~ promises ~

A few weeks ago, I noticed a most wonderful site as I was entering my front door: crocuses; yellow and lavender crocuses. They immediately said promise. I loved this gentle reminder of brighter things to come. We had been having a long span of cold, icy and somewhat snowy weather, and life was being a bit testy; so, I was more than delighted to see these friends of mine.  This visit from old friends reminded me of the promise of spring and the happiness associated with new beginnings, growth and renewal. I love when feel I related to and find signs in nature (my most favorite book).

No sooner than a couple of days after they showed their cheery faces, something very unusual happened. We had a snowfall amount very unusual for this area; nearly 10 inches. My children and I were very excited. We have been craving snow deep enough for sledding and in an amount large enough for a giant snowman. After a day of snowy fun, the crocuses came back to mind. I was worried about them.  I feared the large amount of snow had been too much for the crocuses to handle. Was tomorrow not going to be as bright as the crocuses were?

I soon realized that what I saw the flowers symbolizing was true; however, I was in needing of a tune up. Duh, crocuses are built to withstand snow. Once the snow melted, they came back just as, if not more beautiful than ever. They withstood the storm and are still going strong. My lesson learned was more than I originally thought: the promise of nature always rings true, but we sometimes have to weather a storm or two.

This brings me to my springtime charming cuffs.

They are made using a pattern I have posted on line before; but, like the crocuses took cover for a little while and are ready for showing again. It's a fun quick pattern and the design is another perfect for embellishing. The cuffs keep you warm when the temps are cool but not too warm if it warms up.

I'm working on adding some springy love to some and can't wait to share them with you:
cherry blossoms, dogwood and pansies, oh my!

So what else is in my forecast?

Well I plan to work on a journal I started making. I thought this would be a good time to work on finishing it, as I can fill it with all of the new things I discover this new weather cycle. I know I'll see, learn and reacquaint myself with much. Nature always teaches me something. I can always count on it to learn something about myself. It's promise never fails me.

Heartfully Yours,
Mia

~ sow love, grow love ~

Well I can happily remove another project from my to do list. I love this pattern, it's another that is fun, easy and works up fast. I used Lion Cotton for the scarf. I love this color green. The shade seems perfect for giving a botanical feeling. Once I finished, it reminded me of a stalk of some sorts and I knew I wanted to add something to it. I initially thought of tiny rosettes; but as I retrieved it I thought of tiny hearts. I found a pattern here for little hearts but they turned out to be not little enough so I made the following adjustments to steps 1 and 2 of the original pattern:

1. magic loop, ch1
2. 2hdc, 2sc, ch1, 2sc, 2hdc, ch1 into the ring

I used Sugar & Cream Cotton Solids for them. It took a while to sew them all on but it was fun and I like the result. These both are more tried and true patterns to add to my go to list. Should you decide to give either of them a try, I hope you enjoy one or both of them as much as I did.

Happy Heartful Crafting,
Mia