Donna Druchunas's Blog

Recently I've been reading a lot of books by Eric Maisel. Eric is a prolific author and a creativity coach. He works with writers and artists who are blocked and who need advice on developing their careers. He also writes frequently about making your own meaning in life, by working on projects that you find to be important and satisfying. The book I'm reading now is called Ten Zen Seconds: Twelve Incantations for Purpose, Power and Calm..

According to the book's website:

Ten Zen Seconds introduces a new, powerful approach to mindfulness. It is a book, a practice, and an invitation to live a more centered, grounded, and meaningful life.

Marrying Eastern and Western techniques, it builds on the simple idea that deep breathing coupled with right thinking is the perfect tool for growth, healing, and transformation.

The first in a series of books exploring this next step in the practice of mindfulness, Ten Zen Seconds offers you the tools to make changes, solve problems, and simply feel better.

To be honest, so far I have had only medium success with this technique. I've recently been working on a very stressful project with an editor who is completely disorganized. Nothing stresses me out more than other people causing chaos in my life, especially when it's work related. To me, no amount of money is worth me getting stressed out over a job. So during the week I tried the deep breathing and incantations from Ten Zen Seconds to try to stop replaying imaginary conversations over and over again in my mind. (My mind-movie was of me yelling at this editor until she cries.) I was only partially sucessful.

Still, I'd like to work with this technique more, to see if I can find a way to use it to help me in the future. Perhaps I should try it on smaller stressful problems first? Or perhaps I should have tried using this technique together with knitting as a twofold method of calming myself? Or maybe it's like Yoda says, "Do or do not. There is no try."

If you're a regular reader of my blog, then you know that I find the idea of mindfulness in knitting fascinating. Two of my favorite knitting books--Mindful Knitting by Tara John Manning and The Knitting Sutra by Suzan Gordon Lydon -- are on the topic of using knitting as a form of meditation or spirutality. With that in mind, I've asked Eric to talk to us about how we can use the techniques in Ten Zen Seconds to help us use our knitting as a form of minfulness practice. I hope you are intrigued by his answers, and that you pick up a copy of the book and use it in your own knitting--and in the rest of your life.

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DD: Eric, many of your books are tied into your work as a creativity coach, to help professional artists overcome blocks and develop their careers. Ten Zen Seconds seems to be for a broader audience. Do you find that the advice you give people to help them deal with the anxieties of the creative process can also help in other areas of life?

EM: Yes, absolutely. I am hearing from people that the incantations and the TZS method helps them reduce their stress and get centered before surgery, before an important meeting with their boss or a hard conversation with their mate, as they facilitate a meeting, and in hundreds of everyday situations?in all the ordinary, stressful situations we find ourselves in, from being stuck in traffic to choosing what to have for dinner. People agree that the amount of stress we're all experiencing is quite extraordinarily high, yet actually reducing it in a mindful, moment-by-moment way eludes most people--primarily because they don't have the right "tools" to handle all that stress. This method is exactly that sort of tool.

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DD: In Ten Zen Seconds, you have an incantation that says (I am) (doing my work). Many of us do our crafts and art for pleasure or for charity, and not as a job. Can we use the Ten Zen Seconds process as well?

EM: Yes, that is a "place-holder" incantation that you don't actually use with those words but rather "drop in" an announcement of thing you intend to do next, whether that's knit, make a pot of soup, or sell bonds. The intention of that incantation is help us stop and "make space" for the next thing we intend to do, rather than avoiding it because we are feeling a little too anxious or entering into it without much presence and power and thereby doing a poorer job than we otherwise might have if we have entered the moment more centered. So "work" in that incantation actually means "the next thing I intend to do."

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DD: Knitting is often called the "new yoga" because it is a relaxing, repetitive process that can be used as a mindfulness practice. (There are actually several books on mindful knitting in print!) Do you have any suggestions of how we knitters might incorporate Ten Zen Seconds mindfulness techniques into our knitting practice?

EM: I can imagine many places. One is in the choosing of patterns: if you have always used traditional patterns, want to try some creations of your own, but find it a little hard to "step out" of tradition and the norms of culture, you might use "I make my meaning" and "I am equal to the challenge" to help you take what is feeling like a risk and create your own designs.

A second use might be when the knitting is feeling a little too repetitive and dull and feels just like work; then you might try "I am open to joy" to remind yourself to reframe the experience, even with its current tediousness, as enjoyable.

