Solstice Salutations

... This is the solstice, the still point
of the sun, its cusp and midnight,

the year’s threshold

and unlocking, where the past

lets go of and becomes the future;

the place of caught breath, the door

of a vanished house left ajar. ...

(Margaret Atwood)

Sending light and love.

Find It, Found, Foiled

Rubbish Walks in the UK is an account I follow on IG.  It's run by Jason Alexander who refers to himself as a litterologist.  Yesterday I watched one of his videos where he found a cup on the beach and filled it up with litter.

Find it, fill it.

(Same thing I do with plastic bags but on a smaller scale.)

Today I came across two cups and filled them up.

Interesting that the one cup says "Turn Off" because it is definitely a turn off if you are littering.

 

I think there's a theme going on here.

Yesterday I found a bunch of faux flowers being thrown out.
And today I found this on the ground.

A doily I thought I had finished before my walk this morning had to be ripped back because somehow I only wound up with 7 points instead of 8.

Is points the right word -- I don't even know.

But I do know it's my bedtime so gotta go.

Good night.

A Drizzly Surprise

 I thought I had waited out the chance of rain this morning, but halfway into my walk, the drizzle started.  It was a nice drizzle though; refreshing since we don't often get rain in the desert.

I always pick up litter along the way, find a kitty to feed and leave a little love whenever I can.

And just as I got closer to home, I noticed that someone had put out a big bunch of flowers by the trashcan.

"No flowers without a little rain" ... even if they are fake.  :)

Have a nice day.

Several Things for Day Three

My game plan was to post every day this month.  Vloggers do Vlogmas on YouTube so thought I'd do Blogmas here, but I already missed day two.  :)  Whoops!

Last night we went to a wedding -- I normally don't like to go as they are all quite different and never know what to expect.  Often, I'm not appropriately dressed because my husband is not good at asking questions and getting details.  Sometimes we go, just to make an appearance but don't stay very long; however, since we had friends in from New York who went with us, we kinda had to follow their lead .... and as a result, we didn't get home until after midnight.

Dancing went on for several hours which meant the dinner buffet didn't start until 10:00 p.m. (another reason I don't like going since I'm not a fan of eating so late).

Anyways ...

What I had planned to post yesterday was the start of a granny square scrapghan made entirely from leftover yarn.

Since it's just for me -- to be used as a lapghan or table cover or an outdoor blanket -- I'm literally just knotting each new color in and crocheting away.  

Besides, I love the scrappy look of handmade patched together with whatever is available.

Today was our by-weekly Kuwait Crafters meet-up -- 8 of this time, always a lovely morning of sharing and crafting.

Happy Saturday!

Hello December!

 Hi Friends!
Hope this finds you doing well.

To kick off the season today I crocheted a little tree ornament following a YouTube tutorial by Kristines Crochets.  The variegated yarn is some that I've had forever -- just leftover bits of it that can only be used for small projects.  (Plus, the red-green-white combo always makes me think of Christmas.)

I've made many of Kristine's designs but it was her Everyday Tote Bag video that got me started.

I wound up making 9 of them (but didn't get pictures of all the colors) and have already gifted 5.  

.  Her tutorials are easy to follow along with and quite peaceful since there's no talking, only nice background music as she crochets, and pattern details are also printed on the screen as each round is worked.

Needless to say, I'm definitely hooked and will for sure be following along with many more of her videos.

Wishing you a merry month.

Still Here, Crafting Caturday

 Long time no blog ... again.
Story of my life.

Had a lovely couple of hours with my craft group this morning.  We are finally meeting regularly (every other Saturday) after a 2-1/2 year break because of the pandemic.

Some of the members bring finished projects for show and tell.

And then we craft and chat away the morning.

It's always a nice, inspiring time and just about the only socializing I get these days.

Although we did just have our nephew here from Canada for 10 days but I'll save the highlights of his visit for another time.

Happy Caturday!

