Back to Knitting

Okay enough about my colon and feng shui, it''s time to blog about knitting again. I've been knitting up a storm again although I haven't finished anything lately.

I'm really excited about our new yarns, patterns and books so I'm suffering from a bad case of "let's start another new projectitis."

I have a Mountain Colors Blanket going and I really like working on it in the evenings. Similar to the Giant Skeins, the Mountain Colors kit has 10 types of various yarns all dyed in the same colorway. It's big enough now that I wrap it around me and knit away. I added some novelty yarns to the Mountain Colors kit to kick it up just a bit. I've used up half of the yummy yarn so I'm anxious to get it finished and enjoy the blanket sans needles. This project is at the shop so I haven't been working on it lately.

I also started a Juno Regina out of Arucania Chaiten, a hand dyed silk yarn. Juno Regina is a vintage Knitty pattern that makes a lace bordered wrap. The yarn is lovely to work with. I'm about one-third done with this project. The middle portion is slightly monotonous so I work on this project while I'm in the hotel after a long day of flying.

My current "at home" project is a Tussie Mussie Cardigan in Rowan Felted tweed. It is also a Knitty pattern that is very popular on Ravelry. It is knit in one piece which I love. I'm a little over half-way up knitting the body portion.

Also in the works is a pair of Chuck Taylor Converse Baby Booties. Of course I have one done and I just can't seem to knit up the second one. I used Aslan Trends Glaciar Del Cielo Cotton.

I thought I could whip out a sleeveless draped neck shell on my last trip, so I started a Petrie out of Sky Blue Classic Elite Premiere. I got the front 90% finished but I wanted to measure it up against a sweater at home to get the armhole length right. So much for just "whipping it out".

The moral of this blog is that even with a healthy colon and a new feng shui lifestyle, I still can't sleep and I can't stop starting new projects. Well fish oil help?

Classic Elite Knit-a-long

Why didn't I think of this sooner...A Guest Blog. This post is courtesy of guest blogger, Jill.

Our Knitalong kicked off officially on April 24th, with Sue as the Captain of the team and me as her loyal sidekick. We had quite an impressive showing of wonderful, funny ladies. Not only did we have a lot of women, we have a lot of different designs being knit.

I think we have someone knitting every single design from Curvy Knits, although Claudia who is knitting the beautiful tunic from Allegoro was unable to be with us. Chris and Krista are pluggin' away on the ribbed tunic in Classic Silk. They both chose lovely springy colors--a grass green and a corally pink. Darlene and I chose to do the Solstice 3 Button cardigan, although we are both being rebellious and doing it out of Classic Silk instead. What can I say? I guess we’re non-conformists, and bless our Math Whiz Sue--she’s helped us figure out how to compensate for the different gauges. Tracy is doing the beautiful long cardigan in Soft Linen. The fabric she is producing is stunningly beautiful… maybe someday I’ll get over my fear of doing so much stockinette and make one!

Then there are the women who are using the other booklets. Sue is knitting a gorgeous piece out of an olivey green in Firefly. Her sweater is so lovely that one of our participants decided to knit that sweater. Brooke is doing a great job on a vest in the soft linen in a gorgeous red. Also in soft linen is Kathy’s sideways lace vest--that is going to really lovely. Mary is knitting a cardigan in Premiere--it will be fabulous, as is everything she knits. When I grow up, I want to be as good a knitter as Mary or Sue. I’m not picky--I’ll be either one of them!!!

Last Saturday we had a smaller group… lots of people could not make the meeting. We had a lot of fun anyway and got a lot of knitting done (except for me, who was having difficulties focusing that day--not to fear, though, I’ve got my groove back and am knitting away). It was the Curvy Knits crew plus our Fearless Leader Sue.

Besides the ladies who have come for the knitalong sessions on Saturday, we have a group who are participating in the Knitalong in Sweater Club. Vicki is doing the cardigan from Curvy Knits in soft linen… I know it is going to be gorgeous. Joyce is doing the same cardigan as Mary in Premiere. I know one day I’ll see her wearing it while I am still plugging away on my sweater!

I can’t wait to see everyone’s WIPS as they get further along. Next time I’ll have something to show!

The Search for a Good Nights Sleep Continues

Thank you all for the Birthday wishes and thoughtfulness. I had a great birthday week. It seems that the older you get the longer the birthday celebrations stretch out and I do like that.

The purpose of the whole feng shui, cleaning and decluttering thing was to be able to sleep better. I've not finished feng shui-ing my home (the knitting area of my life is taking longer to organize than I had planned). But, my sleeping has not improved as much as I had hoped for. I thought maybe I had missed something big in my feng shui crash course so I took out every book on feng shui ( and a few knitting books) from the library. I also checked out a book called "If Buddha Came to Dinner". I liked the title and I really liked the book. It is essential a book on feng shui-ing your body through proper nourishment.

The premise is that rather than just "eating" you should "nourish" your body and soul. With the proper food combinations and an awareness of how your body reacts to certain foods, your body can more easily digest and eliminate and spend far less energy doing so. That makes sense, so in my continued search for a good night's sleep, I figured it was worth a try.

In a nutshell, the book says that the fundamental purpose of food is to provide energy. By eating processed, fried, sugary, chemical treated foods, complicated food combinations and too much food, our bodies work overtime to try to digest everything that we've put into it. So, if you nourish your body with pure and vital food in the right combinations it is easier for the body to break down food, absorb the nutrients and expel waste matter. If elimination doesn't happen regularly or efficiently, toxins build up and block the flow of energy.

For a little over a week now, I have been changing my usual feeding habits and caffeine addiction. After a couple of days of headachy caffeine withdrawl I'm down to just one cup of coffee in the morning-I can't get myself to give that up....I just savor that first morning cup of coffee too much. I have not had fried foods-french fries were a food group onto themselves. I'm even drinking "Green Juice" and find that I really like it. But, what I really like is the result! I don't feel sluggish or foggy. I feel light, rested, and energized. I no longer feel the need to down a cup of coffee and/or grab a sugary treat when I'm feeling sluggish and tired---because I'm not feeling sluggish or tired!

Th next phase in the Buddha program is a cleanse (sorry Jill). I'm not fully comfortable with the idea. But, the author explains that even with proper tooth brushing and flossing, a sticky plaque forms on our teeth so imagine what's going on inside and further down. The same sticky plaque forms on the intestinal walls and since we can't brush or floss down there, so the cleanse is the only way to go. Rest easy, I won't blog about the cleanse that I am preparing for.

I think of my inability to organize my yarn stash and knitting chaos as needing drastic measures like a cleanse. So, for the next 21 days, I'll be decluttering my colon and my knitting room.

The search for a restful night of sleep continues. Could it be that I enjoy knitting more than I do sleeping? We'll find out in 21 days.