Sweater Update

My sweater is finished! I couldn't be happier with how it came out - it fits perfectly, and once I blocked it, the pattern showed up a lot better.

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 15th, 2016

I went with my mom to Goodwill today to find some silly things for gag gifts (we're having a bit of a party tonight) but also ended up getting a few other things while we were there.

I need a red taper candle for an upcoming Imbolg ritual, but when we went to Target the other day, they were totally sold out. Party City was also sold out. Apparently, people needed a lot of red candles for their holiday festivities or something. Anyway, Goodwill had one, brand-new and in the plastic, for $0.50, and my mom also stumbled across an owl candle for $0.99.

I thought the owl would be great for my shrine to Athena, so I took it home, and it seems to fit in perfectly.

Shrine to Athena, now +1 candle.

August 8th, 2015

What an exciting day! I bought my first laptop this morning, and also restocked on poly pellets for my weighted blanket. I had requested Athena's help in finding the right laptop for the right price, and I was able to get exactly what I needed.

As a thank-you offering, I actually painted this picture frame last night and am adding it to her shrine (temple?) today.

As you can see, I still need to make a picture to go in the frame, but I was very pleased with how it came out. It shows many of Athena's symbols, including olive trees, an owl, a dove, a bowl of gems, Her golden helmet, spear, and Aegis shield, a snake, a spindle, and tiger lilies. I also have quite a bit of Turquoise, which is Her stone, so I plan to put a piece of that on my shrine as well.

August 7th, 2015

After years of a nagging intuition, I was finally galvanized into actively seeking a patron or matron God/dess this past weekend when I found an embroidered Athena drawstring bag at Fairy Fest. I've felt drawn to Her for a long, long time, and finally felt the time was right to reach out to Her, so I bought the bag to give as an introductory offering. Yesterday, I spent several hours researching Hellenic Paganism; while I enjoy practicing as an eclectic, it was important to me that I honor Her in the appropriate manner. I found this website to be an extremely helpful introduction.

I also wanted to give an offering of olive oil and barley, and luckily we had both in the pantry. I set up a small shrine to Her last night. It looks like this:

You can see the oil and barley sitting on the left; I later poured these into the white dish. The back of the altar is adorned with some paintings of mine, as well as several owl images, a few things I've crocheted, and some of my pottery. I put some knitting needles and a crochet hook in one of the pottery pieces. Also present is a tea light, a replica arrowhead, and an award from my high school. 

I wore the flower crown I bought at Fairy Fest, as well as an owl ring, and a red shirt. According to Judika Illes' Encyclopedia of Spirits, red is Her color. 

I had worried that I would not receive a response, but no sooner had I finished introducing myself and giving the offerings than I received an image of Her in my head. She spoke to me for some time, and one of the final things She requested was that I share the knowledge of her power. So - if you are feeling in any way drawn to Athena, then make yourself known to Her! She accepts all honest acts of devotion.

Here's a closer look at the back of the altar:

August 6th, 2015

It's been a pretty productive day today. I got quite a bit of cleaning done, first with a load of laundry, and then by pulling out the bottom drawers of my dresser and removing all the accumulated junk. While I was at it, I found my little pewter hummingbird stone which I'd never been able to locate after it fell back there a year or two ago.

I have it sitting as part of a miniature shrine to the element Air on top of my dresser. With it is a yellow candle and matching knit bunny, as well as a replica arrowhead and a watercolor painting of an owl I did. I have similar mini shrines for the other elements as well. This one probably gets the most use, since I stand in front of it to do my hair.