October 2nd another Crone image

Affirmation of the Crone

Ancient Crone,
You are the source of eternal knowledge
That leads to the completion of the spirit.
Let my soul seek your lessons,
And strive to understand your mysteries.
I will not fear the darkness
For I know you wait for me within it.

Use this affirmation to seek the wisdom of the Crone within yourself.

Welcome October

I plan to post images of the Crone throughout the month of October. As we go deeper into the darker months of autumn and winter what better way to honor those days then with beautiful images of the crone.

The Crone or dark mother is the last aspect of the Triple Goddess, together with the Mother and the Maiden she represents part of the circle of life. This aspect is the most often misunderstood of the three as she represents our destruction, decay and death. Here, as in nature, the death of Winter is followed by the promise of rebirth in the Spring. Her color is black and she is associated with the waning or new moon, Autumn and Winter.
In her positive aspect she is often depicted as a Grandmother, a wise woman, or a midwife. The word Crone is derived from the old word for crown, suggesting the wisdom that emanates from the head like a halo. Her own child baring days are past; she is the wisdom keeper, seer and healer and midwife, whose knowledge is sought out to guide others during life's hardships and transitions. 
Today as woman live longer they have grown to reclaim their power. The Crones encourage us to be wild and free, they show us the strength and courage within us all.

All kinds of stitching going on

I have be slowly plugging away on my Greenwoman #2 hand embroidery piece, in between days

when I let my fingers rest from pushing the needle through fabric I pull out my trusty crochet projects this one below is for my sister and is just a granny square using Lion Brand Mandala yarn in the Spirit colorway.  I was too lazy to open up the entire afghan because I usually loose several stitches

This is 4 cakes of yarn and measures from the foot of my queen bed to right where the pillows start so far.  This one should be finished soon.  The other crochet project I have going is using the shell stitch and the Mandala yarn in Wishing Well colorway, does it look beachy to you? When I first saw this

Yarn it just look like something should be made up that would like right at home in a beach house.  I have a few autumn projects I need to start stitching and I want to make something using felt and floss

Living in Florida we don't get much in the way of leaves changing color so this year I plan to make some of my own along with a few other small projects to decorate for the season.

Right now my main concern is completing the greenwoman embroidery and the afghan I'm making for my sister, then it's time to get some projects planned and started for the Yule and Christmas season.
For now I will leave you with a few Florida Fall decorations

Happy Autumn and a Blessed Mabon to all of you.

Welcome Autumn and a Blessed Mabon to All

Welcome September, Good bye August!

Well I have to say the month of August has kicked my butt big time and it was showing no signs of letting up.  I know we all experience these when it rains it pours moments in our lives and last month I’m had one.
Just when I thought things were turning around that dark cloud found me again, so I am pulling out my trusty sword and paused to do battle this time it’s computer crashing time.  The continuous mystery of my car’s problem, and lightning striking much of the essential electronics in my household not to mention the one going mystery of my son’s car problems a computer crash just wasn’t on the list of things to do this month. Rant over.

Aside from all that aggravation I have managed to get some Slow Stitching in this week on the Greenwoman #2 piece.

greenwoman #2

I finished the hand embroidery on the piece for the Stitch at Home Challenge I call it Herbal Tea and will use it as a banner in my herb garden. My inspiration for this piece is my love of brewing blossom tea in clear tea pots, always a hit at my tea parties.

herbal tea

the inspiration

The theme for the challenge is Burlesque which translates to an absurd or comically exaggerated imitation of something and not the fans and feather boas.  Anyway I finished well before the deadline of the 15th, to my great surprise the Kreinik threads didn’t unravel or run when I washed it.
I finished stitching the Green Woman hand embroidery piece last week, now I am trying to decide whether to frame her or make her a wall hanging or pillow cover.

greenwoman #1

I am also making crochet progress on the afghan for my sister, I am working a simple granny square using Mandala yarn by Lion Brand this is Spirit colorway, so far just two cakes have been used.

It’s odd for me to be crocheting an afghan, usually the summer months in Florida are too hot to have a large project on my lap even with air conditioning yet I have been itching to crochet and so far the heat isn’t bothering me.
We have a few brief but very drenching rains most afternoons so I don’t need to water the plants though most are dying off for the summer.

After falling ill a few days after my birthday I remained sick for the entire month of July, how a simple summer cold can go to bronchitis and then pneumonia is a mystery to me. I am much better though still not operating at 100% but hoping to put the black cloud of August behind me.

The start of a new month so I plan do a house clearing ritual today to sweep away all of the negativity that August left of my door step.  I will mix some mistletoe, rue and oak wood to aid in my house cleansing as a floor and door wash, speaking these words below:

Cleanse this space, remove the past
Banish all negativity at last.
Return this space with Joy and love
I ask for Your Blessings from Above.

After the floor wash I will smudge the house with sage mixed with a bit of frankincense speaking these words:

Air, fire, water, earth
bless this house, my home and hearth,
cleanse this space, remove all ill,
heed my words and my will.


I should have smudged the house at the start of summer I usually do a house clearing at the start of each season but this year has been in a flux so things fell by the wayside.

To start off this months reading the newest copy of the Wiccan Wheel mysteries has arrived so I will begin reading it later today. The next book is available for pre-order though I'll wait on ordering for a while since release date in March 2019.

I do enjoy the books in this series the magical working is not the over the top fantasy stuff,  its everyday nature based modern day Wicca practice of ritual and spells, which makes these book a good mystery mixed with a little magic.

I bought a copy of Maia Tolls The Illustrated Herbiary which includes 36 oracle cards tucked into a vellum envelope in the back of the book.

the book

the cards

tucked away

On my reading table I have two new to me publications I am reading, the first feeds the earthy side of me and the second one feeds my love of plants and natural dyeing.

Here are the links for the magazines 

http://www.ravenous-craft.com/zine

https://rebeccadesnos.com/plants-are-magic-magazine

My latest piece of jewelry is the small stone cairn with a bit of beach glass dangling from beneath the pendant.

I wish you all a a safe and Happy Labor Day Weekend.  

Summer Begins

The month of June has just flown by in a flash, our weather has turned to our rainy season and with it the stifling humidity has made breathing a little labored.  My morning walks have begun earlier and some days moved to the gym rather than the park.

While the temperatures rise outdoors I find myself spending more time inside,  in addition to getting some letters written I've had time to visit the library for a few books to read which I can add to my reading challenges. 

I have a few crafty projects underway after making several Greenman embroidery pieces I thought it time to try a Greenwoman piece and came away with a lovely pattern.

 I began my current project knowing I wanted to use floss with herbal and greenery names so I was off to my local needlework shop.  I found what I was looking for in Weeks Dye Works and Gentle Arts flosses,

I love the colors but the floss does tend to knot which had me using shorter lengths of floss and yet it still tangles.   So I am taking my time and giving a whole new meaning to slow stitching.

My progress so far, I decided to once again go with the amber for the eyes and used a variegated floss DMC 111, the acorns are both done in brown shades of DMC floss.

I also finished a between the main projects piece, it was a free pattern from the DMC Stitch A Long Facebook group.

 I experiments with this piece leaving loose ends of floss as part of her hair, I like the effect and want to use it again on a future project.

Welcome June