Crafting Days of Summer

 Did you know that Friday the 12th was World Cross-stitch Day?I stitched and photographed the above for a post to our Kuwait Crafters Instagram account.

And stitched a small design from Gaza that is documented in the book Palestinian Embroidery.On Saturday, 6 of us gathered for crafting in public ... something we've not done in quite awhile.  (We are hoping to start up our regular craft meetings again next month.)Zhraa on the far left is the one who crocheted the granny square sweater for me that I posted about before.  Saturday was the first time I wore it and I really do love it so much.

And speaking of granny squares.

Yesterday was Granny Square Day hosted by @simplycrochetmag over on Instragram.  The bottom left are the squares that some of our Kuwait Crafters posted last year, and the above right is from this year.  Bottom right are some of the traditional squares (my favorite) that I made over the weekend and yesterday I crocheted the Flora Granny Square designed by Lucy at Attic24. 

I miss walking but it's currently 11:18 a.m. and 104 degrees (with a high expected of at least 110 F) so indoor crafting is the best thing to do this time of year.

Museum Visit

 Yesterday was World Embroidery Day so thought I’d share our visit of July 11th to the Central State Museum of Kazakhstan located in Almaty.

From 1931, the museum was based in a former cathedral (built by A.P. Zenkov between 1904-1907) but a new building was designed and erected in 1985.

 It is said to be one of the biggest museums in Central Asia and houses a collection of more than 300,000 artifacts across 7 main exhibition halls.

My favorite sections of any museum are always those that depict the traditional culture, life, household items and arts and crafts of a place and its people which always includes textiles that are woven or stitched or hooked.

The last exhibit we entered showcased collections of clothing, crafts and other items particular to many of the different Central Asian ethnic groups.

Although the grounds surrounding the museum were a big mess with some sort of revitalization going on, inside everything was very organized and a pleasure to walk through, providing inspiration via the craftsmanship and artistry of long ago 

Hope you enjoyed this quick tour.

Sunday blessings.

Long Time

 Three months since my last post.

Where do I begin?

We traveled to Bishkek, Kyrgystan end of April-early May where I sprained my left wrist while on a hike and that meant I had to abandon the 100 day creativity project.  (It took nearly a month for my wrist to heal.)

(Alamedin Gorge, Bishkek, Kyrgystan, May 2, 2022)

At the end of May, I went to the States for a month to see my boys and to be with my mom when she had wrist surgery.  (She fell months earlier and the bone did not heal properly so surgery was necessary to try to get some movement back in her wrist/hand/fingers.)

(Idaho Springs, Colorado, June 18, 2022)

Just as I got over the jet lag from that trip, we went to Almaty, Kazakhstan for 5 days.  Unfortunately, a nagging eye problem had me in bed our last afternoon there and once back in Kuwait, a doctor's visit was necessary. (Thankfully, the two eyedrops, ointment, and two different pills did the trick after about a week and my eye finally feels fine.) (Statue of Kazakh composer, Mukan Tolebayav, Almaty, Kazakhstan, July 11, 2022)

Yesterday was the first day that I stepped out the front door since we got back from Kazakhstan on the 13th (except for going to the eye doctor).

I met up with my crafty friend, Zhraa, who gifted me with a belated birthday gift (that she apparently had to totally redo -- my birthday was in February).

Traditional granny squares are my favorite and I'm so in love with how colorful and beautiful this sweater is.  She even ordered a special tag to attach to it that is totally awesome and so true since it really did take her freaking forever to finish.

She said she missed my IG posts about my neighborhood walks so I forced myself out the door this morning for a wander which always includes picking up litter and feeding kitties.  Before 9:00 a.m., the temperature is still just below 100 F so I need to get out before then if I'm going to keep this up.

As always, I hope this finds you doing well.

Take care.

Darn!

 I broke my streak.

Completely forgot about posting yesterday.  Actually, I remembered right after I laid my head on my pillow, but it was already 11:30 p.m. and I did not want to get out of bed.  :)

I had something else planned for day 26 of the 100 day creative challenge I am doing but it just didn't work out.  So, the default option is always hearts.

