Greetings!
We are buried under a heavy snowfall. It began in the night and ended at Dawn. Henry and I blazed a trail in the woods this morning, fighting our way through the snow to be among the trees, the trickling woodland stream. It’s so peaceful and quiet in the snow. The sun is out now, our driveway has been dug out and Henry is fast asleep beside me. I’m listening to the Skyrim soundtrack (obviously…) and updating the shop with a few items so thought I’d take the time to share with you a few pictures as of late. In a little bit, I’ll make a cottage pie ❤
December is so changeable living near the Atlantic Ocean. One day, it pours and is mild while the next a fury of snow envelopes us. Icicles and burning hands from the cold. This Saturday we are expecting mild weather and rain so we must make the most of the snow while it lasts.
Last weekend Jamie, Henry and I drove out to our family’s rural home. It was cold and snowy. We had lunch together with my sister, her partner and 2 boys, my parents. The dogs wildly playing. I packed all the recents sweaters to take photographs in the quiet woods. We had such a nice time with the sun streaming through the trees, the moss sparkling under the frost. The following morning, we packed up everything – poured a thermos of herbal tea and headed back out to the woods to finish some pictures. That’s when the snow started… a few of the photos capture the beginnings but later our walk under the snowfall was a delight.
Last week, my Mom was visiting with us. She taught me how she hand quilts her beautiful quilts. I hand quilted the star piece I made with the mushrooms and lichen. Personally, I find it to be a very beautiful piece and have listed it as wall art in the shop. It’s made with a lot of love and displays the natural colours of the woods here in Nova Scotia. I made it with the intent that it form a connection between the owner and our wild lands by the Atlantic Coast, perhaps for an altar space or a creative space. I also made another bunting because I just love making them, they are a lot of fun and took advantage of all that snow this morning to showcase it. It’s so festive outside. This particular one is made with all the same flags – delicate yellow flowers. Both handmade items are one of a kind, made by my hands and available in the shop. I have another patchwork star that I will quilt and place in the shop as well when I find the time to complete it. I love the solitude of these crafts ❤
We are almost at the Solstice! For us here in Eastern Canada, it does mean the lengthening of the day but it also means months of cold and storms ahead. I’ll be keeping busy with my small cottage business and exploring the landscape in all weather with Henry girl. Let me know if you are enjoying more frequent posts about the small details and I’ll do my best to keep it up:)
Wishing you a peaceful and happy holiday season ❤
Ways of Wood Folk 
Beautiful photos…thank you for sharing!
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Thank you Mary!! I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
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Julia…these photos are so enchanting! You capture the essence of place in them. I can feel the energy of place. I do enjoy reading your posts and photos – no matter how frequently or infrequently you post. But I would enjoy reading more…no pressure. 😉
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Thank you Bonnie!!
I’ll do my best to keep up the frequency. It actually motivates me a lot to write and so I do hope to do so. Life is finally settling after a rather chaotic past 2 years (which is just.. hard to grasp). Thanks so much for your comments and support!
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Love the posts and photos, Julia — they never fail to inspire. It’s wet and chilly here in western Oregon. For the moment…. Our weather likes to play with change as well. Enjoy your beautiful Nova Scotia nature!
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My response to you seems to have disappeared so apologies if you receive it twice!
Thank you very much for the kind words! I have only been to Oregon once when I was a child. My dad worked in California and my mom, sister and I did a road trip from Washington to Nevada. I loved Oregon (and the red woods) the best even though it poured the entire time! Someday, hopefully I can make it back.
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Yes please continue with the posts, I love them
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Thank you Julie!! I’ll do my best to keep them fairly regular! I am finally settling into a good work flow at our new house so it’s looking promising thus far!
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Lovely…that seems to describe everything you do! Looking forward to your next stream of thoughts and photos!
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Thank you kindly ❤ ❤ Wishing you a special sunday!
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Thank you for sharing your thoughts and photos, especially the one of the woods covered in snow—it’s beautiful. Yes, please continue with the posts. I wish you peaceful and happy holidays.
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Thank you for the feedback Lesley!
hoping you have a wonderful holiday!
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I love your stories and pics 💕 As a fairly new knitter your projects are quite inspiring for me – quite beautiful.
I will be happy to hear about your home and adventures with Henry whenever you have time to write.
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Hi Kris,
Thank you!! That’s nice of you to say about being inspiring as well as a new knitter! I think my projects are suitable for beginners as introductions to colourwork. I actually like fairly simple pattern and design and most of my work falls in line with that – however it does take time to get to colourwork. It took me a couple of years before I actually started working with 2 colours! When I started knitting, I just knit through my mom’s stash from the 80s and 90s making patchwork blankets! I didn’t care much about what things looked like, it was more about the process for me as a teenager. I hope you stick to it and it brings you joy!
I would love to try to make it a weekly thing if I can, I’ll do my best to start after the Christmas Holidays.
Wishing you an uplifting and peaceful season ❤
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Hi Julia,
Your newest quilted star is beautiful! I especially love the softness of the natural dyes. Also, when you mentioned Skyrim it made me smile-I associate that game with snowy winters and crafting. When I moved from Washington state to British Columbia, it was January and a very snowy winter at that. I will never forget it, because it had a very Skyrim feel to it..good memories 🙂 Happy holidays to you & your family. ❤
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Thank you ❤ ❤
I could definitely see moving to a snowy British Columbia would be very very Skyrim-esque! How beautiful ❤ For me, when I moved to Toronto after undergrad to go to U of T I had moved from a very rural wild place in Nova Scotia to Toronto and playing Skyrim was my escape from the city (and school and work ;)). The music now, especially if it’s snowing, just makes me feel so much peace and all around happiness. I often put it on when I’m at home making or cooking or just doing regular home things!
Blessed Solstice to you!
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Happy New Year! I’m late in reading but wanted to say I really love your projects and images, and reading about your adventures. My resolution for 2022 is to keep up with my emails. So please posts as often as you can.
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Thanks Ginger!
I’m happy you like the work I do! I’m going to do my best to update a lot this year because I have a lot of projects thus far!
Very Happy New Year to you!!!
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Hi Julia, I’m a bit late to this post, but I also wanted to jump on the bandwagon and say that I really love reading your blog- as a fellow quilter, knitter, and gardener who lives in a big city (Berlin), it’s inspirational for me to read about your life in Nova Scotia and, through seeing the beauty of your environment, feel grateful for mine too. So yes, please post more in the new year!
x Sophie
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Hi Sophie,
thanks so much for stopping by and leaving a kind message! I love that my blogs make you feel grateful for your environment! That makes me really happy, thank you ❤ I will do my best to keep posting! It’s definitely my plan 🙂
Happy New Year to you!
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