A third way might be when you decide to do a piece that is more ambitious and technically difficult than the pieces you are accustomed to doing and worry that you can't pull it off adequately--then you might use "I trust my resources" to remind yourself that you have a large reservoir of skills and knowledge and are entirely likely to do a fine job.

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I hope you've enjoyed this mini interview. To find out more about the book and about Eric's work, visit the Ten Zen Seconds website.

My blueberries have flowers!



I planted these 2 summers ago. The first summer, I picked off the blossoms to encourage root growth, and last year the plants didn't get any flowers. But this year, it looks like I'll get a good handful of blueberries. The plants don't thrive here in Colorado, because our soil is not acidic. So I had to dig out big holes for the plants, and fill it with a mixture of soil and peat, and then fertilize them with rhodedendron fertilizer to keep the soil acidic. We also mulch them with peat twice a year (spring and fall). So, maybe in 10 years, I'll get enough blueberries to make a batch of jam!

Gardening, like knitting, is a slow motion hobby. You can't rush anything. Although you can do some small project in knitting, with gardening each experiment takes a whole year. You can try something new every year, but once the season is in full swing, you just have to sit back and see how everything turns out. Perennials, like blueberries, require even longer spans of time. We planted rhubarb a couple of years ago, too, and this year I'm going to use it to make strawberry rhubarb jam. Our strawberry patch has been doing great but it's starting to get overtaken by grass and mint that have been sneaking into the patch. Next year, we're going to rip out the whole strawberry patch and start over with all new plants.

I've really been too busy for the last several years. We grow dye plants as well as berries and vegetables and ornamental flowers, but I haven't even taken the time to do any dyeing for the past several summers. This year, I definitely want to have at least one or two dye parties. And, if I can get my act together, I might even spin some yarn to toss into the dyepot. In the back of my mind is a collection of mittens made from handspun, natural dyed yarns. I have enough fleece to knit the whole collection. It's just a matter of actually making the yarn. Every year I think I'm going to take the summer off from other things and work on this project, and then I get distracted with other things. This year, it's a trip to England and Lithuania that will be breaking my summer up. We'll see if I can get any spinning done after I come back home.

Today the Denver Post featured an article called "Crafting Political Messages" as part of a collection of articles about knitting. I'm glad to see activist knitting becoming more popular. Because I follow a philosophy of nonviolence, I am always interested in creative and unusual forms of protest. (Sadly, I am not sure that nonviolence can really lead to sweeping social change, but I personally cannot participate in violent protest.)



This banner, created by blogger Lisa Ann Auerbach from Los Angeles, was auctioned off today with the proceeds going to support Free Speech TV in Boulder, Colorado. Lisa has made three of these banners, to auction off for different causes.

Lisa describes the banner on her blog, saying "My version contains the original handwriting of student Joseph Frederick's sign, a giant bong, and some of the text from the Supreme Court hearing. It is made in a tasteful duet of creme and light gray wool, and it is appropriate for all parades, parties, balls, bbqs, or anywhere bong hits might be served."

Thanks, Lisa, for using knitting to bring attention to the issue of protecting our First Amendment right of free speech.

P.S. For those who have no idea what this is about, here's a summary of the story from Wikipedia.

The Mile High Lace Knitting Conference is concluding this morning with a class by Galina Khmeleva on making Russian bobbles. I was going to take this class today, but when I was talking to Galina yesterday she told me not to. She said, "Why are you taking this class? You don't need it. Sign up for my class on Russian spinning and Orenburg Lace at the Estes Park Wool Market this summer isntead." So that's what I'm doing, and I drove home last night. Unfortunately that means I was not able to get any photos of Galina teaching.

Last night, after the banquet which featured a talk by a US Forest Service Ranger (a great break from the knitting overload of the whole week!), I learned how to tat. I've always wanted to learn, but I thought it would be hard. Actually, it's incredibly easy. There are just two things to learn (just like knitting with knits and purls), and the rest is how you combine the stitches into shapes. My tatting teacher gave me a few tatting shuttles (thank you!), so I can practice right away, before I forget everything I've learned. I want to make bookmarks for Christmas presents this year (and for myself).

Overall, I think this conference was the most fun of any I have attended yet. The classes and round table discussions with the instructors were fun and interesting (I snuck in for short sections of other classes when I was not teaching), the attendees were all excited and enthusiastic about knitting lace, the vendor market was small but focused, the gallery was full of gorgeous lace in many different styles, and the hotel food, rooms, and service were superb.

