Autumn's Offerings - Thor and Sif

NOTE - This article was written, and should have published back in September. It seems it got lost in the ones and zeros...

At the time of balance of the year, I look to nature to see the importance of balance in our lives. In this harvest season it's easy to look to the bountiful fields and the food on our tables as proof of the benefits of balance.

In the Norse tradition Thor is, besides being a mighty warrior, the Lord of Storms. By his presence or absence we get rain and fair weather. Thus, he would be praised for both bringing rain and snow, and for sunny days. Sif, his wife, is a goddess of the fields. Her golden hair (get it right Marvel!) is representative of ripened grains.

Their relationship is a thing of Balance. If there is not enough rain the grain will not grow, if there is too much it rots in the fields. Throughout the winter the soil rests to prepare for the next growing season. Their partnership has space. This is the lesson of the Autumn Equinox,  establish balance in order to create fruitfulness.

As for the making, I placed my ring on the top half of a rectangle of linen, and started stitching! The clouds slowly filled in with undulating waves. I added falling rain drops near the end, and the last touch - a bolt of lightening from the God of Thunder.

The bottom ring I filled with the plants of the fields - vetch, bindweed, grasses, and most importantly golden ripening grain! That space of overlap is the Venn Diagram of the season - rain on the fields.

We gathered for a large feast, think early Thanksgiving, to share in the fruits of the second harvest. This piece was an offering to the Patrons of the rite - Thor and Sif. That is to say, it went up in flames. We got a good omen, and had a fantastic night of food and fellowship. Sacred stitchery has become one of my favorite things!

What are you thankful for? How do you bring balance into your life?

Wild Cucurbits in the Garden

Wild and out of control! Squirrels, as any gardener will know, love to raid the compost and deposit pilfered seeds about the yard. I am used to having a few volunteer tomatoes, sunflowers, and of course Cucurbits! The trouble with the cucurbita family is that the first few leaves are almost identical. One could play a guessing game - pumpkin or cucumber? Melon or zucchini? Most of them get (sadly) plucked out in order to maintain some semblance of order.

These two lovelies, however, decided to grow around the trunk of our recently deceased tree. I gave them no encouragement, I did instruct Mr. Crafty to mow around them. So, like any good guest, in exchange for a little yard space they have provided me with some mysterious squash yummies.

You see, across the Cucurbita family, cross-pollenation is to be expected. I have heard tale of pump-alopes, cuke-inni, and other hybrids. (Such as my Pattypan Ghost!) These two seem to be different decendants from an acorn squash, each diverging in it's own fashion. We will see if they maintain the tasty flesh of their ancestors...

Do you leave volunteer veggies in your garden? Have you had any delicious surprises?

Finds - Thanksgiving

It's time to welcome friends and family into your home for an orgiastic explosion of seasonal food. It's my favorite holiday - food, drink, crazy ass family - what could go wrong?

Welcome people to your door with a splash of color and a woodland feel. Wreath by ChloesCraftCloset

Offer up a sweet hostess gifts of harvest season homemade jams to brighten the table from ThePolkadotMagpie.

Lay down this colorful and traditional runner hand-woven in cotton, perfect on raw wood or a bold tablecloth. Made by AclHandWeaver

Decorate the table with a light-hearted touch, paper centerpieces from kNotesforkNitters (also one of the coolest shops names on Etsy.)

Light up some candles for atmosphere and soft glow, harvest candles byArtisanWitchcraft.

Finally, raise a toast to friends and family, to the plenty of the harvest and the goodness of the earth! Hand thrown pottery by NancyBloklandPottery.

Hope it's a good stuff-your-face week, what are you thankful for?

Flowers Everywhere!

 I know, it's not the season we would usually think of for flowers. Everything is all dead and dormant right now (let's pretend it's not been in the upper 60s all week and the spring bulbs are not trying to come up...) and it's not really the time for lush bouquets.

Fortunately there is never really a time without flowers, nature keeps that ball rolling 365! I'm also working on a new "Wheel of the Year" project, this one is themed with flowers instead of trees. I started with Lavender for Midsummer, and Sunflowers for Lughnassahd. I'm now working on Marigolds for Mabon.

It's been an adventure deciding how to portray specific species, and finding suitable accurate colors for each plant. I'm behind in starting on Samhain's Nightshade plant, but hoping to catch up soon. I also had a small epiphany that should be helpful, I find myself constantly redrawing the layout boundaries on the ground, it's dark and the white of chalk pencils seems to disappear quickly. I'm going to try bating a thread along the lines to delineate the space for each one, hopefully it will stay longer!

What are you crafting for the fall season?

Samhain Workday

 Usually it's not good to start things this time of year, but it is a smart idea to finish up projects and put things to bed!

I spent much of the day digging under frozen plants in my garden and covering them with fresh compost to prepare the soil for next year. This mirrors the work our ancestors have done for millennium, laying aside the fields for the winter.

 Then I covered it up with leaves to mulch it and add more material to compost in the winter months. Naturally I had a lot more leaves than I needed for this, so they quadrupled the size of my mulch pile!

