Makers Monday – Progress Report on the Chakra Wall

$\"\"$

The Chakra Wall is coming into focus. I\’ve been hanging the ojos (which means \”eye\” in Spanish) from a specific central spot and coming out of it to the right as though expanding from that origin point.

$\"\"$

This is the wall I\’m using. It\’s late in the year here, when I took this shot; November is mostly rain and getting cold. It seemed like a good day to start the project so I came out and swept down the spiderwebs.

Seattle actually has something called, \”Spider Season.\” I\’m not sure if this is a scientific thing or just something the locals say, but man. Those little girls like to weave themselves some web.

My husband, who is not an arachnophobe like me, Dear Reader, told me that most spiders we see are female. The males are smaller and don\’t live nearly as long. I like referring to them as \”she,\” because it makes them less terrifying.

The reason that\’s relevant is down on the bottom right of the image are some cardboard boxes used for landscaping (you put them down as weed barrier and put dirt on top of them); we have a truly epic-sized black spider living there. So brushing down the spiders with a broom is a life skill here – particularly if you want to create an art project outside in their demesnes.

$\"\"$

I set the ojos down so I could see the ones I had completed so far. The ones on the bottom with the reds are for the Root Chakra. I have one orange one for Sacral, one with yellows (more goldenrod, really) for Solar Plexus, and a green one for Heart.

$\"\"$

I originally wanted them to go up, but realized that physics is a thing. The porch only goes to the right just past the glass doors, and I\’m not great with heights. So for now, I\’m going out as far as I can reach from the ground, and later as I finish more ojos I\’ll involve the husband to help me with the ladder and a hammer.

Next up are the next three chakras: Throat (light blue); Third Eye (indigos), and Crown (violets, white, and silver).

Keep Making, my friends!

December 23, 2024

Makers Monday – Ojos de Dios and the Chakras – What Is a Chakra?

$\"\"$

I thought I\’d take a moment and discuss Chakras, so this project makes a little more sense.

Chakras are an ancient concept from India that were developed 1500 to 500 BCE (Before Current Era). They are conceived as wheels, and are seen to be located in the human body. In general, there are seven chakras in the body:

The Root Chakra – grounding, connection to the earth
The Sacral Chakra – primal relationships, sexuality, creativity
The Solar Plexus Chakra – will, intent, personal power
The Heart Chakra – relationships, love, friendship
The Throat Chakra – speaking our truth
The Third Eye Chakra – clear sight, vision, intuition
The Crown Chakra – connection to the divine, collective consciousness

The seven chakras have all sorts of things that are representative – sounds, colors, concepts, etc. For our purposes, the colors are the most relevant:

The Root Chakra – reds
The Sacral Chakra – oranges
The Solar Plexus Chakra – yellows
The Heart Chakra – greens
The Throat Chakra – light blues
The Third Eye Chakra – indigos
The Crown Chakra – violets, whites, silvers

I\’ll show you next week how some of these are coming together in practice, and how they look on the wall with each other.

December 9, 2024

Friday Fun Stuff – Chicken Math!

I have had several discussions lately about \”chicken math,\” and folx haven\’t known what I mean. Here, then, is Chicken Math, Explained.

December 6, 2024

Makers Monday – Ojos de Dios and the Chakras

$\"\"$

I\’ve talked about ojos de Dios, or eyes of G*d, before. I enjoy making them, because they\’re relatively simple to weave and they adapt to many different uses. They can be made for prayers and spells, protection, to commemorate new projects or milestones, and for art.

I had a dream recently, where I saw a series of ojos on the side of the house. When I woke up, it was as though I could still see it. It felt so vivid and real, I walked outside to look.

I had to laugh. The place where I\’d seen them has two big windows right in the middle of it.

Hmm.

But there\’s a large wall on the back of my house that would totally work…

And thus, a project was born.

$\"\"$

I thought I\’d share some progress pictures. It feels so good to start making things again. I look back and my pictures and it\’s not that I haven\’t made things; but I\’ve definitely felt stuck for a long while. It\’s been so fun working on a larger project that will take some time to complete.

