Hello! How I would have loved to write a really wintry post today, with photographs of a snowy landscape with a bright sky, or of frozen lakes and canals with people ice skating. But alas! It’s grey here. Very grey.
And wet and dark. Ah well, it is often like this in the weeks before Christmas. I’m fine with it really, and go out for a walk every day no matter what the weather. At home it’s cosy, with candles everywhere and the Christmas tree in the living room. On Saturday I found this new (second-hand) addition to it.
Every morning, I start the day by adding a few pieces to a wooden puzzle. Our daughter put them in the Advent calendar mittens I gave her last year (described in this post). I can see this becoming a tradition, with the mittens going back and forth between our homes every year.
It’s an amazing puzzle. At first I thought it was going to be a star, but now I can see that it is becoming an animal head (a fox?). There are all kinds of animals, birds, flowers and leaves hidden in it. One of the pieces in mitten number 17 was a wolf.
This autumn, there hasn’t been anything interesting like the Advent mittens on my needles. I just didn’t have the energy or the spirit. Instead, I’ve been knitting lots of simple things: A garter stitch scarf and 1×1 ribbed hat for a niece who is leaving for Stockholm in January, and a stocking stitch pullover for our son-in-law. The pullover pieces are now drying on blocking mats.
I didn’t use a pattern, but simply improvised. (Yarn: Rowan Softyak DK – shade 240 Pasture.) If I get a move on, I should be able to finish it before their Christmas visit.
I’ve also been knitting some simple 4-ply socks. (Pink-brown pair: Lang SuperSoxx Berry – shade Raspberry; Blue-grey ones: Rellana Flotte Socke Patagonia Männersache – shade 1730.) I simply love knitting simple socks.
Tomorrow it’s the winter solstice, in five days’ time it’s Christmas, and in only eleven days it’s New Year’s Eve. In previous years, it was often on the very last day of the year or a couple of days earlier at most that I suddenly thought, ‘Oh, another year has rushed by and what have I actually done with it? And what about the coming year?’
This year, inspired by Leo Babauka’s Month of Reflection, I’ve been pondering these questions during the entire Advent period. That doesn’t mean that I spent a whole month sitting cross-legged on the floor, but I did take some time here and there to reflect on 2024 and set intentions for 2025. Leo’s four-step approached really helped me structure my thoughts, because they can get seriously tangled.
It has helped me see the path ahead of me more clearly.
(In springtime this particular path is bordered by a carpet of wood anemones – see this blog post).
I’m really looking forward to the festive season and 2025 now, and have already started on a pair of Selbu mittens…
… and found a Norwegian book to read alongside.
Another small felt kit lies waiting to be made into a butterfly…
… and I am brimming with many more ideas for things to make and write about in the coming year.
I’m taking some time off now to knit, read, sew, rest and be with my loved ones. I wish you a lovely and peaceful festive season, with plenty of time to be with the people you love best and to do some of the things you love doing most. Thank you for visiting me here and I hope to see you again early next year!
To close off, here is a picture of the most beautiful Christmas wreath I’ve seen this year, glowing golden amongst all the damp and greyness.
Merry Christmas to you and your family! And thank you for a restful blog post.
Merry Christmas to you and your family. Wishing you a Healthy and Happy New Year.
Peace be with you.
Merry Christmas Marijke! Can’t wait to see your next butterfly!