It is still chilly outside, but I can see the small changes that are leading up to spring. Birds are chirping (as we speak) outside of my window, and little flowers are poking their heads above the surface. Very soon the beautiful spring blossoms will be on the trees. And while I will be sneezing and watery-eyed, I will be enjoying the spring.

Funny, because three weeks ago, I was really hoping for a nice big blizzard to finish off the winter. We had a pretty mild winter in Maryland: temperatures were chilly, but snow was sparse. I like seasons to be what they are supposed to be. Winter kind of let me down, and I hope that spring does not pass in the blink of an eye.

Prompted by the promise of warmer temperatures (and perhaps the arrival of the loom that takes space in my office) I have been doing quite a bit of spring cleaning. Kris and I have realized the need to pare down and simplify, and that meant cleaning a lot of things out, and donating them to local charities. After giving away about 200 books to the library, I consolidated my bookshelves, and rearranged my office. The idea of living with less really resonates.

Functional planting is definitely our focus, but we have made some space for the *pretty* too. We recently arranged a indoor dish garden with some cute cacti and succulent plants…

Seeing the green makes me happy.

And for Valentine’s Day a few weeks back, Kris brought home a lovely orchid that just keeps blooming.

We are making grand plans for our outside garden, hoping to plant many vegetables this year, and really explore ways to preserve the harvest. We live in a small house with a small yard, so we have to be creative in order to maximize our space and yield. We are starting some seeds indoors now, and we are planning to keep some plants going throughout the year indoors - primarily herbs that we use in daily meals. We are primarily interested in raising several heirloom varieties of vegetables and fruits in the garden. We have a local farmer/nursery supply that we have enjoyed for several years, and we will be paying him a visit in late April/early May for the seedlings and plants.

Last fall, we started a vermiculture composter - all winter we have contributed our kitchen wastes to the bin, and those little worms are making some great fertilizer for our garden this summer.

In typical fashion, I have been researching and reading up on the gardening and local food movement. Of particular interest are the general books about family farms and living off the land: I am enjoying Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life in audiobook form (while knitting and weaving), and am reading a similar book Coming Home to Eat: The Pleasures and Politics of Local Foods before bed at night. Next up are Four-Season Harvest and This Organic Life: Confessions of a Suburban Homesteader. Many thanks to my friends in various Ravelry groups (Crafty Gardeners, Locavores, Sustainable Table, and Homesteaders) for providing daily information and inspiration!

How are you preparing for the changing season?

…the past few weeks have been trying…

Nothing major, just small daily hurdles that are so common in everyone’s life.

However, instead of letting these things accumulate and get me down, I am working hard to keep a positive attitude. Keep a smile on my face. The positive outlook made for a happy week.

And on this Saturday night, I look back and I am grateful for the week’s activities:

• I did yoga everyday - focusing on both asanas and pranayama. It is refreshing and rejuvenating. I am seriously researching yoga teacher training, and this gives me a new excitement and lease on life. I feel that the best way to prepare myself for this is to fully immerse myself in it… so you will probably hear more about this…
• I read three books this week, and I learned something valuable from each of them. Circle of Simplicity, a book written in the early 1990s that spearheaded the “neo”-voluntary simplicity movement; The Long Road Leads to Joy, a beautiful small book about walking, containing poetry, proverbs, and photographs; and a general history of yogic principles and schools in the Hatha Yoga Illustrated. All three were from the library.
• I ate delicious whole foods this week that I prepared with my own hands.
• I exercised everyday; the aforementioned yoga, as well as hiking on Monday, weightlifting on Tuesday, Pilates on Wednesday, row machine on Thursday, and spinning on Friday. Today was a day of rest. Tomorrow is our weekend walk…
• I got a haircut on Wednesday and a bonus head massage from my sweet stylist. Before getting my cut, I had two people tell me that it looked like a certain presidential candidate… guess which one.
• Kris and I went out for brunch today, a change of pace from the home-cooked meals, but also a way to support a new community cafe… it was delicious and lovely. We also had a date tonight to see a movie.
• I knit 8 inches on my sister’s cardigan today. Her birthday is in 16 days. I hope to finish in time!
• I wore my cozy black turtleneck sweater and stayed nice and warm all day - March’s wind definitely came “in as a lion”!

I end this week happy. I will choose to begin the new week with a smile on my face.

After checking out every book on rag rug weaving that my county library owns (my favorites: Weaving Contemporary Rag Rugs and Rag Rug Handbook), I decided to finally attack the pile of old raggedy jeans in my closet.

