belly dance rehab - day 2

My practice today:

• Rachel Brice's Yoga, Isolations and Drills DVD (30 min.)
• shimmy drill and cool down from Aziza's Ultimate Belly Dance Practice Companion DVD (25 min.)

belly dance rehab

Michelle Joyce started a thread on Bhuz with a challenge to take 90 dance classes in 90 days - any type of dance class counts, and other fitness/yoga/pilates classes count as half. (When an alcoholic starts AA they are told to do 90 meetings in 90 days, that's where the rehab/90 days thing comes from.)

A ton of Bhuzzers signed up to join Michelle! And the details were modified by each person to fit their situation - doing a video, dance practice, 90 hours in 90 days instead of practice, etc. It's amazing to see so many belly dancers inspired to improve themselves and further the dance form!

Now, I can hardly commit to this... I have been trying to practice every day since I'm unemployed, and it hasn't happened. I am dying to take more classes but can't afford it right now. I'm going to ask for some belly dance DVDs for Christmas, so that should help. :)

That being said, I have been inspired to step up my practice schedule! And I started today!! I'm going to post my practice log here as a record and to keep me motivated. Plus the blog could use some more content. :)

Belly Dance Rehab - Day 1

• warm up
• waves - standing series
• shimmy to Shik Shak Shok: Egyptian, single leg, ballet, twist **hip shimmy needs work
• veil: went through my list of veil moves, did some simple veil combos, walked through veil intro that I learned in my private lesson with Zahira
• zylls: longa to 5 min. song, long variations, saidi, moving around while zylling
• Hadia choreography and staging

justification for knitting with acrylic

There's a lot of chatter online (blogs, Ravelry... OK, I only ever read Ravelry these days) about using acrylic when there are so many other nice fibres available. And it's true, acrylic is kinda crappy and nice wool and alpaca and silk feel soooo lovely.

For the past few days, I've really wanted to start crocheting a sweater. I have a strong urge to crochet! I looked through my stash and didn't want to use any of it. (not surprising ha ha) BUT, my first instinct was to buy some cheap acrylic yarn from the discount store. I fought the urge, and as I was walking to the LYS, I examined my reasons for turning to the dreaded A-yarn....

There is less pressure to produce a "good" product if I make it with acrylic.

And by "good" I mean: wearable, in a colour that I will like for a long time, something that fits well, looks nice, doesn't go out of style, etc.

If I spend money on good yarn, and take the time to knit/crochet a sweater, I had better love it and wear it a lot! But, if I buy cheap yarn, it's OK if the project doesn't work out, and the yarn will survive frogging and re-knitting. Or I can donate it. It doesn't matter because it didn't cost very much.

It was a real eye-opener to me to realize this. I feel OK about using crappy yarn to make a crappy sweater?? That's not the kind of knitter/crocheter I want to be. There is nice yarn that is not expensive that will result in a nice garment. And I can rip it out and make hats, scarves and arm warmers if I don't like the garment. It's OK. :)

And so, I went to the LYS and bought some reasonably priced Moda Dea superwash wool, in a lovely moss green, and started my crochet sweater....

the afghan square swap keeps swapping

More knit afghan squares from the Sexy Ladies Afghan Square Swap on Ravelry!

Square #8, knit by Duckette:

I love that it looks like two interlocking e's. Or yin and yang. It's just plain awesome.

Square #9 is another one from the sweet, sweet Mimosa:

Gorgeous pink lace. Something about it is so soothing! The yarn is very soft too.

If you're keeping track, you may have noticed that square #7 is missing... we had a few knitters drop out of the swap and their squares have yet to be re-distributed. OR someone is being an "angel" and knitting an extra square and it's late. I'm not really sure! I'll find out soon enough! :)

More afghan squares!

This is square #6-received, knit by Mimosa:


Those are swallows swooping down (think of a chest tattoo) and if you didn't see them at first, don't worry, I didn't either! First I thought they were paw prints or cat faces, but then I read Mimosa's note and I could see the birds. The square was knit in one of my favourite yarns, Moda Dea Washable Wool. (although it has some competition - Mission Falls 1824 Superwash Merino is catching up!)

I am waiting for squares 7-9. One is in the mail, and the other two were assigned to people who have now dropped out of the swap. I'm pretty sure they were re-assigned to other swap peeps, but they may be behind schedule. I'm not worried! I can always knit more for myself.

And now for the squares that I have sent out....

