Finished projects,shawls and yarn

As promised photos of finished projects in knitting and spinning.
This is the second shawl knit from my hand spun yarn. A little slubby and thick and thin in parts but I like that about it. I plyed the yarn with mohair and a glitter thread to add interest.
I was going to thread glittery yarn through the holes but I've decided that it doesn't need it, would be overkill.
Then the silky furry shawl is finished. It is very hard to take a true picture of it, you can't see the sheen or feel the lushness of it.


Think this will be going in the Winter Solstice gift pile
I have also finished spinning my finest yarn to date.
This is Spin a Rainbow from Mandacrafts. 200gm of Falkland tops in shade Heather.

See the finest of the spinning?
From 200gm I spun 571 yards. So 285.5 yards per 100gm, I think that is around double knit:) I see socks in its future.
I also spun 100gm of Yarn Yard shetland tops.

I am equally pleased with this as I obtained 287.5 yards from the 100gm. There again double knit weight I think.
Today is very dark and very wet. Not a day for doing much outdoors so spinning beckons once more.

Days of magical intent

Not just for knitters this post so read on:)

Why are some days a sock day yet others a shawl or elemental figure day?
What makes you pick up a certain object as opposed to another? Not just in knitting but any other craft or art you enjoy.
For me its not a consious decision. It is just what feels right at that particular time. Sometimes its an itch that needs scratching:)
I'll HAVE to create an elemental. Invariably I can't just make one. My muse won't let me. When she calls I dance to her tune. All the fabrics come out, the ones I dyed when she last came calling. I hear no one and yes I will have music playing because she demands it. It allows her to dance across my imagination creating patterns and spirals that wind ever outwards taking me with them.
When she lets me go I get chance to see what we have created.
I know that the elementals in particular will bring something to the person they are gifted to. I always feel a pang letting them go, but that is right. True artwork that comes from within carries with it a piece of the artist always.
It works with my knitting also, though not to quite the same extent. Where my figures care whimsy, magic and mystery my shawls are comfort and warmth. More physical than spiritual.
They all carry within them my heart, my healing. Woven into every stitch and every fold.
As I work I weave in magic, the magic that comes from visualising good things for whom ever the recipient is.
That for me is magic, faith, belief and spirituality.
Weave your beauty within your art. As your hands work on the physical plane, let your mind work on other levels.
Meditation and visualisation come easier if the hands and brain are distracted.
Ask me how I found that out?
There are no short cuts on the spiritual path it is a lifetime's journey. However, there are some ways of practising that are pleasant. My art is that. Not a means to an end, but an enjoyable diversion on the road.
As it is is written "search not for what you will find within" My art helps focus on that.

I've often been asked what are you? Witch, pagan, heathen or?
I always tell people I am an eclectic shaman. Why? Because I use what works for me. Bits from here, parts from there. If it feels right then it is - for me.
Might not be your path, may not work for you. But for me ,in this place at this time, it does.
We all have the ability to weave a little magic into the world.
How many of us do?