Hello Elfkins,

Half way through August and I’m finding the time to sit undisturbed and write. I hope everyone is finding the time (no matter how little) to walk in the woods, dip your toes in running water and sit undisturbed to sip whatever your heart desires. Listen to podcasts, read books and watch the moon rise in the East.

It has been a very beautiful summer, full of going new places and trying new things although I feel like life is changing. It’s my first summer in years that I don’t feel the pull to use social media anymore which is one of the most liberating feelings. A beautiful view and moment undisturbed by a gnawing anxiety! This last week, we surfed on the Atlantic (I truly have no business being out there but hopefully will improve with time!) and camped in Keji. We spent time with family. Stopped in at Lunenburg for lattes at Laughing Whale and slept in a retro trailer on a farm. While at the trailer, I read an entire book (The Spoon Stealer by Lesley Crewe) which was so incredibly wonderful to just sit outside in a bug tent with a book and a beer with the caw of crows as the only distraction. Keji is a pristine wilderness area in the southern part of the province. Crystal clear lakes, mammoth hemlocks and the clearest night sky surround you. The Mi’kmaq lived in the region for thousands of years which is clearly seen by the petroglyphs carved into stone. The name of the park is believed to mean “little fairies” and according to the most random source, one of the 5 fairy mounds in Nova Scotia is located in the park. There is definitely an otherworldly feel to the area.

Slept to the hooting of a barred owl and the gentle lapping of water on the lake’s edge. Summer goes by so quickly living on the East Coast, already I’m beginning to smell the change in the season on the winds. The days are growing shorter and my plants are going to seed and preparing for the colder, darker months. Currently, we are splitting our felled beech trees – slowly but surely. Beech is so hard and it’s a real match for our wood splitter. Currently, our house is under construction – masons are rebuilding our fireplace from the roofline up. Our new efficient woodstove will be installed soon and I am brimming with excitement at the thought of tending a fire to keep our home warm, stave off the oil bill. The dust from the masonry work has really impacted the growth of my container garden so, not that I have given up on my plants but I am really looking forward to next year when the work will be finished and my plants can grow to their hearts content!

On the Wood Folk front, there are quite a few smaller knits to go up in the shop this month, so please do check it out! Some mittens that I knit as well as a few pairs that my Mom knit as well. After this update will be a much bigger update with sweaters and a pattern in addition to a few other knitted and homemade items. I truly love working with the rustic local maritime wool – the coarseness and connection to place. There are 3 pairs that will be available in the shop. Unfortunately, the shipping costs are sky high at the moment. In Canada, I have changed the price of shipping to reflect what it costs – funny enough, it’s more expensive to ship within my own province than it is to send something to California or Germany! So my fellow Canucks, I am truly sorry.

Knitting has been very slow indeed this year. It’s the first year since 2013 that I haven’t completed a sweater (usually, I’d have multiple done by now!). Moving really changed a lot in our lives – we’re a lot more active in Nova Scotia. Life isn’t as slow as it was before and honestly, that’s a good thing at this point in our lives. I don’t find myself watching TV the same way I use to which is when I do most of my knitting. We deleted our Netflix account because it was just sitting there not being used. However, with the woodstove being installed for this winter, I plan to spend a lot of time in our cozy basement tending the fire and that will hopefully mean a lot of knitting and pattern design. I’m currently very slowly knitting the last Pangur Sweater, making meticulous notes and thus leaving it in my knitting basket when I don’t have access to a computer. Every summer, I knit myself one pair of socks so that is currently my project of choice.

More homemade soap has also been added to the shop. I’m currently collecting chamomile and Calendula growing in our garden each day to create a solar oil for the next batch of homemade soap. I love the cycle of gardening – from collecting seeds, planning, sowing seeds and carefully inspecting what new growth is happening. To then harvesting plants for so many diverse purposes! Our property is a fraction of the size of our old one however, you can still grow so much on a small property. In fact, I find the size is increasing our creativity as we find ways to jam pack as many plants as possible around our cottage like house.

So for now, here are a few photographs of the current knits that have been posted in the shop as well as our small garden thus far 🙂 The deck has been a sanctuary with homemade Adirondack chairs that my Dad built for us. It’s my first year seriously container gardening which has been a lot of fun but I have SO much to learn (many of my Tomatoes have bottom rot but then again many tomatoes and peppers are thriving). The bees have been visiting the deck consistently due to the flowering Tulsi or Holy Basil. So friends, if you want to attract some beautiful bumble bees, grow Sacred Tulsi Basil and allow it to go to seed! I’ll honestly never not grow it as this point, it’s wonderfully aromatic and attracts bees like none of my other flowers (except perhaps for the hollyhocks). It’s so rewarding to see them buzzing from flower to flower, laden with pollen. I was hoping to write more about gardening and share what I’ve learned this year but the masonry dust may put it off until next year >.< we shall see!

This summer I have taken a break from creating, making, knitting, sewing, drawing. It hasn’t been very intentional actually – the river is just flowing down a different avenue. Although I’ve been preoccupied with other things this summer, my mind is constantly humming with what to create next. I don’t often fall asleep without thinking about what seeds to collect and to plant. As soon as that cold air begins to creep in, things will shift from plants and seeds to wool and thread. Paper and wood. Beach glass and metal. Or at least, that’s what I can rely on (usually the plant plans never actually end, just retreat a little bit).

The ebb and flow of creating is so liberating! To move with the seasons, the sun, the moon. I love being so totally absorbed in working with a garden, hiking and spending time with the ocean while the weather allows it and then when the sun begins to set further and further to the south, when the plants die back and the ground hardens to direct the waning energy to working inside with our hands using the fruits of nature.

Thank you so much for reading my words and spending your precious time with me. I hope you’re well and until next time!

Julia, xo