Knitting Sutra

Not Sure I Deserve to Post Anymore

I've been away far too long. So long, in fact, that my Blog software has been upgraded, and I'm not entirely sure how to use it.

That's really pathetic.

I've basically been way overbooked, which is good in that we are once again a two-income family here at Casa O'Postraphe. I didn't have a job for a year and half while we lived in Holland, and that... well that sucked on a lot of levels. I did knit and blog A LOT. But, we didn't have much cizash, and all my pals were virtual. It's good to have money, but I miss some of the free time I used to have. I'm hoping to restructure things a bit in the coming months, relax a bit more, snuggle up in front of our new fireplace, and knit - lots!

Oh, yeah. You didn't even know that we had to move - AGAIN! One day last July we were negotiating a renewal on our lease, and then the next day they were kicking us out. We were only in the house 10 months! That wrecked my whole summer, and I'm only just now catching up. Oh and then there is the Wii. --shakes head in shame--

Needless to say, I haven't been knitting. Like at all. Way back when, I did finally finish the Peruvian hat that I was ripping off from "Real Simple." I frogged it several times, but finally came up with something that worked. It turned out AWESOME and the recipient loves it, even though I gave it to her the last wintry weekend in DC. I want to write out the pattern and knit another for myself this Fall. Any excuse to knit with Misti Baby Alpaca Chunky is a good one.

I also finished my "secret socks" only to totally ef up the cast-off. The leg holes are so tight that I can't get them over my heels. I must have lost my mind because who does a regular cast off for socks? I tossed them into my basket in a huff, and am too scared to look at them again. We're talking two colors, two socks at once - a hefty project. I don't know how to recast a cast-off. Anyone?

I plan to start knitting again tonight - working on B's sweater, the one he no longer believes he'll ever wear - while we watch the presidential debates tonight. I'm actually pretty close to finishing the back, and I'm hoping the sleeves will move quickly.

I have another pair of socks on the needles using the hand-dyed yarn Meghann sent me last year. I started them sometime back in the winter, and now I don't remember what pattern I was using. D'oh. Sigh.

What I really want to knit is a wrap - specifically the striped poncho thing from "Wrap Style" (Ravelry link). Problem is that I don't have the yarn for it. And I really should be knitting with all that yarn I have. Bugger. What to do? What to do?

Anyway, I plan to photograph old FO's, and post them over the weekend. Then I hope to transition back into my knitterly/bloggerly life. I hope some of you still have my pathetically untended blog listed in your Bloglines, and that you'll eventually come back.

Knit On, ya'll!

Rockin' The Free World!

First: The U.S. Consulate in Amsterdam Rocks

Can I just tell you that yesterday was The.Best.Day.Ever^TM. Well at least the best in a long time.

It didn't matter that I locked myself out of the apartment for more than an hour, and I still don't know if I lost my keys outside or if they're in the house somewhere. The 80EUR to replace the lock, in case said keys were lost outside, is no big deal. And really the reason that I have no clue what happened to the keys is b/c on my way out the door to take Nigel on his pre-dinner walk, I found a letter.

Not just any letter. A letter from the U.S. Consulate in Amsterdam. A letter we weren't expecting for another couple of months. A letter that invites B to his FINAL immigration interview on August 23!

So, yeah I was doing a little jig while Nigel did his thang, and maybe my keys fell out of my pocket. I dunno. I don't care because this means that I'll definitely be going home sooner rather than later, and I can hardly stand it.

Second: Jens Rock

Another Jen rocks, and she has declared that I rock. Yeah! Thanks, Jen! It does feel pretty rockin' around here this week. BTW, Jen has a hysterical knit badge on her site.

Third: You All Rock

Continuing the feedback loop of love around here... If you are reading this, you rock! Seriously, you do!

I cannot possible select just five of you that rock. I can't even just select a girl that rocks because at least one of you is a guy, and he rocks too!

So, let's join hands, sing a rockin', two-chord round of kumbaya, and spread the love around. Grab* the little button, and nominate some rockin' bloggers out there, especially knit bloggers because this guy's blog post about Ravelry, and really knitting in general, bugged me.

* By grab I mean that you kindly save the image to your drive and then load it to your server.

7+ Random Things About Me

Jennie tagged me to post seven "interesting" things about myself.  The deal is that I post these seven things, and then tag seven other people to post about themselves.  I'm new to knitterly blogging, so apologies to those of you who are going to go:  "and you are...?"  I trolled my comments, so you're not 100% random.  ;)

Without further ado:

1. I climb rocks for thrills.  In fact, I met my husband on a rock climbing trip in West Virgina. 
2. I was dark and broody in high school.
3. I have naturally red hair.  According to Tom Robbins, I'm also from another planet.  That sounds about right.
4. I'm a rabid environmentalist. 
5. B and I climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro for our honeymoon. 
6. I went to college in New Orleans.   
7. I used to be the singer and bass player in an indie band.  John Peel played us on his radio show once.
8. *Bonus*  I did not buy the Rothko for $72m. (What the?!?!)

The following are on deck to post seven things.  As Jennie mentioned, no pressure if you don't wanna play.  I'm a little superstitious is all. 

Becky, Heather, Elinor, Shoeless Val (Val has a seriously cute, new pattern up on Jimmy Beans by the way), Debbie, Ali, and Margene.   

Guy Candy

That's Gee with a hard g.  I don't want to play favorites with my monsters (because I'm sure they read my blog after all), and I still don't have anything interesting to show you with my knitting (I promise I'm working on it).  So, I give you the contemplative "Portrait of a Curmudgeon as a Young Cat." 

Perseverance

I've been inspired by Wendy's miter sweater.  Here I am whining about knitting a few inches of a sock in stockinette and she's over there knitting whole sweaters with fingering weight yarn and 3mm needles.   I'm determined to show you some short row heels tomorrow.  It could happen. 

About Me

I'm Jen and my blog is dedicated to my knitting pursuits, with a splash of commentary on this and that. I’m going to try to keep it light and breezy.

I learned to knit in 2004 during my 200-hour yoga certification course. By the end of the course, most of the students were knitting away on socks and scarves. We found the meditative aspects of knitting to be very compatible with a yogic lifestyle.

I live in the Washington, DC area with my husband (B) and our two pets: Nigel (dog) and Guy (cat). I am a freelance Web consultant and a yoga teacher.

On Sutras
"Sutra" is a sanskrit word meaning "rope" or "thread." Sutras hold things together. Collections of sutras ("verses" in this case) comprise the literature of the Hindu and Buddhist traditions. Specifically, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali detail the practice of yoga. In Patanjali's time, yoga was not the bendy, twisty postures you see in advertisements. Rather, it is a practice to help you settle your mind.

Yoga is one way. I find that knitting is also a way.

This is not a religious blog, so don't fret that I'm going to try to convert you to something weird. The title of my blog is homage to my path to knitting. I also thought it was clever.

It turns out that I'm not the only clever ducky. As far as I know there is no other Knitting Sutra blog, but there is a book published by Susan G. Lydon with the same title. I have never seen or read the book, and this blog is obviously not affiliated with it. Indeed, I'm glad that someone else spotted the same connection.