October Motif - Day 3

Okay, so yesterday was day 3, and I'm late posting. I didn't work my motif until late last night, then I went to bed. The pattern is for a pair of earrings (Large Royal Earrings on Ravelry) when worked in thread, but I've worked mine in worsted weight to match the other motifs.

I hope to have more progress to show on my skull top later today (or late tonight, the way these things usually go), and I'll have another motif to share!

October Motif - Day 2

Today I made the Tropical Flower motif. The pattern is two rounds and not ideally worded, but it is easy enough to see what stitches are necessary from the pictures.

It's a little wrinkly, because I haven't blocked it yet, and won't until I have a whole batch of motifs to work on.
Continuing the purple theme, I'm also working on a top for Halloween. I used the skull from this Skull Shawl pattern (with a couple of tweaks to chain lengths and such) and changed the layout a bit to make a top. Initially I was going to work the whole thing in one piece in the round, but I decided to work separate front and back. That way I could work one side, then see if it was going to work out before I did the other side.
I'm still debating on final touches; seam sides and leave openings for armholes or add straps, or even add shoulders and sleeves? We'll see after the back is finished and I've pinned them together.

Autumn Renewal

Autumn, to me, is a transformative time. The weather cools (slightly. I live in southeast Texas.) and we get a little more rain, so the brown grass of scorching summer turns green and lively again. The stores shelves fill with vibrant oranges and golds and burgundies and rich chocolate browns. It's usually around this time that I take on too much, because I feel the need to do everything! Bake more, clean house more, make more handmade things, do more schoolwork...

This October is no different! I'm focusing on my fiber art skills, though. Yoga is still there. Grad school is still there. The kids and the messy house - still there. I want to work on stepping outside of my comfort zone creatively. I begin teaching crochet classes at Michaels this month. In order to accomplish that, I am working on the Certified Instructor Program through the Craft Yarn Council. Although I have the requisite technical skills to complete the coursework and swatches, writing lesson plans will be a new experience for me.

Another thing I've decided to try is to make a motif or scrumble every day through the month. A scrumble, for those who have never heard the term, is simply a piece of freeform crochet or knit. It can be one tiny little piece of stitching, or lots of pieces all worked together. It can be made with various colors or just one color, with various types and textures of yarn or all one single type. It can be crocheted, or knit, or both together. Scrumbling is not something I'm really very comfortable with, and my style of freeform crochet is closer to Irish crochet than scrumbling, with typical patterned motifs joined into a larger piece. Nevertheless, I try.

I've also decided to open an Etsy shop. I do have a storefront at the moment, but it is still very much under construction, and I expect it to very slowly evolve. I'm taking my time on that project.

And, of course, I'm still an Independent Scentsy Consultant. Scentsy is one of those products that I just really love, so I'm happy to be associated with it. Feel free to browse the Fall/Winter and Holiday collections in my store!

And so, here is my first motif for the month of October. It's a tiny one, the Forget-Me-Not pattern from Carola Wijma. I used some scrap acrylic yarn in my favorite color.

What Yoga Is – And Does – For Me

Back in 2009, a few months after my youngest son was born, I headed to the doctor for a physical. I was tired, I couldn't sleep at night, I was sleepy all day long, I was cranky and irritable, and I was constantly in pain. I either had a headache, or a backache, or some other mysterious body ache.

I was terrified that the doctor was going to give me Bad News. My grandfather has rheumatoid arthritis, and I had vision problems occasionally that the ophthalmologist said are common in people with autoimmune disorders. I broke down in the doctor's office, sobbing that I was just “so tired, so very, very tired” and I felt like I was falling apart.

The doctor's prescription after looking at my lab results was 1) get a regular night's sleep every night, 2) lose a few pounds, and 3) find a way to de-stress, and keep with it. She told me, in no uncertain terms, that I was damaging my body with high stress levels, and I would literally stress my immune system into attacking my own body if I didn't reverse course soon.

What a wake-up call.

I had gotten an email flyer from a yoga teacher who holds classes at one of those indoor jumping places for kids (you know, the ones with the inflatable slides and things)The best part? The kids play in one room with supervision while the adults do yoga in another room. An hour of babysitting for the kids? It was a no-brainer!I've continued to attend classes with Cheri Moran since then.

Did yoga cure all my ills? No, of course not. Magic cure-alls and miracle pills are the purview of charlatans and internet scammers. I still struggle with my weight, and my back is always going to flare up occasionally. That's what old injuries do. Yoga has, however, given my body strength, flexibility, and better mechanics. More importantly, it's given me the tools to deal with stress, and aches, and all of those daily annoyances that can add up to a sleepless night. When I ruptured a cervical disc in 2010, careful, regular yoga practice kept me away from the surgeon.

There are many types of yoga practice, ranging from the purely physical to the purely spiritual, with infinite variations in between. There are many articles about the history of yoga and it's teachers, so I won't delve into that here. A good selection of articles can be found here. I came to yoga for its physical benefits, and for the chance to unwind and let go of stress. Through my practice, I've found a better understanding of myself, an acceptance and forgiveness of my own shortcomings, and the courage to change the things around me that don't foster peace in my life. I've also found friends who understand how damaging negative thoughts (our own and the thoughts of others) can be; friends who give me more support than I imagine they realize; friends that travel the journey toward acceptance with me.

No, yoga isn't a one-size-fits-all cure for everyone. But, practiced with an open mind, an open heart, and respect for your body's strengths and limitations, it can bring change to your life that seems miraculous. It did for me.