I want to be wrapped up in a blanket not wrapped up in myself I want to lose myself in a book not lose myself to conformity I want to  turn down the digital noise not turn my back to need I want to add to the beauty not add to the chaos I want to be  remembered for my compassion kindness joy if I am remembered at all.

First project! I made this lovely (link goes to Ravelry)  Sunset Mesa Cowl  in a day, and I love how it turned out. I will happily embrace any excuse to use Spincycle yarn and I feel like this was a perfect application, with the sunset theme. It even faded to almost the same exact blue of the Malabrigo Rios background by the end! This was my first time knitting one of Jennifer Berg's patterns, but having discovered her/them, I have several more in my mental queue.  Most of my knitting this month was a return to my knitting roots - shop samples, for Kandy . First I made this (link goes to Ravelry)  Elemental Raglan with DanDoh DK Cotton. It was an interesting garment to make, although not necessarily something I'd want for myself. I was pleasantly surprised by the yarn, which initially struck me as likely to split, but it didn't (much). Next was (another Rav link) a  Woven Shadows  in DanDoh Linen. The sideways construction of the garment and the chainette ...

A practice I began near the beginning of this year was pulling a card daily to journal on - more as a starting point for free writing than anything. I also discovered that it's a great way to get to know a new deck, so when my long awaited Botanica  arrived a few weeks ago (it had been in pandemic limbo for months) I finished up the one I was using and eagerly began anew with Kevin's lovely floral illustrations. The first card I pulled, at my inaugural monthly retreat, was The Tower. Structures razed to the ground, slates wiped clean. I know people who are terrified of that card, but I personally found it both reassuring and actually expected. The whole past year has been a deconstructing process for me, so I was already safely out of the building before the lightning struck. Now begins clean up and reconstruction. I've essentially decided what's worth keeping at this point, so now begins the journey of filling in the gaps.  Replacing complaining with gratitude.  Replac...

Something I've been pondering lately is the concept of comfort.  What is it, exactly? How can I teach my kids about it in healthy ways? How can I make sure that my leisure doesn't take from someone else's life? It's a lot of heavy thinking for something that's supposed to be simple and cozy. But what sparked it was noticing that a lot of my childhood favorites have been ruined by knowledge - media with slurs and ideologies I now know to be offensive and wrong, unethical manufacturing practices and appropriative designs that cause me to abruptly Google things that I'm wearing or that super cute blanket I'd love to buy and snuggle under, even chocolate isn't safe since the maker of my (former) favorite treat is one of three companies currently being sued for child labor and exploitation. Ignorance may be bliss, but knowledge is power, and I'd rather be empowered by hard truths than rely on a surface level happiness that comes at someone else's exp...