Happy Thanksgiving

 

Getting Stitched in November

Thanksgiving is on the horizon and then straight on decking the halls for the Winter Solstice and the Yuletide season. 

November is moving through the days so quick my head is spinning though probably the effects of the blood thinner medication I take. Really I don't need to add dizziness to my list of ailments I'm too busy;

 The online shops are crazy busy this time of year, usually things get hectic in the last week of October straight on to the New Year, this year however with delays in unloading cargo ships things have picked up at the end of September and has kept at a steady pace.  

As busy as I have been I've had time to get in some stitching, the hand embroidery for my October goddess Elen of the Ways is complete:

I am currently working on the November goddess, Baba Yaga:

If you aren't familiar with Baba Yaga here are some interesting bits on Baba Yaga the ‘old woman’ of autumn was called Baba by the Slavic inhabitants of eastern Europe, Boba by the Lithuanians. This seasonal divinity lived in the last sheaf of grain harvested in a year, and the woman who bound it would bear a child that year. Baba passed into Russian folk legend as the awesome Baba Yaga, a witchlike woman who rowed through the air in a mortar, using a pestle for Her oar, sweeping the traces of Her flight from the air with a broom.

Back in June of 2016 I took part in a Goddess a Week challenge and created this Baba Yaga for week 2, She was hand embroidered and crayon tinted on white on white print cotton fabric.

When I'm not stitching a goddess or other project I am planning ahead for 2022 and a new monthly embroidery project, I have a few ideas floating around in my head as well as ideas sent to me by friends here are a few of the ideas: a mermaid a month, a god a month, a witch or a witch hat a month.  I leaning towards a tree or leaf a month, possibly the Celtic tree calendar in wedges to make a wheel, my ideas are endless. 

This week in between packing and shipping orders and stitching Baba Yaga I'll be reading Gateway to the Modern Crone by Jude Downes. Maybe I will stitch a crone a month. 

Well that's about it for this post, it's getting late so I better go make something for dinner before I forget again.  I'll leave you with a bit of humor.

Early November Days

 The first week of November has been a mixed bag of weather with heavy rain falling Thursday and continuing through much of the weekend. It has brought much cooler temps with the low last night at 48 degrees, due to the rain and overcast skies it's quite chilly here in north central Florida, but it feels great.

When the weather is filled with the scent of wood smoke, and there is a frigid breeze blowing I long for snow flurries, warm gloves and hot cocoa after my morning walk.  While I don't have the snow flurries, I do have gloves and hot cocoa in my cup and memories of long gone days of brightly colored leaves and November snow storms.  We would be lost without our memories.

While I won't be walking among leaves of gold, red and orange, my heart remembers those days when I would take long walks hearing the leaves crunch beneath my feet, the aroma of damp wet leaves filling my nostrils, inhaling the crisp air deep into my soul.  

If everything comes together with my health I am planning to head north this month to catch the last of the autumn leaves, I say if because my health has been a rollercoaster ride for nearly 2 years and I don't want to jeopardize my progress. So it will be a spontaneous trip if all goes well, and if not I have photos and memories to rely on for another autumn and hope for next year.

I have been doing a daily card draw this month using the Wisdom of the Crone oracle deck.  Today my card is Empowerment.

I bought this card deck over 10 years ago used it a few times then put it on the shelf, it was early days of being a Crone and the cards weren't really speaking to me yet, now they are, the words sometimes hit right to the center of me.

The stitching on the goddess a month project is going along nicely for October I chose Elen of the Ways

I didn't take any progress photos and have just washed the stitch and wash away product off I have the finished piece drying then I will post the finished piece.  November goddess will be started later today I trying to decide between Baba Yaga or Freya.

Samhain Blessings

 

And as the light around us fades

In golden shadows through the glade,

Like distant echoes down the hall,

we answer Samhain’s ancient call.

From everlasting times ’til now,

To storied lands, we all must bow;

Where magic rings within our souls

And as we shatter, we are whole.

This is the night to join the Dance,

Partake in all-renewing trance;

Where worlds within and out are One,

Our sacred journey now begun.

To greet the ones we loved before,

Our kith and kin from days of yore,

Forgiven foe and long-lost friend –

We dwell among you yet again.

For now the worldly veils are thin,

Where hope and healing can begin.

Our deeds are done; the hour is late

To rest within the arms of Fate.

By fin and feather, leaf and bark,

As sun now banks to sheltered spark;

This year of trial and joy is past

Within the Circle we have cast.

And as the light around us fades

In golden shadows through the glade,

Like distant echoes down the hall,

We answer Samhain’s ancient call”~ Marc Hirsch

Samhain Eve

 Charge of the Crone

Hear the words of the Grandmother of Time:
She who has been known as
Hecate, Erishkagel, Cerridwen, Kali-Ma,
Anna, Perenna, Spider Woman,
and many other names
– some feared, and some loved,
but none ever ignored.
She it is who brings wisdom and
the awareness of eternity.

She has been the Maiden, and remembers that joy.
She has been the Mother, and recalls that pleasure.
But age has changed her,
and taught her the mysteries of
the Wheel that is ever turning,
the Wheel that is life, death, and rebirth.
She is the whirling tornado, the erupting volcano,
the rising tidal wave, the trembling of the
earth’s crust.

