new dress

Here's a dress that I made recently from IKEA fabric.
When I finished initially it was huge,
so I had to rip out the zipper and then take in several inches
along the center back.
Now it fits perfectly due to the expert pinning of my handy assistant.
Thank you sweetie pie.
Happy summer dress.
Just in time for the heat!

Race Day

Yesterday I thought that I would skip it. I wasn't sure last night. This morning I woke up and looked at the start time on the race notice and decided, well, I paid for it, I signed up for it, but what really made me go for it was a note that mentioned that the first 600 participants receive a race medal. That little token sucked me in. I thought that would be a nice addition to last year's medal on my gym key ring. My hesitation to race today was based on the fact that I hadn't run since Monday. I have been running all year long and it is getting harder to force myself to go to the gym after work now. But I had been training up until recently to get faster, and so I just didn't want all that time in the gym to go for not if I didn't race today. I didn't have great expectations since I thought that I would get winded easily, since I had not run since Monday.

The nice thing about today's race is that they provide a trainer to give a stretch workout before the race. So I warmed up at the workout and then ran around for the next twenty minutes to get loose. Then race time came and I positioned myself near the front of the line, since at the 4th of July run I got bogged down by all the kids and strollers in front of me at the start of the race. The horn sounded and the race was off.

I started passing teenagers and young kids which gave me a sense that maybe I could do well today. Then half way through the race a woman ran right next to me with white hair. I looked at her bib and she was in my same age division. So I pushed it harder. I made some headway in front of her and then she gained on me, then I pushed ahead and then she again surged. I really pushed it in the last 400 meters seeing the finish line ahead but about 10 feet from the finish line she surged ahead of me. I thought to myself that I had tried to stay ahead of her for this race and I wasn't going to let her beat me at the end so I dialed it up for the last 5 feet and beat her at the line by .5 of a second.

I came in first for my age division for the second year in a row for this race. My time was quite a bit faster than last year only because that other woman was neck and neck with me. She pushed me to really give it everything I had. It felt good to come in first after putting it all out there. I would have been so disappointed if I had come up short at the finish line. But it turned out in my favor and I'm glad that I decided to participate today after all. The blue ribbon went up on the wall in my sewing room with the rest of my race ribbons when I got home.

At my age it feels good to accomplish a physical goal, when I have never considered myself to be athletic in the least. Maybe just maybe my genes contributed slightly to make my daughter the state track star that she is. This is the fifth race I have entered in a row where I have come in first in my age division. Time to dance a little jig for this old lady.

Hot!

When it's hot my daughter and I like to paint with mendhi.
There are cooling properties to mendhi as soon as it is applied to your skin.
What a wonderful sensation!
No wonder it is used in some of the hottest countries in the world.
Cheers to summer!

kitty gingivitis

Fascinated by Words

Whenever I come across new words I am intrigued and usually write down the word to try to remember it. Most of my new words come from reading The New Yorker magazine. I think I might start listing my new words here and show how ignorant I am of the English language.

The word of the moment is pinioned.

Boléro

Here's my latest knitting project
completed today from

Naoko Shimoda's Standard Knit 下田直子のかんたんニット
It's a Japanese pattern, but charted, so it was easy to follow.
I love the simplicity of the pattern.
I ripped apart a vest that I made over 28 years ago
and recycled the yarn into something more contemporary.
I knit until I ran out of yarn so the neckline
is a bit larger than the specified pattern.
I love it.
The alpaca mohair yarn is so soft, like bunny fur.

cocoon

this week's illustration friday submission:

her exquisitely crafted cocoon

of twigs, moss, mud and grasses
could not protect her delicate eggs
from the ravages of a marauding raccoon.
...
this is what i found in our garden
this morning.
i had watched mama build her nest
for days,
eventually laying her clutch
and keeping them warm for two weeks,
until this.
my heart goes out to you dear mama.

Hermes

I love this website ... Hermes

Not only can you see the finest technique employed by master seamstresses sewing rolled edges of silk scarves, and glove makers creating their guanti, but there are games, crafts and endless inspiration for crafters.

furry

This was a stash busting project.
I had 5 skeins of Rowan Big Wool Tuft
and I knit until I ran out of yarn.
The pattern is "Kay's Tess D’Urbervilles Shawl"
but meant for a much finer gauge yarn.
I used size US 19 needles,
which if you haven't seen them before are enormous.

tawashi

i have been making tawashi lately.
they're dish washing scrubbies.
later i'll post others that i've made.
there are lots of Japanese crochet books dedicated to making tawashi.
Here's an example of one of the books.
You can thumb through the pages of the book at Tezukuritown
(one of my favorite sources for Japanese patterns).
this tawashi is stuffed with nylon tulle.
i also used the cording handle from a store's shopping bag.
these little projects are fun since they are finished quickly
and can make nice little gifts.
i used Daiso antibacterial acrylic yarn.

watercolor

Here's a watercolor that I painted a few weeks ago.
I'm so fortunate to get together with a great group of friends that like to paint.
This one isn't finished.
The vase floats right now and needs to settle in on some sort of surface.
Isn't springtime great?!
All I want to do is paint flowers all day long.

Finished

Yarn: Simply Shetland, Colours of Scotland, Silk Lambswool
Color: Culzean #.036
Pattern from:

Hand-knitting: Spring/Summer (てあみニット)

by Nihon Vogue (日本ヴォーグ社)
I lengthened the sleeves.
At first the yoke was too tight using the specified hook size so I ripped the entire yoke and started over again with a hook 2 sizes larger and now it fits perfectly.
I'm happy with how it turned out.
While working on this sweater I was very frustrated with the yarn since it has lots of bits of scratchy plant materials spun into the yarn. But the worst part was that the first ball had dozens of breaks in the yarn so I have loads of ends to weave in.
I do like the scallopy edging.
This pattern is in Japanese so it was a fun puzzle to try to figure out how to make it.
It definitely flexed some brain muscles.

less toxic

Here's a website that I have come across called the Environmental Working Group where they have a healthy home checklist. I have become more proactive in the last few years to eliminate objects that I had regularly used in the past such as non-stick pans and plastic food containers which are some of the recommendations from the checklist.

Here's a great article along similar lines about eliminating endocrine disruptors by NYTimes columnist Nicolas Kristof. While I'm sure I'll be fine after my sonogram breast exam next month I am trying my best to eliminate unnecessary toxins in my home to make for healthier bodies around here.

Liberty Redo 2

I revised my Liberty of London skirt again. The first version can be seen here. I felt that the previous version was too dowdy and I likely wouldn't wear it. I love the latest version and will wear it often.

happy easter