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I’ve been feeling ready to pick up some of the abandoned projects from my knitting basket.
I was especially ambitious last year and bought yarn, made sketches, cast on for all sorts of big projects, some of which materialized and many more of which were abandoned, put on hold or transformed. There were several that started to feel like they would never be more than knitting exercises, knit rows would materialize and be pulled back, never quite right, not ready to emerge.
But just as I was ready to pull some of them out and tackle them again- some of the Spring projects as we move back into Spring- I got an email that afhgans for Afghan’s needs socks for kids.
I turned to my stash and out came the fiery pink toed socks. These were so much fun that I decided to do a pair with my cool colored scraps as well.
These aren’t the first things I’ve knit this year, but they feel like the kick off for a new knitting season. Ready, set, knit!
These projects have actually been finished. But I haven’t taken the finished photos yet.
Some left over wood flooring inspired this table/"entertainment center" (TV goes above, cds, board games and art supplies below) Don’t worry, my knitting supplies have their own shelf. The finished product has dark wood along the front as well..and maybe..a door on the right hand side?
A new line of rings (pun intended, see below) begins to take shape. I’ll be posting the finished rings throughout the course of the week on etsy.
And…last but not least… the crowing moment of the week. Frida learns embroidery. I was so pleased. She really put her full concentration into it and thoroughly enjoyed it. A half hour later she had a beautfully embroidered letter F. A couple of hours after that it had been stained. I panicked and scrubbed vigourously at the fabric. The spots came out. So did the pink dye in the fabric. 😦 Maybe I could pretend its a tye-dye effect…maybe I could get her to do another one….sigh…
As for me… I didn’t do much beyond this coloring project…Frida helped
Back home the park is filled with flowers, cuttings, palm trees, succulents and miracle grow. The basket ball court is lined with stacked clay flower pots and mothers grip their children’s hands tightly so they won’t get lost in the crowd or elude their mother’s gaze behind an elephant ear where they’ve paused to sniff the roses.
It is Dia de la Candelaria, day of candle light and purification. Winter’s half way mark; time to look forward to Spring. In the United States, crowds anxiously haunt the groundhog’s shadow to see if Spring is soon in coming. In Mexico they wander the plant market and light the candles, gather to eat the tamales brought by whoever mined the baby from the king cake back in January, and take the nativity scene down.
We took down our nativity scene and most of the Christmas decorations a couple of weeks ago. We won’t be eating tamales, but I will light candles and my plants (still housebound for the moment) have cast off Winter’s shadow; I think they’ve decided they are ready for Spring.
I was curious to know more about how the different elements behind Dia de la Candelaria come together, looking forward to and kindling the light of Spring I understand, but what’s this about Mary’s purification 40 days after the birth of Christ and taking Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem. Why is this significant to Christians, when surely it must have been a Jewish temple?
I found lots of food for thought on this topic in a fascinating article at: www.thisischurch.com/christianinfo/candlemass.html
This well written article provides not only background to the Christian aspects of the holiday, but also extensively documents its pagan influences, alternate celebrations and why historically this has been such a woman centered holiday with special significance for new mothers. (The day was also known as the day of "Thanksgiving for Women after Childbirth"- scroll down to the section on the Churching of Women.)
La Sirena 
