Hai!

Long time no see. You’re still here? Amazing!

I’m still here too. Mostly.

Let’s see if I can recap the last several months.

Bassoon camp? Awesome as always! Can’t wait until next year. Hopefully that will be possible. We’ll see.

SOS? Wonderful! Fairly quiet and I didn’t get a single sock done. LOL. That’s how it goes sometimes.

Where have I been? Well… when we got back from bassoon camp this crazy thing happened.

I ended up buying the yoga studio I was working at because the previous owner decided to move away and close. I had two weeks notice. You can imagine the scrambling. It all worked out though and things have been good. It’s funny, every time I tried to say no to this something happened to make it easier and I could nearly feel the hand of god on my back pushing me forward. It’s been a wild ride for sure. A lot of things happened all at once and it was so overwhelming at times I really didn’t know if I was still going to be breathing on the other side. July 1st Forever Yoga was officially born.

June 30th we brought this home:

I still can’t believe it sometimes. It’s a 2012 Subaru Imprezza Sport with the winter package (read: my butt is gonna be toasty this winter!). You wouldn’t believe what it was like to try to find the options we wanted and the color we wanted. The negotiations were crazy but somehow it all fell together and with some very generous help from both sets of parents I have a safe ride for my nearly 50 mile almost daily commute. Her name is Kitt since I kinda freaked out when she started talking to me the first time I started setting up the bluetooth features. And believe it or not in just under 4 months she’s nearly got 10,000 miles on her. Thank bob she’s a Subaru. I see many good years in our future.

June 29th I walked into the animal shelter for my volunteer shift and to make a long story short – we ended up with a new family member:

Her name is Purl. We think. We’re still working on figuring out her name after all these months if you can believe it. I brought her home to foster because I thought she was a baby angora and the shelter was really not well equipped to deal with that kind of exotic animal. Yeah, foster. So much for that! We adopted her on Aug. 10th. She is TINY compared to Stitches. She weighed 1.5 lbs. at last weigh in, compared to Stitches 12 lbs. at her best. Purl is tiny and feisty and has quite an attitude some days. We’re still trying to figure each other out.

No idea if she’s really angora or not. We’ve been calling her Fauxgora for awhile now but she sure is fluffy and shedding lately. We’ll never know I guess. She’s definitely cute but those blue eyes have an evil streak in them some days…

Yeah, so that was just one weekend. You can understand now why I haven’t been blogging much, yes? I’ve barely knit since the studio happened. I nearly didn’t go to Rhinebeck at all this year but managed to stop by for part of the day on Saturday because I was in the area anyway to see the Dalai Lama. Like I said, wild ride.

I’ve not done much dyeing lately either. The show at Squam was wonderful and then the stuff hit the fan with the studio so there’s been very little time or energy. I’m hoping to find my way back to it on some level soon. I’m teaching 16+ hours per week right now plus being webmaster, accountant, custodian, promotions agent and well… you get the idea.

What happens to this blog going forward? I’m not sure. It will still be here for awhile. Turning it into something else seems impossible given the title. I think that’s a decision for another day right now.

In the meantime, thank you for reading. This blog has allowed me the pleasure of meeting and interacting with some wonderful people over the years and I really value everything it has made possible in my life. You can still find me on Ravelry and twitter as social media seems to be the easiest way to communicate these days. I’m sure I’ll probably pop in here from time to time with some knitting or spinning. My house is still too full of fiber not to.

What seems like many moons ago but was really only in March, I signed up for a swap on Ravelry. I haven’t participated in many swaps because I’m usually afraid of several things:

1. It will cost more than I can reasonably afford.
2. The person I’m sending to might not like their package.
3. I might be one of “those people” and flake on the deadline.

I knew this swap would be different though. This swap was being held in the Namaste Knitters group on Ravelry and, of course, had a yogic theme! How could you go wrong with that?