Ava Coleman, the organizer of the event, did a fantastic job and everyone -- right from the first night -- was asking "Will the conference be on the same dates next year?"

If you hesitated on attending because this was a first-time event, you missed out! I hope you'll consider coming next time. And, for those who live in the Denver area, they're promising to do a better job of organizing and promoting ala carte classes for those who don't need lodging at the hotel. I'll be helping out with the website for future conferences, the information will be updated more frequently as well.

Now I need to go unpack my car and do some laundry...

I taught an extended version of my workshop Design Your Own Lace Patterns at the Mile High Lace Knitter's Conference. On the first day of the class we worked on basic lace designs, in the style used by the knitters of the Oomingmak Co-op in Alaska, on the second day we worked on using bias in our designs, and on the third day we worked on designing borders.

The bias day was, I think, the most interesting. Bias in knitting is sometimes mysterious and confusing. Here's an example of how it can be counter intuitive. Look at the top and bottom halves of this swatch and see if you can figure out why the edges slant the way they do in each section.

Take note of this:

On the top half, the side edges slant in the same direction as the diagonal lines of fagotting.

On the bottom half, the side edges slant in the opposite direction from the diagonal lines of fagotting.



Got it? Before the conference, I had knitted up a swatch like the top half of this swatch. Then, during the conference as I was browsing through Margaret Stove's book, Creating Original Hand-Knitted Lace, I saw a swatch and chart for the bottom half of this swatch.

I was immediately intrigued and confused. So I brought my swatch and the book to the staff breakfast the next morning, so I could ask the other instructors what was going on. No-one could figure it out immediately. And, of course, after I looked at the chart for the bottom part of the swatch, I could not remember how I had knitted the top part and I didn't have the chart with me.

Fortunately Pam, one of the students in my class, remembered how to knit this type of piece, so she made a little swatch and charted it for me, and we compared the charts. Here they are:



So, what's going on here? The rule for determining how the sides of a piece of knitting will bias is this:

If all of the yarn overs are on the right of the decreases, the fabric will slant to the right.

If all of the yarn overs are on the left of the decreases, the fabric will slant to the left.

Got it? Why does this happen? Because yarn overs are increases. So the side with the yarn overs gets bigger, while the side with the decreases gets smaller -- regardless of which direction the decreases slant.

If you don't believe me (and I don't blame you if you don't), just knit up both of these charts!

This quote from a press release explains why I am a member of the Green Party:

Greens criticized Democrats for caving in to antichoice lobbies and adopting 'partial birth' language. In his responses to a questionnaire from the US Catholic Conference, 2000 Democratic candidate Al Gore said he would allow certain legal restrictions on abortion rights: "Al Gore opposes late-term abortions and the procedure of partial-birth abortions." Greens expressed alarm at Sen. Hillary Clinton's (D-NY) statement in 2005 that pro-choice Democrats must seek "common ground" with political activists who seek to outlaw reproductive choice.

The Green Party's national platform embraces full reproductive rights, including unrestricted abortion rights and access, family planning assistance, removal of restrictions on foreign aid to nations that provide abortion, protection from domestic abuse and other kinds of violence and coercion based on gender and sexuality, equal rights in the workplace and equal pay, and a strengthened social safety net -- especially for single mothers, who comprise the largest percentage of Americans living in poverty. The Green Party includes feminism among its key values.

Today I was teaching most of the day, but I had time to sneak into some of the other events for a few minutes....

Before my first class this morning, I visted Joan Schrouder's class on shaping triangular shawls. I really wanted to take this class, and had signed up for it, but I wasn't able to attend in the end, because I had a "round table" session at the same time. The round tables are really fun, one-hour sessions where I get to meet with other lace knitters and tell them about my work and answer questions. But before I got started, I snuck into the two classes that were going on this morning.

Joan, as I said, was teaching about shaping triangular shawls. I thought I used big needles and fat yarn to demo (I use size 17 plastic needles and Brown Sheep Burly Spun), but Joan uses something like size 50 needles and knitted I-cord for yarn!



Nancy Bush also taught a class this morning on Estonian Lace. As usual, she had a pile of gorgeous shawls and stoles to show off. She's working on a book with Interweave Press and I can hardly wait to get my hands on it. I have no idea when it's coming out, but it's one that I'll be looking for.



Margaret Stove spoke at the luncheon reception, and she was funny, entertaining, charming, and educational all at once.