 It's also an important time to put up food for the cold months. I've been receiving a bag of apples each week from our Farm Share, and the pile is growing! I decided it was pie time...

But not to eat all at once, I want pie all winter long. I like to prepare fruit so it's ready for use, I use little pie pans to freeze fillings in the perfect shape. After it's frozen I take it out of the pans and seal the bags, I already have piles of peach fillings from earlier in the summer.

It seems so natural to be doing these task this time of year, my oven was full all afternoon preparing the fruits of the season. What are you doing in the dark time of the year?

Etsy finds - Lammas Harvest

The seasons are pushing on so quickly, didn't we just have spring? It's been very hot here tho, and the summer's veggie harvest is in full swing. Today my Grove is celebrating Lammas, a time to remember the hard work of preparing fields for planting, and to enjoy first harvest.  Let's gather in joy and share the first sheaves of wheat together!

This wonderful piece of artwork is from ThomasPhilbrook, such great colors!

Lughnasadh is another name for this festival, honoring the Celtic god Lugh. Here is his mighty spear shaped into a pendant by HoodedCrowCrafts

Legend tells us that Lugh ordered the celebration of the harvest to commemorate his foster mother Tailtiu who cleared the land for planting. This lovely wheat wreath is from PositivelyPagan.

In this modern world we often forget about the efforts of everyone who works hard to keep us fed. Take a moment to reflect on the amazing journey that energy takes to get from the sun to your tabletop. Cross-stitch pattern from BlueMoonEnterprises

 

So, light a candle to honor the sun, and be sure to thank Mother Earth for her bounties. Colorful harvest candles from MagickalCupboard.

What do you do to celebrate the bountiful summer months?

Harvest Time Cookies

As part of my lovely Thanksgiving week, I naturally worked hard to move thru the pounds of pumpkin puree in the freezer. There was pies naturally, and a bread or two, but one of the most fun to make was Pumpkin Hazelnut Cookies.
Butter, sugar and honey creamed, then an equal measure of pumpkin. Don't forget all the spices - cinnamon, allspice, cloves, nutmeg and ginger.
Leavening and whole wheat pastry flour, I then sifted the fine bits out of my roasted hazelnuts. Whenever I use my food processor to chop nuts I end up with both nearly whole pieces, and very fine flour. Putting it in the cookies gave a subtle nutty flavor, but kept them from getting lumpy.
I rolled it out pretty thick, I like squishy cookies not burnt ones. And I'm not afraid of big cookie cutters either! I made both oak leaves and these odd turkey (?) shaped ones. No matter how fast I roll I rarely can keep up with the oven...
Have you been making seasonal yummies? Try something new, and it may become a common occurrence...
UPDATE - These cookies were brought to craft night at the local coffee house, and shared with the barista a few weeks ago. Last week he had a special request "it's my birthday next week, will you make me some of those cookies?" This "recipe" is officially part of the repertoire!

Small Business Saturday

Are you ready for Thanksgiving? In my family we have always taken great pains to be sure that the Yule-time holidays don't overshadow the greatest holiday of all. I mean, really... It's a holiday that every American can celebrate. There's no religious undertones, no ethnic history, celebrating questionable history. (Ok yes, the Europeans and the Natives didn't get on all that well ultimately, but it's a celebration of survival and plenty, not conquest.)

But as a business woman I have to recognize the simple fact, this starts a shopping rush. But Black Friday? Is there really anyone who looks forward to lining up in the wee hours of the morning to fight someone for the last Tickle-me-Elmo? To a rushed and harried day of desperately searching sales. To waiting in long checkout lines as miserable clerks run up your credit card debt. Is this really what the Holiday spirit is all about?

Make this year different, make Friday a "Buy Nothing" day, stay home with your family, play in the leaves, enjoy your turkey cranberry sandwiches and some hot cider. Leave the ravenous hordes to fight for scraps.

But if you have shopping to do, consider joining in Small Business Saturday. Go to the little clumps of locally owned boutiques, stroll the street with friends and family, take your time perusing the goods. Often your small local stores have items you just can't find in a Big Box retailer, so you will bring home something unique!

Need more reasons? It's estimated that $0.45 of each dollar you spend in a locally owned shop stays in your community, through the salaries of the workers and the profits of the business, and the fact that these community members often shop local as well! Building strong sustainable communities requires diverse small businesses.
Shopping Local ensures a unique variety of goods is available, and makes every city and nieghborhood different. It makes sure you have options. Also, no local shops I know of are opening at 2 in the morning, their employees get to enjoy Thanksgiving with their families and plenty of sleep.

Finds - Harvest

Sorry for a lack of updates blog friends, changes are in the air with the crisp Autumn wind! And much of my "free" time (free? ha!) is used processing and bringing in the harvest! Here's a quick pick of my favorite goods for the season...
An excellent piece from Bomobob
Fabulous decor for any window, by WhirlGirlGlass
Fine hair decor by Nomsa
A delicate accoutrement from CreationsByEileen
For your Mabon enjoyment (any many other harvest rituals) from WhiteMagic
Lovely napkins, perfect for tucking in to your favorite Autumn dish! From NapkinLapkin.