Seattle Yogini

Sockapalooza 4

Upon returning home late last Thursday, I was delighted to find a package from my Sockapalooza 4 Sock pal!  She wrote a lovely note, and included some yummy sweets (something called Rhubarb and Custard, quite tastey) with the socks.  Yes, dear friends, my socks came all the way from the UK....with wool from Australia!  How fun to have socks that have spent time in three of the four English-speaking countries.  Now I just need to wear them on a trip to Vancouver and they'll be all set!  :-)

Aren't they beautiful?  And they fit perfectly!  They are officially my first pair of hand-made socks that can actually be worn outside of the house.  My first were a pair of house socks that are too fuzzy, etc., to fit in shoes.

The best part is that she designed them herself!  I love the height of the leg, which I may very well use as a template for my Embossed Leaves V2.0.  The softness of the merino/cashmere blend makes me want to keep them on non-stop!  It's from The Knittery, in a colourway called Orchid (I figured I'd add that "u" in, ya know, as a nod to our Aussie and Brit pals).  :-)

Why is it that I can wear merino on my feet, ankles and lower legs, but not on my upper body?  The slightest bit of wool in a sweater, scarf or hat and I'm itchy to distraction.  Why?  Why?  Why?

Thank you, Library Girl, for a wonderful pair of socks!

Honey, I'm Home!

Well, we're back from a lovely visitation with family in sweltering southern Indiana.  We decided that traveling with the intention to whirl around visiting family is not the same as a "vacation", and so from now on we're calling it visitation.  I do not mean to imply that it wasn't relaxing or fun, or any of the other things that vacations (hopefully) are.  I simply mean to differentiate the intention behind the adventure.

Our visitation was lovely, though the weather was hard to handle after three years as Seattlites.  It was 100+ degrees every day, and I won't even guess what the heat index was when you factor in the Ohio River Valley humidity.  We hid out in the air conditioning by day, and wandered out into the pastures at dusk.

To share the love, I've decided to partition out the blog entries by topic (in no particular order).  Over the next few postings, you will learn about my sister's Lush party, my Mom & Dad's horse farm, our day at the races and, of course, the knitting.

Let's start with the knitting.  As usual, I over-packed.  Planning for the possibility of, shall we say, efficient knitting, I brought:

1)  Rob's sweater for car knitting, chit chat knitting, movie knitting, etc.
2)  Embossed Leaves sock
3)  Reading-in-Bed Shrug
3)  a ball of Luxury Cotton DK for 2 swatches
4)  cotton socks (not yet on the needles, these were for emergency use only)

Between airplane knitting to and from Indiana, and various hours of happily sitting around chatting/knitting, my barely-started projects looked like this by week's end:

The "Reading-in-Bed Shrug"
pattern by Pam Allen, from the Knitting Daily website

Basically, you knit about 23" of traveling leaves in a lovely GGH Soft Kid, then sew an inch and a half or so of each short end together, creating "sleeves", and voila!  you have a soft, cozy shrug.  It is now finished, and I'll post the details and pix after the travel posts are done.

This funny looking blob represents one ball of yarn and two or three rip-backs for Rob's sweater.  It is the culmination of numerous "Here, Honey, try this on real quick" moments, wherein I hope that I won't have to rippit (again).  I made the ribbing for the back of the neck a bit longer than the front, per E.Z.'s recommendation.  We are both pleased with the outcome.  It created a little difficulty for me when I had to figure out where to put the raglan increases, as the neck adjustment was not part of the pattern upon which I'm basing the design.  Still, I'm off to a good start and this was, indeed, VERY good riding in the car/chit chat/movie watching knitting.

This is the Embossed Leaves sock pattern from Favorite Socks by Interweave Press. I  had the ribbing and the first set of the lace pattern underway by the time we took off, so all of the rest of the sock was knitted during the visitation.  It is now complete (I'll wait until I have a pair to post about it in more detail).