After lunch, I snuck into the vendor market for a few minutes, and managed to get out after spending only about $50 on some sea silk yarn. I just can't resist this stuff. But there is qiviut everywhere, along with every kind of lace knitting yarn you can imagine. These garments are from Windy Valley Musk Ox Farm. The designer is Peruvian, and they are knitted pieces trimed with hairpin lace.



And in the evening we had a "show and share" session. The students at this conference are all amazing knitters. I think they are really just here to have fun, because they all seem to be better lace knitters than I am. It's humbling to teach such talented knitters.

Here are a few sample photos, so you can get an idea of what kinds of things the attendees here are making. They're simply amazing!





I'd love to write more, but I'm really pooped so I'm going to put on my PJs, get under the cuddly down comforter in this hotel room, and fall asleep watching some TV.

Whew! What a day. I got down here at the Mile High Lace Knitting Conference this morning around 10:00. I went to Margaret Stove's roundtable right away, and took her 3 hour class tonight from 7-10. In between, I had lunch, taught for 3 hours, did a book signing, and had dinner. Needless to say, I am pooped.

I did learn something new in Margaret Stove's class, and got some great tips about fixing mistakes and reparing damaged lace as well.

Here's Margaret pinning up the chart we were working from. We all drew our own chart. If you notice on this chart, the yarn overs for the basic lace outline are there, but no decreases. We all knitted several swatches from this basic chart with the decreases in different positions and with the decreasing facing different directions. Each knitted diamond looked slightly different. I was familiar with several of the concepts we covered, as they are similar to the type of lace knitted by the Oomingmak knitters in Alaska. But there was one arrangement of decreases that I'd never seen before. This is my test swatch (the tiny diamond closest to the needle), the chart I drew, and Margaret's sample swatch. Can you see how the yarn overs are separated by knit stitches? Margaret calls this an "eyelet diamond" because of this separation. In the more traditional diamonds you see in lace knitting, the yarn overs are only separated by one strand of yarn (if patterning is worked on every row) or by two twisted strands of yarn (if the wrong-side rows are worked plain).

Tomorrow I am heading off to Denver for the Mile High Lace Knitting Conference where I'll be teaching the extended version of my Design Your Own Lace workshop.

I have a big long to do list for today, but I frankly don't feel like doing anything except packing and maybe some knitting. I'm tired of having too much work to do, always checking off whatever is due next, instead of having the leisure to work on what feels most important or most compelling to me at the momemt. Part of the reason I've been so busy, is that I've been doing a lot (for me anyway) of teaching to support Arctic Lace, and at the same time, I've been doing a lot of tech editing to pay the bills. My bills are actually paid up almost until the end of the year, so I don't know why I am still working so much. I'm trying to say "no" to work that comes along when I don't need the money, because I think I use paying work to avoid working on more personal work that sometimes causes anxiety, precisely because it is so personal and, hence, important to me. It's easier to work on something for money that's just "mercenary" work. My goal is to work less for the rest of the year, so I can enjoy my trip to Europe to teach at Woolfest and to begin research for a book on Lithuanian knitting, and to finish up a couple of books in progress during the spring and summer. Even with my own projects, I still have too much to do, because I want to start two new books this year as well (the Lithuanian Knitting book and another book that won't be about knitting at all). Finding a balance is always hard for me. If I get too busy, I am stressed. But if I slow down too much I get bored and I am stressed.

Well, that's probably more than you all wanted to know! I'm taking my laptop and camera to the Mile High Lace Knitting Conference, and I will try to post some blog entries on site. I'm excited because I'll be getting to meet Margaret Stove, Gracie Larson, Joan Schroader, Galina Khmeleva, and Nancy Bush (I have taken a workshop from her in the past, resulting in this lovely pattern), and all of the students who will be there. I sometimes don't feel like going to teach workshops that I have scheduled, but I always have a fun and relaxing time once I get there.

Speaking of books, I'm also reading Ten Zen Seconds by Eric Maisel. This is a little book of incantations that you can use with deep breathing to center yourself and to help fight anxiety and stress in your life.

On the Knit Publishing group today, someone mentioned being "stressed beyond belief" in the journey to find bliss and follow our heart's desires, instead of being tied down to a nine-to-five job that may help fill the fridge, but does little or nothing to satisfy the soul. It's always a challenge to find ways to make our lives and work meaningful, and to be able to find the time to do the things that are most important to our spiritual and mental well-being, instead of just putting out fires and taking care of "emergencies" all the time.

