Seattle Yogini

My Honeybee Cardigan, and Haircut Reveal!

Behold, the awesomeness of my new haircut, and my new me-made cardigan!

Now that school's out for the summer, I've been able to direct more attention to my knitting.  Well, technically, the knitting never really stopped, but the *finishing* was non-existent.  I can knit and knit and knit, but if I never bother to sew the pieces together, choose buttons, or make a button band, those knitted pieces serve no purpose!

Look at that sweet little bee pattern in the lace!

I had three different sweaters (one for fall, two for summer) completed but not "finished".  While I've still been knitting during my usual knitting time, I have also made the time to sit down, spread out my work, and put the pieces together in ways that make them into sweaters.  As indicated above, this is an essential part of securing a wearable end product.  :-)

Sweater the first:  Honeybee Cropped Cardigan

I used Hazel Knits hand-painted fingering-weight yarn.  The colorway is "Hoppy Blonde".

This was easy to knit up, and I didn't even bother blocking it because it's knit as one piece, I was happy with my even stitches (yes, I'm patting myself on the back just a little bit) as the fit was already great.  I simply needed to do the I-cord edging around the neckline, which was a great! new! skill!, and make the dreaded button band.  I say dreaded, because I often pick up the dozens of stitches and start knitting, only to end up with an edge that is too wide, and therefore ruffly, or one that is too tight, and therefore pulls the length of the sweater.  Then if I get it right, I have a hard time matching it on the other side.  Ugh!  This time, however, I picked up just the right number of stitches and ended up with lovely button bands!

I made a few adjustments, mainly just for personal fit preference.

1. I made the sleeves shorter than the pattern suggested.  I am petite, so it follows that my arms don't require as much yardage to cover them.
2. I made the button bands a little longer than suggested (which looks like wider, but whatever, it's a technical discrepancy) to make sure that I would have enough room in the bust without distorting the lace pattern.
3. I used 8 buttons, because I figured that more buttons would help rule out the possibility of unbecoming gappage between the buttons (said gappage would be due to, you know, having breasts).  I chose vintage German glass buttons, purchased at Nancy's Sewing Basket.

All of these adjustments worked out great in the end, and I am very pleased with my new, vintage-look cropped cardigan.  If you're interested in further details, click on the link above to see my Ravelry page.

Trimming Waaaay Back

During the many years of trying to conceive, I purposefully allowed my body to become "fluffy".  I feathered my nest, so to speak, wanting to not only have a healthy amount of body fat but also because I felt that, for me, a slightly softer, rounder figure was more welcoming to the energy of "mother".  I have a history of heavy-duty exercise and even a short period of my life during which I starved myself.  Coming to a decision that would allow my body to expand and soften was a very big deal.  Indeed, much of it had to do with letting go of the need to monitor and control my body so very much - particularly since the baby-making efforts (temping, charting, vitamins, surviving and healing from two lost pregnancies, etc.) were exhausting in much the same way that dieting and over-exercising are.

While our hopes for a baby have not completely waned, our participation in the baby brigade has.  No more temping, charting, and I only sometimes remember to take the folic acid (gasp!).  Life is good, and we're slowly but surely feeling better and better about our shift in focus and energy.  We both have time off this summer, and we're using it to rest, recuperate, and reinvent ourselves after five years of baby focus.

To that end, on the first day of summer I cut off all of my long, beautiful hair.  I grow a great head of hair - it's thick but not coarse, wavy and easy to curl.  It was a few inches past my bra-line, and it hadn't been dyed or over-styled.  It was beautiful, but truly felt that it was no longer serving me.  One of the reasons I'd grown it out was this feathering of my physical nest, which no longer felt applicable or appropriate.  Cutting it all off and starting fresh was an easy decision, as was donating it to Locks of Love.

The before pictures (click to embiggen):

  

The during pictures:

              

The after picture:

Each ponytail was about a quarter in diameter.  That's a lot of hair for a child's wig, and I'm so glad that it can be put to such a good use.

The final style is a pixie (not the bob you see above), but I don't yet have a good picture of it.  So you'll have to use your imagination and be patient.

This reinvention also involves a serious return to fitness activities (not merely the "making do" that I was doing during the school year).  To that end, I will post a weekly wrap-up of my dedicated work-out time at the end of each week.  I'm good at being accountable to myself, but I'm also proud enough that I don't want to have to share a lame list at the end of each week.  Making myself post it here should help me stay on track.  If you want to join with some reinvention of your own, I'm using the book, The Female Body Breakthrough, which - having weight-trained for many years - I highly recommend.

 

Ch-ch-ch-changes

It's been a really long time since I wrote here, though plenty of writing seems to be happening elsewhere.  Since starting back to school last year, and starting Style Trumps Fashion in January, my on-line energy has been directed to trying to keep in touch with friends (facebook, e-mail, etc.) and Style Trumps Fashion (my "other" blog, which has proven a great creative outlet).

Becoming a student again was a tough transition.  Tough for my brain, having to get in science-mode, tough on my stress-level, as I worked to get *awesome* grades in hopes of grad school acceptance, tough on my body, which has gone from yoga teacher body to student body (ouch!).  I have learned so much, though, as I try to navigate these challenges gracefully.

Now, as I enter a period of rest and reflection - my first summer vacation since, I dunno, high school - I hope to put into words some of the goings-on of my spirit.  There are also some topics about which I want to write, but for which Style Trumps Fashion is not the appropriate forum.

So, if you're still with me, you're in for a grab bag of topics.  Buckle your seat belt, and bring snacks!