Today, the last day of January 2010, is another snowy day. Quite beautiful really when the snow falls lightly and softens all the hard edges of the landscape. I love days like today. It is especially bright outside surrounded by white. This Christmas I received this wonderful book by Vivian Swift.

The inside jacket states, “A charming, illustrated celebration of puttering, doodling, daydreaming, and settling down after years on the road,” and this is indeed what it is. This book celebrates the simplicity of all that surrounds us from suit cases to the night sky. I love Swift’s recognition of beauty in the day-to-day.

Our recent visitor, Mary Scott Huff

shared her design notebook with us, a moleskin journal where all her designs, thoughts and bits of inspiration are stored. I happened to run to the book store for a gift this week and spotted an entire section of Moleskin journals near the check out counter. Too tempting to pass up, I grabbed two… one is a traditional unlined journal and the other has graph paper, which is perfect for designing stranded knitting patterns.
Inspiration began during lunch Friday, with journal opened, pencil at the ready and a book of Turkish patterns to knit that I’ve had for years. The fun began when I opened the book and realized that it was (oops) upside down. The “Hook” pattern suddenly turned into the wave and the “Kilim” when turned sideways became a mountain. Suddenly, my husband’s hat design took on a new life.

Inspiration takes form when small bits of preparation are in place. Find your inspiration wherever you will and enjoy the process.