Come to the Bookery and tell me what you like about Debb!

This is a special, free event for people who are interested in finding out more about healing knits, and to honour the brains behind the Bookery Cafe in Listowel, Ontario.  Over the years, we have watched, laughed, tried delicious coffee's and shopped through moves and changes at the Bookery.  How exciting, and I am so thankful that this store is in Listowel! 

Join Heidi Burrowes of Healing Knits Canada to share in the creation of a knitted item of gratitude to be gifted to Debb Greer, proprietor of the Bookery in honour of the colour she brings to the Listowel landscape. 

On Friday, January 14th, 2011, from 10 am - 6 pm, Heidi will be knitting, singing, drumming, and hearing your stories of gratitude to be woven into this gift of thanks.  Drop in and leave whenever you wish throughout the day.  There will also be an opportunity to speak with Heidi about the upcoming "Loving Embrace" Scarf course happening throughout February at the Bookery. 

At the bookery, you can  Grab a Steaming Cup of Freshly Brewed Fair Trade Coffee or Tea ~ Lose yourself to the Sound of Celtic Music Playing Softly in the Background Whilst you Meander Through a Maze of Towering Rustic Shelves Housing More Than 30,000 Books of All SortsYou'll feel you've been transported to another place & time. An old world library in an ancient Celtic Land......

The Bookery is a Celtic Inspired Book Shoppe that maintains a well organized and diverse collection of fiction and non fiction books. The store is logically laid out, roomy with intimate nooks separating each genre. A truly unique experience .

The Story of the Maitland River Shawl ~ the first of the Healing Knits

Earlier this year, in the spring, I was contacted by the North Perth Arts and Culture Council, and asked if I wanted to create an art piece for their upcoming fundraiser.  They requested that this piece represent at least one of the five senses.  I agreed to submit a one of a kind knitted piece for the auction.

I journeyed to ask what piece was needed for the auction, and received information that described a triangular shawl with trees, and Queen Snakes in the design.  A bunch of wavy rayed lampmussels also played a part in what this shawl was to become.

I had never created a piece this way before.  I had never journeyed to find out information about what I was going to create.  This is a very potent way of creating a powerful piece.

This was a very tedious piece, requiring approximately 170 hours of my time, and much of my patience and grounding as I always strived to remember the purpose of this piece.

Here is the healing story of this piece:

Most of your body is water.

You are a walking, talking piece of the river that you drink from.

Taste the purity of your water.

See how clean your water flows.

Smell how fresh your moisture is.

Hear how your water gently moves around your body.

Connect with how beautiful you are.
Melt your ice inside, and love your water.

This piece was a continuation of the Maitland River Walk.  It was another way of sharing the lessons learned during the June 189 km walk of the Maitland River.  Incorporating the five senses as well with the teaching was a fabulous extension of the teaching.

The deadline for the project was quickly coming, and going, without this project anywhere near being finished.  However, it was ready before the auction. 

I dropped it off at the home of an organizer, Cathy, and she brilliantly set to work figuring out how to display it in the best way.  I had been told that because the piece was so late it would not be able to be auctioned in the live auction, and that it had to be at a silent table.  The retail value of this piece was $2000.  I was asked for a reserve bid, and stated that the reserve bid was $1500. 

The day after the auction, I was contacted regarding the shawl.  I was told that it was auctioned at the live auction, and sold for $1500.  It was a weird moment for me.  I was excited that someone had found value in the shawl, and that my work was being recognized as an important part of my community.  Also, it was very helpful for the organization that had asked for that donation, they were going to be able to cover their operating expenses a little easier now. 

It feels to me that for a long time, we have been living mass produced lives, where we have been working hard to advance ourselves as individuals.  It seems that the time has come to begin to deck out our bodies and homes in handcrafted, personlized loving items, and work hard for the advancement of our communities.

This shift in thinking has already begun to change my life.  If you took a deep breath, and closed your eyes, thinking about applying this philosophy in your life, do you imagine differences?

Healing Knitting Courses/Workshops/Retreats

So, you're an adventurer!  Maybe you have never thought of yourself that way, and maybe you have, but when you engage in a knitting project, you are embarking on a wonderful adventure, full of colour combinations and textures! 