I had been planning to repurpose the jeans in some way for awhile. Most of the jeans are the ones that I wore before my weight loss, with a few pairs from Kris with holes in the knees and pockets. At first I was thinking about a quilt, but I just have never gotten the real urge to try quilting… so, with my new fascination and love for weaving, I figured the jeans would be a great way to practice rag rug weaving! My used loom came with several rag shuttles, and after reading the aforementioned books, I think the process sounds like a lot of fun. So… I just shredded my jeans. Here’s how I did it

Gathering all of the jeans up, I determined that the best way to repurpose the fabric was to cut in continuous strips. I started the process by cutting off the hem of the jeans. Of course, the hem could be used, but I thought that the double layer of thickness would throw off the texture of the final project. *snip snip*

This process is tough on the hands - especially around the heavy seams, so take frequent breaks to stretch your hands, and expect a little soreness in the morning. Your best bet is to get some strong sharp scissors.

Because the pant legs are tubular, you are going to cut left to right, at a slight diagonal. This will help you maximize the fabric for your strips, and make it one continuous piece. When the cuff (hem) is cut off, make a cut next to the side seam, about 1″ or 4-5cm. From there, begin cutting on the diagonal.

Just like your old cut-off jean shorts, the strips are going to be a little raggedy. If you want a cleaner edge without the fray, it may be better to use some other kind of material for your rag base. I have a pile to t-shirts and old cotton “work” shirts” that are next in line for rag rug weaving.

As you work your way up around the pant leg, you can decide how far you want to go. I chose to go up to the hips, where the inseams meet between the legs, and where the back pockets were added. This still leave quite a bit of material - but it is harder to use - and to cut - because of all of the seams. If you want to use all of your scraps, you may look into some other denim crafts. I have seen some versions of pillows and even tote bags and purses that use jeans.

Each leg that I cut yielded a good amount of fabric. I did not count the yardage, but one pant leg made a nice ball! As I cut more, I had many cute little denim rag balls to play with…

Now comes the fun part. I need to choose an appropriate warping yarn. I am planning to use cotton, probably some of the Sinfonia mercerized cotton in the stash. Just need to measure it out and then put it on the loom… I am hoping that the cotton will be strong enough. I have had a few problems with broken warp threads lately… any tips from seasoned weavers out there?

I am hoping to have the same kind of success as Felicia had with her denim rag rug - although my strips are a little larger than hers. My loom should be strong enough to handle the heavy beating that is required to make rugs. (It handled the heavy beating of the weft-faced sampler I did…) I know the previous loom owner used it for rugs (hence the rag shuttles) so I am gonna give it a go!

Of course, rags can be used in a number of ways. Weaving is only one of the many (see the Worsted Witch post about rag weaving). There is a great rag rug in Mason-Dixon Knitting, and a number of ways you could use the recycled materials for knitting, crochet, or braiding. There are a number of helpful books on the subject too - full of ideas and inspirations to reuse and repurpose old, outgrown, or holey clothes.

Some resources:

• DIY Network’s Crochet Rag Rug
• Knit and Crochet Rag Potholders/Hot Pads
• “Rag Rug” article from 1871
• A tutorial about using cotton flat strips for rags

What can be more rewarding than making something new and functional out of something old and raggedy?

…and until I get that warp ready, I will just practice my juggling…

On December 30th, the last Sunday of 2007, we went on a walk. It was not an extraordinary walk - aside from being in the glorious surroundings, of course, not to be underestimated - but a simple walk of about two miles in a nearby area with a forest and a nice creek. We had done this stretch of walk dozens of times before, but we marveled at all of the new things that we saw on this particular walk. We decided in no certain terms to make the “weekend walk” a ritual. One we could look forward to throughout the week.

A time to connect with each other, and to connect with nature.

A time to quietly observe the world around us and the changing of the seasons.

A time to just be.

As the calendar ticks by, I find that my desire for the walk changes from week by week: Sometimes, I want a breath of fresh air. I want to get some exercise and burn some calories. I want to improve my mood. I want to wear one of my handknits. I want to meditate and quietly think about things. I want to simply put one foot in front of the other and truly live in the moment. I want to reach a spot that I have never been. Sometimes I have all of these expectations in one single walk.

Kris brings the camera and documents the beautiful natural world. He particularly enjoys capturing the changes of the trees, plants, and bodies of water as the seasons change. Sometimes I take the camera and try to capture the beauty I am seeing.

