little circle of friends, but together they lead the group. She looked at me in her way, which was to look deep inside my eyes and ask questions that she found the answers to. I never quiet knew what her questions were, but she seemed satisfied. She gave me a reassuring smile, which quickly burst into a grin of joy. I returned her big, white smile, feeling warm inside, despite my wet socks. And I had the feeling we had just had a conversation, but I didn’t know the words. She picked up her pace a bit, quickly closing the distance between her and Darius. They put their heads together and talked in low tones.

I looked around at the others I was walking with. I felt good about each one of them. After all, these were my close friends. We had been hanging out together for nearly four years now, and we had become a tight knit group. There were three others besides Darius and Selene; Karyn and Bacchus, who were a unit unto themselves. And then there was Brian. It was the obvious arrangement that he and I were working together tonight, since all of the things we had done seemed to happen in pairs so far. He was older than the rest of us, in his late fifties. Doing post-graduate work in philosophy, I had met him first in the library. There was an instant attraction, not of the sexual kind, but something there piqued my interest. Since then we had become close friends, even though he was still mysterious to me. We studied together, and hung out on the weekends. He had introduced me slowly to the others, and carefully they had introduced me to their world.

I turned around and stumbled backwards a bit, to get a look at Brian. As I turned around, he was already smiling at me, as if he knew I was thinking of him. I had gotten used to that look, and shrugged it off. I winked at him and as I turned back around I stumbled right into Karyn. We had stopped, and she was staring up at the huge oak we were near. It was an amazing sight. It looked ancient. We were down in a little sort of valley, sheltered on all sides by hills. It was rocky here and there was moss on everything. The moss on the tree was caught by the last rays of sun and seemed to glow. I heard the rustling of the backpacks as they were set down and looked over to see Darius and Selene unpacking in what looked like a big dirt circle not far off. I walked over and set down my backpack with the others. No one talked, but everyone still communicated. I stepped back out of the way and let them go to work unpacking, waiting to help if I could. I knew from having been to less formal events like this to just step back until I was asked to do something, and besides, I was learning a lot by watching all that was going on.

Out of Bacchus’s pack came a small cauldron. I had marveled at it before. It was a dark black, iron I guessed. There were relief vines and figures all around it. He set it near the center of the circle, as Brian returned with an armload of rocks. They began to build a small fire pit. Karyn came over with what looked like a little bundle of poles. She deftly extended and assembled them into a tripod. She set this over the fire pit they had built, and unwrapped a cord from the center. On a little hook attached to the cord she hung the cauldron. Soon Darius came back to the circle with a grin on his face that could only be described as triumphant hunter. He was carrying a piece of fallen wood. It was forked in the middle into three branches, with a longer piece coming off the bottom. He was breaking off smaller twigs as he was walking. Brian and Bacchus, armed with camp shovels, quickly met him as walked to a spot outside of the circle with the branch. There was some discussion and counting and pointing, and I assumed they were trying to figure out where to put this new acquisition. I looked back to Karyn and Selene. They were laying out bowls, knives, and food on the ground near the fire pit. I saw that it must have been the bowls I was carrying; each was wrapped in a cloth that was tucked back in the bags. They began to pour the contents of several jars into the cauldron, and I started to move closer to see what it was they were doing. But I was stopped short by Brian. He handed me a camp shovel, and told me we were going to dig a little trench.

Knowing Brian, I was a bit skeptical of the word little. But it didn’t turn out to be that bad. We dug a small trench around the outside edge of the circle about three inches wide and four inches deep. We left a wide gap in the circle toward the branch that was now sticking upright out of the ground, with the three prongs at the top between our dirt circle and the large oak tree. As we finished with our digging, I looked up to see that all seemed to be ready. There was wood collected and laid next to the fire pit. A bottle of what I guessed to be wine was sitting next to a simple wooden goblet, along with the bowls and knives nearby. There was bread on a plate, and a little piece of cloth with a flint and tinder box, a bundle of what I knew was dry tinder, and the odd little bottle that Darius called old fashioned lighter fluid. There were two big ladles, and a tin lantern with some long matches beside it. Brian and I returned our camp shovels to their little bags and took them over to the pile of backpacks out on the edge of the circle. I could feel the anticipation thick in the air, and I could feel the butterflies in my stomach. This was really it, I thought to myself. I was going to be initiated.