Square #7 for Jesshenshaw:

Pattern: Bobbles the Sheep cloth, and I added the bobble border to frame the sheep
Yarn: Moda Dea Washable Wool in Aran
Needles: 4 mm

Square #8 for Teejayhansen:


Pattern: Garterlac Dishcloth
Yarn: Laines Du Nord Giunco in S70 (washable merino)
Needles: 3 mm

This square gave me a bit of trouble. At first, I didn't like the yarn in this pattern because the colour segments are short. It didn't look the way I expected. Before ripping it out (because I had already started a few times to get the right gauge/size), I used the second ball to try some other stitch patterns, but didn't like those either! Hurumph. So I kept on with the garterlac square and overall I'm happy with it. It seemed to take a long time to knit, so I was glad to get back on to 4 mm needles for the next one...

Square #9 for Bohoknitterchic:

Pattern: Be My Dishcloth
Yarn: Mission Falls 1824 Superwash Merino in Zinnia
Needles: 4 mm

This square was super quick to knit after the Garterlac. I think it was one of the first swap patterns I picked out! Bohoknitterchic has a cheesy love theme for her afghan. Lots of love went into this square, even from Oxo...

He enjoyed sleeping on the WIP and on top of the pattern. (don't worry, I gave the square a good wash before mailing it!)

I am currently working on square #10 which is about 75% done, and thinking about square #11 - the last one! I have pretty much decided on the yarn, but not the pattern. The recipient is open to embellishments so there are lots of options! I could knit a plain square and then add buttons, sequins, etc. Or knit a picture and decorate. So many ideas!

baguettes!

There is delicious bread in Paris. You can find baguettes everywhere! Restaurants will serve a little basket of bread with every meal. We bought bread, cheese and wine to keep at the apartment, to snack on post-museum and pre-dinner. Yum!!

Since we got back, I've tried several times to make french bread. The first two attempts resulted in yummy bread, but they were definitely not baguette-like. The third time was a charm.

I used this recipe from King Arthur Flour, instant yeast and Five Roses Unbleached Flour. The ingredients are simple - it truly is the method that makes the difference.

I will definitely make these again! And soon - there is only one left. And they are much better fresh!

knit girl afghan swap - square #5 received

This beautiful square was knit by jesshenshaw:

It is a garter and gull stitch pattern, and I am amazed because it is so tightly knit! And the stitches are so even and perfect!!


This is going to be an awesome afghan. The knitters in the group are really talented!

cobblestone socks

I started these socks way back in June as part of the For the Love of Socks KAL. It's my first time doing 2 socks at once using Magic Loop (one loooooong circular needle).


I love the yarn and the pattern is interesting, but it's just been slow going. I wasn't too motivated to knit wool socks in the summer! But when I took my mom to her doctor's appointments in July and August, I brought the socks with me and made some progress.


Only the foot to go! And then they'll BOTH be finished. No second-sock-syndrome.

Pattern: Menehune Cobblestone Socks by Adrienne Fong
Yarn: Fleece Artist Merino Sock 2/6 in Pinata
Needles: 2 mm metal circulars

Oh yes, I noticed that one sock is more pink than the other... oh well.

update: knit girl afghan swap

I've been lax about posting my squares, partly because I didn't want to upload a photo before the recipient received it in the mail. But now that I've left it for a while, everyone has opened their packages and I can make it public!

These are the squares that I have knit:

Square #3 - sent to Bettievonzee, who later dropped out of the swap. It has been re-allocated to Mimosa.
Pattern: Elvish Leaves Dishcloth
Yarn: Naturally Hand Knit Merino et Soie 10 Ply in 117, about 1.5 skeins
Needles: 4 mm

Square #4 - sent to Duckette (thanks for the photo!)
Pattern: The tweed stitch pattern is from the 365 Knitting Stitches a Year Calendar by Ed Martingale.
Yarn: Moda Dea Washable Wool
Needles: 4 mm

Square #5 - knit for Knittygreekmom
Pattern: The diamond pattern is from the 365 Knitting Stitches a Year Calendar by Ed Martingale.
Yarn: Moda Dea Washable Wool (my new favourite yarn)
Needles: 4 mm

Square #6 - made for Mimosa
Pattern: Lizard Ridge from knitty.com
Yarn: Moda Dea Washable Wool (pink and purple) and Mission Falls 1824 (black)
Needles: 4 mm

hello stranger

Yes, still alive! And knitting up a storm. I'm going to commit to posting more regularly... although I've decided that before and still didn't post regularly so it might not be successful. It's depressing to look at my own blog and see a month-old post staring at me!!!

startitis

New project alert! As if I don't have enough on the go, with all the afghan squares and socks-in-progress and unfinished tanks and tunics... I started the Betty Wrap from Knitting Little Luxuries by Louisa Harding.

