January 28th, 2017

I'll be heading over to SIPA's Imbolc ritual later this evening, but in the meantime I've been working on a knitting project. I like to knit a lot - there are few things quite so satisfying as making something you can actually use and wear - and I've been trying for years to get the hang of knitting sweaters. I've made no less than three separate sweater attempts in the past, and have gotten horribly stymied every time. However, as a holiday gift, my brother gave me a copy of Knitting Wizardry, by Amy Clarke Moore; it contains 27 projects inspired by the aesthetic of the Harry Potter movies, including socks, gloves, hats, and yes - sweaters.

On New Year's Eve, I picked a pattern to try. The techniques seemed like ones I could figure out, and I loved the look of it. The pattern, titled "Ginny's Sweater", features lacework up the back showing the faces of owls.

One of the benefits to being a knitting witch is that knitting (or crochet, for that matter) is a remarkable opportunity for knot magick. The owls in the back remind me of Athena, and also the expression "eyes on the back of your head". Therefore, I've been knitting this as a protection sweater. The idea is that the owls keep guard so nobody can sneak up on you wearing it, and so forth.

This is the sweater as it currently is in progress. I have the bulk of it done, but I need a bit more yarn to do all the finishing details, most particularly the button-band.

And here's the back. The owl pattern looks more subtle here than it does in the book's photo; not sure yet if that's a combination of my gauge and the yarn I chose, or if it just needs to be blocked. Regardless, I'm really happy with how it's coming along, and it even looks like it might actually fit me.

If you would like to purchase Knitting Wizardry, it's available as an e-book or a hard copy. This is the author's page for Ginny's Sweater on Ravelry, which in turn has links off to get the book.

January 19th, 2015

Well, I go back to class tomorrow! My fingers are crossed for a good day; both of my Tuesday courses are ones I've been really looking forward to, so hopefully it will be a good time.

After spending about a month's worth of days working on it, I finally finished crocheting my Celtic knot shawl. The pattern is available for free here on Ravelry, if anyone is interested in giving it a go (you may have to make a free Ravelry account to be able to view it). I would rate the design as being of intermediate difficulty, although the knot pattern itself was very easy to follow.

According to the woman who posted the pattern, this design came from a book of Celtic knotwork, and symbolizes human interconnectedness and friendship.

I've always loved these seemingly endless patterns, but realized that I actually know very little about the history of their use. As such, I've done a bit of a Google search to learn more about Celtic knotwork.

These popular patterns, generally presenting a stylized image of a knot as opposed to taking a realism-based approach, are found in the Celtic style of Insular art. Insular artwork - also known as Hiberno-Saxon art - developed in the post-Roman history of the British isles. The name "insular" itself comes from the Latin "insula", meaning island. Most insular art comes from Celtic Ireland, beginning around 600 CE.

While the classic Celtic knot came about after the fall of the Romans, the designs may have been rooted in Roman patterns. In the 300-400s CE, knotwork began to appear in Roman mosaic floor tiles. Similar motifs are found in Byzantine, Coptic, Islamic, and Russian artwork of the same time period; given the growth of trade and cross-cultural exchange in this era, it seems probable that the geometric designs of the Middle East spread along the trade routes of the time and morphed eventually into the Celtic knotwork that we recognize today.

Most of our modern understanding of these Celtic art forms comes from its preservation at Christian hands. Therefore, what we know must be taken with a grain of salt, given the contemporary monks' tendency to try to appropriate local practices and erase any Pagan overtones. That being said, it is clear that prior to the Christianization of the Celts, their artwork consisted of predominately spiral, step, and key patterns.

These designs, and variations thereof, found their way into the illuminations of Christian manuscripts, as well as onto gravestones and other cross-bearing emblems. Much of the modern understanding of the knotted designs comes from the preservation of these pieces.

Lots of websites propose potential "meanings" for different styles of knotwork; however, as with much of the rest of Celtic history, few written records survive to document the actual intended symbolism. There is no evidence that I could find to prove a religious or philosophical association with the designs. That being said, a few relatively standard interpretations stand out. The first is the idea of eternity, which should be mostly intuitive, given the fact that the knots usually are endless. Also, associations with nature, man, and the elements seems to be the widely accepted correspondence. Published books on the matter are likely more authoritative on the subject than uncited sources on the internet, so I will leave it at that.

One design in particular that I will mention is the triquetra.

You may recognize this design - most Neo-Pagans probably do. This simple piece of Celtic knotwork is often used in Pagan circles to represent, for example, the Triple Goddess. In Christian circles, it is taken to represent the Holy Trinity. Many variations on the design exist; for instance, the intertwined circle in the image above may be a more modern version.

To my understanding of it, the usage of the Celtic knot has been so widespread and predominately secular for long enough that it is not cultural appropriation to use the designs in one's work. If I am mistaken in my understanding of this, by all means drop me a message.

At any rate, I enjoyed putting together this miniature history lesson, and hope that it has been informative.

September 7th, 2013

Oh my, did it slip into September somehow? Good gracious! I seem to have missed the memo. However, I had an exceptionally productive Saturday for a change - I spent something like 12 hours crocheting a lacy steampunk choker. Why? Because my high school is going to use steampunk costumes for our upcoming production of A Midsummer Night's Dream - I'm going to play Puck and wanted to get a head start on costume design.

I also redecorated my altar for Mabon. It's so nice to be up-to-date on things; I can actually feel the energy change in my room!

It's got a much simpler design than I've had in previous years; right now, I'm appreciating austerity (or at least, a look that's austere for me).
My mini shrine got an update as well; after a field trip to the Anderson Japanese Gardens yesterday, I had several new items for incorporation, compliments of the gift shop.
First and foremost, I bought a package of Japanese incense, scented like lotus flowers. It smells wonderful even without burning it. I didn't realize the package came with its own incense holder, so I bought a ceramic one shaped like an origami crane.

I also bought a Maneki Neko, the beckoning cat who calls forth good luck. The kanji, 学問運, is read "Gakumonun" and means "academic luck"; he's going to be my college kitty! The kanji appear on a gold coin which represents wealth and is also a play on the Japanese idiom "To give gold coins to a cat", which is the equivalent of "Pearls before swine".

 

My final big effort of the evening was to painstakingly reduce the number of stones on my shrine - it was getting way too cluttered! I moved all the stones to boxes and pouches, and put all of those into a large cosmetics bag to keep them together. I left out only a few pieces: a Fossil for earth, Emerald for air, Garnet for fire, Amethyst for water, and a geode for Akasha.

I also left my Quartz point and Petrified Wood for the Goddess and God, respectively. Two snail shells were added to the same effect, and I finished it off with a mussel shell for water offerings.

Totoro Part Two

I realized today that I never posted the pictures of the Totoro I crocheted. I'm sure you've all been waiting with bated breath, so here he is...

 

Totoro from the front.

 

And from the side.

He's so cute! And I have him sitting on my nightstand with my dream sachet where he can be my own little guardian nature spirit.

March 6th, 2013

Winter Storm Saturn hit us yesterday, snowing about 9", and closing school. I nearly had a heart attack when my mom woke me up at 5:00 yesterday morning, but it was nice to get to sleep in. After finishing my homework, I spent something like 10 hours crocheting a little Totoro plushie (see the picture) - he's really cute! Totoro is a nature spirit from Miyazaki's animated film, My Neighbor Totoro; he's pretty fantastic. I'll have to put up pictures later though, as I ran out of time to take one this morning. In other news, my AP Environmental Science class is going to the zoo tomorrow, which should be a lot of fun. What exciting things have you done recently to celebrate nature?