I try to be mindful and present - thinking about the here and now.

Sometimes, though, it is fun to think about the what is to come. Especially when the future holds a vacation and a big personal challenge…

We bought a tent and some sleeping bags. Kris and I both grew up camping with our families, and we have been hoping to continue that tradition in our own family. We have been together for ten years been have only camped once. So, now we can camp a lot more, starting with our next vacation. Camping gear is so much easier and lighter than it was twenty years ago. Perhaps it is childhood memory fog, but I seem to remember the tent setup taking a good forty-five minutes. And it weighed a lot too. Well, new tents don’t take as long… the new tent was up in a flash, and it feels “roomy” too! (Yes, it is in the living room…) And the sleeping bags! so nice and comfy and light as a feather! Stuffed with down, instead of polyfill! (can you see my excitement?) So, yeah, we are ready to go… now we just have to wait for the day to arrive. That gives me some time to decide what knits to take along with me…

I mentioned it already, but it is now official. I signed up for the SheROX triathlon in August. I am excited and nervous at the same time. With 13 weeks before the event, I have really picked up the training. I detailed my training plans over on the Journey page in a little segment I am calling “Tri’ing Times”. I will try to update it once a week with results and milestones. I have also found some inspiration and tips from two great sources. Ravelry has some great fitness-oriented groups: Fitness Knitters, Yarn and Sneakers, and Tri Knitters. The groups are perfect for the beginners and the more experienced. BeginnerTriathlete has a large free section where users can enter their training log data and goals, as well as an active forum and Q&A section. The site has already helped me learn the answers to some of my novice questions. I still have a lot to learn (and a lot to practice), but if motivation means anything, I am there! So much so that E and I are planning to practice the swim this coming weekend!

Spurred by this training, and the effects that [I think] it will have on my body, I am joining the 365 Project on Flickr. The basic requirement is that you take a self-portrait every day for one year. Kris says it is narcissism, but I tend to think of it is a motivational tool and a way to really express creativity. This is Day Three, and I haven’t taken today’s photo yet… but I will. If you are interested, you can keep up with my 365 photos here (only two so far). I hope I can keep it up. There are several crafty 365-ers too, even starting their own group, Knitterly365Days.

The shoes at the top of the post were an added bonus: I wanted comfy walking shoes for the summer. After I tried on about 10 pairs, I decided on these cuties - Ahnu Benicia. The left photo was my official “first” photo for the 365 Project - jump!

Three years in a row: our springtime excursion to New York is becoming somewhat of a tradition! We only stayed for two days this year - Kris was in conferences, and I was out and about taking in the beautiful spring weather and sights, and meeting up with some old and new friends.Thank goodness for alternate work schedules and post-doc appointments! Without these things, I would have missed meeting with two special people. On Thursday, I had the wonderful opportunity to meet Connie. We have corresponded for months, and I have admired her amazing parade of designs in several of the recent knitting publications… she designed the beautiful Printed Silk Cardigan that I knit for my sister, and her newest design was just previewed for the Interweave Knits Summer 2008 issue. We had a lovely Thai lunch, and headed to a local cafe where we knit, talked about yarn and her design process, and sipped on some coffee. In the mid-afternoon, Erin called us to meet up. We met her at Habu Textiles.

Habu’s selection was quite tempting, but I remembered the kit that I bought during last year’s trip, and resisted the urge to get more.

Erin had plans for a bag, so we headed over to Mood Fabrics, made famous by Project Runway. We didn’t have any celebrity sightings, but we enjoyed going through the store and looking at their HUGE selection. There were three large floors stacked floor to ceiling with fabric bolts of every imaginable fabric.

Connie and I were in awe - since neither of us regularly sew, we were overwhelmed by just how much variety there was! In the end, Erin chose a great corduroy. Stay tuned to her blog for plans and progress! After that stop, we headed over to School Products, one of my favorite NYC yarn shops. We got a little turned around, but luckily Connie’s husband (via cellphone) helped us find our way to the shop! I picked up a lovely cone… more details in the next post.

A few hours later, Kris called to say that his meetings were complete, and he walked down to West Village to meet us at The Point. We sat around the table, ate some delicious snacks from their cafe (Connie got the most beautiful cupcake - I wish I had a photo!), and I flipped through some of the new books on display. Erin played with our wide-angle lens (we have the same camera, so our lens fit on her camera) and the infamous baskets-of-yarn-wall. It was about this time that some strange wind blew through the city, and set me sneezing and sniffling. My allergies got worse throughout the evening, but how could I let them get me down while I was having fun?

Connie headed back home after our time at The Point. I was so happy to meet her and to learn more about her “real life” as well as her knitting and designs. She was such a great help to me while I was knitting the cardigan, and meeting her was a real joy! Thank you, C!

After a fun dinner at Cowgirl in the West Village (yummy margaritas and some good veggie options too!), we headed back to Times Square for some night photography. Of course, there were hundreds of other people there doing the same thing, but we still had a lot of fun.

