As a child, growing up in the Roman Catholic church, we always celebrated Advent. This is partially because I was a serious pyro child, so I got excited whenever there were matches and candles involved. (I still can’t believe Mom was letting me light the prayer candles at age 6. She is a brave woman.) … More Behind the Design: Advent Wreath Hat
I have a thing about earflaps. That is, I love them. As we saw last week, the Advent KAL hat doesn’t structurally need earflaps. But I couldn’t live without adding these ornamental earflaps, with the long I-cord braids that hang from them. Of course, you can make the braids as long as you like; I’ve … More Clue #4 Done
What are your first associations with the word “comfort”? Comfort food? A big hug? A security blanket? Something you never got? Knitters know a thing or two about tangible comforts. We like to wrap ourselves and our loved ones up in wool, and we like to curl up on a cold winter’s night with a … More Advent 4 – Comfort Ye
It snowed most of the day today, and even stuck some. It was the perfect day to cuddle up with wool socks, hot coffee, and a space heater to crank out some Christmas presents. That’s not exactly what happened; I was working on Christmas presents, but there was no cuddling or knitting. It was mostly … More Clue #3 Done
Wreaths have a long history in the western world. They were worn and awarded in ancient Greece and Rome as a sign of status or achievement, and are still associated with festival costume. I have a wreath of dried flowers for my Renn fest costume that I still dust off every year. The history of … More Advent Clue #2 Done
We all have those days. In the wake of my loss, I found ways to move on, eventually. It changed me forever, but I wasn’t sad anymore. But there are still bad days. Fewer and farther between, but still bad. They’re usually triggered by something, some reminder, some event, that makes me come face to … More Snowing Just for Me
My first Advent 1 clue, blocking above and kitchnered below. The band is a slightly modified version of the “Wheat Ear” stitch, one of many which I tried out of Barbara Walker’s first treasury. The tight cables, 3×3 repeated over just four rows, went very well with the I-cord edge I knew I wanted, and … More Advent Clue #1 Done
What do you think of when you think of “Advent?” I can’t look into your mind, and perhaps you’re much more original than me, but here’s what I think of. It’s almost Christmas! It’s the beginning of the Christian year, time to find that new Ordo calendar. A wreath with three purple candles and one … More Advent 1 – Associations
This is our story of grief. This is a necessary prequel for what I’ll be writing about Advent; for an explanation of why, see this post. Innocence. I was so happy. Jared was terrified out of his mind, but I was unspeakably happy. I didn’t realize how much I had longed for a child until … More Loss and Waiting
Grief took everything that was holding my world together and disjointed it from itself. My cognitive structure was fractured, like a skeleton discovered by an archaeologist, laid neatly on a table, but with no joints touching anymore. This disconnect seemed to take a while to set in, but it happened in an instant. What took … More Though He Slay Me – A Preface
Osborn Fiber Studio 