I'm in a yahoo study group for this book, and here's the lesson that came in my email today. I hope you enjoy it and that you are inspired to read Ten Zen Seconds, to use it's techniques to combat stress and anxiety, and to focus on finding ways to make your own life, work, and crafts meaningful. I'll be hosting a stop on Eric's blog book tour on April 28th, so don't forget to pop back in and find out how we can use these techniques to create a mindfulness practice with our knitting!

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CREATING PERSONAL MEANING
by Eric Maisel

I make my meaning--or else I don't. All that exists until I actively and
mindfully make personal meaning is the possibility of meaning and, while I
wait to get started, the experience of emptiness. There is the possibility
that I will experience the next hour as meaningful, a possibility that turns
into a reality only if I make a certain kind of decision and a certain of
investment. If I don't make that decision and that investment, I experience
myself as going through the motions and wasting my precious time.

We are on the threshold of really understanding a shining idea: that each
life can have meaning, even if the universe has none. Although each of us
comes with appetites, defenses, genetic predispositions, and everything else
that "human being" connotes, we are nevertheless free to choose what meaning
we intend to make. This nature has granted us. I get to decide what will
make me feel righteous and happy and you get to decide what will make you
feel righteous and happy. You turn the meaning that was waiting to be made
into the meaning of your life.

You and only you get to decide what "meaningful" means. You get to decide if
you would like to invest your meaning capital in classroom teaching,
ballroom dancing, or high finance. You get to decide if you want to start a
novel or run for mayor. You get to decide whether you agree or disagree with
your government?s policies, your God's injunctions, or your community's
values. You get to decide.

You and you alone are the sole arbiter of the meaning in your life. The
second you turn to someone else and say, "What does life mean?" or "What
should my life mean?" you have slipped into a way of thinking that courts
inauthenticity and depression. The second you agree with someone simply
because of his position or reputation, whether that someone is a guru,
author, cleric, parent, politician, general, or elder, you fall from the
path of personal meaning-maker.

You and you alone get to decide. That is the awesome proposition facing
every modern person. The revolutionary idea that I'm proposing is that as
limited as we are in a biological and psychological sense, we are exactly
that free in an existential sense. If we do not live that way, honoring that
existential freedom, we get sad and depressed. If we do not live that way,
we find ourselves wishing that we had opted for authenticity and had decided
to matter.

When our youngest daughter came home from college at Thanksgiving one year
she gave me a coffee mug as a present. The motto on the coffee mug read:
"Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself." "Isn't
that your philosophy in a nutshell?" she laughed. She was exactly right.
"Anonymous" had captured the essence of two centuries of existential
thought: that life is as much a responsibility as a gift and that each of us
is honor-bound to create ourselves in our own best image.

I understand the extent to which people are burdened by the feeling that
they and their efforts do not matter. It isn't that they don't work hard or
try hard. They do. But two thoughts, that they are disposable throwaways in
a meaningless universe and that nothing they do can possibly alter that
painful truth, play havoc beneath the surface, draining them of motivational
energy and fitting them for a depression. These doubts must be met in the
following way. You announce that meaning does not exist until you make it
and you don the mantle of meaning-maker. The split second you do this, all
previous belief systems, both those that told you what to believe and those
that told you that there was nothing to believe, vanish.

You let go of wondering what the universe wants of you, you let go of the
fear that nothing matters, and you announce that you will make life mean
exactly what you intend it to mean. This is an amazing, glorious, and
triumphant announcement. Then, in the next second, reality sets in. How do
you make meaning? Don't the facts of existence and everyday life prove
tremendous obstacles to meaning-making? How can you make meaning if you are
trapped in a dull job or a caustic relationship? What if you doubt your
talents or your strength? What if you don?t know what meaning to make? After
that glorious, triumphant announcement that you will create yourself in your
own best image, there you are, exactly where you were the moment before.
What has changed?

Something vital. The instant you realize that meaning is not provided (as
traditional belief systems teach) and that it is not absent (as nihilists
feel), a new world of potential opens up for you. You suddenly have the
opportunity to pursue personally resonant activities and the philosophical
and psychological pillars to support such pursuits. You break free of
tradition, with its restrictions, demands, and narcissistic bent, and set
out to make your life a thing of value. You haven't made it that yet, simply
by announcing your intention, but you have aimed yourself in a brilliant
direction: in the direction of your own creation.

