First Fall

I could stay in this cocoon

And hibernate the winter through;

Never rise till after noon

Snug against the warmth of you.

 

We had our first snowfall of the year on Wednesday; then the temperature plummeted to single digit territory.  It was a beautiful fall of snow...as long as you didn't have to drive in it!

Some days are like this...

A walk in the woods

I see the path in front of me

Curve, and now it's out of sight.

Dusty leaves beneath my feet;

The trees play games with shade and light.

Mostly leafless, then the sun

Flames a tree of brilliant gold

Alone amongst the barren limbs

And rooted in the autumn mold.

Where to find the soul's ease of a walk in the wood in the 13th largest city in the U.S.?   We found such a place at Fort Harrison State Park, on the northeast side of Indianapolis.  Over 1700 acres of undeveloped land, threaded with hiking and biking trails.  

No better way to spend the day.

Fall

The air smells of moist and leaves,

And the sun casts long shadows.

The wind blows in blue breezes,

And summer sighs, and softly goes.

Emma in the garden at the end of the season.

Miranda, the Owl Whisperer

Midnight on silent wings

Through snowy forests cold

Sudden fear the night owl brings

Hunting field and fold.

Whispering above the trees

Against the moon she flies,

Silent as the fading breeze

As twilight darkness dies.

Miranda is an owl whisperer, someone who can commune with these hunters of the night.  She is based on Lalylala's Paul the Toadstool pattern, modified to be smaller, and with a sweet owl motif cross-stitched to her torso (the cross stitch pattern is a free chart from from LucyKateCrafts)

Miranda's owl minions are Ariel, a Collared Scops owl; Basil, a Northern Saw-whet owl; and Cassandra, a Snowy owl.  I am happy to share the pattern for these three owls:

Miranda's Owls

When it is chilly in the woods, Miranda wears a knit cardigan sweater duplicate stitched with grape hyacinth flowers.  The sweet embroidery is a free chart available on Ravelry:  Hexipuff Spring Flowers, and the sweater pattern is another pattern I am happy to share with you:

Miranda's Knit Cardigan

And finally, no owl whisperer would be without her owl hat, which conveys special powers to understand owl-speak :-)

Miranda's Owl Hat

Miranda, her minions, and her clothing were all crochet or knit with Knit Picks Palette, a lovely wool fingering weight yarn.  Miranda, the owls, and the cap were crocheted using a size 1 steel hook (close to a B hook, or 2.25mm).  The cardigan sweater was knit, using both single point needles (for the body) and double point needles (for the sleeves) with  2.75mm knitting needles.

More Wild Things

Little foxes eyes so bright,

Little foxes prowl the night,

Little foxes softly creep

On silent feet.

Little foxes in the cold,

Little foxes brave and bold,

Little foxes run from man

Fast as you can!

Squinty Fox pattern by Genuine Mudpie5-23-2023 Sadly no longer available

Wild Things

In Northern forests cold and clear

Beneath a midnight sun

There is an ancient magic near;

A race of spellbound twilight deer,

A whisper on the mind.

In human form and fair of face

They shed their deerskin self

And beckon with a fairy grace,

To follow to a primal place,

And loose your human form.

Aurora Fawn and Balin

Aurora Fawn is from my Simply Ami pattern, with borrowed antlers and ears from the pattern Rudy-the-Reindeer by Tales of Twisted Fibers.  Her companion Balin is from the pattern Sherman the Deer by Snugglme Stitches.  Both of these delightful patterns are free :-)

Aurora's dress is knit from my Knits for tiny Ami's pattern, with a simple Fair Isle tree motif.

Happy New Year!

Angelique Morelle Demonchilde

Demonchilde

Demonchilde born of Flame

Perilous to speak thy name!

Earning credits to enter Hell

On Demonwings dark and fell.

Do you have an Angel near

To pray for thee; to shed a tear?

Do you have a soul to save

From the bleak undying Grave?

Demonchilde, come to Me!

And tell me if its Hell you see

Or Heaven on that distant shore

Of deathless dreams forevermore.

Just in time for  Halloween, some Demon Details that you can add to your handmade doll.  I started with Isabelle Kessedjian's My Crochet Doll, and added horns, wings, and a few facial touches.  Voila!  A Demonchilde!

Check out these Demon Details for yourself :-)

I plan to knit her a black jumper festooned with skulls along the bottom, but I didn't want to wait that long to share her!

Hazel Catdancer

She watches over small animals. She lives in places hexed and tainted by black magic. She can only be seen when the bees swarm and the crickets chirrup. She wears black feathers and rose petals and has multicoloured wings like a butterfly. 

 

On Moonless nights

When the wind is high

She shelters the small

From the Nighthawk's cry.

Fearless before

The darkening gloom

She dances on

The left side of Doom.

For the tiny and timid

Know her to be

Their Guardian, Protector,

Fearless and free.

 The little animal companions are from a pattern by Fuzzy Mittens, Wee Woodland Wuzzies.  You can purchase it on Ravelry.  There is also an Otter, Hedgehog, and Mouse :-)

Ember Agaricglow

She brings hallucinations. She lives where fireflies mate and breed. She can only be seen in the light of a full moon. She wears dresses that glow with fiery colours and has russet-coloured wings like a brightly coloured butterfly. 

Ember Agaricglow

In Forest glades

Where fireflies dance

Beneath the moon

On leaf and branch

There dwells a maid

Of midnight fair;

Pale is her skin,

Dark is her hair.

Ember eyes,

A heart of flame;

A vision in moonlight;

Speak not her name!

Or weave she will

A web of deep

Entangled dreams

to haunt your sleep.

Hallucinations

She'll bring to thee;

A fairy charm

Which has no key.

 My completed fairy for the Ravelry Fairy KAL.  This has been so much fun, I've already got another fairy in the works:  Hazel Catdancer!

A Needlefelt Treasure

Mrs. Harrison, we're ready to learn,
Mrs. Harrison, we'll try not to squirm!
We're hungry for knowledge;
We may go to college :-)
Mrs. Harrison, don't be too stern!

You can meet the very nicest people on the internet; just like I have! I was the lucky winner of Mrs. Harrison, the School Marm Blackbird, from a drawing on the blog MarthaandJane (http://marthaandjane.blogspot.com/) This is a delightfully whimsical blog that I encourage you all to visit. Mrs. Harrison is a beautifully needlefelted work of art by April Ross, and a teacher of young fairyfolk and their friends.

She reminded me very much of my own second grade teacher, Mrs. Harrison; an angular, upright, grey haired lady that taught us well. She was brisk and birdlike, neither kindly nor cruel. This Mrs. Harrison is a bit more indulgent, but just as sharp eyed :-)

Mrs. Harrison

Thank-you so much, April and Helen!

Roses and Fairies

Thorns don't hurt fairy feet,
Fairies are too light and sweet.
A quick glimpse; don't look away!
A fairy child is here to play.

How Many?

Well, I was curious how many different outfits I could make from one basic Edwardian dress pattern. As of today, my count stands at five (the latest is the cranberry red dress on the right, and on Emily below). Not to mention several pair of bloomers, three collars, and two nightgowns. These outfits have been a lot of fun to dream up, and to share with you.

Now I want to try something different with Free Spirit. For some reason I got the idea of Steam Punk in my head, so I'm going to give this a try. With Steam Punk, think over-the-top Victorians achieving our level of technology with...steam engines!

Sherlock Holmes, Jules Verne, and H.G. Wells would have all been comfortable in this reality :-)

I've enjoyed the Edwardians, and hope you have too.

Crochet

Silver hook in hand;
A web of lace takes shape
Beneath flashing fingers.