New Project, New Craft

Ok, not entirely new. Ever since learning how to sew when I was a smidgen kid I've known how to embroider. But it's rare that I do. A sewing machine is a speedy satisfaction device. But now I am un-expertly picking away at a piece of nice hand-dyed linen with a chunky needle.
There's more to this project tho. A little over a year ago I moved back into a house after several years of apartment living. Making a large garden and yard has helped to put me back into the rhythms of the outside world. The plants need watering at certain times, when it's planting season or harvest time you cannot simply put off the work.
I began to realize how out of touch with the Earth I'd become. It sounds cheesy as hell, but I was a long way from the kid who dug bare feet into the mud summers ago. So as I began to readjust to the cycles of growing things I also renewed my interest in Earth-based spiritualities. I've been meeting with several local pagan groups, celebrating things like the full moons and the solstice. Marking the passage of the seasons. Even when I'm meeting people with healing crystals and too much patchouli I still feel more whole.

So back to the embroidery hoop... since the beginning of civilization people have made circles representing the cycle of the seasons - the wheel of the year. (Picture credit here) I am creating a circular work, a mandala of sorts, that will take me a year to stitch. I intend to finish the summer tree over the next few months, and then wait for the Autumnal Equinox to begin the next segment. A craft project that ties my creativity into the changing seasons. I'll post updates as each segment is complete.
Many of us craft for the seasons - making warm fuzzies in the winter and light airy clothes in the summer, have you ever had your creativity fueled by the time of year?