$\"\"$

This one is for the Throat Chakra, also called the Fifth Chakra. It\’s about using our voice and finding our power.

I picked a luminous black filament with blues and pinks for the center. It\’s not coming through very well on the camera, but it\’s eye-catching.

I also varied the weave; that part toward the edges by wrapping around the arm of the ojo without weaving across. This presented more of a gap in the weaving.

$\"\"$

I forgot to weave the hangar like I normally do, since I didn\’t want to use the center black yarn. It\’s too springy and also a very thin filament, not robust for hanging in weather.

I tied the last two yarns to make the hangar, which is something I don\’t usually do but I like how it came out. I used an overhand knot at the end to make it hangable.

Next Monday, come back and I\’ll share the wall and the beginning of the Chakra wall.

Cheers!

~Noony

December 2, 2024

The Flora and Fauna Report – Progress This Week

$\"\"$

The idea of the Flora and Fauna Report came from Julia Cameron\’s book, The Artist\’s Way. She describes getting letters from a relative that she described as a \’flora and fauna report,\’ because they were about all the goings on in and out of her life. I loved the idea, because all it asks of us is to show up as we are. Kind of like meditation. 🙂

Today is a very cold and clear, sunny day in the Pacific Northwest. I am working on a chakra ojos de dios project, which I\’ll be sharing more about in subsequent posts; but today, I wanted to share a little of our goings on.

$\"\"$

The cell booster is up! Man, that was an ordeal. We needed this part, and that part, and the other part; we thought we had everything and needed… two bolts.

That\’s it. Two little bolts. No big deal, unless you don\’t have it, and then it\’s a big deal.

$\"\"$

I added two more ojos to the project (the ones on the right); the lower one is for Voice and the upper right is for Third Eye.

I\’ll have more in a series on this project, so stay tuned!

November 30, 2024

Gone Visiting – at Delilah Devlin\’s Place!

$\"\"$

I\’m visiting Delilah Devlin\’s blog today! Click on the image above to check it out and tell me, do you have a mindfulness practice?

September 16, 2024

Saturday Craft Circle

$\"\"$

I got some new yarn from KnitPIcks called \”Oceana\” in the \”Spirulina\” colorway. It\’s worsted weight, 54% superfine alpaca and a new fiber, 46% SEAQUAL (R) YARN, which is reclaimed plastic from the ocean. It\’s got a nice loft and halo. I tried several needle sizes (4 was way too small and 9 was way too big); size 7 seems to do the trick.

$\"\"$

Here\’s the detail of the \”Vertical Lace Trellis\” stitch from Barbara Walker\’s stitch guide, volume 1 (the one with the blue cover). I really like how it is coming out. It\’s got a great drape, and the halo makes it soften.

$\"\"$

Here\’s the completed swatch. I\’m thinking of making a top-down cape or poncho, haven\’t decided yet. We shall see.

August 17, 2024

J Is For… Just Write It! (aka Following One\’s Own Advice)

$\"\"$

So. It\’s the 12th. Of April.

Yeah, I noticed that too. It was the 6th of April like five minutes ago. Oof.

Here\’s what I tell others when they say to me during a challenge, \”But I\’m so beehiiinnnd!!!\” I say, \”So start with where you are!\”

What does that mean for me today?

Well, for a start, it means posting on the blog. I checked my Postcrossing stats, just to see where I was on sending out cards – my goal is to have all cards out at all times, and last time I checked I still had four out – and it turns out I\’m behind there, too:

$\"\"$

This is what it looks like once you sign up for an account on Postcrossing. (If you\’re interested, you can click the image and I have it set up to take you straight there). When you start out, you only get a few cards to send, but as you send more and others note they\’ve received them, then your send count goes up.

I\’ll grab my postcard stash and request an address, and then work through the list one at a time. I once selected six at the same time and then got busy, and couldn\’t write them in a timely fashion; I don\’t do that now. I pull the address when I am sitting in front of my postcards so I can send them right away.

How many of you are already in Postcrossing?

If you\’re not into it yet, would you like to know more about it?