First thing this morning while having coffee and visiting blogs, I saw Maya Kuzman's post for granny stripe circles so that was the first thing on my agenda for day 27.  I thought I'd get a couple more done but had to abandon one due to failing at yarn chicken (was using leftover cotton) and then I just ran out of time.

I really need to plan ahead and get things done earlier.

It's 10:55 p.m. and time for bed, again.

Hope your Wednesday is wonderful.

Quick Stitch

 More major cleaning needed to happen today so I was only able to sit down this evening for a very quick stitch.

The pattern is a Monday motif freebie from the IG account @thetatreezcircle that promotes Palestinian embroidery.  The pattern is coffee beans from Jaffa and Gaza in Palestine.  I just happened to have a little frame that it fit perfectly in.

Best wishes for a new week.

Adding On

 There wasn't much time for crafting today.

We've had a lot of hazy, dusty weather lately with the air quality today rated as "hazardous".  So, even though my husband thinks I'm crazy for dusting when it's dusty outside, I have to clean when the mood strikes and today was the day for some deep cleaning.

This evening I sat down to add a few rows to a simple granny square, my favorite to make.  I have loads started and whenever I come across an odd ball of yarn, I'll find a square where the color will match best and then do as many rounds as I can.

Sometimes simple is best.

Sunday blessings.

A Better Square

 Today's tapestry crochet square was much easier than yesterday's mosaic crochet.

I'm satisfied with the results, though I would sometimes forget to change color in the right spot and need to work on better tension when working over the yarn being carried across the row.The design is the dove afghan square by Lisa Hamblin which can be found at crochetnmore.com

Tomorrow is the release of the 4th pattern.

If you are on Instagram you can check @alessiafiberart or @bokkyshome for updates.

World peace must develop from inner peace. Peace is not just mere absence of violence. Peace is, I think, the manifestation of human compassion.
(Dalai Lama XIV)

Have a good day.

No. 2 of the Peace CAL

 Well friends, I did try, but mosaic crochet is not for me.

The design is by Tinna Thorudottir Thorvaldar who is the queen of mosaic crochet.  You can find her on YouTube or on Instagram @tinnahekl 

Her work is truly incredible.

The YouTube tutorial she made was excellent.

My skills are not.

It does look the way it's supposed to; it's just not very neatly done.  The white yarn I used was too thin and hard to work with.

I may try again with better yarn but truthfully, the tutorial was an hour and a half so it obviously took way longer than that since I stopped and started and rewound it quite often.

I much prefer the satisfaction of quick and easy projects.

Peace Sign Crochet

There's a crochet for peace cal (crochet-along) taking place on Instagram with a new pattern being released every Sunday for 9 weeks.

The peace sign was the first one posted 3 Sundays ago.  I wasn't sure if I was going to join the cal but decided to give it a go today (even though color changes are not my favorite thing to do)

It wasn't too bad.  Wish I had used different yarn but I just grabbed what I had on hand that I thought might work.

Now the question is, will I give the other two patterns a go (one is mosaic crochet and the other is tapestry) before the next one is released this coming Sunday?

More Peace

Peace may sound simple - one beautiful word - but it requires everything we have, every quality, every strength, every dream, every high ideal.

 (Yehudi Menuhin)

Have a peaceful day.

May Peace Abide

 Selenophile.
A person who is fond of the moon.

My husband called me more than once this month to tell me to go outside and look at the moon.

Came across this quote by Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14 Astronaut, that accurately describes how I feel about politics and all disrupters of peace in this world.

You develop an instant global consciousness, a people orientation, an intense dissatisfaction with the state of the world, and a compulsion to do something about it. From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say,

‘Look at that, you son of a bitch.”

Made a very small start on a free cross-stitch pattern from Beth Twist at Heartstrings Samplery who modified her original design that said "Within this house may peace abide" to "Around the world may peace abide".

More to come.

Take care.