Hey friends,
We’re almost at the end of January. Wow, that was a long seven weeks! ;-)
The end of January means that Imbolc, one of the festivals in the Celtic Wheel of the year, is fast approaching. February 1-2 marks this particular point in the Wheel. The days are getting longer, little green shoots are appearing in the garden. And it is also the start of the 2023 version of the Wheel of The Year Stitchalong!
I am very excited to get started on this stitchalong. Last year the design was more or less naturalistic but this year it is pretty abstract, with eight mandala inspired motifs. It is all planned out and I can’t wait to get stitching. I want to see the thing in real life, not just in my head. :-)
In fact, I already did make a slight head start on the Imbolc design (above photo) so I could share some ideas for the colours and stitches with people who join the stitchalong.
Join the stitchalong if you would like to use embroidery to mark the eight festivals in the Wheel of the year. No need to be Celtic or a witch or wiccan or druid or anything like that. The way I use it is to take a moment at each festival, sit down with my embroidery and think about nature. Maybe that sounds a bit woo-woo but now more than ever it is important to connect with our planet, when so many people don’t care that it is heading for disaster…
Sometimes I also use the festivals to think about what I did in the past six weeks and what I want to do in the weeks ahead. I find that it helps me feel more grounded, focused and calm…
Join the Wheel of The Year Stitchalong here. Save 15% until February 2nd with this code: IMBOLC2023.
If I’m not getting lost in stitching the Imbolc motif this weekend, I’m hoping to spend some time making this quilt back for a quilt top I made in 2020! About time I finished it! :-D
Have a lovely weekend!
x Carina
Some Things I Am Enjoying
Book: The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate* by Peter Wohlleben. I’ve only just started reading this book but it already feels kinda magical…
Watching: Sijipeuseu: The Myth. “An unfathomable incident introduces a genius engineer to dangerous secrets of the world, and to a woman from the future who's come looking for him.”
Music: The Out of Time album by R.E.M. Can’t go wrong with R.E.M. :-)
Instagram: @livinglondonhistory If you like to learn interesting things about London and its history, follow this guy. :-)
*bookshop.org affiliate link.
Join the Pattern Lab and get this week’s motif: