January 29, 2011

The Nine Lives of Gypsy

I'm thinking of starting a new blog, and calling it The Nine Lives of Gypsy.

Beautiful little creature, isn't she?

September 09, 2010

THE ONLY THING CONSTANT IS CHANGE

One of the instructors at Whole Life Yoga was injured two days ago and will be unable to teach for the next few weeks. So there's been a whole lot of schedule shuffling and re-arranging.

That Energize and Strengthen series that I was going to start this Saturday? It's canceled.

Instead, I will be teaching a Core Strength class, which is a four-week series that starts this Sunday the 12th at 9:00 AM.

And for the next month or two I will be subbing the injured instructor's All-levels Drop-in class, Fridays at 8:00 - 9:15 AM.

Whole Life Yoga has been nominated for best yoga studio in Western Washington! Please support WLY and vote!

* * *

And more change: My baby turned 24!

Gluten-free chocolate cake courtesy of Haley's Corner Bakery. You would not be able to taste the difference between this and a cake made with wheat flour, it was that moist and tasty. Haley's Corner Bakery is also up for a Best of Western Washington award -- please vote for them!

* * *

Here's a photo of the Baby Surprise Jacket in progress, that I'm using as a teaching tool while teaching my expectant friend to knit. I've never made one of these before and I've been imagining all sorts of striping color combinations. Predictably, I started over, several times, with other colorways before I settled on this one. I'm using up some stash yarn ... but, naturally, that had to get supplemented with some purchased yarn, too.

September 02, 2010

BLOG ANNIVERSARY AHEAD

I am sure that long-time readers of this blog are feeling like they have flipped to The Yoga Channel. Looking back over my blog -- where it came from, where it's been, where it might be going -- blogging has meant different things to me at different times. My original vision, the idea behind "Ideaphoria," was that I was going to be a creativity coach, back in 2004, and use this blog to write inspiring posts. That career never really came to be.

Instead, this blog morphed into a place to promote Two Swans Yarns, as well as a place to post my personal knitting and fiber adventures. It also became a convenient place to post family news, for those readers who are family members. And currently, I see it as a place to post news about my adventures in yoga, both as a student and as a teacher. To wit:

I will be teaching an All-levels Drop-in class at Whole Life Yoga in Greenwood. It's at 6:15 AM -- don't laugh! -- on Tuesday mornings. (I have often taken the M/W/F 6:15 AM class, so I feel great about starting a 6:15 AM class.) This class begins September 7.

I will be teaching a series at Whole LIfe Yoga in Greenwood. This series is "Energize and Strengthen" and will be Saturday mornings from 9:00 - 10:15 AM, September 11 through October 16.

I also will be teaching at Heartbeat Healing Arts in downtown Kent. Also on Tuesdays, this class will be at 6:15 - 7:30 in the evening. This All-levels Drop-in class will begin September 21.

I am THRILLED!!!! to be offered these classes at these studios. And I am very excited to share my joy in yoga with other people.

And I am continuing to teach an All-levels Drop-in class on Thursday evenings at Seattle Viniyoga, 6:15 - 7:30 PM.

Is there any fiber news, any at all? Currently on the needles is a Baby Surprise Jacket, and currently on the warping board is some CottoLin for some dishtowels.

June 06, 2010

JUNE 6, 2010

Suzanne is the sweetest person I know, and a totally awesome yoga instructor. She also has MS; she uses yoga to help manage her symptoms. Last weekend, the Neurological Institute of Swedish Medical Center and the William Traver Gallery hosted a showing of artworks that were created by people with MS. Suzanne showed the mixed media painting, above. I am so proud of her!

I went to the show, and my goodness, it was a happenin' place! Over 150 artists showed paintings, drawings, photos ... and, yes, even the fiber arts were represented by a quilt and a very interesting embroidered piece that was an abstraction of an MRI of a spine.

Suzanne teaches regularly at Whole Life Yoga in Greenwood and also at Red Square Yoga on Queen Anne Hill. I encourage you to take one of her classes, or try the yoga practices and suggestions she's posted online.

June 04, 2010

BLOOM WHERE YOU'RE PLANTED

For the next 6 Saturdays, you can find me teaching yoga at Heartbeat Healing Arts in historic downtown Kent, while I take on a steady substitute-teaching gig:

Heartbeat Healing Arts Saturdays, 9:00 - 10:15 AM, All-levels Drop-in
223 First Ave S
Kent, WA 98032
Free parking on the street, or in the public parking lot one block south

For me, this is like coming full circle. I had practiced yoga as an adolescent, then let it go. Fast forward a few decades, when I returned to yoga as an adult: Heartbeat was the studio where I began my practice all over again. Last year, one of the hoops I had to go through to complete my 200-hour teaching certificate was to teach a four-week, open-to-the-public, group yoga class. How the heck was I going to get that done? The owner of Heartbeat Healing Arts generously supported me by opening the studio to me for my practice classes. Now, I am thrilled that she's offered me this longer substitute-teaching gig that's so near my home.

So if you are looking for a little something that's both energizing and focusing to start off your weekend, I hope you can join me for yoga practice in beautiful downtown Kent, at 9:00 AM for the next few Saturdays (through July 10).

If you're a Seattleite and Kent seems like a whole 'nother world away, remember, I have ongoing, All-levels Drop-in classes at Seattle Viniyoga (just north of U Village) on Thursday evenings, 6:15 to 7:30. And I sub regularly at Whole Life Yoga in Greenwood.