Being an Encyclopedic Friend

2007-05-04T15:43:00.000-06:00

Do you have one of those people in your circle of friends who seems to know all the odd trivia? They have an answer for everything, and odd little bits to insert into any conversation.

I am one of those people. I get random phone calls, emails, and instant messages asking various questions all day. It has always intrigued me where these questions come from, and why the person is asking. Now, I do not claim to be the omniscient being of fancy. On occasion I don't know the answer, so I go look it up. Then I know for the future.

Some of the questions I have answered today:
What is tira misu?
How many miles in a league?
What is entropy?
What is the difference between a cigar and a cigarillo?
How does henna work?
Why does the dog's hair have water roll off of it?
and What does skullcap do?

Bindings, Tyings, and other Controls

2007-04-24T09:33:00.000-06:00

As workers of magic and users of the occult, we are equipped with the awesome power to control others. It is plainly obvious that with these more potent powers come more potent consequences and reactions. And, hence, these are touchy subjects. They produce results, and are acting on others directly, and ethics are at the core of most of these subjects. Exactly how to accomplish these feats is often not shared, because it is thought to be dangerous to place automatic weapons in the hands of babes.

So, what exactly is the ethical question here? Is it interfering with another's free will? Do people even have free will? Is it making people unequal, by having power over them? Are people even equal to begin with? Is it flying in the face of some greater power, a God perhaps? Or are the Gods even concerned with such nigglings of humans? All of these questions need answered, in full, before one can proceed with such work. And it is not something that someone else can answer for you. It has to be answered from your own heart.

Different cultures and their respective teachings will definitely influence your opinions on the matter. For myself, I have been debating these questions lately. The target of the binding happens to be someone who I think of as being on semi-equal footing with myself. And they have been there longer than I, for I remember seeing them as a great teacher to learn from. And no, I am not suffering from fallen-pedestal syndrome. I am aware that our teachers have their faults, just as all humans do. I have simply grown from where I was many moons back. I am not really convinced of the doctrine of free will. It seems a bit, well, holey to say the least. I believe that individuals who can achieve a level of awareness and self-power can weave their own fate, and back aware far enough from the tapestry of life to see where their thread may lead. Hence, they can make some necessary changes to the larger design in order to lead their thread onto a new path. But there are some things that can not be changed in this way. The overall pattern must still remain. The pattern must flow seamlessly from one 'time' to another. And there are other things to consider in this larger awareness, and hence larger responsibility. For our awareness governs our responsibility directly.

But, back to the semi-original thought. The target for this current binding is simply not doing as he says. He asks others to keep silent, while he continues to talk on. This disturbs me because it has directly impacted me negatively, and caused me pain, and those of my family unrest. And so after a couple of attempts to reason with this fellow, I find myself turning to my bag of tricks quite literally. I do not seek harm with this binding, nor do I seek to really restrict the person against their will. I simply wish to bind them to their own words. So, is this an ethical pursuit? Does this cause harm, even though that is not my goal? With my greater awareness of the situation, and the tapestry, am I performing a responsible action?

All of these questions are still keeping me up at nights, as I await the correct alignments in the heavens. 'Time' is running short, but I know I must enter into the contract with a dedication and resolutness or the work will fail. And, so this currently hangs heavy on my mind as the day approaches.

Zoos and Goats

2007-04-19T07:29:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was pretty much a wash as far as getting much done in my crafting or Crafting. I did however enjoy the day taking my oldest son Oz to the zoo with his class. We had quite a day there. We had a very big scavenger hunt to complete, along with a lot of questions about the animals we saw.