This is truly a new path. Instead of agreeing to easy meaning, like a
traditionalist, or denying meaning, like a nihilist, you decide to earn your
sense of meaningfulness by heroically making meaning. You answer the
question "What does life mean?" with the sharp rejoinder, "Whatever I decide
it should mean!" You fill your life with mindful meaning-making, deciding
what you will value and what you will abjure, and make a new wager with the
universe: "Remain mysterious: I don't care. I intend to matter, in my own
way, as is my birthright!" You decide to live a personally meaningful life
and begin to fill your life with meaning.

This path may not sound that radical, but it is. It is an amazingly radical
departure from the usual path because it blasts all received knowing out of
the water. Its central tenet, that you must decide for yourself, is exactly
the following announcement: that you create your universe from your best
understanding of what is right, what is good, and what is valuable, and that
no one gets to arbitrate meaning for you. Nothing and no one is allowed to
prevent you from deciding what values you intend to manifest and how your
righteousness and heroism will play itself out.

It is an equally radical departure from the forlorn postmodern position,
which moves from what is likely a fact, that the universe is not run by some
unseen mind and that we are indeed throwaway creatures deluded about our own
importance, to the unwarranted conclusion that life is not worth taking
seriously. The conclusion is unwarranted because it takes a certain thought
and a certain feeling and elevates them above an equally valid thought, that
life can be lived seriously, and an equally available feeling, that of full
engagement.

This is a path to make a person proud. You heroically step out into the
blinding light of reality, look around, and say "I am going to do this and I
am going to do it for these reasons." You make the next hour meaningful by
investing it with your capital, your intentions, your energy, and your
decisiveness. You make the hour after that meaningful in exactly the same
way. You aren't a god--you are far too earthbound and contingent for that.
But you are the best human being you can make yourself, the one you had
always hoped to see in the mirror.

This is the revolution that is coming in our way of thinking about meaning:
that there is no meaning to find, no meaning to seek, no meaning to discern,
no meaning to look for anywhere. There is only meaning to make. I hope that
you find this exciting!

TO DO

Wait for a "free" hour. Then ask yourself the following question: "How can
experience the next hour as meaningful?" Give that question a moment to sink
in and another few moments for answers to arise. But don't "do" anything
yet. Next, repeat the question but with the addition of a certain clause at
the beginning of the sentence. Your new question is, "Given the principles
that I want to manifest and my sense of what matters to me, how can I
experience the next hour as meaningful?" Give this question a moment to sink
in and check to see if this produces a different answer or the same answer.
Make some notes to yourself about what just transpired and then spend your
free hour in accordance with the answer that your questioning provided.

**

We have a long way to go in thinking about these matters, including how to
make our "not free" hours feel meaningful. But this is our starting point.
Try out this exercise this week, several times if you feel able. We will
begin to tie this to the TZS technique of incanting and to ideas about
"islands of mindfulness" next week. This week, just practice this exercise
of mindfully coming to a free hour with the intention of making meaning that
aligns with your principles and your vision of yourself.

---

I hope this is not too disappointing, but I'm not reading any knitting books right now! I'm waiting for Invisible Threads in Knitting by Annemor Sundbo to show up in my mailbox.

But, in the meantime, I have not been able to resist these two other books:

I Sold My Sould on eBay: Viewing Faith Through an Atheist's Eyes by Hemant Mehta, aka the Friendly Atheist. Hemant put up an auction on eBay, and sold his time. The highest bidder got to tell him what church(es) to attend, and for every $10, Hemant promised to attend church for 1 hour. The winning bid was, well, I'll let you read the book and find out. But suffice it to say, Hemant went to church enough to fill a book with his experiences. I read this book in one sitting. It's engaging, entertaining, and thought provoking. I'll be interviewing the author soon on Skepchick, where I'm the book club editor. You may be surprised (and amused) to know that a Christian publisher has put out this book, and the preface, foreword, and reading guide are all written by Christians. I laughed out loud when I read the back cover and saw that a book by an atheist author is categorized as "Christian Living / Apologetics." (If you haven't heard of this book, that's because it won't be available in bookstores until next Tuesday.)

