Dark Solstice Diaries: A Resurrectionist Winter

As the year folds into its coldest chapter, welcome to the first entry of the Dark Solstice Diaries — a season of reflection, reclamation, and creative resurrection.

Winter has always held a strange power. It’s a pause between death and rebirth, a hush that invites us inward — to the hearth, to memory, and to the things we’ve left unfinished. This year, I’m leaning into that energy through something I’m calling A Resurrectionist Winter.

What Is a Resurrectionist?

In the shadowy corners of 18th- and 19th-century history, resurrectionists were grave robbers who unearthed bodies for medical study.

Morbid, yes — but also oddly symbolic. They exhumed what was hidden, bringing the forgotten back into the light for a new purpose.

In that spirit, I’ve decided to become a resurrectionist of my own making this winter — not of bodies, but of projects.

Harvesting from the Stash Grave

Every maker has one: the stash grave.

Half-finished knits sealed away in project bags. Fabric folded and forgotten. Yarn that’s been whispering from the corner of the craft room like a ghost waiting for release.

This season, instead of starting new, I’m digging deep. I’m unearthing those lingering projects, unraveling, reviving, and re-imagining them. It’s a quiet ritual — a séance of stitches, a conversation with my creative past self.

There’s real magic in picking up something that’s lingered too long. Each row finished, each seam sewn, feels like closing a loop that’s been haunting the edges of your mind.

The Spirit of Resurrectionist Winter

Resurrectionist Winter isn’t about guilt or perfection. It’s about slow revival. It’s about turning the cold months into a gentle practice of renewal through reclamation.

Some projects will finally be finished. Others might be unraveled for their raw materials, ready to live again in something new. Either way, nothing is wasted — and nothing stays buried forever.

This season, I invite you to join me in this quiet act of creative resurrection. Pick one forgotten project. Light a candle. Reacquaint yourself with the maker you were when you began it.

Because not everything left for dead is truly gone.

Sometimes, it’s simply waiting for the right witch to dig it up again.

Follow the Dark Solstice Diaries

Throughout this winter series, I’ll be sharing my revived projects, hauntingly cozy inspirations, and a few movie and book pairings from my Dark Solstice Diaries: Letterboxd List — a collection of snow-soaked horrors and midwinter ghost stories to keep the creative fire burning.

You can follow along here on the blog, over on YouTube (Fiberomancer), or join the conversation with our community of spooky makers on my YouTube membership.

Let’s make this solstice season one of beautiful revivals — from the stash grave to the spark of new inspiration.