But the kids had a good time. I made sure to bring quarters for the petting zoo, since the kids weren't allowed to bring any money. I enjoyed petting the animals just as much as the kids did! The Australian exhibit was open again. It has been closed for remodeling for some time now. We saw the anteaters, which all of the children thought were very, very strange.

We saw this guy, an Andean Bear. He was surprisingly playful and active. While we were watching he sat down on his haunches and picked up on of the balls he had in his cage.

Before lunch, we had a chance to stop and feed the goldfish. They were quite frenzied. This photo was maybe a sixth of them that were swarmed around where we were tossing the food.

After lunch we went to the petting zoos. This peacock decided to chase me around with his tail spread. It was a bit frightening, but I did feel quite flattered, that I was worth his display. The other male peacock near by was going after a female peacock with his tail. Ah, spring is definitely in the air here.

Speaking of spring, here are some photos from a trip to the zoo with just family in late March. I was of course entranced by the goats, and the baby goats, and sheep that were just heart-melting cute.

These little babies were curious about us, but wore out easily. They would run around for about 2 minutes, then lay down and let the kids pet them for about 15.

I just love these little cuties. Something about combining sheep or goats and babies just puts me over the edge.

And then, I managed to come upon the vampire bats while they were eating. These little guys are so neat. I love how they walk on their hands, and the wings curve around them as they do it. I am fascinated by bats.

Which brings to me to something related to occultism, the subject of animals and anthropomorphic forms, especially that of the goat. Thinking of the bats, it reminds me of the Winged Serpent, and why that is such an important function in Mesoamerica. While extremely fascinating, and educational, that is not the culture that pulls in my blood. The Northern European cultures that revered goats are what calls to me. Goats are something special, they eat most everything, they are single minded, and they have a distinctive personality. They are also very useful animals for harvesting and services when domesticated. They provide milk, meat, fur, recycling, and protection to a certain degree.

The worship of the Goat footed God extends across many lands, and the power of tragomorphic ritual is well known to many writers of the older grammayers.

Leaping Deer! Oh My!

2007-04-17T10:13:00.000-06:00

I am nearly finished pinning my deer down to the background fabric. This filet project was my first attempt at filet crochet. Nothing like diving into the deep end. The photo to the right is just after I finished, before blocking. I laid it out on the green linen I had obtained to admire my year's worth of work. Yes, an entire year.

I created this as a devotional item, praying and chanting over each and every stitch. I worked on it during liminal periods, as it was my goal to convert that time in my life into something I could recognize as useful, and as a gift to my gods. And so, I chose this design, and only worked on it at those in between times. This meant carrying it everywhere with me, all the time. But I found that it felt good to have it in the bag by my side. I became very familiar with the feel of the cotton thread, and the rhythm of the crochet.

Here is a photo after I finished blocking it, on my lovely plaid scrap fabric. It came out to around 45" x 37" finished. I have hemmed the linen and am currently pinning it down. Then I will put the hanging tabs on. I am not sure how I want to attach it to the linen yet. I could sew it down invisibly with sewing thread, or I could turn the attachment into an embellishment also. Since it is such a beautiful fabric, I have thought about adding some drawn thread work around the edge as a border. I do plan on working some macrame tassels into the bottom edge somehow, but I haven't decided out of what fiber, or how many, or what dimensions.

Here is a link to the original pattern and chart. I made it out of a hand spun cotton that is 1 mm in thickness. I used a size 7 US steel hook, and made it with a 4dc mesh. Luckily the cotton I had was extremely long, and I made this from one thread with no knots.

The Joys of Tinker Toys

2007-04-16T08:59:00.000-06:00

Well, it is Monday again. This wonderful beginning of the week, corresponding to mother Luna and her waxing and waning tides, I devote to cleaning. Yeah, I don't really get it either. But, it does get me to start the week with a clean house. And I have a client this evening in my appointment book, so perhaps I should take out the trash.