The next morning, I went to Bryant Park to check out the new location of one of my other favorite NYC stops: Kinokuniya Japanese bookstore. Their needle craft (knitting, crochet, embroidery) book collection is larger than any other book store I have been to, and I decided to take my time and go through the books.

Sitting on the floor, I poured over dozens of patterns and stitch directories. Even without reading the language, it is relatively simple to understand the schematics and charts outlined in the books. I am hoping that when I cast on for one of these projects, it will be intuitive. If not, I can ask my Japanese friend to help me with some translations…

It was the perfect day for photography, so when Erin met me for lunch, we decided to head towards Central Park for a photo afternoon. On the way, we stopped by Gotta Knit! a great yarn shop on 34th Street, and talked to Goldie, the owner. I bought a beautiful skein of yarn… more details to come.

Central Park was filled with people, but Erin and I had plans for some improvisational photography, and we didn’t let the crowds stop us. With her handy camera remote and my wide-angle lens, we got some great action photos!

Down | Middle | Up

We did about 20 cartwheels before finally getting the middle shot with both of our legs in the Y position. The funny thing? there were several groups of people sitting within a few feet of us, but no one even looked twice when we did all the jumping and cartwheeling!

Kris and I were completely beat after the busy two days in the city. Once we got home (after a two-hour Amtrak delay) we broke off some aloe for the sunburn, and went right to bed. It was a short and sweet trip!

A simple weekend with simple pleasures - it was wonderful.

We had a Namaste Knitters meetup in DC on Sunday. The Namaste Knitters is a group that I moderate on Ravelry to bring together knitters and crocheters who love yoga. Sung-Ji offered to host our DC group at the Inspired Yoga studio downtown. We knit, ate some delicious treats and drank yummy teas, and did some light yoga in the beautiful studio space. This was the first meetup of the group, and we will definitely be doing it again - we had such a good time together! If you are interested in joining us, stay tuned to the Ravelry boards for more information about our next get-together. (Left to right: my BFF Bec, Manda, me, Sung-Ji, and Heather)

The other simple pleasure of the long weekend was our weekly walk in the woods. The weather was unseasonably warm - near 70 degrees - and Kris and I hit the trails mid-morning and explored some great places in the nearby Patapsco Valley State Park. The park is located in Baltimore County, Maryland, about 15 minutes from our home. We have been to the park many times before, but the hike today offered us more time and better weather to venture onto some new trails. I am not quite sure how far we hiked, but we steadily climbed a steep hill, made our way to the top and around the other side. The hike in entirety took about 2.5 hours.

We saw a small waterfall, quite active with all of the rain we have had lately, and also saw a large group of deer - maybe 20. Once we pulled the camera out, most of them hitched up the white tails and jumped away. Four remained and watched our every step. The river used to be much bigger, but has been dammed and re-routed. There are signs of the river’s past all over. There was once a large mill located on the banks of the river - late 1800s/early 1900s - and several structures from the mill days remain. They are now in dilapidated states, but interesting nonetheless.

How did you spend your weekend?

I look back at Friday and I think just how much I learned in two days. It feels like an initiation in a way: like a new language that I have been given the key to… words and concepts that did not quite make sense to me before are now true forms in my mind. I now understand what treadling is, how to read a draft, how heddles work, and how to warp a loom; all such foreign concepts only three days ago.

Morning walk near The Mannings

It started with a drive up to Pennsylvania… E met me at my house, and we drove together. I drove and she knit socks while we talked about our excitement for the upcoming weekend. We took a leisurely drive to The Mannings, stopping at the yarn shop and then stopping for dinner. We arrived at the school and got set up for the night (you can stay on the premises with the owners if you are taking classes). It would have been possible to actually stay at home and drive up the next morning, but E and I agreed that staying there would help with the whole immersion part of the weekend - it truly felt like a getaway where we could focus on the art and practice of weaving.

The studio at The Mannings has dozens of looms for workshops and demos - it is fascinating to look at the construction of the looms and how each manufacturer differs. There were floor looms and a few tabletop looms, and by the afternoon of the first day, we each had a loom to use, and a project to work on. We spent a large part of the morning learning about all of the preparation - undoubtedly the most complicated part of the process - and preparing our warps. We chose kits that we already cut to length, but we still learned the process of using the warping board, measuring your yarn/thread, and how to determine the technicalities like “ends per inch” and “picks per inch”, which in theory are so very similar to the knitter’s preparation for projects: finding the right gauge, yardage, etc.

There were two kinds of kits available for students to use for their first woven scarf: E and I both chose the wool kits - Harrisville Shetland Tweed 2 ply and Mountain Colors Mountain Goat for the warp and weft. Many of the other students chose a nice cotton kit with Brown Sheep Cotton Fine and a pretty novelty beaded rayon thread. E chose a beautiful red/rust colored colorway, while I chose deep purples, indigos, and blacks.

