the new moon in Libra

lots of scrap yarn

Today's Libra New Moon is "mighty powerful", the astrologers say:
It's no time to be passive or checked out. The Libra New Moon on September 27th is a call to be actively engaged in visioning, re-imagining what's possible. With your full engagement, you can move mountains, make epic changes or shift your attitude.

It's also a "super moon", the astronomers say:
"A supermoon occurs when the moon is at perigee and it's in either a full or new phase," said Raminder Singh Samra, an astronomer at the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre in Vancouver, Canada. "The upcoming moon on September 27, 2011, is set to be at perigee and at the new phase," Samra said, "so we won't be able to witness the event, as the moon and sun will be in the same region of the sky" and the lunar disk will be entirely dark.

My TUSAL jar hasn't seen much action lately. I've been furiously knitted mitred squares, but in most cases I haven't woven in the ends or trimmed the extra. Not many new scraps in; actually, I've been pulling waste yarn out to tie the little yarn bundles requested by the charity for seaming their blankets.  Looks like I can finish up these squares this week, so the next couple evenings may be dedicated to finishing instead of knitting. Yuck.

As for "re-imagining" what's possible I've been looking at my stash trying to envision how best to put the yarn to use. There's a bunch of Noro Kureyon oddballs leftover from a sweater I knit last year. I think I'm going to knit them up into felted mittens. I've never felted before; wish me luck!

the new moon in Virgo

With the new moon in Virgo it's time for a TUSAL update. In the past month I've taken more out of my jar than I've put in. When I packed up my blankets and socks for the Warm Hands Network, I salvaged several lengths of scrap yarn to attach the yarn bands and gift labels to the knitted items. There's a bit of creamy white from Christmas bags and a small amount of red mohair from CeCe but that's about it.

Besides a TUSAL update, what does the new moon mean to knitters? Rebecca Brents offers these insights:

Virgos offer service to others as their way of making their lives count for something. They believe deeply in the need to contribute their energy to the benefit of the greater social order, and they are quite willing to accomplish this by performing the routine, mundane, everyday chores and fulfilling the ordinary responsibilities that keep life running smoothly ... while asking nothing but a little quiet appreciation in return, a kind word of thanks, or just the simple knowledge that they have helped make someone else's path a bit easier.

I read that as Charity Knitting and there's lots of that on my schedule. First priority for September is to finish and send my hats for Innocent's Big Knit. And then - when my other WIPs are caught up - it may be time to start a new blanket for the Warm Hands Network. I've got a bag of Mission Falls in a cranberry red which might knit up beautifully with this pattern.

the new moon in Leo

With the arrival of the New Moon in Leo this afternoon, it's time for a TUSAL update. As a reminder, "TUSAL" is an acronym for "Totally Useless Stitch ALong"; check out Daffycat's blog for more info. Now this particular new moon looks tailor-made for crafters. Here's the astrology blurb:

Magnetic vibes are dancing about during this vibrant New Moon phase. They have the potential to spark more joy and bursts of creativity. The time of a New Moon in the Lunar phase is that of fresh new awareness and intentions. It feels like fresh dug up soil full of nutrients, perfect for planting new seeds symbolic or literal. Set time aside to set a new intention for the time of the New Moon in Leo. During this time, the themes and attention are drawn to unconditional love, self-expression, individual style, creativity, joy, heart’s wisdom, romance, hobbies, playfulness, innocence, inner child within or physical children.

Do you think the parts about "playfulness" and "inner child" explain my strange diversion into amigurumi crochet last week? Definitely that little octopus, with his eight legs to sew on, created a pile of orts. Because the yarn was held double, the number of orts was doubled. The little jar looks almost full but there's still room if I squish them down. For a minute or two the TUSAL jar held the cat's interest ... until it was clear there weren't any cat treats to be had.

the new moon in Cancer

Amy Herring writes, "The second solar eclipse of the summer takes place this Friday [today] in the 10th degree of Cancer. The Sabian symbol for this eclipse is a large diamond in the first stages of the cutting process, suggesting something that has taken a long time to build, form, and develop, and now it's ready to be cut and polished. This eclipse speaks to recognizing how to bring out the inherent beauty, and also the potential for fear to cripple you if you are afraid to take the steps to make this beauty (you? your project? your life?) really shine."

The process of matching up a pattern to yarn is like that, isn't it? You have to consider the inherent qualities of the yarn to find a pattern where it really shines. With Zauberball Lace, two things struck me when selecting the Westerwaldwaves pattern:
• these long colour repeats would really shine in this wide horizontal pattern
• these simple fan motifs wouldn't be lost in all this really dynamic colour variegation

It's also fitting on this Canada Day that I'm getting organized to begin Come-Blog-Along. The book I've chosen is Knitting on the Road and the first pattern is aptly named "Canada". Nancy Bush's introduction to the pattern is a perfect commentary to celebrate Canada's 144th birthday:

The inspiration for these colorful socks comes from wonderful memories of my many visits to Canada and the delightful friendships I've formed with the people who live there. The yarn is Canadian, from Shelridge Farms in Ontario, and the colors reflect a Canadian autumn. The technique for the "Latvian twist" was taught to me by Lucy Neatby, a very skilled British knitter, designer and teacher who lives in Nova Scotia, and the main pattern is an Estonian design called "Maple Leaf". So many people have found refuge in the country, I like to think these socks reflect some of the diversity of cultures that are at home in Canada.

the new moon in Gemini

From Tracy's Astro Salon: Elementally, Gemini is air and because it is the first air sign of the zodiac, it is all about our first thoughts which tend to be all about number one. “Let me connect for me and my interests.” ... How wind translates to us personally is through communication and connections... What blows into our life for the next 28 days will be new connections. Not just the people but the connections that happens in our brain. We ‘get’ stuff like we never got it before.