I used Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock yarn, which I like a lot.  In fact, I love the colors, but I don't care for the pooling.  I originally tried a Monkey Sock, but the colors pooled a lot.  I
hoped that a different pattern would produce less pooling, but it didn't.  I'm sure that a solid color would do the lacy pattern more justice, but I really don't want a sorta-stripey sock or a very pooly plain ol' stockinette stitch sock.  Sooooooo......I'm sticking with this pattern.

While lovely and completely wearable, I have two small problems with the sock:  (1)  Now that it's done, I can see that I should have made the leg at least a pattern repeat shorter - the CO edge is too tight for the spot on my calf where it ends up.  (2)  I made the foot shorter than what the patterns calls for, but now that it has a toe, I think I should have made it even shorter.  That way it would stretch out the lace a wee bit, showing off its details.  I have not yet decided what to do about the twin - make it to match this one and plan on giving them away, or make one to fit me, compare the two, and then make a third (and possibly fourth) sock so that I have a pair (and perhaps someone else would too).  Last but not least, I could rippit and start all over...after I test-knit a second sock per my calculated preferences, of course!  No use having a lovely sock that I never wear because it's every so slightly too big (and, ironically, too small as well).

Sigh.

What would E.Z. do?

What would you do?

Country Roads....

....take me home to that place, where I belong(ed)....

I love that song.  Even though I don't take it to heart in a literal sense (I belong wherever I find myself, after all!), it always makes me smile thinking of that place I call "home" in the familial sense - southern Indiana.

Rob and I have been here visiting for the past week.  It has been a lovely week full of family, horses, falling asleep to the songs of crickets (unheard of in the city) and general peacefulness.  This evening I attended Bible study at my Dad's church (he's a United Methodist minister).  My Dad is an inspiring storyteller, and I love to hear his sermons and other teachings.  Since I was unavailable on Sunday morning to attend services at his church, I hopped at the opportunity to go to Bible study tonight.  He remains, as always, more teacher than "preacher", and I thoroughly enjoyed the lesson.

He stressed the importance of finding the truth in the story, not the truth of the story.  For example:  as a Christian, it is important to my Dad to see the truth of Jesus' miraculous works - that Jesus had gifts above and beyond his fellows, which can serve as inspiration to us all.  He sees this as more important than whether or not Jesus actually walked on water (for example).  This is a lesson I often use when sharing stories of Yogic Philosophy with my students.  Discovering the truth in the story of the Bhagavad Gita, for example, offers much more profound lessons than a literal interpretation can.

Another stimulating aspect of tonight's lesson was the importance of putting Biblical stories into context.  Where the Bible is concerned, a word that was used by the original authors (in Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek, depending upon the book) may have taken shape as something that makes no sense to modern readers once it was translated.  Doing a bit of history study in order to better understand the world of the ancients makes the stories come alive in a new, more meaningful way.  Again, this is very helpful in my teaching.  Helping students understand the roots of the Purna Yoga practice, and the "place" of asana in the path (according to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali), can put them in touch with the bigger picture of the practice.  This can potentially help them find their way to deeper and deeper understanding of union and enlightenment.

Occasionally, upon learning that I am a "preacher's kid", a colleague will ask how my Dad feels about me being a Purna Yoga practitioner.  This question often elicits a chuckle from me, as I know my Dad to be a spiritual man, not a religious man (even though he has been a minister for well over 20 years).  It is my observation that my Dad is much more concerned about whether or not his children are good people who strive to learn and grow, treat others with love and respect, lend a hand to those in need, tell the truth and - in my case at least - seek to deepen our understanding of, and relationship with, the Divine.  Through these choices, we end up living in a way that I believe Jesus himself would smile upon.  For my family, this is much more important that than whether or not we are "good Christians".  My Dad taught us that there are many paths, not a single Truth, and that God is continually revealing Itself to Its creation - us!  I feel supported by my Dad as I walk my own, individual, path.

