Divine

Divine, I wonder
who you are.
Are you God,
or a star.

Perhaps you are
energy, standing by,
waiting until
I look to the sky.

Hands together,
set for prayer.
I send my words
forth to air.

Did you hear
them Divine?
Did you get
them in time?

A little help
is all I need.
Divine attention,
my soul to feed.

Michelle Kroll 2/12

Be well. Create. Inspire.

{this moment}

{this moment} -

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.

A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Inspired by Amanda Soule of http://www.soulemama.com/

Be well. Create. Inspire.



Your Inner Mystic- Mindful Knitting

The following is dialogue from a recent program I did entitled "Your Inner Mystic."  My portion was on Mindful Knitting.

There is a right time, a divine time, that the spark happens. I started to crochet at approximately 14 and I still crochet to this day. Knitting started for me around 20. There has been a lot of learning since. For a while there I was knitting “wrong,” (although there is no wrong way), so we’ll call it different. And, being more or less self-taught there was a lot of trial and error. Wanting to grow and develop my skills. For 2012 I have made 2 knitting goals: brioche and getting more comfortable with color work. I definitely consider these goals as a bit of spiritual growth as well as it provides me discipline and patience.

Why does this activity feel like a connection with God?
Sometimes it is so intricate and beautiful I impress myself.

Did you know it from the start, or did it dawn on you later?
This happened much later. Really, after discovering that it was ok to have fiber arts as a spiritual practice.

What helps you to do it/keeps you from doing it?
Well, I have a meter that I log information on and I knit 7.5 miles last year. So, when I start thinking “I wish I had time to knit.” I try and remember this statistic.

How is doing this like- or not like - prayer for you?
It is very much prayer for me. Particularly when I can get into that quiet and contemplative space. It helps when the repeat of the pattern is rhythmic so I am not constantly having to stop and look at a pattern.

How does it feel to speak about this to others?
I find it awkward. I have a hard time accepting praise. Don’t get me wrong, I love that my work gets appreciated but it always make me blush. I find that in my age group and environment that it is not always accepted to discuss spirituality. But, that is a whole other topic!

What would you recommend to someone who’s just beginning?
Dive in and ask someone you know to help ;) or your LYS

Be well. Create. Inspire.

Finished Shawls

Before another month passes let me catch you up on some of my recent finished projects.

 As promised, albeit a bit late.  Above it the finished Terra Shawl.  Recall that this was made out of Shelter- Jared Flood's first yarn.  Since then he has come out with more temptation in his second yarn, Loft.  The pattern was a simple knit but a bit time consuming.  You don't really get to see how big it is until it is all blocked.  This is a perfectly large size for me.  Wrap-able.

Above here, is the completed Rainbow Girasole.  This was so fun to knit.  It was exciting to always be anticipating the next colors and to anticipate the next chart.  I was SO pleased to see that it ended up on purple.  The edging is done in Jamieson's Shetland Spindrift in Loganberry. 

I have also finished the Trousseau Shawl.  Pictures of that one are still in process.  I recently finished a couple hats as well.  More pictures and blogging will happen soon.   Thanks for hanging in there. 

Be well. Create. Inspire.

WIP Wednesday: Girasole

Work in Progress: Girasole

Here is the current status of the Kauni Rainbow Girasole.  I am still on the first skein of yarn.  I am also at the stage that has 640 stitches around.  So, each round is taking a while.  But the end is in sight and it is going to look fabulous.  The teal one is a bit farther behind.  It will get there.  I have a retreat coming up, there will be a LOT of knitting getting done.

Be well. Create. Inspire.

{this moment}

(It appears this didn't post last Friday)

{this moment} - A Friday ritual inspired by SouleMama. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Be well. Create. Inspire.

WIP Wednesday- Girasole

Work in Progress Wednesday- today. 

I am teaching a class at MakeOne in Milwaukie on the Girasole Pattern.  I made this pattern earlier this year for myself for my birthday.  You can find the project page here and the previous blog post here.  It has been nice to work the pattern again.  As you can see from the pictures above I am currently working two at a time.  One is out of Cascade Heritage and the other out of Kauni Effektgarn 8/2 Rainbow.  It is a self striping rainbow yarn with long runs of colors to make nice bands in the pattern.  My favorite part of the pattern is that the charts are just long enough and then I am ready to start the next chart. Currently both are keeping pace on chart D.  It will be a work in progress for a while.  So you will likely see it again next week. 

Be well. Create. Inspire.