My plan is to have it completed in time for my trip to Paris, at the end of September. I think it's doable, it's coming along nicely.

I learned to put in lifelines in the lace sections. The shiny yarn was so slippery and I lost stitches and had to rip back to the first garter section. Grr. But now I know!

The yarn is Trendsetter Venus, and it looked much better in the skein when you could see all the variegation. I'm not sure this pattern is the best use for it... I originally wanted to make the Infinity Wrap from Interweave Crochet, but decided to try this one instead. We'll see how it turns out!

This book is gorgeous, by the way. Beautiful art direction!

knit girl afghan swap - square #4

The super awesome square that I received from teejayhansen:

In her note, she wrote that she selected the colours to represent different jewels - ruby, periwinkle, sapphire, black onyx, etc. - to go with my jewel-tone theme. LOVE! She also sent a full-size Ghiradelli chocolate bar.... double LOVE!

knit girl afghan swap - square #2 part 2

Here is the square that I made and sent to metaljune13:

It was the first time I have done colourwork like that, and I'm very proud of how it turned out! The bird's legs are a bit wonky because I carried the yarn too tightly behind the work, but the rest of the bird is OK.

Pattern: #38 Bird Blanket by Jenn Jarvis, from the Summer 2007 issue of Knit.1 (Rav link)
Yarn: black is Mission Falls 1824 Wool, blue is Moda Dea Washable Wool, red is Naturally Hand Knit Merino et Soie 10 ply.
Needles: 4 mm

My plan is to make this blanket for my own house, and after working on the squares for the KG afghan swap it doesn't seem so scary anymore! I always think that afghans take forever to knit, but doing each square is manageable and then you just have to sew them together. (which will probably take me forever - I hate seaming!)

Oh, and the Moda Dea yarn is sooooo soft! and affordable!! (surprising, since I bought it at Romni)

knit girl afghan swap - square #3

Here is square #3, knit by bohoknitterchic:

It is a vine pattern in a lovely deep shade of green. She used Knitpicks Shine Worsted, and it is really soft and drapey.

Bohoknitterchic organized the Knit Girl Afghan Swap on Ravelry and did an awesome job!!! OK, this is my first swap so I have nothing to compare it to, but it's been great experience so far.

crochet baby blanket

I forgot to post about this one! It was finished a while ago and gifted on July 29 (baby shower). I was going through my photos and spotted it....

The pattern is from Family Circle Easy Knitting, Holiday 2002.
Yarn: Patons Grace in Snow, Blush, Purple, Blue and Ginger
3.5 mm hook
Started March 21 and finished June 28, 2008.
Ravelry link



Check out the nice edging! I'm very proud of myself. :))

The recipients, Greg and Kim, had a baby boy on July 22. Welcome Beck!!

knit girl afghan swap - square #2

This is the square I received from Clashfan77:

It came in the mail today, along with square #5 from jesshenshaw. I haven't opened that one yet - my plan is to open the squares in order, but it's so tempting! It's like Christmas!!

knit girl afghan swap - square #1

Here is the first square that I received in the swap, from ms. pixie riot:

She also included Pez (aka crack) and some cute little buttons from her online shop, Yarn Oddities.

Here's the square that I sent to hellcat:

Pattern: Elvish Leaves Dishcloth
Yarn: Naturally Hand Knit Merino et Soie 10 Ply in 110, about 1.5 skeins
Needles: 4 mm

It was fun to knit, but I couldn't memorize the pattern because each row was different. It kept things interesting but having to always look at the pattern in kinda annoying. Oh yeah, thanks to hellcat for the photo - I forgot to take pics before I sent it!

an update, at long last

Sorry for the MIA-ness! A lot has been going on this month - I finished at the mothership at the end of June, then T-man and I took a little vacation road trip (including LYS stop!), my mom had surgery so I have been going back and forth to her house to help her out, I've been going to as many bellydance classes as possible because I bought an unlimited pass at the studio and want to get my money's worth, the troupe had a big performance last Sunday, I joined an afghan square swap on Ravelry (my first swap) and have been cranking out 12x12 inch squares, but not much other knitting.

I have not even had time to think about a new job or new career or even miss working! The house is a mess and we've been eating a lot of quick and easy foods (not crap, but not so great either). The cats miss me but my parents' dogs now love me since I take them for walks.