The theme of this swap was Santosha which is the Sanskrit word for Contentment. Santosha is part of the niyamas, which are a group of ideas along with the yamas in yoga that lay out the ethical guidelines for yoga practice and life in general. In Santosha, we learn to accept that which is and to identify with our true gifts rather than material objects. To quote from one of my favorite books on yoga, “The Secret Power of Yoga” by Nischala Joy Devi -

Santosha is an agreement of faith that we make with our Divine Self. This faith fastens us to the peace that abides in our hearts, no matter what the fates bring. By this affirmation we firmly identify with our inner essence rather than with external objects. Our identification then travels with gratitude, appreciating how much we have rather than how much we want.

In this swap we applied this idea by creating a package for our partner that was composed of only things we had on hand. We were not able to spend money on anything other than the postage to send the package.

I found this really challenging! Over the course of the swap as I kept in mind what I might like to give my partner I found myself contemplating a purchase only to remind myself of the guidelines. Each of us filled out the usual questionnaire about our likes and dislikes, and I found it really challenging to come up with something that would satisfy my partner’s likes while still coming from what I had on hand.

Perhaps it’s a bit of a cheat, but since I tend to have a lot of wool and dye on hand I decided to make a special colorway for my partner. She described her favorite colors as “I love natural-looking cool colors a lot though. Ocean colors, teals, warm blues and greens, some lilacs, etc. But sometimes a bold, rich yellow is fun too.” From that description, my OM colorway was born:

While I liked how it turned out I wasn’t sure it quite fit my partners description of her favorite colors. I spun it up anyway (my partner isn’t a spinner) and included it in the package.

It was time to go stash diving after that. Since my partner isn’t a spinner I thought a lot of handspun goodies would be fun since many people who can’t spin also can justify buying handspun yarn. She also mentioned that she would like a pair of fingerless mitts, so I decided to use my then new Amanda Mitts and Amanda Cowl patterns to make her a set. I found this yarn in my stash that I thought would be perfect:

That was the prototype for my Seascape colorway, also on Superwash merino and spun way back in 2008! It was also the first major navajo plying project I’d ever done! I think it turned into a pretty nice set of mitts and a cowl.

At the last minute I decided to include some soap from my favorite soap maker in the package so I had to make a washcloth to go along with it. And of course, it needed to have an OM on it!

I rounded out the package with some tea, some yoga themed stickers, the soap and a few more small skeins of handspun yarn. And while the package was about a week late thanks to the Canadian postal strike (and my waiting until the last second to get it out the door) the best part of all is that she loved everything! And she’s never worked with handspun yarn so I’m really glad I made that the theme of my package!

In other yoga news, after today I may have my first job teaching at a local studio! If you’d keep me in your thoughts this evening as I do my final demo I’d appreciate it. I’ll keep you posted on what happens.

And finally, I’ve started a chair yoga video podcast! This has been something I’ve been thinking about doing for quite awhile and just got around to trying out. I’m hoping that it will eventually be available through iTunes and on Roku but for now you can find it on the blip.tv site. The first episode you see there is just an introduction but I hope to have the first real class up before the beginning of next week. Check it out and let me know what you think!

I keep meaning to catch up on what’s been happening around these parts with y’all on the blog, but I fear that I still don’t have my act together and if I don’t just put something up here I never will. So, suffice it to say that two big things happened recently.

1. I graduated from yoga teacher training!! Yoga alliance has taken my money but I’m waiting on them to send me my certificate. Otherwise, I have my insurance and I’m all set to teach. I’ll be teaching one class during the first week of August at the studio where I studied. I’m also hatching plans for teaching a weekly class in my home. If you are local and are interested in either of these opportunities, drop me a comment and let me know! Also, I would be very interested in teaching small groups of knitters and spinners yoga that would help them keep their bodies functional while they pursue their crafts. If you would be interested in having me teach your group, get in touch!