When coming to a course, workshop or retreat, whether online or in person, the workshop will be designed as the weekend progresses, based on what is being called for by helping spirits over the weekend. However, here are some ideas that are being worked in throughout the course.

The purpose of one of these courses is to:
*assist you with coming to your center
*make the world a more vibrant place by bringing healing love through intent and creation
*to encourage more time spent outdoors (because, after all, it's much more fun to go outside when you have beautiful, personally expressive clothes to do it in!)
*to help decrease our dependency on, and begin to learn how we may honour, the crude oil that we use.

Even if you are just beginning to learn to knit, these courses are a wonderful way to become involved in creating meaningful story pieces that you can wear, or use to honour your home. Various knitting stitches will be covered, and any practical 'problems' that may come up or 'mistakes' during the project will become changed into personal expressions.

If you are a seasoned knitter or a beginning knitter, you will be invited to experience modifications and yarning experiments that can be both comforting and challenging.

If you wish to book a retreat/workshop or course for your healing center, knitting shop or other location, please contact Heidi at heidibearca@yahoo.ca, and place Healing Knits retreat in the subject heading.  Thank you!

Healing or Ceremonial Knitting Commissions

If you are asking to have a healing or ceremonial knitting project completed on your behalf, here are some things that you need to know.  You will be invited to share why this piece is important to you.  What brought you to asking for a healing piece? You will be encouraged to share what colours, textures, images, smells, tastes are comforting and healing to you.

When there is a healing piece being created, I work with my helping spirits, and they guide me through the process, often giving me a story that goes along with the piece that is being created especially for you.

The piece in this photo was created especially for a young woman who was going into surgery.  The surgery was to help improve her airways to help her breathe.  The images for this poncho came through very clearly when I journeyed to my helping spirits to find the story.  A bright sun, for healing light.  The wind swirling towards a tree, the tree open and clear to receiving the wind as breathe.  The lyrics from a Michelle Branch song kept coming through too.  "If I just breathe, every little piece of me, you'll see, everything is alright.  Breathe, let it fill the space between, you'll see, everything is alright.  If I just breathe."  I sang this song as I created this poncho. The poncho was delivered to the young woman's grandmother, and she was visibly moved as I explained the meanings and symbols on this poncho.

When you contact me requesting a piece, the first thing that I will do is journey to ask my helping spirits if I am the right person to create a healing piece for you.  I will ask if that is what is needed, because perhaps there will be a better way for you to receive what you need.  If I am shown a piece to be created for you, then I will give you the information that I have received, and we will discuss what direction to take at that time.

During this discussion about your piece, an estimate of the final cost will be presented to you. If the piece is commissioned, the deposit will be half of the estimated cost. This deposit is non-refundable. The final cost will never exceed the estimate, though it may be less.

To commission a knitted piece, please visit:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dFZFXzFkWkRSRVFlZmhZMjRJLTJUTUE6MQ

I look forward to sharing beauty and joy as we create dreams together.

Welcome to the Healing and Ceremonial Knits Canada page!

It is such a pleasure to be beginning this blog!  I am very excited to share with you about healing and ceremonial knitting.  It is something that I am very passionate about, and I thank you for coming here, to witness this passion.

Over the last 3 years, I have been doing my own healing work through Shamanism Canada.  Learning core shamanism has been so helpful to my life.  I follow my intuition and my helping spirits, surrounded by a loving and supportive shamanic family.  This has helped me to begin to define my heartpath in this world, and part of my heartpath is creating healing story knitted pieces for myself and others, as well as helping others learn to create their own vibrant pieces to bring into the world.

Shamanism is a very active spiritual practice.  A large part of it is about dreaming our world.  What kind of a world do we want to live in?  Then we take our answers and help to physically bring them into the world.  I want to live in a world where people express themselves in healing ways.  I want to live in a colourful, textured, elegant world filled with fun!

Perhaps you want to help discover what your beautifully dreamed world would look like.  Whether you are a very experienced knitter, or just beginning to knit, all skill levels will find both comfort and challenge with the projects presented in the courses, no matter how big or how small.

If you are someone who would like to commission me to create a piece for you, I welcome a conversation with you about what it is that you are looking for!