Stasia's Place Of Grace

Tuesday, May 06, 2003

 

Hi and welcome! I'm trying to learn to make transparent backgrounds on photos, so please excuse my "experimental" images for today's entry!

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Grateful For...

New Skin. I cut my hand while clipping Valentine's toenails last night, and wouldn't have been able to knit or wash dishes or do much of anything if it wasn't for this liquid bandage stuff. This is the first time I've used it and I'm impressed! I think a little bottle of this belongs in every knitter's/spinner's bag of tricks... it says it works on hangnails and blisters, and prevents callouses, too.

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The fact that Jim of Hatchtown Farm has indicated that his new blood tests show improved results. Sending you healing energy, Jim!

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Fibery Stuff

These are the hunting socks I'm knitting for Jeff. The yarn is handspun bison down, Navajo-Churro wool, and qiviut (musk ox).

The Navajo-Churro wool is from Migrations, the bison down is from (e-mail) Prairie Wool Farms, and the qiviut is from Mini-Mills (it comes in lovely de-haired roving).

Please tell my friends hello if you order! They're all great to deal with.

The pattern is my own toe-up gaugeless one - a link to it is on the right in the sidebar.

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This is the yarn and pattern for an afghan I'm going to knit for my sister. I'm not sure she'd be able to take care of something made of wool, so I'm using Lion Brand's "Homespun" acrylic.

Though you probably can't see them, there are flecks of purple in the greenish yarn, and the colors really do go together. The pattern is a free one from the Lion Brand website.

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This is my new "Rhapsodies" dyed fiber in the Sea Breeze colorway from Paradise Fibers. This fiber is to-die-for! I especially like that there are still bits of white left in it - after spinning the Woolgatherings custom-dyed fiber (to duplicate the sox on page 25 of "The Twisted Sisters Sock Workbook"), I've learned to appreciate a bit of "white space" in yarn!

The Rhapsodies colorways all come in either Merino, superwash, a wool/mohair blend, and something else that I'm forgetting...

Here is the neat-o sample card I also got:

Kate at Paradise Fibers has always given such great service. Tell her I say hi, too!

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Finally, here is the washed Corriedale wool from the sheep named "Stella" from Spring Prairie Wool Shed (no longer in business). Stella sure must have been a lovely sheep, because this fiber is beautiful.

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Goals

This is my new "Way 2 Go!" award banner. From now on, whenever you see this on my Blog, it means that I achieved my "2" goals of doing moderate exercise and eating reasonably for that day.

So many of us are trying to lose a little weight right now, or just get a little healthier. It is that much harder when we enjoy sedentary activities like knitting and spinning and weaving.

I heard a doctor on the radio the other day (Dean O'Dell???), and he said not to worry about this or that diet, but just to eat what you want... only less of it. I can handle that!

Think this "gold star" on our Blogs will give us an incentive to hold ourselves accountable? I hope so! Please you join me, and post the "Way 2 Go!" banner on your Blog when you've been good, too! (Note: Please do not "link" to the banner image here, but rather click on it and download it for yourself, and then upload it on your own web server. Thanks!)

I have found that it helps me to acknowledge that I want to eat when I get stressed-out... but if I tell myself, "YOU have control over that feeling!" then it helps me not to react automatically, without thinking about why I'm eating.

I have also realized that I learned this stress response while I was a teenager... I would get upset when my parents would argue, and because I had no control over our dysfunctional family situation, I would binge on food in order to have control over something in my life. Just realizing this has made it a hundred times easier for me to deal with my reactions as an adult!

I'm so grateful for seeing a snippet of a Dr. Phil episode where this was being discussed... serendipity, as I don't watch it regularly. Isn't it funny how, if we're open to learning new things, the lessons will appear, even from unusual sources?

I still can't control my nervous eating when I'm with my family... but perhaps that will come with time. Otherwise I'll just have to keep a bag of celery in my knitting tote!

Remember, you are in control of your goals, whether they are healthy eating, fitness, or finishing that scarf on your loom! Speaking of which... better get that second Treenway Silks scarf finished up!

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I hope you will have a wonderful rest of the week! Here in Wisconsin the buds on the trees are finally beginning to open, and the grass is emerald green. My sheep flag is hanging outside to welcome the season and celebrate the fact that I'm almost finished washing all my raw fleeces!

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