2. Wedding planning is in full swing. We are less than three months out and I may loose my mind before then. My first dress fitting is this coming week and there are just a million things to do. I also am incredibly lucky to have had a certain amazing lace knitter complete a shawl for my wedding and I even was lucky enough to have it blocked by another generous soul so I didn’t have to do it! I’ve gone back and forth in my head about whether or not to show it on the blog before the wedding. I’m still trying to decide. Stay tuned. And thank you so very much to Cookie and Joan. I’m a very lucky woman!

In the meantime, I’m going to follow a very smart mantra and “start where I am”.

I am participating in the Tour de Fleece although somewhat quietly because my brain is otherwise occupied most of the time. Here’s what I accomplished so far:

In the bobbin clearing department:

If I remember correctly this is an angora and polworth blend. The fiber was given to me for my birthday by Chris in 2008. I spun in up ages ago but just got around to plying it.

I think it might become a smoke ring or something like that.

Next up, I purchased this fiber from Fiber Optic at Rhinebeck 2009.

Mostly spun up before the TdF began. Plied during the TdF.

The colors made this one I couldn’t leave behind. Not sure what it will grow up to be.

After my bobbin clearing mission was complete (and also, how the heck did I end up with 15 bobbins?!?! O.o) I decided to spin up some of my own dye work:

This is my “Study in Blues” colorway on BFL. I spun up all 8 oz. the first day of the tour and plied it yesterday. I decided to work on spinning a softer yarn with this fiber because I hope this will become the yoke of a sweater some day.

With just over three hundred yards, that shouldn’t be a problem! And what I’m spinning next may just end up being the body of said futuristic sweater. But time will tell.

What are you doing for TdF this year?

We had another fantastic trip to bassoon camp this year. I can’t even begin to tell y’all how much it’s like coming home every time we drive into camp. Seeing old friends, making new ones and revisiting that very special place where we met is a priceless yearly event. This year was extra special in that we were able to get the quartet of special friends that will be playing at our wedding together for the first time to rehearse and perform a bit and it literally brought tears to my eyes. And I never thought a bassoon quartet version of the baby elephant walk could do that to me. Yes, to say we’re going to be having a slightly non-traditional bit of music played in the time before our also non-traditional ceremony begins would be a bit of an understatement (March to the Scaffold anyone?! ) and I love it so much!!

Another unique thing this year was that I got to teach yoga during camp! I offered classes at 6:45am and 8pm on the mat and an 11am chair yoga class for the less mobile. It was a fantastic experience for me all the way around and from the feedback I got it was a great experience for those that took the classes as well. To my great shock, the 6:45am class was more popular than the 8pm which I’m going to assume was because that later class fell during masterclass time, something that was pretty much impossible to avoid with the very tight camp schedule.

My own personal transformation as a teacher during the week was tangible. I started the first class full of butterflies in my stomach and by the end of the week things were coming easily and flowing well. It was hard to come up with a new dharma talk every day and I had to work at keeping things varied and interesting but I think I accomplished that goal. Part of that may have had something to do with being bolstered mid session by flying back to NJ for my Teacher Training graduation (which I’ll talk about more in another post), but either way it was good to feel progress.

Most of all, the feeling of making a difference with my work is something I’m trying to hold close as I’ve come back to “reality” this week. The 4 beautiful ladies that took the chair yoga class were so enthusiastic and such and inspiration and such great teachers to me that I decided to give them all a little token at the end of the week. There are several rock shops in that area, so I went to one and picked out some pretty little polished stones. I let them each choose one and told them to keep it in their pocket as a reminder to breathe each day. As we were preparing to leave and I said goodbye to one of these wonderful souls, guess what she pulled out of her pocket to show me? I’m glad I was able to excuse myself to keep packing fast enough so she couldn’t see me cry.

Of course, there’s always the silly stuff that happens at camp. Some of it isn’t fit for public consumption, but you’ve got to love the “Wildacres Bobsled Team”

And the “Drunk-a-coaster”

There’s also a silent auction throughout the course of camp and we won several things this year. One was this beautiful handmade wooden cutting board:

And then there was this collection of handmade baskets by our friend Cathy (who will also be playing at our wedding)

The middle one is a lazy susan!!