With this new moon in Gemini I'm hoping to get organized on the handful of half-baked pattern ideas I have churning about in my mind and on my needles. Mom used to say some days things just won't "go" and other days things just fall into place; no sense in trying to "force it". Today I feel like some of these stalled projects will do just that - fall into place. Fingers crossed.

The TUSAL jar is getting very full, possibly because the scraps of bulky yarn from the hats I've been knitting are so voluminous. Yesterday I knit pot scrubbers. Way back in September I made a test scrubber from Phentex yarn and we've been using it non-stop; time for a couple of replacements. My first scrubber is in the dishwasher; there's still a bit of scrub left in it.

the new moon in Taurus

With the new moon, it's time for a TUSAL update. Turns out, not much has changed in my little jar. With russian joins as I switch balls on this blanket, no ends have been created so far. And with my Herringbone rib socks still progressing slowly, no ends there either. Thinking back, I used every inch of scrap yarn on my Lopi sweater to complete the seams, didn't I? More often than not, I was digging out scraps from my TUSAL jar to tie off skeins of Lopi before washing instead of adding anything to the jar.

Astrologers tell us that the new moon in Taurus means that "available energy moves from the inspirational to the practical." The seeds that were planted last month take root and experience solid growth. Hmm, maybe. I do seem to be knitting the things in my queue rather than adding to my queue. Socks are being knit, blankets being completed, Lopi yarn being washed and knit. And as a result the pile of finished objects for the September shipment of the Warm Hands Network is growing. All good.

the April new Moon

Knitting and Crochet Blog Week day seven: Write about your typical crafting time. When it is that you are likely to craft – alone or in more social environments, when watching TV or whilst taking bus journeys. What items do you like to surround yourself with whilst you twirl your hook like a majorette’s baton or work those needles like a skilled set of samurai swords. Do you always have snacks to hand, or are you a strictly ‘no crumbs near my yarn!’ kind of knitter.

When do I knit? Whenever I can. Whether at home in front of the TV or at work in front of my computer, on the train or in the car, I knit anywhere I'm likely to have more than ten minutes of free time.

Today the new moon enters Aries - am I saying that right? - which means we're due for a TUSAL update. With a pile of unfinished blankets around me, I haven't had much to add to the TUSAL jar, just a couple of Kroy sock yarn tails. But maybe I'm starting to feel the predicted effect of the new moon in Aries, because I'm setting aside all doubts about how to assemble my green blanket and am plowing ahead. Does that count as 'letting go of inhibiting fears'?

help[ing] us to experience deeper self-expression, self-acceptance, and the carefree laughter of singing what is in our soul so that we can begin to heal our own wounds, patch up a bleeding heart, and let go of our inhibiting fears in order to move out into the world and discover what we've been missing!

the new moon in pisces

Time for a TUSAL update! In this Totally Useless Stitch ALong participants collect scrap yarn and bits of thread in a jar and then post their progress at each New Moon. My collection grew only slightly in the last lunar cycle; just a few ends from my Tree Frog and from my Socks for Christy. Not much else to show from a month of wrestling WIPs.

For the next lunar cycle my plans are inclined towards charity knitting, after all Piscean energy is supposed to be compassionate, charitable, emotional and kind. There's lots of yarn in my stash ready to knit up into socks for the Warm Hands Network. And I'm obsessing over this pattern, a block that can be made into a blanket or a pillow as shown here.

the second new moon

For those involved in TUSAL - the totally useless stitch-along - the new moon necessitates an update. My scrap yarn jar looks quite full thanks in no small part to my scrappy lengthwise scarf. It has been handy to have all these scraps near at hand. I don't have to look far for a bit of scrap yarn for a provisional cast on, or to move thumb stitches onto scrap yarn for knitting later.

At this new moon, the sun and moon are in Aquarius - symbolized by the waterbearer. As explained by Molly Hall:

At the New Moon, we are deluged with fresh water of life and wisdom. This is freeing, and Uranus, the ruler of Aquarius, keeps each of us, and humanity from stagnating in murky pools, or from where the flow of life has been intentionally dammed up.

Over the next four weeks until the next new moon my plan is to clear out all those projects "stagnating in murky pools". For me, February is going to be a month of Work-in-Process Wrestling. Who's with me?

the first new moon

Today is the first new moon of 2011 - an auspicious time to start new projects, make plans, take the initiative, do anything that has a starting point. Or so the astrologers say.

To coincide with the new moon, it's time for my first TUSAL update. My little jar looks half full already but lots more yarn clippings will fit when I tamp these threads down. The lead up to Christmas was quite productive on the yarn clipping front; each finished sock had at least two ends to be woven in and clipped before wrapping.

Seems like today I'll be putting aside the socks I started yesterday and starting a new pair. I can't blame the new moon for that; instead, it's wishful thinking overruling common sense. After deciding to devote the first weeks of January to making socks for the Warm Hands Network, I picked out a Most Basic Kids Sock pattern by Evelyn Skae. With so many self-patterning sock yarns in my stash, a very plain stockinette sock struck me as the best choice. And the pattern says that only 50 grams are required - that's just one ball! Awesome, I thought ... but too bad that's just wishful thinking. The first sock I knit yesterday - knit exactly as written - took 36 grams of yarn, leaving me with 14 grams for the second sock. Hmmmm.