‘Fiber yoga’: Crafting as meditation

“You need to stay present when you knit, even if you are just doing a garter stitch and don’t have to pay super-close attention. Touching the yarn and needles gives us a feeling of being connected to ourselves and our world. This kind of connection is what yoga is all about.”

— Cyndi Lee, knitter and director of OM Yoga

The latest issue of Yoga Journal (September 2007) has a good article about knitting, a.k.a. “the new yoga.” I have long thought that handicrafts like knitting and crochet had meditative validity and it is nice to have my belief corroborated. A particular book that might be interesting might be interesting to read is Knitting Sutra: Craft As a Spiritual Practice by Susan Gordon Lydon.

In the words of Tara Jon Manning, author of Mindful Knitting and Compassionate Knitting, “Each [yoga and knitting, or in my case crochet and loom-work] allows the practitioner to leave thoughts and distractions behind and focus on a specific object or action.” To me, this meditative practice can be described as “fiber yoga.”

Advice ‘for’ and not ‘about’ us

“Adam,” a romantic comedy, opens to limited release July 29 in the United States. Its tagline sums up the film as “A story about two strangers. One a little stranger than the other...”

Sasha: A cat so glad to be loved

In July 2009, we brought home a little cat who had been hanging out in our neighborhood. She was so skinny, her fur was so matted; it was clear she'd been on her own for some time but she is so glad to be loved!

Originally posted to Facebook

UUCLC Lending Library brochure

An informational brochure about the UUCLC Lending Library debuted last Sunday at the welcome table inside the front entrance of the Kelseyville Senior Center. You can read about the lending library as well as other informational brochures about our congregation and the UUA. The UUCLC Lending Library can be found in the senior center annex.

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Tenacious Talkers installs 2009-2010 officers

LAKEPORT — Toastmasters club No. 8731, the Tenacious Talkers, installed its officers for the new fiscal year during a potluck celebration held Sunday.

UUCLC Lending Library serves first customer

The UUCLC Lending Library recently served its first customer. OK; so I checked a book out to myself, it was so inviting to see the books that members of our congregation have donated. You can read about a couple of those books in the discussion forums on the UUCLC’s Ning site. June and July books of the month have been posted there. A new title will be featured each month.

Hand-crocheted Hogwarts cardigan

My Hogwarts school cardigan is crocheted in Lion Brand "Wool-Ease" worsted-weight yarn. No. 152: Oxford Grey, No. 138: Cranberry and No. 171: Gold. To it, I added a Hogwarts crest and pewter buttons.

The pattern comes from Crochet with Style by Melissa Leapman; however, I adopted her pattern for an oversized nubby cardigan to create it in the colors of House Gryffindor.

Originally posted to Facebook

Fingerless gloves in colors of House Gryffindor

This is the Lion Brand pattern for fingerless gloves, created with Wool-Ease yarn left over from my Hogwarts school cardigan.

Like the cardigan, the gloves were created in the colors of House Gryffindor (No. 152: Oxford Grey, No. 138: Cranberry and No. 171: Gold), perfect for keeping hands warm when mastering the use of one’s wand.

Originally posted to Facebook

‘Alternative’ festival needs to practice what it promotes

The rutted dirt driveway seemed to go on forever and we shifted uncomfortably on our hay-bale seats as a man on a tractor pulled the makeshift shuttle up the road. Uncomfortably jostled by ruts in the roadway, I was relieved to disembark at journey's end.