This evening's lesson inspired me to study the Bible more, along with some other books my Dad has recommended in order to help me put the stories into context.  I avoided the Bible for a long time, as I do not count myself a Christian and didn't know how to read it in an appropriate context.  Now, I feel more confident in being able to see the truth in the stories, getting to the heart of Jesus' teachings and feeling out how to apply them in my own life.  One of the most wonderful gifts my father has given me is the example of being firm in one's faith, and deepening that faith by asking questions, probing the stories of one's tradition, and letting go of dogma so that we might keep our hands available to hold those of God.

Where No Woman Has Gone Before

Quick Update:  We found the Diva Cup under a little end table behind the overstuffed chair in our living room.  It is fully intact, albeit covered in dried drool and dog hair.  Yay!  No more theoretical need to "investigate" the dog's doo every time he goes....

In Other News:  As some of you may recall, a few months ago my sweet husband asked me to knit him a sweater.  Being the loving (and prudent) wife that I am, I agreed, and told him that we should start with choosing a yarn.  Yes, that was partly a ploy to give me more time to finish up other projects.  :-)  But it was also quite a logical move, as I knew that he would need to survey, feel, and discuss a few options before deciding on his sweater-to-be.  The yarn's content, color, weight (well, I am the one who really cares about the weight, but still....) would all need to be considered carefully before my thoughtful husband made his decision.

The choosing took a little while.  Then we had to order two bags of it, which took a while longer.  In the meantime I swatched in order to determine gauge.  Now it's in my stash, the hat/swatch is complete, and since my sock pal's socks are on their way to her I now have no excuse - I must start the sweater!  I told him I'd do my best to have it ready in time for sweater season....this year....so here's where we stand:

• He wants a plain, mock-turtleneck raglan sweater.
• I want to not be bored to tears whilst knitting said sweater.
• So far, it is very interesting in that I'm inventing it as I go.  Well, I am not inventing, as much as we - Elizabeth Zimmerman, www.knittingfool.com, some of the Interweave gals, and me - are inventing.  I don't embark on large-scale projects without backup!  Ha ha ha.
  • So far I have swatched, calculated, drawn up instructions, knitted one neck and - just now - frogged it.
  • Yes, I am writing it all down as I go so that I can have a hope of recreating something to his liking again one day!
• I want to get the neck figured out in the next day or two so that I can work on this project while we are out of town.  It will be fairly portable for awhile, and the rounds and rounds of stockinette stitch will allow me to keep on knittin' while visiting family, riding on planes and in cars, etc.  Yay!
• I am giving myself regular pep talks because I know that this will be a project that A) takes a while to finish B) takes a few tries to get it to his liking and C) due to B may be very frustrating for a certain knitter as she tries to make a sweater her husband (who has good taste precisely because he is particular) will be happy wearing.
• Um, no, green gable is not yet done.  And, um,  yes, a pair of socks has also been started.  Surely you aren't surprised...are you?

Since the yarn I ordered June 17th (!!!) for the cool Indigo Ripples Skirt has not yet arrived, the sweater (as stated above) has become my traveling project.  It will, of course, share space with at least a pair of socks, but that is of little consequence this week.  This week, I need to set its foundation so that the knitting can be fairly easy once we take off.  Any advice?

The Dog Ate My...

...Diva Cup.  Sigh.  That's right, the Diva Cup is missing and I have enough circumstantial evidence to deduce that Sirius ate it.

Exhibit A:  Upon returning home from brunch with friends, the Diva Cup's cloth bag was lying in the middle of the living room.  That is not where I keep it, which certainly made us stop to consider how it got there.

Exhibit B:  The cloth bag had the instruction paper still folded up inside.  Its disheveled state was, shall we say, evidence that it had somehow gotten quite wet, as the paper was all slobber-hardened, wrinkly and weird.

Exhibit C:  Sheepish dog as soon as I pick up the bag (Ah ha!  Busted!)

Exhibit D:  The cup is nowhere, I repeat, nowhere to be found.