Let me know in the comments!

Write on!

April 12, 2023

Gone Visiting – Join Me!

I\’ve been visiting around the web again, which feels terrific. On my mind right now is the upcoming Lettermo, or Month of Letters, and that\’s what I\’ve been talking about.

First, I visited bestselling author Delilah Devlin\’s blog to talk about Lettermo and why it helps to slow down time. Check it out, won\’t you? And drop a comment to let Delilah know you visited.

$\"\"$

Next, I\’m over at the Lettermo main site today, talking about \”Why Write Letters?\” If it\’s not obvious to you, I hope the post will answer your questions and maybe even tempt you into joining me for the month of February – after all, February IS the Month of Letters!

$\"\"$

That\’s all for now, Dear Reader. Remember: life is short; write more letters!

Write on!

January 30, 2023

Lettermo Is Almost Here!

$\"\"$ I love writing and receiving snail mail, I always have. When I was little, I would send all sorts of things through the mail – doilies from under coffee cups that I colored, travel brochures, beer coasters… Anything that was flat and would fit in an envelope. The habit stayed with me to adulthood and now I send thank you letters to colleagues and business partners (never underestimate the power of a heart-felt thank you note or even just a \”wow, I\’m sorry I didn\’t do that as well as I could have, and I promise to learn better next time\”); greeting cards to friends (Valentine\’s Day is coming up on Feb 14th, remember!); birthday and anniversary cards; and even just a certificate you can create congratulating a friend on a personal milestone.

What is Lettermo?

It turns out, there\’s a vibrant online community for correspondents! Who knew? The internet can support our offline lives in creative ways. One of these communities is called \”Month of Letters,\” or \”Lettermo\” for short. Every year in February, participants challenge themselves to mail something to someone every day during the month – it could be to another participant, to a friend, to a public figure, heck – even Santa Claus! We also agree to write back to everyone who writes to us.

How Do You Join Lettermo?

Technically, you don\’t have to do anything to \”join\” Lettermo; you can just participate in your own way and in your own time. BUT, if you\’d like to meet other letter writers, you can join the site – it\’s free, and share your address. This way, your information isn\’t just out on a public website (though it\’s prudent to shield yourself by using a post office box rather than your home address). The site allows you to write up a profile of yourself that can include what you like to do, hobbies, and what kinds of things you\’d like to write in your letters.

If this sounds fun to you, point your mouse over to lettermo.com and get started. Your mailbox will thank you!

January 28, 2023

Self-Care September – Everyday Bodycare

$\"\"$ Sundays are a good day for pampering, and if you\’re in the States and have the luxury of tomorrow off for American Labor Day, all the better!

Here\’s what you\’ll need:

Cornmeal
Honey
A warm shower
A half hour to an hour

Optional:

Music (something calm or spa-like would be perfect)
Candles
Essential oils or a room spray that you like
A warm, fluffy robe
Slippers or warm socks

Start your shower and let the warm steam fill the bathroom. Start your music and candles, and spritz your room spray. If you have essential oils, you can drop 5 or 10 drops in the back of the shower to create an aromatherapy shower for yourself.

Set the cornmeal on the edge of the tub or somewhere outside the shower where you can get at it. Also get the honey and set it close by.

Instructions:

Put about a teaspoon\’s worth of cornmeal in your hand and add enough honey to make a paste.
Start at your feet and rub in a circular motion. Pay particular attention to your heels.
Then, moving up the calves, continuing in a circular motion, massage the skin.
When you\’re done with your thighs, rinse your skin.
Then starting with your hands, move up your arms toward your shoulders. Pay attention to your elbows.
Rub circular motions along your stomach – in a counter-clockwise direction around to the left.
Get what you can reach of your back – or, have a friend help. 🙂
If you have long hair like I do, the thick goop will make a mess in your hair so you may want to put your hair up for this or just keep it out of the way as you\’re working.
When you\’re done, wash your body and make sure you get all the cornmeal off.
When you get out, use a light moisturizer and then wrap up in a warm robe with slippers and rest.