E and me “slaying our reed”, not as gruesome as it sounds

There are so many processes involved with weaving, and taking the photos really helped solidify the steps in my mind. The slaying of the reed, and threading the heddles are the most time-consuming part, although I did find pleasure in these seemingly mindless preparation tasks - they are simple and repetitive motions that you can completely immerse yourself in. I kept on thinking how nice it would be to have a good audiobook to listen to while I was doing it!

…and finally, after all of the warping was finished, we could start the real weaving!

We went to dinner and came back to weave “after hours”. We stayed at the studio until about 10pm, when we returned back to the room and rehashed everything we had learned. E practiced a drafting diagram in our textbook while I read through complementary copies of Interweave’s Handwoven magazine: it was clear that we were both hooked! I was hoping to fit some knitting in, but my eyes got pretty heavy, and E reported that I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

We woke up early on Day Two and were excited about learning how to finish our day one knitting (cutting it off the loom, knotting a fringe, and washing). The finishing measures are equally important in weaving as they are in knitting: a sloppy finished weave can mess up a beautiful woven piece. As the pieces were drying after a dunk in some conditioner and warm water, we began prepping for our second project.

The looms for day two were pre-warped, which made a huge time difference. The warp was a nice perle cotton in ivory and brown, and we we chose the colors for the weft. The project was designed to teach beginning weavers about twills. We learned the basic concepts and the importance of treadles (which are so similar to pedals on a piano or organ) and how they can be used to change the designs of the weave.

We were all amazed at the beautiful work that came out of this sampler - and how each one looked so different due to the colors we chose. I went with a beautiful light brown with a pink sheen. I wanted something neutral and subtle, and I was very pleased with how it looked after a few rows of weaving and beating.

Linda’s sampler in orange

Weaving is a beautiful rhythm: when you get going on a piece, it feels like time just stops and it is just you and the loom, shuttle and thread in hand. As we were working, the studio fell silent, and it was a peaceful time. We were all progressing and learning right there. Within a short time - no more than three hours - we had beautiful samplers. The same patterns, but so different with the colors represented.

…I could definitely get used to this feeling…

I did not come home with a loom, but I am shopping. I have some space constraints, but I also want something that I will really use. The true testament to the durability of the looms came when Carol, the owner of The Mannings, told me that the loom I used on day one had seen hundreds of students’ hands (and their mistakes) and was still working beautifully after 23 years. That particular loom seemed like a great fit - E was on a similar loom, and she agreed. Now I just need to find one… Although I didn’t come home with a loom, I did pick up some other goodies, and of course, I brought home TWO handwoven pieces that are my real pride and joy.

…and you can see all of that in tomorrow’s post…

On December 30th, the last Sunday of 2007, we went on a walk. It was not an extraordinary walk - aside from being in the glorious surroundings, of course, not to be underestimated - but a simple walk of about two miles in a nearby area with a forest and a nice creek. We had done this stretch of walk dozens of times before, but we marveled at all of the new things that we saw on this particular walk. We decided in no certain terms to make the “weekend walk” a ritual. One we could look forward to throughout the week.

A time to connect with each other, and to connect with nature.

A time to quietly observe the world around us and the changing of the seasons.

A time to just be.

As the calendar ticks by, I find that my desire for the walk changes from week by week: Sometimes, I want a breath of fresh air. I want to get some exercise and burn some calories. I want to improve my mood. I want to wear one of my handknits. I want to meditate and quietly think about things. I want to simply put one foot in front of the other and truly live in the moment. I want to reach a spot that I have never been. Sometimes I have all of these expectations in one single walk.

Kris brings the camera and documents the beautiful natural world. He particularly enjoys capturing the changes of the trees, plants, and bodies of water as the seasons change. Sometimes I take the camera and try to capture the beauty I am seeing.

Each weekend of this month has provided the opportunity for a meaningful walk. We walked through local parks, hiked to a nearby hilltop, and finally, this weekend, we went on a weekend walk a little further from home… well, three actually, one for each day we were there. And the novelty of it was that one walk was deep underground while the other two were a little closer to the clouds!

We spent the long holiday weekend in the Shenandoah mountains of Virginia - about two hours south of our home. We drove down on Friday mid-day and stopped over at a local attraction: Luray Caverns in Luray, Virginia.

Our timing was perfect: the snow was fresh and beautiful, and the sun was bright. While the temperatures were cold - below freezing on both days - that did not stop us from getting out and exploring. We found two hiking trails up into the mountains and reserved one for each day, Saturday and Sunday.

These walks may have been my favorite yet. They were a true sensory experience: the smell of pine trees and fresh winds, the aural crunch of the snow and ice under foot, and the monochromatic landscape of white snow blanketing the mountain, and the chilly winds felt against our faces.

The weekend walk ritual has been the highlight of my new year, and we are only three weeks in! I am very excited to discover more places - both near and far - during the weekend walks.

It is amazing how something as simple as a walk can be the best part of the week.

…

Do you have a special ritual that brings you joy?