We also had the great fortune to bring back some of our first wedding presents. We had made a registry with Sarah last year and some of my family had gotten together and paid for some of what we asked for already. So to avoid shipping we brought them home ourselves.

The picture really doesn’t do them justice, but aren’t they beautiful? We’ve got ten of each of these and a large serving bowl and we love them so much!

Before we knew it, it was time to go. We took our time on the way home and did something we’ve been meaning to do for a long time. Go to the Virginia Safari Park!

It was well worth the price of admission just for the laughs. I’m not sure what part was funnier, but the camel that stole the food bucket from me is right up there with the emu that charged the car and the zebra that wiped its nose on the window! Here’s a small selection of the pictures we took:

In case you couldn’t guess, I love the piglets!!

You can find the rest in this flickr set.

Overall a fantastic time! There’s much more that’s gone on since then that I want to talk about but you’ll just have to be patient with me as I do a little catch-up. For now we’re looking toward our next vacation — OUR HONEYMOON!!

Yep. It’s been far too long between posts again. I won’t apologize though. That’s just the way it is around these parts lately. Instead, here’s the run down of what I’ve been up to.

I took my yoga test and did very well if I do say so myself. Not that I could fail anyway, but still. Good! I’m far from done yet though. We still have several classes left and we have to teach an hour long class to the community as a fund raiser for the charity of our choice. We’ve chosen Kula for Karma (a group I hope to get more involved with just as soon as my training is over) and I’ll be teaching my class on May 16th. Send me a message if you’d like to come or want more info.

I also got to spend a day with my fellow teacher trainees and my teachers at Ananda Ashram. My fellow TT Chris had just gotten a new camera that she didn’t know how to use, so she let me take the pictures (and it ended up influencing a big decision on our part, but more on that in a second)! Unfortunately, I didn’t really know what I was doing with it and I didn’t have a manual, but I got a few good shots:

The main alter and where the fire ceremony is held daily.

My beautiful teachers and my fellow trainees.

Out on a walk around the grounds.

It was a gorgeous day. After that I immediately went to a hockey game (!) and watched my Sabres loose to my Dad’s Devils in a last second play that still has me scratching my head. Ah well. We’re already out of the playoffs too. Moving on…

We took my parents to Medieval Times for Easter dinner. It was kind of hilarious and probably the most violent and fun Easter dinner we’ve ever had.

I went to NYC with Sairy and Sharon. They brought me late birthday presents!

So much yumminess! Thanks my friends!

I also participated in a swap and got the most amazingly thoughtful package of goodies from Angie!

Thank you again Angie!! It was so wonderful to receive such an amazing gift from you!

I took HWJF to his first Kirtan. I think he liked it.

In wedding related news… WE ARE ACTUALLY GOING ON A HONEYMOON!!!!! I wasn’t sure for the longest time if we were going to be able to afford it (it’s one of several things we are trying to do on our own dime) but the plane tickets came down to a reasonable price and we pounced. We’ll be spending 7 glorious days at a B&B in Banff, Alberta Canada. I can not WAIT! I spent two summers at The Banff Centre and it was one of the most amazing places I’ve ever seen. This is one pic I took the last time I was there:

HWJF has never been to that part of Canada. I can’t wait to show him how amazing it is in person.

And with that in mind, we also decided to finally do something we’ve been wanting to do for a long time. Buy a good DSLR camera. We went with a Nikon D5000, which is the exact same camera that Chris let me use at Ananda Ashram. We got the two lenses that came with it and went for the extra 50mm lens too. It arrived on Monday and I can’t begin to tell you how much I am already in love with this thing. I’m having way too much fun already. Just look!

I think I may just have to start doing that Eye Candy Friday thing just to have a chance to post random pictures and get me back to the blog more often (can you believe I almost forgot my login?!?)!!

There’s been very little knitting or spinning around here lately but I’m trying to get back in the swing of things. More on that in a post that will hopefully come to you a lot sooner next time!

So I’ve been a little busy.

Y’all know.

