Dancing Washcloths and Knitting Patterns

Twice this week I have needed this pattern. Once for a friend who wants to knit again. She’d like to start with a washcloth. She had tried a pattern or two, but they proved too difficult for her.

"Don’t worry. I have the perfect pattern for you." I told her. We were at the Tall Grass Writer's annual picnic in the Rochester Cemetery. In cemeteries you shouldn’t worry about washcloths.

The second time I needed this pattern was for a reader who wrote asking for it. She remembered the pattern from a Lion Brand essay I wrote a few years ago. A Pattern For Life, I called it back then. The name still rings true for me.

For washcloths wannabes,  here's your ticket.

Happy Knitting!

Pattern:

A Pattern For Life

Note: For your first washcloth, you might want to knit until you have about 5o stitches or the longest side of your knitting (the stitches on your needles) measure about 10 inches.

Notes:

Rochester Cemetery is a sand prairie/savanna remnant located near the village of Rochester, along the Cedar River in Cedar County, Iowa.  This remnant is also an active cemetery, managed by the Rochester Township Trustees.  This cemetery is known across the US for it's colorful springtime display of wildflowers, in particular it's display of thousands of shooting stars, and massive, spreading White Oaks.  It has often been called one of the best examples of Oak Savanna in the Midwest."

I am thinking about starting a monthly newsletter with stories, pictures, pattern and recipe links. If you'd like to be on my mailing list, send me an email from the contact page.

Blog Posts also appear on my Facebook and Ravelry Pages. Please visit me there.

Writing Yoga

“Just as the practice of yoga encourages you to hear and trust your inner voice, so too does the practice of keeping a journal. Writing every day can help you work past the distracting noises of the world so you can listen more closely to the voice that can be found deep inside you. Day after day, as your thoughts appear beneath your pen as it moves across the page, you’ll begin to hear your voice emerge out of the silence. That voice will teach you what you need to know in your yoga practice and your life.”
Bruce Black, Writing Yoga: A Guide to Keeping a Practice Journal

Although Writing Yoga is meant to be used with yoga practice,and my understanding of yoga is limited, on Monday, intrigued by this “part memoir, part writing guide”, I started a yoga journal.  All week, following the larger, universal messages in the book’s journal practices, I have filled it with drawings, words, and memorable quotes. Starting my morning with reading and journal writing primed me for my other work. I felt better equipped to deal with the anxiety that sometimes seeps into my creative process.  And last night, Writing Yoga motivated my stiff middle-aged body to attend a Gentle Yoga class. Thanks to Bruce Black’s honest recollection of his first yoga class—one of the many tender, funny, and deeply personal experiences he shares in his book--before entering I knew to take my shoes off and leave them by the door.

I had planned to complete all the chapters and all the exercises before writing this post. But Writing Yoga isn’t that kind of book. It’s not a race. It’s a journey I want to take over time. There are chapters I want to read again, journal practices I’d like to revisit and new ones I hope to explore when I am ready.

Writing Yoga has earned a place by my studio reading chair. It is a great resource for anyone struggling to hear their own voice in a very noisy word. With Bruce Black as your guide, it’s hard not to feel confident of achieving that goal.

Links:

Bruce‘s blogs -- Wordswimmer,

Writing Yoga with Bruce Black,

Rodmell Press -- Publisher of Writing Yoga and other books about yoga, Buddhism, Taoism and Akido.

Readaong:

Harriet The Spy by Louise Fitzhugh. A middle grade classic about a young girl who keeps journals "spy books". Try to get a copy with the original cover drawn by the author.

Pattern:

Yoga Socks

Recipe:

For a healthy, fiber-filled lifestyle. One of my favorite HYVEE checker recommended this recipe for Big Batch Bran Muffins. I plan to try it out this weekend, substituting tofu with lemon juice for the buttermilk.