aLive @ Stage 4!

Today I attended a mindfulness retreat at a yarn store.  It was the perfect combination -- yoga, journaling, and knitting.  As soon as I saw it on the calendar, I knew I had to go.  It was held at a local yarn store about 50 minutes from me.  It's the same yarn store that I attended a yarn tasting at a few months ago (you might remember hearing me mention that in  Every Shawl Tells a Story ).   I was a little concerned that I wouldn't be able to take part in the yoga portion of the day, but when I inquired, I was assured that it would be fine.  I don't get to that yarn store very often because it is kind of far away (any drive over thirty minutes tires me out these days), but when I do, I always find what I'm looking for, and I always feel welcome. Upon arrival, each participant chose a seat and a journal.  All of the journals are handmade, the paper inside thick and decorative.  We started with talking about what mindfulness means.  Very simply, it means being in the

I started knitting years ago, before my cancer diagnosis.  I started off with scarves, then added in blankets and scarves.  I took some classes at the local yarn store to learn new techniques.  I don't knit anything complicated; just basic geometrical shapes.  Rectangular scarves, infinity scarves, square blankets, rectangular blankets, triangular shawls, rectangular shawls.  Before my cancer diagnosis, I knit scarves for myself, for my family, and to sell at craft fairs.  So, those early items don't necessarily have a story, except that I wanted to learn a new technique, maybe.  The items below all have a story. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pattern:   Pamuya Yarn:  Yankee Dyer Yarn Yankee Sole II in the Pool Party colorway. The first shawl that tells a story is this one. The yarn was gifted to me from a wonderful couple, a coworker and his wife, to help me through chemo treatments. Boy, was this the right gift. You all know how relaxing and de-stressing knitting