Unfortunately for the regular updating of this blog, most of what’s been going on has had little to do with yarn or fiber.

That doesn’t make for great blog fodder.

So to sort of quickly recap since the last post:

I had another birthday. It was a very nice one. HWJF went to yoga with me in the morning, then treated me to crepes for breakfast. We spent some time in the afternoon on wedding planning and then while he went to work for a few hours I got my very first pedicure (love!) and went to a teacher training class where I was showered with gifts and food. Good stuff!

I had what was my last yoga teacher training before my big exam next month. It’s really hard to believe that this experience is rapidly coming to an end. I sort of feel like I’m hanging on for dear life while at the same time wanting to go farther forward. I haven’t talked about this experience much here mostly because I find it really difficult to put into words. I had even started another blog with the idea that I would journal my experiences there, but until recently, I really haven’t been able to express the transformation and what’s been going on in my mind very well. And when I feel the need to put things in words, it feels a little too close to put on the internet, so I’m using a lovely journal that one of my fellow trainees gave me as a gift. There will certainly be more about yoga on here as things progress I’m sure, but for now just know that I’m very deeply immersed and much of my concentration is going to that.

And when I’m not focusing on yoga it seems to be all about the wedding. Last weekend was a huge planning weekend for us where we had our flower trial, our tasting, finished our registry, figured out the hair/makeup situation and ordered our invitations! I’ve also finally settled on dresses for my bridesmaids and started making decisions I didn’t even know I had to make. Talk about a transformation! I’ve gone from “person getting married” to “person that must make approximately forty billion decisions about things I didn’t even know I cared about while trying to harmonize what I want with what the person I’m planning to marry wants and also what the people who are paying for this whole shindig want”. Fun?!? I’m not sure sometimes, but we’re getting our pumpkin flavored wedding cake and that makes me SO happy! And check out the flower arrangements!

These make me very happy too.

I’ve also, oddly enough for me, been doing a lot of reading lately. I’m usually not much for books, which is always a bit hysterical when someone finds out I’m a librarian and asks me for a book recommendation. I usually answer “I’m a music librarian. I don’t read books!” which is only partially true. So in a rare moment of book interest, allow me to recommend two books:

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

I know it’s been all “Oprah-fied” and that gave me my doubts, but she had an article in the recent issue of Yoga Journal that made me seek out her book. And the book was one I could barely put down. I really identified with her relationship crisis and found myself wishing I had had the awareness or ability to do what she did for a year, but obviously that wasn’t my path. The only not good thing about this book? Her descriptions of deep meditation I found completely frightening. But that’s my own hang up. Your mileage may vary, but it’s a great read to me.

You Can Heal Your Life by Louise L. Hay

Now this one is really interesting. It’s in some ways a very typical self help book, but I think her approach is very different. The basic premise is that how we think determines how our lives run and how we feel. Experiencing knee pain? She tells you that this comes from a reluctance to step into your future and gives affirmations for helping your pain heal. Interesting eh? I had a couple of serious “Ah hah!” moments with this one.

I’ve also been thinking about food a lot since our last training weekend (one of the topics for the weekend was Yogic diet so I’m not surprised) and have been reading a couple of Ayurveda books. I’m also just starting The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michale Pollan which is already proving very interesting. I’ll have to let y’all know how that goes.

Despite all that, there is a tiny bit of fiber progress. The wedding shawl yarn has been wound and is really to go in the mail to Our Cookie for knitting once I get off my butt and mail it. Of course I don’t have pictures of it in the ball but I do in the skein!

And the first of the two shawls for my bridesmaids is progressing nicely, albiet very slowly. This is actually a very old photo at this point, but it gives you an idea of the color at least:

Wollmeise in Blue Curacao. Appropriate on so many levels.

So that’s the story from here. I’d promise another blog post in short order but y’all would know that would ensure that it would be another month. Rest assured that I’ll be alternating my concentration between yoga and wedding stuff with some fiber thrown in here and there. This weekend is already going to be a busy one with a harmonium workshop in NYC on Saturday and a chair yoga workshop in Westchester on Sunday. Not to mention there is a certain bunny that needs a haircut…

A little story for you this morning.