With age comes an understanding of the past,
and a glimpse of the future.
For, in the turning of the Wheel,
the past is the future,
and the future is the past.
She is the Learned One, the Teacher,
the Bringer of Inevitable Change.

She is the Dark of the Moon, the Hidden One,
the invisible unknown that lies ahead.
But do not fear her for she is not malicious,
and her touch, however harsh, is love.

Only in ignorance is she scorned and reviled.
Those who do not know her,
parody her as the ugly old woman
whose powers were said to blight crops
and sour the milk in the cow.
It is fear that turns her age into abomination,
her wrinkles into hideous deformity,
and her voice into an evil and manipulative cackle.
For those who sought power over the earth were afraid
to face her wisdom and her unalterable truth.

But in the old days, we sat at her feet to learn the most ancient lore.
From her came the knowledge of the healing herbs, and the chants and songs that shaped our lives.
She sat in honour at our councils, our marketplaces, in our homes.
She governed our governing, and interpreted our laws.
She gave focus to our changing seasons.
She was our teacher, our oracle, our promise of rebirth.

Come, honour her as of old,
listen now to the words of Wise One,
the ancient Seer, the Crone!

Stitching Goddesses and Books to Read

 A stitching update for my Goddess a Month personal challenge.  Here are the latest 3 goddesses that I finally stitched and washed of the stitch and wash away product. I haven't ironed them yet.

For July the goddess Isis, her wings took forever to finish

Ariadne was my choice for August and she stitched up rather quickly.

The goddess Kali was for September, her arms look a bit sickly but after several attempts at drawing them I just said stitch it.

All in all I am happy with the results and will be happy when the last few are completed.  I fell behind with July and finally caught up in September after putting her aside to work on Ariadne and Kali.  I was avoiding the wings.  There are days when I  just don't feel like stitching, not many but I have learned that if I'm not feeling it then don't because I always wind up pulling out stitches.

The 2 new Witch 'Craft' books I pre-ordered a few weeks ago arrived this week, I am pleased with both

I have been crocheting for decades and these books had to be added to my collection, I have read Opal Luna's blog for a few years and made a few of her patterns so as soon as I knew the book was ready to pre-order I jumped on it.  

Other books on my reading table are Hemlock by Susan Wittig Albert, the newest in the China Bayles mystery series.

I have been reading this series since the 1990's and love how the characters have evolved over the years as well as the overall content of the stories.  This series began my love of herbal gardening, this is the 28th book in the series which began in 1992 with Thyme of Death.

This little gem by Katie Daisy How to be a Moonflower, because I love her artwork, oh and my newest teacup.

I'm also reading Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman, with the Book of Magic waiting in the wings.

I forgot I had bought this last year I began to read it but was still in so much pain I couldn't concentrate so I put it aside on my embroidery table and didn't realize it was under a dozen pieces of fabric waiting to be stitched.  I started it and so far I'm enjoying it very much.

On my visit to the Cardiologist office last Friday this beauty was greeting patients in the office. I just couldn't help snapping a photo.

This was my last visit with the cardiologist until February 2022, unless something comes up which I truly hope isn't going to happen.  I am on the well check list so each month I will receive a phone call from the office to check that all is well, if I need medication refills etc.

Well the hour is getting late so I will leave you with a bit of humor.

Okay time to go my needles are threaded and my teacup is almost empty.

Stitching September Away

 I have an update on the Goddess of the Month hand embroidery project I started in January of this year. I am currently working on the September Goddess, Kali and also finishing up the July goddess, Isis. I finished the stitching on the August goddess, Ariadne but I haven’t washed off the stitch and wash product yet. This month has been quite busy for me and some days I just run out of steam. Here is a look at the progress on Kali.

I am using DMC floss 995 for the skin, she is a multi armed goddess with images of her ranging from 4 arms to 10 arms. For my Kali design I chose 6 arms. If you aren’t familiar with Kali here is a simple image.

  On another note this week after Cardiac Rehab I found a surprise in my mailbox, the long awaited issue of Sage Woman magazine. It was about 18 months between issues due to the pandemic. Recently on the Sage Woman facebook page it was announced the issue was ready to ship so the anticipation of it’s arrival made my day.  Sadly enough Sage Woman is going to 2 issues a year instead of 4, I have a sinking feeling issue 100 is going to be the last, I hope I am wrong I have been reading this magazine since the first issue.

The cover art is just beautiful.  For my October goddess of the month embroidery I am considering Baba Yaga or Persephone as the next piece to embroider.  It takes me nearly as long to decide on the next goddess as it does to stitch them.  

While I am working out in cardiac rehab on the Nu-Step machine my mind is going over all my ideas of designs and colors of floss and lately thinking will I continue this goddess a month project in 2022.  I have tossed around a few ideas, one is inviting others to join me either in embroidering their own or working in a medium of choice.  Another idea is if someone wants to send me a goddess they have designed for me to stitch.  I have had a few people ask this in the past so it could be a nice way to showcase someone's art in embroidery and crediting the design to them. Well just ideas floating in my head for now I'll keep you posted.