But, while I wait for the pep-pills to kick in so I can do all of this in the morning hours (did I mention I am not a morning person?), I felt it was time to share some yarny goodness.

I love yarn. However, yarn can be expensive. I also love recycling and reusing. It just gives me a buzz to reuse and repurpose things for a new home. So, I have purchased 7 sweaters from the thrift store. They were on sale due to spring being just around the corner. 6 of the 7 were 100% cotton, and one was a cotton/angora blend with a metalic ply. Gorgeous stuff.

Unfortunately, at the time, I was too eager to rip all of these lovelies apart, and did not get pictures. As I went on my journey of discovery via google for how exactly to do this recycled yarn thing, I discovered I would be needing a few tools. Here I discovered a tutorial for frogging the sweaters in general. You would think it would be easy, right? No, seams had to be undone first, and then the knots untied, then the ripping goodness could begin.

The ziplock bag is the first sweater, wrapped into balls. The hank is from the second sweater, fresh off the new swift.

Now, this is better than bubble wrap for frustration relief in my opinion. But, after wrapping the first sweater into balls, that I realized I would have to hank later in order to wash it, I decided I was in need a of a swift. My budget was not ready to expand from $70 to $200 to accomodate this need, so instead I looked for other options. I found one that I thought would accomodate not only my budget, but my endless need for modular life. Tinker Toys! After raiding the closet, finding none, and then calling all the toy stores in town, I aquired a big set at Toys R Us. First I built a small swift, to unhank the yarn my mother had dyed for me years ago. I never could put this yarn into center pull balls because I made a horrible mess each time I tried.

My first design for my new Tinker Toy swift. It only has three arms, because this yarn was already hanked from my mother who dyed it for me.

But of course, this had to be modified when I wanted to frog some more sweaters. I didn't want little tiny hanks to wash. So this was the second incarnation of the adjustable swift:

---> A close up of the piece I added so I would be able to wrap the yarn on to the swift, as opposed to just taking it off.

You can see I am wrapping a ball back on to the swift. It was after this I realised I was just making extra work for myself. D'oh! But no worries, the problem has been corrected. I am now going direct from sweater to swift.

But I persisted and finished up that sweater's worth of yarn. Here is the last hank on the swift. I tied the beginning and the end of the yarn together, so I would have both ends when it came time to take this back out of hanks and put it into balls.

Here you can see that I have put in the scrap yarn to hold the hanks together as best I can. I found that a weaving back and forth through the hank worked best. It is hard to describe in words, but easy to do. Place the center of the scrap yarn at the bottom of the hank, insert a finger through the hank about a third of the way up, wrap the scrap yarn around the hank by pushing both ends through to the opposite sides respectively. Go up another third increment and push a finger through the hank creating a space. Take the back yarn and bring it through the front. Pick up the bottom front yarn and check which side it was on on the last pass, put it through the hole on the other side this time. Bring both ends to the top and tie with a square knot. Of course, you can divide in any increment needed. Smaller yarns I found worked better with more wraps, while thicker yarns didn't seem to need it.

And now, tada! The sweater all hanked up and ready to wash. It came out to this pile, which is seven hanks of various thickness. This was by far the thickest yarn of them all. It was six plies.

Here are some shots of my interesting drying apparatus. Yes, I used some of the handy gear to create a spacing for the hangers. These hung here and drip dried for about 8 hours. Then, someone needed the shower, so I had to move the whole contraption to the mudroom to finish drying.

My wonderful husband, Superman, noticed I was having some stability problems, and so he helped me modify the design more. He basically inverted my idea, and built a frame around the spinning area to stabilize it. I added the tensioners, which had the handy side effect of catching any tangles as I was winding. We moved the turn handle into the center from the outside, so it can be twirled with just the fingers. You can see the gorgeous yarn now on the swift. It is the cotton and angora blend. I think this will become a shrug for my mom.