I was standing on the subway, waiting for my stop as I do these days and I looked at myself in the reflection of the doorway. It looked something like this:

Only my bare hand was holding a coffee and my iPhone was in my pocket.

And I was suddenly struck by how much I had.

As I examined my reflection I took stock.

I have a warm coat. I have a ring on my finger from a man who loves me. I have enough expendable income that I can have a gadget that not only lets me make phone calls, but makes my commute more livable by playing music and podcasts and such of my choosing to entertain me. Some of which I’ve had to purchase, some of which require internet access, which I am able to have in the comfort of my own home. I have a home. I may not own it but I’m able to pay for a space where I can live and be comfortable. And on a Friday morning when I’m trekking out into the cold to go to the job that I don’t particularly love but allows me to provide myself with all of these things, I have the ability to top it all off with a cup of coffee that I didn’t have to brew and I didn’t have to grow the beans for or do anything more than swipe my debit card to obtain.

And then I thought about how many people there are in this world that don’t even have the basics of these. A roof over their head, enough to eat and proper clothing.

Why am I writing all this on what is supposed to be a knitting blog? Because I want to remember this feeling of gratitude. The next time I feel like I can’t drag myself out of my warm bed to do the work of the day or when I’m feeling angry because I’m still battling this cold or I feel like I am somehow disadvantaged because I can’t afford X, Y and Z right now I want to look back here and remember how truly lucky I am. I want to remember to look in the mirror and really see what I have rather than what I don’t have.

And I want to remember that I really do have everything I need.

Is that an actual Finished Object I see?!?! I believe it is!!

Basalt

Pattern: Basalt from the latest Knotions
Yarn: Farmhouse Yarns Andy’s Merino II, 1 skein
Needles: US 10
Knit: 9.16-9.18.09

I needed an instant gratification project and Basalt totally fit the bill. A simple cowl in a simple knit and purl combination that wasn’t too much for my brain and knit up quick. The yarn I used is completely yummy! So much so that I couldn’t stop at the required 6+ inches. (And, well, the STASH Kal was also good motivation to use it up.)

I decided to just keep going until I ran out of yarn, then folded it over for extra warmth and cushy-ness.

Obviously, this is definitely not my color. I made this for HWJF who tried it on and did approve, but since I don’t see him much during daylight hours these days (is it Oct. 15th yet?!?!) I had to be the model.

It’s definitely going to be a warm cozy cowl. And if the weather at Rhinebeck is anything like it was last year, I may be trying to steal it from him!

In other news I participated in Global Mala 2009 yesterday in Newark NJ.

The alter constructed for the event.

What an amazing experience! We did 108 Sun Salutations for World Peace. A huge school gym full of people doing yoga to live music was quite an energetic experience. I didn’t quite make it through all 108, but I did pretty well. I have the sore hamstrings and shoulders to prove it too, although I’m in much better shape today than I expected. There was some amazing Kirtan during the even too and I’m very happy that I got to experience it.

Unfortunately, I think the last couple of weeks have started to catch up with me. I appear to be coming down with a head cold. Here’s hoping it’s nothing more than that. I think tonight will find me parked on the couch with a warm beverage and perhaps catching up on some homework instead of taking the two classes I had planned for tonight. I sometimes wonder what the heck I’m thinking when I make my schedule…

If you didn’t see it in my last post, a big thank you to all that had been sending good vibes this way. We found out last Thursday that what we feared might be was not and I am very grateful for all your help toward that end. I made a donation to an appropriate charity to thank the universe as well.

Moving forward now this past weekend at the NJ Sheep and Wool festival was a great success! Thank you to everyone who stopped by the booth. And the biggest, hugest and most enormous thank you of all to Sharon and Sairy for running the booth in my absence!! A giant thank you to HWJF as well, who got up before the crack of dawn and ran down to the fairgrounds with me to set everything up only to run back and have to deal with what was probably the busiest day of his year at work. Despite the argument that may have made the paint on the barn peel, I thank you darling!

