Saturday Knitting

It's an overcast and cold kind of Saturday morning which is the perfect time for knitting and house cleaning and slowing down.

This is my second study stripe and  I love this color combo. I'm using malabrigo arroya and the colors are so rich!

Wishing you a relaxing Saturday!

yoga yoga yoga

Beautiful Barefoot at Heart studio in downtown Victoria: 1303 Broad Street (former Base Lounge)

Come one, come all and join me this weekend at:

• Hemma: the home of yoga and acupuncture for the 9 am class on Saturday and Sunday just this weekend! It will be a vinyasa flow to build strength, length, balance and focus.
• or come by Lululemon for a free class this Sunday night 7-8 pm for a an hour of power flow to support...
•  Barefoot at Heart Yoga in downtown Victoria where I also teach every Friday night 530-630

 so many options for a little yoga in your weekend

spring is almost here

I know.. these pictures are little blurry but that's what happens at 7 am in the rain on my way to teach yoga at Hemma! This is the beautiful spread of flowers randomly popping up as I made my way through Beacon Hill park. There are apple and cherry blossoms all around as well, but you have to see it to experience the magic!

can you study outside?

Well I thought I would try at least! Studying pharmacology and needing inspiration.

I did study a bit... and took pictures... and day dreamed... and floated in the absolute beauty of the day...

Practice

My cushion for meditation practice. The birds make me happy and remind me to open myself to life. Using a cushion is pretty essential for me as it relaxes my hips and easily allows me to lengthen my spine in a comfortable way.

Jack Kornfield Meditation for Beginners says about meditation postures  "what matters is there be a sense of stability and ease...to meditate is not to fight with oneself...there is enough difficulty in life without making more of it for yourself in meditation.". 

It is the consistent practice of mindfulness that will open up your heart. Start by creating a space for your meditation practice as inviting as possible. Let go of the rules and try starting with as little as 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes at night. Build the ritual first and overtime it will start to touch all areas of your life as you become more aware, more present and full of love. 

Chesterman Beach

Alas, these photos are not current...as least not as current as I wish they were! Taken in spring of last year, my mom and I stayed 3 days on chesterman beach at the gorgeous Chesterman Beach B & B. I unearthed these from the camera stick as I get inspired to plan another trip this spring. Time to get outside!

Gorgeous day on Dallas Rd

Pretty pile of hats

Blue Bridge

We have the perfect view as the historical Johnson Street Bridge starts to come down. Having recently relocated to the island I have not been drawn into the various opinions for and against this change. It is clearly an emotionally charged issue here and it continues to amaze me how many people day after day make the trip down to the water to watch and take pictures. The day that they removed the rail span it was cold and pouring rain but still crowds gathered, huddled under umbrellas, some standing for hours to watch. I sat in my cozy sublet and marveled at the tenacity and felt privileged to have a front row seat to this....too bad it is so noisy!

Knitting

About 5 years ago I sat down and taught myself to knit. My first project was a hat. It took me a ridiculous amount of tries just to cast on properly and not join in the round without twisting the edge. I got frustrated. I persisted. It taught me patience. I discovered that I am not one for details. I learned to read the pattern through first and not make assumptions.

The greatest discovery I made with knitting was that once one get's the basics down, they can quickly explore doing just about anything. I'm not suggesting that it becomes easy but I would say that it definitely becomes possible. Beautiful things you would have only dreamed of making in the past start to actually appear on the needles. Over the years have expanded my repertoire since then from hats, to shawls, to mittens, to socks and garments but when all is said and done, for me nothing beats knitting a beautiful and simple hat. I have knit an embarrassing number to date, many as gifts and many more for myself. A recent move forced me to survey the damage... here is a glimpse and some of my favorite books and patterns!

Rikke Hat Pattern

Mitered mittens and a slouchy hat. Both extra long for extra coziness!

Elizabeth Zimmermans Mitered mittens with a rounded top and side thumb

Stack of hats: From the bottom up: Naked Star Hat, Ripley, basic hat pattern, Rikke

Since I was snapping away at hats, I decided to stack some recent shawls to show. I love the contrast of the color photo to sepia.

Springtime Bandit

Heading out now to enjoy the sun!

Just trust yourself.

For the month of March, my calender reads:

" Just trust yourself. Then you will know how to live"  goethe