Dragonflies are cool

I've added a dragonfly to my title picture. Just for a bit of background - I was terrified of dragonflies for a long, long, time.

Here's the story. My mother married and we moved to Los Angeles, specifically, Northridge, California. At the time we moved into a brand new family apartment complex. My future high school was right across the street (Granada Hills High School - Go Highlanders!). There was a shopping complex a few blocks away that you got to by walking on an unpaved road. Later on they built a Treasury (think 70's Target) and paved it, but for a good while it was unpaved and had the usual weeds and things growing on it. During the summer those weeds were home to a lot of dragonflys. One day we were heading up to the hamburger stand to get a shake and I swear every time I tried to cross a certain part, the dragonflies would swarm.

Now mind you, I have NEVER been a bug lover. And to see these things coming at me with four wings (had never seen one before we got to Los Angeles) and seemingly only to "attack" me led me to fear and hate them for a lifetime. That is, until now.

Now, they are my friends. I have come to accept the dragonflies and have made peace with them. The biggest factor is that they eat mosquitoes. Which is great because mosquitoes love to eat me. And when they do, they leave huge, itchy, red, hot bumps that cause me no end of misery. Anything that rids my area of mosquitoes is a friend of mine.

Then they are just very cool. I've been doing some research and have found out they are very cool. But one thing that I really thought was cool was this:


Meaning of dragonfly symbol?

Answer

Dragonfly symbolism crosses and combines with that of the butterfly and change. The dragonfly symbolizes going past self-created illusions that limit our growing and changing. Dragonflies are a symbol of the sense of self that comes with maturity.


They are fantastic flyers, darting like light, twisting, turning, changing direction, even going backwards as the need arises. They are inhabitants of two realms - starting with water, and moving to the air with maturity, but staying close to water. Some people who have the dragonfly as their totem have had emotional and passionate early years, but as they get older they achieve balance with mental clarity and control. They gain an expression of the emotional and mental together.


Dragonflies are old and adaptive insects, and are most powerful in the summer under the effects of warmth and sunlight. Their colors are a result of reflecting and refracting the power of light. As a result, they are associated with color magic, illusion in causing others only to see what you wish, and other mysticism.

The are often represented in Japanese paintings, representing new light and joy. To some Native Americans they are the souls of the dead. Faerie stories say that they used to be real dragons.

Dragonflies are reminders that we are light and can reflect the light in powerful ways if we choose to do so. "Let there be light" is the divine prompting to use the creative imagination as a force within your life. They help you to see through your illusions and allow your own light to shine in a new vision.


This just represents everything I've gone through. I feel like I'm finally beginning to know myself and what I want after a life time of not knowing. My time of the year is always the summer, I just seem to grown then. Love the snow (looking at it) and the change of the seasons, but summer is my time. I feel like I'm finally moving into a good space and I am adopting the dragonfly as my symbol.

Guilty Pleasure

Okay, other than crafting, my guilty pleasure is professional wrestling. I mean come on, muscular guys in tights what more could you want? But seriously, I know the storylines are fake, but the athleticism is real and it's a lot of fun to watch and escape from life for a while. So today I did a quiz to see which WWE Superstar I would be and it's The Undertaker. Which is a very good thing because he is my favorite wrestler. So pooh-pooh me if you will, but I love wrestling.

Knitting my fingers away

So while I'm supposed to concentrate on quilting this year, I just can't seem to put down the knitting needles. I've finished the first dish cloth for the Monthly Dishcloths group. It's a football. I didn't have the proper color, but it will do. That pattern is definitely a keeper.

I've also been knitting fishies for and afghan that will (hopefully) be a Christmas present. I've been using bits of leftover yarn and they are so easy to make I'm already up to seven of them. The pattern comes from the Bits and Bobs group on Yahoo. I'm thinking if I can do a few a month I'll have them ready to piece together in time for Christmas.

Out of necessity I started a pair of fingerless mitts last night. I actually finished them in two days. I can't believe how easy they are to knit. I'll be making another pair in a solid color after I knit the mens version (Dashing). This is a great pattern!



I've also got to start the second sweater some time soon for my sister. I've been thinking about the first one and have some things I'll be doing when knitting this one that should make seaming easier. Always room to learn.

On to the sweater now!

UFO's

I have decided to finish a number of UFO's I've had on hold for what seems to be an eternity.

One of them is an indigo and cream colored quilt that I've been literally working on for years. Well, working on isn't correct because I haven't touched it in over a year, maybe longer. That is one of the ones that needs to be completed. I believe it is quilted over 2/3.

The other is Eric's quilt which was to be completed two years ago and still isn't done. Then I need to make one for new little brother Nathan. Only he's not that new as he's now 7 months old.

I started cutting pieces for a Double Wedding Ring and a Grandmothers Flower Garden eons ago. Time to finish cutting them and start piecing them. I've also got quilts I've been gathering fabrics for that need to be done. Lots to do this year.

Then there are cross stitch and knitting projects to finish.

I'll start a list and add to it as I come across more. I'm hoping this will be a very productive year on the craft end.

Happy 2008

Here's to a new year filled with much crafting and joy. I plan on completing a lot of UFO's this year. I have to knit two more sweaters, but then it's a push to finish the UFO's I have hanging around. Time to get them done.

Ravelry

I'm just now getting around to talking about Ravelry on my blog. Like many others I had no clue what it was. I just saw a lot of ladies chatting excitedly over being on the list and waiting for their invitation, so I headed over and did the same.

It took about a month and I got my invitation and am now a member under ChickMistress.

What can I say - I love the place. I can spend hours just looking at other peoples projects for inspiration. I've uploaded my yarn stash (nothing terribly exciting), done the same for my projects and I've joined three groups.

I love that I can be somewhat organized by using the site. It's wonderful. I've added a Ravelry button to the side bar that links you to Ravelry.

If you haven't joined, sign up for the invitation and come see what it's all about. There are a lot of beautiful items and patterns on this site and if that doesn't get your creative juices flowing, I don't know what will.

George's Sweater Is Done!

The sweater I was knitting for my sister as a gift to George (who is a girl by the way) is done. The skull was done using a duplicate stitch. I wasn't really thrilled with it to the point that I ripped it out 3 times before I accepted the final. I have a feeling the next two will be better. She wanted two originally and has now "commissioned" a third.

This was my very first sweater of any size and I'm just happy to have gotten through it without having any major disasters. Now on to the next one!

Happy holidays to everyone!