And here is a pile of happily done yarn. I love the texture of all this crimp. But, it will not knit up so it needs to be washed out. The orange is a gorgeous thick cotton that I may over dye. I haven't decided. The small bag is still leftovers from the first sweater that need to be hanked. I think I will ply this yarn either with itself or something else, as it is so thin. But it is a nice yarn.

Ramblings on Discipline

2007-04-15T08:26:00.000-06:00

Ahh, yes the second most scary word in the English language (the first, as we all know is commitment); self-discipline.

(insert creepy music here)

Why is this so hard to get through to people? As a teacher (in adult education), I find it amazingly difficult to convey to my students that they will need to WORK in order to achieve their goals. I mean, they paid for the class, they manage to show up, and bring the required supplies, but once inside the classroom it is suddenly time to whine and complain that this is too hard, and I am not giving them enough breaks!

And even more frustrating is this sense in the larger community. As an occultist, I do happen to keep my finger on the goings on out there in the occult realm. And these days, I am hearing a lot of whining and crying because the 'elders' are not handing over the 'secrets' to the 'newbies' with ease or speed.

This concept is so wrong on so many levels. Lets begin with what they call assumptions. Assumption one; there are 'elders' and they have responsibilities to 'newbies.' So this is not an entirely wrong assumption, there are adepts within the Craft, and they do take on a great burden of responsibility. But, it is not to those coming to walk the path directly, nor are the responsibilities as cut and dry as they might seem. There is no hierarchy that deigns what level you have reached, even as we try to work degree systems, there is much personal variation. Many adepti of the level of an elder are loathe to take on the name, because they are wise enough to know just how much they don't know and how far they may still have to travel on the crooked path. They are also away of their priorities, one of the first being to preserve and uphold the Craft. It can not be remade, re-peiced, or torn apart and dissected. To destroy the Craft is about as close as we get to the concept of blasphemy. But yet, we are instructed to keep the Craft alive. That means letting it breathe, feeding it, and letting it grow, without hacking off limbs, or foundational supports. Being a parent is not easy, nor is being a member of a village.

Assumption number two; there are 'secrets' and they can be handed over. Yes, there are things we call secrets, however like most lingo in the occult world, this is an allusion. It means these things are secrets or mysteries, because we have no way of explaining or even conveying them. They are simply things that someone comes to as they walk the paths. So, even if we could hand them over, we really couldn't. And, truth be told, I haven't come across one yet that wasn't hiding in plain sight. It isn't about the acquisition of the secrets, it is about changing the practitioner so they can see them. They were there all along.

Assumption number three; there are 'newbies' and they are somehow different from other people on the path. Every one was a babe at some point, everyone was new to this world at some point, and every one is currently discovering something new. Perhaps, we may class these 'newbies' as different due to their lack of experience. Which is fine, there is nothing wrong with begin new, or inexperienced. Go out, do some work, get some experience. And viola!, you will have become experienced, and ready to find more experience somewhere else.

And finally, the concepts of ease and speed. These two concepts just do not go with learning any occult discipline (there's that word again) or craft. It ain't easy, it is flat out work. It is often harder work than you have come across. It is about changing yourself, and not necessarily in ways you understand at first. And it is anything is swift. The process of transmutation is slow, and often happens under pressure. It takes time. The passage of time is a key component to the concept of travelling or walking a path.

The Compulsion has Finally Won.

2007-04-14T20:37:00.000-06:00

Everyone is doing it. There are themed blogs, and random blogs, and blogs about blogging. Why is it that our ego leads us to post our personal thoughts on the world wide web as if someone out there really cares? Are we so voyeristic that we must pry into the diaries of others to get our jollies off? HELL YES. Errr.... I mean, no, I have noble pursuits for doing this. Sharing my thoughts, my hobbies, and my meaningless ravings anonomously will help me achieve some greater spiritual goal, or something.

Perhaps through the pouring out of my thoughts, innanities, and complaints some poor soul out there, silouhetted by the monitor's warm glow, will find inner peace or at least a giggle at my expense.