Secrets Revealed!

Did anyone guess right from the pic earlier this month? Yes, it is Mason Dixon's Moderne Baby Blanket. Nathalie from my knitting group suggested Lion Brand Cotton Ease, and the new colors are so vibrant that I couldn't resist. And after a run through the washer AND dryer....sooooo soft! Jen & Matt's baby will sure be snuggy in this :) They are due at the end of September, I can't wait to meet their little boy!

My knitting has gotten to be looser over time. The suggested needle size for this yarn I believe is a size 8. I used 5's and was still a little looser than I prefer. Must be the yoga that has eased up my style :)

My gauge was nowhere near what the pattern was and so I had to modify a bit to keep the blanket "crib size". Modifications listed in my 2007 gallery.

As for life, I will be enjoying a bit of a break over the next week or so. I don't plan on blogging, but may be lurking around checking in on everyone. Hope that you all are enjoying your summers....it will be FALL before we know it!

I can feel my brain getting bigger.....

I believe that it is important in life to keep learning. After deciding that it was time to challenge myself , I took the steps to apply to the evening MBA program at my alma mater. Now, I was a good student with good grades, but when applying for the program (my GMAT score was 6 years old and average at best), I had my anxiety. After encouraging words from hubbs (always the big supporter of team BAM), my family, friends, and my partners at work...it was time to take the step and go for it.

I received word today....I got IN! Yay me (she says hugging herself) :)

Go Cyclones!

Randomness

Summer is not my favorite season. Well, it is not even in my top 2. I actually might even prefer winter more (as strange as that seems). In Iowa, we are blessed with all 4 seasons. My personal rankings?

#1 Fall

#2 Spring

#3 Winter

#4 Summer

Summer and Winter are pretty equal actually. I think that having an office job and being in the air-conditioning really contributes to this distaste for heat. Hubbs usually lets my groans and eghs of the heat go by without much comment, but the other day he said: "Well, what did you do as a kid?" Of course I played outside a lot of the summer as a kid. I really think that your body gets conditioned to a certain temp and when being a "corporate" person with less time outside makes the heat sometimes unbearable. All that being said, we have gotten a little relief the last few days. I always say that I would be happy to find a place to live where it is fall all year round....most of the time that is met with San Diego. Hmmmm....where else I wonder.

Knitting has been a little slow lately, working on the "secret project" is getting to me. Not much to blog about there. Spinning creates a little bit of a side project. And I do have some news on that front. I was visiting my dear college town, Ames, and thought I would finally get myself to the Rose Tree Fiber shop. Now this store may have a lot of stuff spread out with no reason about the shop, but hey...that is similar to most of our own personal crafty spaces, right? They have yarn, they have books, but what they have that no other local store in our area has? Yummy FIBER! And not just wool. They have silk, soy, yak, corn, bamboo...you name it, they probably have it! I picked up a half of a pound of corn fiber which Knittripps commented that smells sweet/like corn starch. It has a nice sheen to it. I am looking forward to seeing how it spins!

Going to yoga is still one of my joys for the week. This week's pose that I will share works the core muscles and is the Full Boat Pose.

Yoga is very relaxation and leaving class makes me feel like my body is circulating better. I am learning that there are different styles of yoga, but I like to know that my body is "working", not just stretching. With this pose, I can feel the "work".

Any yogi's/yogini's out there?

Missing Paris

Ah, to bring a touch of France home. How about a sweet Madeleine? One of our take-homes from France was a pan to bake Madeleines. After a smoldering hot weekend, what better way was there to spend time other than baking? :)I couldn't resist. After searching around on the internet for a perfect recipe, I decided on this one. They turned out very well (good texture, good taste), although I think next time I will opt for a recipe that has a little more lemon...or maybe I will try orange to suit Hubbs' tastes. I hear that the pans create better madeleines after multiple uses. Mmmmm....

Of course our fur buddies were relaxing the weekend away and enjoyed the time I spent baking around the house. Ein is such a cutie...here he is in one of my favorite sleepy dog poses:

Yoooooooga

Aaaaah, yoga. Over the last few weeks, I have been consistently taking time to go to class and practice yoga. One of my yoga instructors likes to spend the first few minutes of class, having us take the time to thank ourselves for making yoga a part of our day and letting our bodies thank us for the time we spend in our practice. After my first class, my thought was WOW.....feels great. Stretching, strengthening, letting the stresses of the day go. Yoga is a true complement to any fitness activity you have in your life.

To introduce those of you to yoga who have not yet made the practice part of your life, I thought I would share with you (hopefully on a weekly basis) a pose that will be my focus for the week. I am taking Level 1 classes and am finding that they often combine many of the beginner poses, but also introduce an intermediate pose or two. Since this is my first week including yoga poses on my blog, it only seems natural to share with you my first pose that created an opportunity to grow (i.e. one that did not come so easily for me). Enter the Tree Pose:

Image courtesy of the Yoga Journal, link provided for a full description of the pose along with the benefits of this pose, variations, and a few other goodies.

For me, this was the first a-ha of the meditative qualities of yoga. What better way to clear your mind, then to have a balancing pose that creates focus? It is helpful to pick a point on the wall to watch and concentrate on as you hold this pose.

My studio has a bowl of "thoughts" by the door (similar to fortunes for fortune cookies, Hubbs calls them yoga cookies). Here is the one that I picked up yesterday:

"The greatest thing in this world is not so much where we are, but in what direction we are moving"- O. Wendell Holm

Only mildly crazy...

Say hello to my little friend :) What do you do with some ultra bulky handspun? Ply it up and make an i-cord snakey of course! Here he is slithering by our plants......sssssss.....he sort of looks more like a caterpillar here
And now for a sneak peek at my project for the upcoming baby. I am sure SOME of you recognize this pattern (ssshhh....let's keep it a secret). This is my first work with Lion Brand Cotton Ease and so far I am finding it, dare I say, EASY to work with? And I am totally diggin' the colors BTW.
Did everyone enjoy their brief, middle of the week holiday? Hubbs and I found a few ways to enjoy ourselves. A little time on the driving range, swimming in our pool, sparklers galore....hehehe...the fun never ends!

Happy 4th of July

Have a great holiday...enjoy the fireworks!