There are a few posts lined up.... stay tuned!

winding yarn at the office

I used an office chair as a swift and wound up my Fleece Artist Merino sock (colourway: Pinata) into balls. Excuse the sour expression - I was at work, after all.

oh baby!

A round of baby items has been gifted!


Hats and booties for my co-worker Gabi, who is due at the end of the month. All the best, Mama Bisia!

Details:

Patterns: Sprout hat by Leigh Spencer, published in Magknits (now offline) and Perfect Baby Booties by Ruth B. (pdf)
Yarns: Bernat Satin in yellow and pastel mix, and L & M Trading Co. blue, from the stash
Needles: For the hat, 4.0 mm. For the booties, 3.0 mm for the smaller size and 3.5 mm for the larger.
Started: mid-May
Finished: mid-June (both were quick knits, it just takes me a while to sew things up!)

finally, a finished object - socks!

Here are the 2 socks on 2 circs in their completed state! (sorry for the lousy photos - the flash on my camera is terrible, and I didn't adjust them at all before uploading to Flickr.)

After I took the photos, I decided that they were a bit too short, so I undid a few rows and re-knit the toe to give me some extra length. Technically these are not a "finished object" since I still have to fix the other sock! Once they are truly finished and ready to wear, I will take some nicer pictures.

Details....

Pattern: Ladies Simple Sock on 2 Circular Needles by Caryn Lantz (on Ravelry)
Yarn: Lang Yarns Super Soxx in 6365
Started: February 2008
Finished: June 2008
My project page on Rav

crazy busy.

This week is turning out to be really busy and is stressing me out. Everything is happening this weekend!

Funkabelly is on Saturday and I'm performing with my class (a different class than last time) - there are only 3 of us dancing so there's more pressure to do a good job! I keep messing up the choreography while practicing, I don't know why since I know the choreo. Grr. I actually trust myself to get it right while in front of an audience - there's more pressure to perform! But still, I will be rehearsing a lot this week!

Also, E and I have volunteered to bring snacks for FaB. (E's idea.) Hummus and pita and raw veggies. Maybe cookies. Nothing too complicated, but I don't know when we will have time to go shopping and make hummus. (I think we should just buy the hummus. It's more expensive than making it, I assume, but time-saving. That's what I need right now.)

Now, these two things would not so bad on their own, but Todd, Wendy and Zoe are in Toronto this weekend, and that's a HUGE deal!!! Yay! They are staying with T & P and hopefully the mamas will have a night out at Funkabelly. That means that Saturday afternoon/early evening will be spent with my friends, but sometime in there I have to prep food and get dressed and made up for the show. PLUS S&M are flying through TO on their way home from the U.K., and there is a plan to hang out with them at the airport until Todd's flight gets in.

So. many. things. to. do.

Tonight I have bellydance class and troupe rehearsal, tomorrow night I am meeting up with some fellow Ravellers for a pot luck knit night, and on Thursday I'm having dinner with my co-worker that is going on maternity leave next week. Phew!

Sorry for my ranting. It's good to be busy but I don't handle it well. I will have knitting content for you very soon! Socks and baby knitting coming up.

Suheir Zaki and her glorious down hips

A vintage video for your viewing pleasure...

black tulips

Oops, sorry for the lack of posts lately. How did that happen?? Time is passing by too quickly, but also too slowly... one more month at the Mothership and each day is draaaaaaaaaagging on.

For your amusement, here are some photos from my commute. I was going to post only one photo of the tulips, but I love them so much that I'm putting them all up.

Another duck in a fountain - this time at the Rogers Centre (Skydome)

Black tulips beside Steam Whistle Brewing

mothproofing

My name is Lanicraft and I have a moth problem.

The house has a moth problem. I think they were in the carpet when we moved in and we have never gotten rid of them. Sometimes they are invisible, except for the holes in our clothes, and sometimes they are flying all over, or crawling on our sweaters, or otherwise grossing us out. (finding a moth larva on a sweater you ARE CURRENTLY WEARING will give you the creepy crawlies for a long time.) They are only supposed to like wool, but I have found holes in cotton clothing and acrylic yarn. My moths aren't picky - they eat anything. Ugh.

Unfortunately, T-man and I are not disciplined enough to vacuum daily, under all the furniture, dry clean all our sweaters (or bake them in the oven), and don't have enough room to freeze/thaw them to stop the moth life cycle. I don't think that we will ever be totally rid of them, but we do try to discourage them with cedar and lavender (and we do vacuum! just not daily).

In an attempt to protect my recent stash additions, I decided to pack up the yarn with some moth deterrents. Step one: zip top bags and cheap soap.


