women of a certain age are like sunflowers; they know how to turn their faces to the sun.
Showing posts with label Vinyasa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vinyasa. Show all posts

Friday, April 10, 2009

Vinyasa

“Some think it's holding on that makes one strong; sometimes it's letting go"
- Sylvia Robinson


When I was a little girl, I loved to climb trees. I would raise my arms, search for purchase on the rough bark of the trunk, flip my legs up and haul myself onto the lowest branch.

Then I would begin again with the next layer of branches.

On the day of my mother's second wedding, right in the middle of her reception, I climbed a tree in my grandmother's front yard, clad in pink silk and my very first pair of grown up sheer pantyhose.

Mom was not amused.

I loved the idea of climbing towards the sky. It felt like freedom. I still smile as I write this.

Going down?

That was a lot harder.

The first time, I resolutely refused to come down, hugging the trunk with my eyes squeezed shut tightly and screaming for my brother David to, "GO GET DAD!"

Eventually I learned how to dangle my legs from the upper branches and search for the next lower tier with my toes, sliding down the tree in manageable increments.

I learned to let go.

I don't know about you, but I often want to hold onto things longer than I should.

I cling to my familiar habits, opinions, and beliefs, because they seem to form a safe haven in an often confusing and sometimes dangerous world.

But life is like the monkey bars; you can't move forward unless you let go of the first rung.

The trick is to grab onto the next one, before you fall, establishing a rhythm of hold and release that carries you across the breadth: of space, of time, of life itself.

The reward of sure footing await us only at the end of our perilous journey. Solid ground must be gained through ongoing effort.

Vinyasa is a form of yoga that uses sequential movement to interlink postures, forming a continuous flow.

This moving meditation reveals all forms as being impermanent and for this reason not to be held onto.

Is it any wonder, I chose that name for the first creation in a new collection of organic cotton wraps and scarves?

VINYASA
the zen collection

$6

SIZE:
18 inches wide by 72 inches long



MATERIALS:
6 balls (1080 yds.) Rowan Purelife Organic Cotton 4-Ply
Color: Natural
Size 3 (US) needles



GAUGE:

5 stitches = 1 inch (blocked)


Written Directions
Knit in One Piece - End to End
Suitable for Beginning Lace Knitter

Monday, March 30, 2009

Bigger

“If I were asked to give what I consider the single most useful bit of advice for all humanity it would be this: Expect trouble as an inevitable part of life and when it comes, hold your head high, look it squarely in eye and say, 'I will be bigger than you. You cannot defeat me.'”


-Ann Landers

Nothing new to report from the weekend. No new designs - just models growing bigger.


Pampas (first in the 2009 Garden Variety Collection - presales on the right sidebar) got two more pattern repeats on her...she's ready for a test knit, if Maria the wonder knitter will have her. If not, I know lots of people who would be happy to fill in. Meanwhile, I'll just keep plugging away...


Vinyasa also grew by several inches. My fingers needed a break from beading last night, so I returned to her. I'm lovin' the Zen...

I think she will be ready for the market sometime next week. Fun knit - lots of twisted stitches.

Blood sugar seems to be well controlled at this point. Going to have to get used to control being a good thing. I had so many control issues going into therapy, that I chucked by the wayside. Time to pick them back up.

But I refuse to let them drive...

Good advice from Ann Landers.

Bigger is better...

Sometimes.

2008 GARDEN VARIETY COLLECTION RETIRED ON WEDNESDAY

GET YOURS TODAY AND TOMORROW ONLY!

Thursday, March 19, 2009

It All Adds Up

"Hamming's Motto: The purpose of computing is insight, not numbers."

- Hamming (duh!)

I spent much of the last two days adjusting to my new modifier: Diabetic.

I joined the Diabetic support group on Ravelry. I signed up for the Diabetic e-newsletter on Web MD. I bookmarked the Diabetes Center. I read your comments and private messages.

I thanked God for the miracle that is the Internet...

And I learned...

A lot.

So much makes sense now. All the little niggling symptoms that developed over the past year:
  • Dry mouth
  • Thirst
  • Tingling and buzzing sensations
  • Cold feelings on the back of my neck
  • Leg pain & restlessness
  • Dry skin on the soles of my feet
  • Cracks and fungal infections on my lips
  • Fatigue
  • Blurred Vision
All are due to the Diabetes and its attendant neuropathy. These seemingly unrelated health issues have a common cause and a potential cure.

Yeah rah!

Except for the neurological symptoms. I understand those are irreversible, but at least I can prevent further damage.

Boo hiss!

And please don't fret; this is so NOT going to turn into a blog about my medical condition. After all, there are so many other more interesting things to talk about...

Like, oh-I-don't-know, YARN?

It does, however, have me thinking about how many times we look back with 20/20 hindsight and see all the little things that added up to our current position.

My time with the Arts Chorale and the Indianapolis Opera brought me confidence in my own abilities and taught me the due diligence of hard effort. It reshaped my self image to innovative, dynamic individual (who me?), rather than a flibbertigibbet. I doubt I would have had the cojones to start Sunflower Designs without this experience.

My mom's illness taught me compassion and the need for support in difficult times. It also showed me a strength I didn't know I possessed until then.

The depression brought me my good friend and colleague Greg. It also gifted me with an entirely new personality and outlook on life. I learned to look deeper. Which blesses me to this day.

My time at seminary added up to my emergence as a writer and a contemplative. It made me comfortable talking of things like calling and mission. It led directly to both my book and, most fulfilling of all, this blog and all the communion that has sprung from it.

As my ever-wise BabyBoy/FamilyMan puts it:

"Mom, I wouldn't give up any of the hard things I have come through in my life, because it made me who I am."

Don't think I can improve on that one.

You know, if we really knew all that we would accomplish at the beginning of our journey, we would find it most intimidating.

If I made a list for Conner, it would run to hundreds of pages. If not thousands. He has his entire life (minus 7 months) ahead of him.

He just concentrates on sitting up and creeping. And balancing himself on Grandpa's shoulders.


That is more than enough for today. The rest can unfold in its own time...

I am sure that someday I will have a long list of blessings that Diabetes brought me. Already, it has brought me your support (THANKS!!!!) and knowledge that I m not a hypochondriac.

That is more than enough for today. The rest can unfold in its own time...

*****

Speaking of adding up...


The great destash of 2009 continues apace. You guys have NO IDEA how much yarn I have!


But you might be starting to get the picture.

Four weeks of sales and still going strong...

I am more than a little embarrassed by y'all knowing how excessive obsessive my desire for yarn has been. I think I was looking for something and just didn't know what it was until I began designing.

And now, by letting go of it, I can clean out my psyche.

To say nothing of my closets.

This Saturday: Sundara, Fleece Artist, Handmaiden, Debbie Bliss, Rowan, Blue Moon, Malabrigo, Jo Sharp, Vittadini, and much much much MORE!!!

And lest you think that all has been medical research around here...


This is Vinyasa, one of the Zen Collection scarves.

Vinyasa yoga is all about flow. I think it is the perfect name for this sinuous creation.


She is a stole, rather than a scarf, but only takes 6 balls of Rowan Purelife organic cotton 4-ply in natural.

Can't wait to see her blocked out...

And this is Ohm.


I think...

Not sure if I like the pattern. Although the little drops seem a natural for the blue. Maybe I will like her better blocked out...


Leave me a comment and let me know what YOU think.

Now I think I will sign off and go cast on for Pampas - the first design in the 2009 Garden Variety Collection.

That is more than enough for today. The rest can unfold in its own time...