Knittymama

And three years go by quickly. Three years since I had so much that I couldn’t even think to write a word or post a picture. Three years and yet as I look at my writing so much is still exactly the same.

Three years as I sit here with word suddenly coming back to me and wondering if I want to start to write again. Perhaps a different direction. Families, faith and hope all come to the front of my mind as I write. Knitting and sewing? Still here yet still, not so much.

I’ve got dinner to make (there is always dinner to make!!). But in the meantime, I wish you all many blessings this Christmas and New Years!

I honestly didn’t mean to just abandon this blog. A month or two maybe, but things got busy, very busy and this just was left, forgotten. Which makes me sad. At one point I had a large community on online friends here, and I really enjoyed that connection. I enjoyed getting to know you all and I enjoyed the opportunity to share my voice. For awhile I didn’t miss that, but now……might be time to return.

What have I been so busy doing? Well, not much knitting or sewing, that’s for sure, for various reasons. But what have I been up to then?

Working on my health. This mama hit a hard, hard wall and realized that I needed to grab my oxygen mask or we were going to implode. Accupuncture, kettlebells, walking, playing, sticking to a paleo/ancestral foods diet, meditation and prayer have all become a part of my routine. And sleep, lovely sleep. I had pushing that off much too long.

So here I sit, a year later. I have learned so much and I still have so much to learn. And I think I’d like to share that. What this blog will become it’s hard to say. There will still be knitting and sewing with the adventures of raising three boys, but I feel that there is so much more to me now that I can’t just stick with that. So we’ll see where this goes.

I do hope that at least a few of you kept me in your feed reader. If so, say hello and let me know you’re still around! You can also find me on Instagram as Knittymama1. I have been having fun over there!

In the meantime, enjoy this little peek at my 40th birthday gift to myself. Maybe I’ll post a full pick when I get the pizza stain of the other side….;-)

Reading: A Personal Look at Autism and Asperger’s by Temple Grandin  What a wise woman she is; absolutely amazing!

Knitting: Fractured Light (hat)

Enjoying: Spring has finally come to MN!!!

Really now…..has there ever been a better quilt-along than this?

Annik asked me if I was interested in joining. Asking was not even needed. Paper piecing and Dr. Who? Personally I think that is a brilliant conversation.  By the way, be sure the check out the scrap mania she had going on right now…)

And have you seen this quilt of David Tennant? Amazing!!!

Now we just need something for knitters. How about this shawl? Some Tardis Socks? Maybe a Dalek to keep your head warm? Do you have a favorite Doctor Who pattern?

Now, to just get those boys to sleep early tonight to I can catch up on the new season. Happy knitting/quilting. Can’t wait to show off my first paper pieced block!

It’s finished!! After weeks (seriously) of casting off I dont’ know how many stitches, my Kleio is finally done. Now I just need to find a place to block it so I can show it off.

You all know how I love food books. My latest favorite is The Perfect Health Diet. Usually I am skeptical of anything food thing that says “perfect” but I have to admit these two scientists have done an amazing amount of research. I’d put this at the top of your list if you have any chronic ailments.

About twelve years ago, I discovered yoga, and it was life changing for me. Tension headaches and chronic pain were becoming more and more debilitating, and the stress and anxiety from my job and grad school were through the roof. Hearing my plight, a co-worker of The Skeptic’s suggested we attend his girlfriend’s yoga class. In just a month I was on a new road, and it’s never been the same.

Trouble is, once you have kids, and especially when you have a lot of kids, getting to a yoga class is not that easy. Most don’t have childcare, and yoga studios have this habit of scheduling classes when I need to be making dinner, or putting someone to bed, or when I’m racing to get people to the bus on time. Plus they can get pricey. Over the years I have tried to keep my yoga practice going by attending the random class here and there, and making myself run through a few sun salutations a few days each week. I even tried some yoga apps. But my attention falters, I get bored, and I can’t just keep going on my own.

Enter Jennifer of Stay at Home Yoga. I came across her site last December and suddenly I feel like I did back when I first discovered yoga. I look forward to practice. I feel motivated. And best of all, I can practice whenever I darn well please!

What I find so brilliant about what Jennifer has done is that she has truly brought all of the benefits of the yoga studio to your own home. She puts together a series of classes and releases a new video each week, and you have access to all the classes for a few months.  You can view them as much as you want, and the fee is such a deal. Just $30 for a series subscription (and I believe she has a discount available now as well).

Hew newest series, which I was given the chance to review, is called Yoga for Desk Jockeys. It is designed to help us combat how much time we all spend on our derrieres, which as a knitter and computer user, I’m trying to be more aware of. What do I love about this series?

• Jennifer’s teaching style. She is both gentle and motivating. She gives great cues and many reminders of how to correctly do each pose. I think her teaching style is accessible to those both experienced and new to yoga.
• Each class is more than just the usual asanas. She takes the time to do both restorative poses and Savasana.  So important to me that this is included.
• Time. The classes are long enough to make a difference in my health, but not so long that I feel like I can’t fit one into my day. The full classes run 40 minutes, and there are 2 short “yoga break” videos that are easy to use whenever you need them.
• The series itself: Lower body, middle body, spine, upper body, restorative. She has it all covered, and you can do each class as many times as you want.

I could go on and on…..I did the lower body class again tonight. I tend to carry a lot of chronic pain in my upper body and tend to neglect my lower, so it was good to dig out a strap and really work on opening up those hips.

I really hope you give it a try!  I told Jennifer how much it meant to me that I am able to access quality yoga instruction again. To be able to have time again to care for my body, mind and spirit when I am so very busy is huge to me. Thank you Jennifer!