Each weekend of this month has provided the opportunity for a meaningful walk. We walked through local parks, hiked to a nearby hilltop, and finally, this weekend, we went on a weekend walk a little further from home… well, three actually, one for each day we were there. And the novelty of it was that one walk was deep underground while the other two were a little closer to the clouds!

We spent the long holiday weekend in the Shenandoah mountains of Virginia - about two hours south of our home. We drove down on Friday mid-day and stopped over at a local attraction: Luray Caverns in Luray, Virginia.

Our timing was perfect: the snow was fresh and beautiful, and the sun was bright. While the temperatures were cold - below freezing on both days - that did not stop us from getting out and exploring. We found two hiking trails up into the mountains and reserved one for each day, Saturday and Sunday.

These walks may have been my favorite yet. They were a true sensory experience: the smell of pine trees and fresh winds, the aural crunch of the snow and ice under foot, and the monochromatic landscape of white snow blanketing the mountain, and the chilly winds felt against our faces.

The weekend walk ritual has been the highlight of my new year, and we are only three weeks in! I am very excited to discover more places - both near and far - during the weekend walks.

It is amazing how something as simple as a walk can be the best part of the week.

…

Do you have a special ritual that brings you joy?

Unplugged, off the grid, complete bliss.  The rainforest was everything that I wanted and needed it to be:  I gain inspiration and energy from nature, and just being in that forest made me feel so alive.  The forest teems with life - and the biodiversity is astounding.  You rarely see the same insect/amphibian/animal twice, so you cherish it when you do see it.  Living in the rainforest for eight days was a wonderful way to practice living in the moment. 

We flew into Iquitos, the Amazonian port city, from Lima.  One can only reach Iquitos by plane or boat, as there are no roads constructed through the rainforest in those sections.  The city of Iquitos is a wonder in itself - there are very few cars there, the main transportation being motorcycles and motorized rickshaw taxis. Iquitos gained popularity during the Rubber Boom of the late 19th century.  Many European countries influenced Iquitos’ style and architecture.

Our time in Iquitos was short; we set out on the Amazon River aboard the trusty Tucunare, sailing upstream for about 12 hours to the Amazon tributary, Rio Orosa.  Our boat’s passing seemed to be the day’s entertainment:

The children were very friendly and waved at us from the banks of the river. There are many small villages up and down the Amazon - the river is their lifeblood. 

We neared one village - near the intersection with the black silt river, Rio Napo - and we spotted something I had been dying to see:  the Amazon River Dolphins!  It was nearly impossible to photograph them as they bobbed in and out of the water.  They were quite playful and came very close to the boat.  The adults are pink, and the younger ones are gray. 

We reached the Madre Selva Field Station after dark.  We had nice facilities:  a tent, a “lab”, and even some toilets (I was prepared to “rough it” but was pleasantly surprised).  We used the field station as a base camp, venturing out by canoe, skiff, and on foot.  We took hikes everyday, and that is when we saw and collected some amazing creatures. [Kris’s Flickr page is the repository for all the critters - he got some amazing shots, and he is still uploading many of them - including frogs, lizards and snakes.  Please look if you get the chance - also see Kris’s blog!]  There was a 50- foot tower for canopy observations, and a number of amazing trees on the property.  I thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Madre Selva.  The company that we worked with has a high code of ethics, and works closely with the indigenous populations for sustainable economic growth.  The owner of the company is a trained field biologist/ecologist and can identify many a creature by their calls.  The group was small, only 8 people, so we got a very intimate experience with the rainforest. 

One of the true highlights of my stay at Madre Selva was the barter market and visit day at the nearby village of Comandancia.  We took the small skiff boat up to the village, and met many of the people, traded goods with them, and got to see their homes, their livestock, and their way of life.  The village chief, Manuel, showed us the traditional dress of his tribe (the Yagua). This village visit made an indelible impression on me. 

Our trip to the Amazon was a very reflective time:  I kept copious notes - sometimes 15 pages a day - about the sights, sounds, and feelings of the rainforest.  Despite the heat, the humidity, the clothes that never truly “dry”, the mosquitos, the ants, it was the most amazing experience I have ever had.  I learned more about myself, and the people in the world.  I am already thinking about a return trip…

We took hundreds of photos, and you can see a slideshow of the Amazon photos on Flickr (about 120 photos represented).  Please comment or email me if you have any questions - I would love to share more with you!