Changing Seasons – March 2026

Hello from April, friends! Goodness, how is March already over? Looking back, this month really was a full of happy glimmers, big and small. The end of hibernation season marked seeing friends from abroad, exploring yet another crafty hobby, and finally seeing a true changing of the seasons. And of course…

BTS. Is. Back. For those not in the know, their new album, Arirang, dropped this month. I was lucky enough to snag a seat for the Comeback Live event that was held in Gwanghwamun Plaza. I actually don’t have many photos from the day because there were just so many people and I avoided the crowd until entering the venue. Also, the staff were also very vocal about not taking photos inside the fenced-in area and of the stage before the show started (citing Netflix copyright), but of course all phones came out once the show started. I had been a bit worried about the crowds beforehand, but there were police and staff basically every two meters and the lines were well managed. Good job, Seoul.

Before the show, I met up with two ARMY friends and we waited in a nearby cafe before heading into the concert area. It was good to catch up and discuss the album as we sipped on coffee and killed time.

Of course, we took an obligatory Army Bomb shot once we got inside the area. I did get a little emotional the night before as I took down my Army Bomb from its shelf and dusted it off. It’s been so long, but spring has come again.

I was about halfway between the stage and the back of the seated tickets, but I was able to zooooom in off to the side to snag a few, very blurry pics of the members IN THE FLESH! They’re real, they’re here, they’re back!

Watching comeback and seeing some of the songs performed really made me appreciate the album more. I’ve grown to love and appreciate it more since that initial listen. As of writing this post, my favorite songs are Normal and Into the Sun, but also 2.0 for the performance, but also Body to Body… but also we can’t forget about FYA … In other words, no need to choose, and I cannot wait to see more of the songs performed at Goyang. Also Hooligan just came on and we can’t leave her out…

Did you watch the Comeback Live? And if you’ve listened to the album, do you have a favorite track?

The concert freebie-making factory continued to chug along, and I used up all my B T S and A R I N G alphabet beads, as well as all my red seed beads. So project Use Up My Stash was a success. I handed out a few to the people seated around me at comeback, and gave some to ARMY buddies I’ve met up with. The rest will be saved for Goyang.

I went back to Gwanghwamun a few days after the comeback, and this time the small, green banner under BTS’s caught my eye. It says: Spring, the miracle we know best. Isn’t that a sweet sentiment? Spring is a miracle, and we’re living in it every day right now. So let’s scroll back the camera roll to the first of the month.

Started off the month with eyes peeled looking for signs of spring miracles. It’s here, it’s coming!

The magpies are readying their nests.

And isn’t it how it always goes? Winter seems endless, and then one day BAM! You spot a tree flowering (plum blossoms), and you’re reminded of the quiet and familiar miracle in the midst of all the dreary.

This month I got to go to the Tasha Tudor exhibit at the Lotte Museum of Art in Jamsil. I only learned of Tasha Tudor’s illustrations maybe a few years ago. But as I’ve also been leaning into my inner grandma and embracing the cottage grandma aesthetic (hello crochet, needle arts), I wanted to be sure to see this exhibit. Her illustrations are very warm and cozy, and I liked seeing her original studies and paintings of the framing artwork for her books.

I took so many pictures of the pieces, but this close-up of an illustration with the goat snacking on the little girl’s pigtail is a favorite.

This month I also went to the Seoul Botanic Park for the first time. Once inside the ticketed area, you have access to an outdoor park and indoor greenhouse. It was very healing to walk around inside the warm greenhouse and see all the plants in the different ecosystems (desert, tropical and Mediterranean).

So I mentioned a new craft, yes? In thinking about how to use some of the embroidery floss I recently received, I looked up how to cross stitch. And after a few videos, in true AWS fashion, I jumped right in. This was my first ever cross stitch, pattern designed by Margaret Sherry from The World of Cross Stitching magazine, April 01 2026 edition.

The colors are all a bit off since I used the closest shades in the off-brand floss I had, plus a few DMC threads I bought (the gray floor shadow, and the peach in its ear, paws and tail). And while I tried to keep the back as tidy as I could, the backstitch made it all a bit messy in the end. But here’s my back as well.

I started this pattern on a scrap piece of Aida 14 ct that was meant to be used for practice, but then ended up doing the whole pattern, so it’s a very tight fit. I’ve still yet to decide how I want to finish it–the pattern was originally for cards, but I think I’d like to sew it onto a little cushion or some kind of fabric backing and frame it. Needless to say, this little project took forrreeevvver. The pattern estimated 5 – 8 hours, but I think it took probably double that for me. And despite all the cute spring and Easter-themed patterns I’ve bookmarked, I don’t know when I’ll start my next piece (if ever!).

Back to more familiar ground, the crocheting also continued in March. I added snap buttons to a single crochet piece stitched into a card wallet. It’s cute, but I haven’t started using it yet. The tomato harvest was also bountiful, and I was able to make a total of four little tomato charms from a 30g skein of red yarn.

Everything I’ve made until now used a 5.0 (3mm) crochet hook. With the green phone bag pictured on the right, I used a 7.0 hook. This was probably the hardest project yet – starting the oval bottom was tricky and my 7.0 hook from Daiso (1000 KRW) was much harder to work with compared to my 5.0 Tulip hook (12000 KRW). Unfortunately, you do get what you pay for, but I haven’t invested in any more hook sizes… yet.

Right now I’m working on a very narrow scarf. It is currently 38 cm long and about to be demoted to a decorative collar because I am growing bored of it. Stay tuned for the final result next month!

Finally, after a few days of bad air pollution, the rains last night washed away the microdust and the last morning of the month really decided to spring. I’ll leave you with a few snaps from this sunny and clear last day of March in Seoul.