I Am a Strange Loop by Douglas Hofstadter. I have just started this book, so I'm not sure what to say about it yet, other than to mention that Douglas Hofstadter is one of my all time favorite writers. I've read everything he's written, and have him to thank for introducing me to Daniel Dennet through their co-authored book, The Mind's I: Fantasies and Reflections on Self and Soul. Douglas is one of the most thoughtful and thought provoking people I've ever encountered in cyberland (no, I'm sad to say we've never met, but he's definitely a person I'd choose on my short list of folks to have with me if I were ever stranded on a desert island), and his first book Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid, is a Pulitzer Prize winner. If you haven't read any of his work, you have no idea what you're missing. From cognitive science and artificial intelligence, to poetry and graphic design, there's not much that he hasn't spent a lot of time thinking about. Did I mention that he's one of my all-time favorite authors? Oh, and incidentally, according to Wikipedia, "Hofstadter's Fluid Concepts & Creative Analogies: Computer Models of the Fundamental Mechanisms of Thought was the first book sold by Amazon.com on July 15, 1995." Don't pick up one of his books if you don't want to think.

I got an email today, pointing out that the star motif in this design on KnitSpot:



looks exactly like the North Star Pattern from Arctic Lace:



A while ago, I said that I would brag about it on my blog if someone knocked off one of my designs. Imitation is, as they say, the most sincere form of flattery. So here I am to brag. The alternatives would be to ask the person not to use the chart or, in extreme circumstances, to sue for copyright infringement. I'd much rather share and share alike. I like the idea of knitters and designers being able to use my charts to create their own projects. After all, where would we be without the foundation built by all of the anonymous knitters who have gone before us? And where would be be without the ingenuity and work of well-known designers and authors like Elizabeth Zimmerman and Barbara Walker?

If you have my book Arctic Lace, you may have noticed that I knitted my moebius scarf as a rectangle, and blocked it before sewing the ends together with the twist. That's because there's no way to block a moebius strip! If you don't believe me, you'll just have to try it.

Unfortunately, I dripped some peanut sauce on my moebius last night, while eating Thai spring rolls. So I had to wash it. Oh no! It shrivelled up and the lace pattern turned to much as soon as it hit the water in the sink. So I had to figure out a way to block it. I could have put it around and around on the ironing board, steaming each section, until the whole thing was dry. But I'm too lazy for that.

Instead, I pinned it out, like this:



The part with the twist will either go behind my neck or hang down in the front when I wear it. I'll have to decide after I finish unpinning it and try it on.

Hi all, in case I've neglected to mention it, I have new column in Black Purl Magazine called Knitting Around the World.

In the Winter issue, I wrote about Lithuanian Knitting and had a pattern for beaded wristers. When I designed the pattern, I wasn't 100% certain that they were a traditional Lithuanian item, but I've since found out that they are.

Article: Finding my Roots in Knitting

Pattern: Lithuanian Wristers

In the Spring issue, I have written about lace knitting from around the world, and I have a pattern for an Estonian lace stole made out of one of my favorite yarns from Koigu.

Article: Lace Knitting Around the World

Pattern: Lillie of the Valley Estonian Stole

I recently purchased 2 Lithuanian knitting books, Mezgimo Menas (The Art of Knitting) by Rasa Praninskiene (editor) and Mezgimo Poezija (The Poetry of Knitting) by Matilda Migle Nainiene. I'm just learning to read Lithuanian, so it's a challenge to figure these books out, but since I'm quite fluent in knitting and they both have lots of charts and diagrams, it's a good way to learn the parts of the language related to knitting.

The first book, Mezgimo Menas, is like Vogue Knitting in Lithuanian. It is an encyclopedia of knitting and crochet, and includes chapters on the history of knitting, basic stitches, lace, cables, modular knitting, crochet, and hairpin lace, as well as in depth descriptions of the constructions of gloves, mittens, hats, socks, and sweaters. There are also designs by many Lithuanian designers, but they do not include line-by-line instructions. Instead there are photos, schematics, diagrams of unusual construction techniques, charts, and brief text. Here are some sample pages showing a cardigan design that includes ideas for customizing and embellishing the front opening, an overview of sweater shapes, and some sketches of design ideas for knitters to branch out on their own.








The second book, Mezgimo Poezija is all about modular knitting. I guess this is a hot style in Lithuania! Many of the designs are knitted at least partially in fur yarn, as are several designs in Mezgimo Menas. It looks like real fur to me, not faux fur, which makes sense stylistically since Lithuania was a part of Russia (okay, the USSR) for half of the 20th century, and the climate has historically been quite cold. This book also has detailed diagrams of each construction technique, and text about knitting each project, but it does not seem to have line-by-line instructions or even schematics, as are quite common in US, European, and Japanese books. But I guess with modular knitting, you just build up the pattern until the piece is the size you want, so having preset sizes is sort of besides the point, isn't it?