May 12, 2010

YOGA TEACHING SCHEDULE UPDATED

Mother-daughter yoga -- Jennie and me at Seattle Viniyoga, May 11, 2010.

I am refreshed and re-inspired after my trip in April to the American Viniyoga Institute for another 2-week session of teacher training. Here's my current teaching schedule:

Seattle Viniyoga - All-levels Drop-in, Thursdays, 6:15 to 7:30 PM (new time!)
5508 35th Ave NE, Suite 203
Seattle, WA 98105
206.524.4871

First class is free if you mention you saw it on my blog! Otherwise, the fee is $16 for drop-in, or you can purchase a class pass, 10 classes for $125 or 5 classes for $65. At 6:00 PM and later, parking is free on both the west and east sides of 35th Ave NE.

And I will be subbing on the following dates:

Whole Life Yoga
8551 Greenwood Ave N, Suite 2
Seattle, WA 98103
206.784.2882

Saturday, May 15, 10:45 AM to noon - All-levels Drop-in

Sunday, May 16, 10:45 AM to noon - All-levels Drop-in

Tuesday, May 18, 4:15 to 5:30 PM - All-levels Drop-in

Prices are comparable at Whole Life Yoga; I believe the studio is running a first-class free coupon on Yelp. Parking is free in the garage behind the studio (enter from 86th), or on the street.

I hope to see you there!

March 09, 2010

Bull's Eye

My first Skew sock is very nearly finished. I've started the ribbing on the cuff, so I have only a few more rounds to go. This first photo is for Ryan, who wondered (wondered in a way that sounded kind of doubtful) whether my chosen yarn would make an interesting striping pattern on the heel:

Bull's eye!

I kitchenered the heel in the center of the dark green stripe. Originally I had thought a contrasting color for that little kitchenered seam would look even more interesting. Once I tried that, though, that one small row of 15 kitchenered stitches in a high contrast right in the center looked like a mistake. I'm happy I did it over in the matching color.

Side view:

This sock fits like the proverbial glove -- that "origami" heel is tight through the heel and across the top of the ankle. I am knitting these exactly as per pattern, and made exactly the number of recommended rounds for the foot length. I wish the heel came up higher, which would help the snugness issue. This "origami" heel, just like a short-row heel in other toe-up socks, only comes up so high. You don't have that flexibility to make a heel flap as long as you like, as you do with a cuff-down sock. Perhaps there's a way to fiddle with the Skew heel shaping and come up with a higher heel, but I don't know that I have the mental energy to deal with it. Has anyone else tried this?

March 02, 2010

LIVING WITH MORE CATS THAN ARE STRICTLY NECESSARY

Here's something you don't see every day:

Scott with a cat in his lap!

This is our new member of the family, Gypsy. We adopted her about 10 days ago. I was browsing Craigslist one evening, and here was this little cat needing a new home. Gypsy's previous owner was an eldery lady who'd had to go into a nursing home, and the lady's other relatives didn't want the cat. So I think of this as a humanitarian effort. Gypsy is 7 years old, and tiny. She is also --

a Manx! My daughter Allegra did some research on the internet, and found out that Manx have different designations based on how long their tails are. She determined that Gypsy is a "rumpy riser!" Manx also have large eyes, which I think you get a sense of from this picture.

Initially, Scott was opposed. Malcolm is more than enough cat for the Campbell household! And Malcolm, being young, still has a lot of chi. Still, though Scott tries to not let on ... he has secretly become very fond of Gypsy.

In knitting news: My current project is the Skew socks from the Winter 2009 issue of Knitty. Marti of Weebug Knits can take the blame credit for getting me started on this oh-so-obsessive-compulsive project; she'd started hers and was a bit confused by the directions. I thought I'd take a look ... and these socks have the most interesting construction I've ever seen. I started reading the pattern on Knitty, getting more and more hooked into wanting to knit a pair ... and then I got to the end of the pattern and read the designer's bio:

"Lana Holden lives in rural Indiana with her crocheter/mathematician husband ... and more cats than strictly necessary...."

I'm so there!

I'm using Regia Design Line for these socks. The particular self-striping one I'm using is 4257 Twilight.

February 23, 2010

KISS AND CRY

Indulge my bragging rights, again. Scott's company built the "kiss and cry" set for the Winter Olympics. This is the set where the skaters await their results:

Here's an article from the Puget Sound Business Journal about it.

February 22, 2010

MY YOGA TEACHING SCHEDULE UPDATED

Seattle Viniyoga is a new studio opening this week in the Laurelhurst neighborhood. (You yarn enthusiasts will recognize it as being only about four blocks away from Acorn Street Yarn Shop.) I will be teaching an All-levels Drop-in class there on Thursday evenings, from 6:00 - 7:15 PM. My first class at this studio will be Thursday, Feb. 25!

Seattle Viniyoga
5508 35th Ave NE, Suite 203
Seattle, WA 98105
206.524.4871

First class is free if you mention you saw it on my blog! Otherwise, the fee is $16 for drop-in, or you can purchase a class pass, 10 classes for $125 or 5 classes for $65.

At that hour, you can park for free on the west side of 35th, or on the neighboring cross streets.

I've had the opportunty to sub, occasionally, too, at Whole Life Yoga where I trained. My next time to sub will be this coming Sunday morning, Feb. 28th, at 10:30 AM. This is an All-levels Drop-in class.

I welcome any of my Dear Readers to my yoga classes! We spend far too much time hunched over our computers, hunched over the steering wheel, hunched over our knitting ... come to yoga class and your spine will thank you for it!