We received a most beautiful light snowfall yesterday ..8-10 inches that coated our world, yet could be blown away with a single breath! Everything looked completely different, with large caps of snow on the bird feeder, the branches, the railings, the car. It gave all the familiar things around us new shapes and even an air of mystery.
As I hung the new calendar I noticed the familiar sight of heavily marked days of appointments and schedules replaced by an altogether new sight as well, the mystery and beauty of the empty page. A whole January page of empty squares stared back at me. Days to be orchestrated. Adventures to be had. Yarn to be knit. Meals to be created. Thoughts to be thought. All still suspended unformed.....
Sometimes at the beginning of the new year, out of the usual routine, I experience a moment of timelessness like this that leads to reflection. It seems like an opportunity to draw on a blank page, an empty snow field, an act of creation. But also, the moment asks me to reconsider my driving beliefs, priorities, inspiration. There seems to be the real possibility of making some new choices.
As I ponder my first knitting project of the year I let the thoughts flow freely about what I am striving for..... to achieve simplicity yet elegance, to promote healthy relationship to the Earth and all her inhabitants, to maintain healthy lifestyle patterns for myself and my work, to be joyful and appreciative of gifts around me, to sow seeds of friendship, teach and learn well, take nothing personally, find humor often and occasionally stare into the vastness of the night stars.
Before I know it however, schedules have begun anew, and time is back to being serious. At O-Wool, here, we are suddenly in a great hurry to prepare for the upcoming National Needlework Association show, TNNA in San Diego. Although I will not be going this time, I feel the excitement! This means booth preparation, paperwork preparation, packing, planning. organizing etc. There is definitely no longer time for quiet reflection.
I have been employing my trusty Brother Standard Gauge Knitting machine to make some hanging backdrops for the booth these past few days. The Legacy DK knits up very nicely on the #10 Stitch Dial setting, and so I have been enjoying creating some long flowing banners or flags. I'll post some photos tomorrow!