Step two: make sachets with soap and lavender.


Old tights or pantyhose come in handy for this project.


Step three: pack yarn in bags with sachets.


I didn't have enough old pantyhose to make sachets for my entire stash, so I tucked the extra bars of soap in the other bags of yarn.

For the record, the soap and lavender (and cedar) will not kill or get rid of moths, but the scent deters them from laying eggs and feeding their family with your woolen items. When the weather gets warm enough, I'm going to pack all my sweaters into black garbage bags and let them cook in the sun for a while. That should actually kill the eggs and larva.

Thanks to the Ravelry forums for all the tips.

ducks in fountain

There is a condo that I pass on my way to work (I walk by several condos on my commute - more than I care to count) that recently turned on its fountain or water feature or whatever-it's-called. And promptly attracted some feathered loiterers:


This duo has been swimming about and accepting snacks for a few days now. (You can just see the female in the background.)


They are right across the street from the lake, but I don't blame them for preferring the clean water in the fountain to the toxic soup that is Lake Ontario.

Forest nymph crochet bikini top pattern

Here's my Forest nymph crochet bikini top pattern...


Materials: worsted weight yarn (wool or acrylic), 10 mm crochet hook, 5.5 mm crochet hook
Size: Small (Medium)

With 10 mm hook, chain 30(34), turn.
Dc in 4th ch from hook, *ch 1, skip 1 ch, dc in next ch* repeat across. Ch 4, turn.
Dc in first ch-1 space, *ch 1, dc in next ch-1 space* repeat across. Ch 4, turn.
You should have 12(14) ch-1 spaces.

To make the "cups":
Dc in first ch-1 space, [ch 1, dc in next ch-1 space] 5(6) times. Ch 4, turn.
You have worked halfway across the row.
Dc2tog, [ch 1, dc in next ch-1 space] 2(3) times, dc2tog. Ch4, turn.
Dc2tog, [ch 1, dc in next ch-1 space] 0(1) time, dc2tog. Ch4, turn.
Small size: Dc2tog once.
Medium size: Dc2tog, [ch 1, dc in next ch-1 space] once . Ch4, turn. Dc2tog once.
Switch to 5.5 mm hook. Chain 25(35) for neck tie. Cut yarn.

Attach yarn at edge of work for the second "cup". Ch 4, then work second cup as above.

Side ties and edging:
With 5.5 mm hook, ch 30(40). Switch to 10 mm hook and sl st in bottom right hand corner of the top. Ch2, *sl st in next ch-4 space, *ch 4*, repeat around, end ch 2, sl st in bottom left hand corner of the top. Switch to 5.5 mm hook and chain 30(40) for side tie. Cut yarn. Weave in ends.

Wear over a bikini top, halter, tank top or choli. Add leaves, vines, and flowers as desired.

If y'all make the pattern, please let me know how it goes! (i.e. did I omit something important?) I'd love to see your pics!

more bellydance crochet

I made more crochet accoutrements! My level III class performed asaya (cane) to Ya Shok by Hakim at the May hafla. The theme for the hafla was "forest nymphs and nature spirits". I was thinking green and brown and leafy and mossy and woody. Not especially feminine and bellydancey. Hrm.

There was some green acrylic yarn in the stash, so I whipped up a freeform crochet bikini top type thing, to be worn over a tank top or halter. The freeform ruffle looked leafy. I brought it to class and people liked it, so I made crochet tops for the class and a few headbands. (It helped that our teacher gave me some more yarn.) There was no way I could do them all freeform - it sounds silly, but it's harder to make it up as you go along than to work from a pattern.

(leaves and vines are optional)

The pattern will be in its own post. For something so easy to make, it sure was hard to write up the pattern! Actually, they weren't THAT easy to make - I gave myself RSI from practicing the cane choreography, zylls and crocheting! Too much wrist! :( But I was all healed up for the performance, thanks to ice and arnica and rest.

i'm alive!

Still alive and kicking.... I've just been really busy lately. Had two bellydance performances on Saturday: one in Burlington with the troupe and a class recital in Toronto at Funkabelly. Both went really well! Leleleleleleleleeeee! I had a lot of fun performing with the class at Funkabelly. More details to come...

centre pull ball.

how to make a center pull ball from knits with balls.

I've been tempted to buy a ball winder, even though I don't really need one since I don't often buy skeins of yarn and I'm OK with hand wound balls that roll around on the floor. (it's fun for the cats!) However, this method produces a nice yarn cake and it's DIY!

Found via Ravelry.