I have a few pics courtesy of Sharon to share.

Here’s the full view of the booth. When we started unpacking I realized, much to my dismay that I had completely forgotten part of my set up. We managed to work it out anyway.

There was definitely fiber galore. And my dear friend Eklectika sent spindles again this year (check out her etsy shop here!)

Carolyn and Tina shared the booth along with me this year.

Since we literally set up and ran, I basically didn’t see any of the festival. I had just a few min. to say hello to some friends that I haven’t seen in way too long and that was it for me. The thing I am most sad to have missed was this:

That would be Mary Beth Temple and her daughter who apparently ran up to the booth to find me and show me what they had spun with the previous year’s purchases! How amazingly sweet is that?!?! Thank you both for stopping by and I’m so sorry that I missed you!!

Apparently there were other people who did the same but weren’t identified. If you came to show me things you’d spun with my stuff, please get in touch! I would love to see and I’m sorry that I missed you too!

Another fantastic thing that I missed?

Sharon won spinning ribbons!! One of them was even with some of my fiber!

How cool is that?! So very proud of you my friend!!

While I’m definitely sad about missing out on these beautiful things I’m still happy with what I did instead. The first weekend of teacher training was beautiful, intense, mind blowing, scary and amazing. I’m happy to admit that I’m a little overwhelmed with everything I need to accomplish in the next nine months while still trying to work full time and run a small business, but I’m in it for the long haul. It’s going to be an amazing journey. I can already tell. And if I just break things down and take one day at a time, it will all be ok.

I wish my Yoga Mat Sweater would hurry up and be done though. I could use the bag to free up my hands from some of the extra stuff that has to go with me to the studio now!

It’s gotten too big to go on the train, so I’m not sure when it will be finished.

Too big to go on the train means I needed a new project!

Meet Basalt. At least the boy will have a new cowl by Rhinebeck. With only about 30 days to go, I’m not so sure I’ll have a new sweater…

Deadlines are looming, but I think I’m as ready as I can be at this point. The Garden State Sheep Breeders Festival (aka NJ Sheep & Wool) starts bright and early on Saturday morning. All is dyed, tagged and ready to be packed in the car.

Just a small sample.

Of course that means I have to get all the crap out of the car first. No easy task. Make sure to stop by the Zarzuela’s Fibers (and multiple other friends) booth to pet the pretties and take some home! (I’ll be closing the online shop tonight in preparation, so if there’s anything there you want, get it now!) I’ll only be physically there myself for a couple of hours Saturday morning, but the goods will be there all weekend. And that’s because…

My yoga teacher training starts on Friday! It occurred to me the other day that while September 11th is certainly an auspicious day to be starting anything, it also happens to be exactly 4 months to the day of my surgery. Hello Universe? Yes I *am* listening! It will be hard to believe that 4 months ago I was laying in a hospital bed, unable to feed myself or sit up above a 10 degree angle while I’m singing Kirtan Friday night. I am ever so grateful that I am where I am today with the opportunity to start this next amazing chapter of my life.

As you can see above, I’ve acquired the necessary equipment for my classes which also included treating myself to a new natural rubber yoga mat from Lotuspad. I *love* this mat! It’s light and cushy and I don’t slip around and my knees are happy! I love it so much I decided to make it a sweater!

Well… it’s actually more about the fact that natural rubber will degrade in direct sunlight. My old bag doesn’t fit this mat and will not protect it from the sun, so I dreamed up this solution. I’m knitting it up from leftovers of this sweater and this sweater and I’ll felt it when finished for maximum sun protection. We’ll see how it goes. I may have made it a little long….

When I’m not working on that, Sirdal is still coming along.

But that’s a deadline I’ll think about on another day….

P.S. That big shit I mentioned a couple of posts back? Good news! Not big shit! Thank you so much to everyone for your thoughts and good wishes.