The Smushy Hat

Ah, more knitty stuff and a random update. Made this cabled hat from a wonderful merino cashmere blend from Holly Berry, a lovely, cozy little yarn shop in Old Colorado City. If you are planning on attending the Witch n' Bitch this Sunday and need supplies (hooks, needles, yarn, embroidery thread, etc) here's the short list:

Needleworks by Holly Berry- they answer my dumb questions. (2409 West Colorado Avenue)

Green Valley Knitters and Weavers- Gorgeous, locally sheared, spun, and hand dyed yarn, as well as commercially produced yarn and roving, spindles, spinning wheels and a nice book selection. (2115 W. Colorado Ave)

Yarn Outlet -my personal fave. Great staff and lux yarn on the cheap. (416 S 8th St)

Hope to see you on Sunday!

-Carmin

Mundane Happenings

Hey there, not a lot going on in the magical front; it's the end of winter here in the Rockies, about that time of year when it feels as if spring is taking it's sweet time.
I've been busily crafting, working on a few new things for the shop, but mostly deep in the heart of knitting goodies for friends and loved ones. Ravelry may be the greatest thing since sliced bread.
The top photo is a baby sweater for a friend, expecting a wee little girl in a few months, and the bottom photo is the first of many Jayne Cobb hats. It's cunning, see? ;)
Witch n' Bitches are ongoing, so if you want to get your crafty on, check our Facebook fan page for the latest news on location (every Sunday, but coffee shops vary).

Hope you all are well!

-Carmin

It's Finished!!!!

I love that in-between state of knitting projects... the rush of finishing a piece, and contemplating the next one. Drooling over fibers and possibilities at the local yarn shop, writing patterns in my head, dreaming over complex cables and Fair Isle...but repetition is a killer . That said, this particular scarf was a joy to make. The bamboo and silk combination is light and soft, and the color never got old no matter how long I looked at it :) I chose a moss stitch (a.k.a seed stitch) for an earthy, organic look. It makes an excellent contrast to the elegant and subtle sheen of the yarn. Currently available in the Etsy shop

And on to the next project! Found a luscious hand-spun Romney that's begging to be used.

Sea Horse of Doom!!! and erm, other things

It needs to feeeed, precious!

Ac has officially adopted the sea-horse-dragon-fetus-demon thing, and promises that it will felt well. I've never felted bamboo before, so the results should be interesting. It tends to take eons to dry after blocking though.

Currently working on other projects. I miss dressmaking (I say that now) and am designing attractive, non-velvet (tired of seeing acres of purple velvet at every Open Sabbat, lol) ritual attire for the shop... not sure when it will be released, perhaps not until early Spring. Made for all body types, stuff that will make you look and feel more like a Goddess and less like a highly flammable Ren Faire reject or a hooker- ever notice that those seems to be the only 2 choices we get in "Pagan Wear"?

Robes you can dance around the bonfire in, mildly drunk, and not go up in flames...Spiral dancing without tripping and falling face first into the Cakes and Wine... speaking from bad personal experiences, lol ;) Pardon if I seem mildly obsessive.
Stuff for guys, too. Oh, you'll see, but I'm very excited about breaking out the needle and thread once again.

A project closer at hand is the Wearable Potions. Made in the true potion tradition with attention to detail; solid perfumes crafted from beeswax, fine oils, organic herbs and essential oils, stones and crystals; made according to Moon phase, day of the week, planetary hour, and astrological conditions.

The first in the series "Aphrodesia" is in the Etsy shop, and we will be adding more in time. :)

-Carmin

Treasuring your Mistakes

Right now, as we speak, I am attempting to knit a new charm bag, with a little intarsia crescent moon knit into the middle. It's my first attempt at intarsia, and I'm going without a pattern. I'm about half way through and can already tell that it's going to be butt ugly.Not even country-charming-butt ugly, more like the kind that makes the little old ladies at the yarn store weep and pray for your soul.

Spiritual lesson? I've met a great many practitioners that refuse to fess up to magical misdeeds, misfired rituals... or burning their fingers in general, even reading the "wrong" books. Some are afraid of losing face within the community, having students question their abilities, or simply disappointing people that have a certain image of them. I get it.
But when I was still teaching in a coven oriented group, I found that nothing breaks the ice like setting your sleeves on fire during the middle of a ritual. That students learn more from the mistakes I made as a cocky little spell caster than from any trite admonitions to avoid trying something because of "karma". What happens when you mix strong emotions, desperation, and blood into a love spell. Why the biggest tarot spread in the world is a dumb idea. That cursings and bindings don't automatically invoke the Law of Three. Why healing spells aren't necessarily 'positive'.

As most magical traditions are experiential ones, you can get so much more out of them by trying and failing, rather than going by the book, or never putting the book down and getting off the couch.

Ok, so the image on the bag is nearly done, and it looks less like a Moon, and more like an angry seahorse, or possibly a genetic experiment between a parsnip and a whale, gone horribly wrong. I love it. So anyway, yeah. Sorry I haven't blogged in awhile ^ - ^

My Precious

My sincerest apologies to LOTR for the Photoshopping; by all accounts, this is exactly how I look in the yarn store. ;P

I'm even dreaming about the fiber arts now. Last night, it was a man in a black hat, needle felting in the road. That's what I get for knitting and attempting to learn drop-spindle spinning at 2AM. Gah!
The current project is charm bags. The silk cabled Tarot bag didn't turn out as expected, and another cabled strip is going to have to be added in order to center it properly. Kind of depressing, so it's going to sleep for a bit. Don't want to waste a solid weeks worth of work. Damn #3 needles.

Pennies in a jar

Every day we take steps to further the dream and cement it into reality.
Today, orders shipped off, a P.O Box acquired for those patrons who don't like credit cards, successful formulas written down for future use, mandrake seeds sent for so that we can finally grow these legendary creatures, and I've taken a bunch of yarn that was bought at a yard sale and recycled it into hand knit charm bags. I love the way they came out, like if your Grammy was a witch, she might have made these for you :) I have a short knitting attention span; I love the excitement of beginning a project, choosing yarns, altering patterns, colors, and sizes. I love finishing a project, seeing something manifested into realty by my own hands. It's just the long interval of K1, SSK, p2tog in between the two. The charm bags are holding my attention nicely. Switching colors every other bag, not to mention finishing something in about 30 minutes as opposed to a month!

The chill has finally settled into the cracks of night in our little valley. It feels as if summer is uneasy in this place. I can feel the promise of winter in the undercurrent of air, like my own native sea.
I've got to pick up some Life Everlasting from The Thymekeeper. Great stuff, by the way. It' is traditionally used ( and I can vouch for the effectiveness) as an all around health tonic, and the most remarkable effect upon myself was nearly instant relief from aching joints, cold, and lung complaints. Perfect for the descending frost.

I guess I will begin plotting and planning for tomorrow. On the upside, there have been no more attempts, at least at the moment, from Keeper of the Cauldron to steal our work. We are keeping close eye on the site, however, to ensure that it doesn't happen again.

I'll keep you updated on the progress of the mandrake!