Notes on Patience, Persistence, and Ice

Studio Notes

all things crochet

In keeping with the habit of starting new designs and not completing old designs, I started a dog snuggler. I don't like it. I think I need to start from a different spot, but it's just not turning out how I would hope.

I also started on a snail that was inspired by a blanket pattern I was trying to create. I like to take pieces that I've worked on and think, "Now, how can I use this differently?" That often gets me to new ideas that I already have a decent idea how to make. The snail is turning out pretty well. It took some time to figure out the shell, but I like how it looks. And I love that it is about two inches in diameter. Why does everything look so much cuter when it's tiny?

I need to figure out a way to move forward with some of the unfinished projects at some point. I like to jump into a shiny new idea, and I struggle to finish things that are in the very last stages. Maybe just saying that here will offer me some accountability.

Nature

sightings and experiences

No birds this week. But I've started heading outside at sunrise for a minimum of two minutes to help get my sleep back on track. This week was full of beautiful winter sunrises in pale pastel colors.

One morning, I went out and discovered flaky shards of ice covering all of the trees. It was absolutely breathtaking. The local weatherman shared a photo sent in to the station, and the phenomenon is called rime ice. (In my own searches, I wondered if it was hoar frost, but I'll trust the local expert!) You can learn more here!

Gathered Things

annotated links, readings, and ideas gathered this week

I haven't done any reading online this week. Every time I opened that app on my phone, it wasn't interesting to me. I read Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea about a year ago and started the third, but didn't finish it until this last week. I don't have anything to share (yet) from that reading, so I went into my notes and pulled the first thing that caught my eye, some lines by Heid E. Erdich from “Origin of Poem,” Fishing for Myth. She very eloquently connects writing poetry to the patience required while fishing. She writes,

All we want is the tug—
something deep, alive, on the line.

When I am reading, that's what I'm looking for: "something deep [and] alive." That can't be manufactured or put on a timetable. I'm looking to share what resonates with me; something that struck a chord, and nothing jumped to that level this week. So, I've got nothing to share at the moment, and that's ok.

Thanks for reading! I hope you have a great week!