Sirius does not often take anything more than the sponge off the edge of the bathtub (which he loves to tear into little pieces but does not appear to ingest), or one of Rob's socks (which he only moves from room to room, never demolishes).  The cup's home had been in a shaving kit bag (unzipped) on the bottom shelf of our toiletries shelf in the upstairs bathroom.  Homefry must have really nosed around up there to decide that of all the fun things - cotton balls, pads, tampons, razors - the Diva Cup (which, by the way, I had never even used) was the one thing his heart desired most.

Dogs.  Who knows what they're thinking?

So, why have a Diva Cup I never even used?  Well, I bought it a couple of months ago, intending to do away with tampons.  Each time my period begins, however, I realize that maybe I should have practiced inserting/removing it before I actually need it to work properly.  So I put it back and think I'll remember for next month.

A few years ago I switched to "natural, organic cotton" tampons and disposable pads, after reading a lot of compelling evidence against the use of commercial rayon-based tampons.  I like them well enough, but after a few months of not being able to use the tampons last summer, I realized that I'd rather not use them at all.  For one thing, they create a lot of post-consumer waste.  Even if I buy organic cotton, using fewer chemicals overall, there's still the ecological cost of manufacturing the cotton, the packaging, the tampons and pads themselves - all so that I can use them for a couple of hours and then send them to the landfill.  And please make no mistake, solid waste such as tampons do not magically disappear when they arrive at the water treatment plant!  They get scooped out by a mechanical arm and sent - you guessed it, to the landfill.  Rob went on a field trip to one of our local water treatment plants last year and learned all about it.  I wasn't sure I could go "all pad, all the time", however, as tampons can be very handy for use on busy teaching days.  A friend recommended the Diva Cup and I trust her so I bought one.

Of course I could go buy another one, but another factor in my procrastination in its use was the fact that I'm less and less inclined to plug myself up with anything.  Whether its a cup that catches the flow or a bundle of fabric that absorbs it, it's still holding up inside of me everything that's meant to flow out during that time of the month.

So today I'm sewing myself some nice, soft, cotton-flannel pads.  I have a couple of night-time Glad Rags which I liked so much more than disposable pads that I decided to try them during the day, as well.  They're softer, they don't make me hot and sweaty (particularly uncomfortable during the flow, if I do say so myself), and they can be used over and over and over again.  Just rinse and/or soak in cold water before washing.  It's like using cloth diapers rather than disposable:  less garbage waste, less money over time and - if you have some basic sewing skills - super easy to make!

Back to the Dog:  Of course we are keeping an eye on him for any sign that he is having difficulty passing the cup.  Hopefully he at least chewed it into small pieces, rather than swallowing it whole.  I have all kinds of terrible images of what a whole Diva Cup could do passing through a dog's digestive system.  His behavior is, as always, exuberant (to say the least).  Keep your fingers crossed!  I'm going to keep looking for it, just in case......

Sockapalooza Success

The Sockapalooza Socks, they are finished!  Hooray!

Project Specs:

Pattern:  Flame Wave Socks by:  Ann Budd for Favorite Socks from Interweave
Yarn:  I used 2 balls of Cascade Fixation (98% cotton, 2% elastic) on US size 4 needles.  I have a little nugget of each ball leftover.
Time Investment:  All summer, but mostly because I started sock one three times before I got a tension and stitch definition I liked (the elastic component of the yarn offered me some "learning opportunities").  Sock two flew, and I actually finished them a week ago but am just now posting about them.
Mods:  Only the usual things I do in a sock:  pick up and knit more stitches than the pattern calls for at the gusset (because otherwise I always end up with annoying little holes at the corner).
Comments: I really enjoyed this pattern and, once I got used to working with it, the yarn.  My sock pal lives in a very warm climate, which is why I chose cotton socks.  It was my first time knitting quasi-lacy socks, and my first time working with cotton sock yarn.  Since these socks use a sport-weight yarn and relatively large needles, they go quickly (or, at least, could in theory!).
Next time:  I want a pair of these socks for myself!  I'll probably make them for friends and family, as well.  Very easy, a cinch to care for.  Zero itch factor - they're definite winners!