This all makes me wonder a few things. First, I wonder how many knitting books in Lithuanian are in print. Second, I wonder if they are all like this, where the knitter is in charge of creating and adapting her own patterns, rather than following line-by-line instructions. This is something I plan to learn more about on my trip, when I will visit several knitting shops. I'm still not sure if my book on Lithuanian knitting will focus entirely on historical knitting techniques and designs, or if I'll also be featuring contemporary knitting in Lithuania. Maybe those should be two separate books? Nothing I need to decide today!

(If you're going to do a search for Lithuanian knitting books, Mezgimas is the acutal word for Knitting. Mezgimo is in the genetive case, and it actually means "of Knitting." Knygos means book, and perku means buy.)

Here's a post my friend, Gayle Brandeis, posted on her blog today. She's going to be a guest columnist on Fruitflesh: Seeds of Inspiration for Women Who Write.

I have been deeply concerned about the plight of women in Afghanistan for many years. Since Self Storage has been out, I've felt a real responsibility to support groups that are working to improve the situation of Afghan women (I considered traveling to Afghanistan myself last month as part of a women's delegation; it ended up not being the right time for me to do so, for many reasons, but I still hope to go some day.)

MS Magazine sponsored a recent forum on Women in Afghanistan. You can watch videos of the forum here and ask your Congressperson to cosponsor the Afghan Women Empowerment Act of 2007 here.


I know I've written about this before, but for knitters who want to help women in Afghanistan with their yarn and needles, don't forget about Afghans for Afghans, "a humanitarian and educational people-to-people project that sends hand-knit and crocheted blankets and sweaters, vests, hats, mittens, and socks to the beleaguered people of Afghanistan. This grassroots effort is inspired by Red Cross volunteers who made afghans, socks, slippers, and other items for soldiers and refugees during World Wars I and II and other times of crisis and need. Read about the Red Cross knitting tradition."

One of Afghans for Afghans' patterns, a vest, was featured in the recent book, Knitting for Peace, and they have a great knitting bag for financial contributors, that says "In Vest in Peace," a worthy goal for all of us.

Do you know how to think for yourself? I didn't learn this important skill until I was almost thirty years old. In grade school I memorized times tables and spelling, in high-school I learned how to pass standardized tests, and in church I was taught to follow rules simply because they were written in the Bible.

Today, someone got pissed off at me on the Knit Design group because I said that I think that many knitters suffer from an inability think for themselves regarding their knitting because they got gipped in school. Instead of learning how to think, we were mostly taught what to think. This has consequences in many areas of life, including knitting.

We were talking about the differences between line-by-line instructions and charts, and I said that in my classes, I find that many people have troubles with charts because they try to translate each symbol into words and then translate the words into stitches on their needles. The techniques I teach allow knitters to move directly from symbol to stitch, without looking at the chart legend every few stitches. I try to help my students learn how to read their knitting, so they can also memorize the patterns they are working on and free themselves from needing to slavisly follow line-by-line instructions or charts.

When I teach lace knitting classes and show my students how to read their knitting so they can anticipate mistakes as they go, by matching their knitting up to a chart, instead of blindly following instructions without paying attention to the fabric on their needles, I always have 2 or 3 students who are so excited to learn that THEY are in charge of their knitting and that they can decide what is right and wrong in a pattern for themselves.

Too many knitters go along blithely following the line-by-line instructions in a pattern without understanding how knitting stitches are formed, what the shapes of garment pieces should look like, or how the stitches on their needles work to create the pattern stitches they are trying to make. Without these skills, they are destined to remain chained to patterns, always worried about what to do if there's a mistake in the instructions. How freeing it is to grow past this beginner stage!

The person on the Knit Design group who attacked me, said I was being insulting by criticizing the US educational system. Far from it! Criticizing a faulty system has nothing to do with insulting the people who have gone through that system. The students in my classes are intelligent and bright women. But some of them have gotten ripped off by an educational system that did not give them the confidence or critical thinking skills they need to realize that they do not have to follow rules and stay inside the lines! I hope that confidence and independence are two things I can impart to all of my students, regardless of their knitting skill level or past educational history.

Do I still knit from patterns? Sure. Sometimes it's relaxing to make a design that someone else has figured out for me! But my ability to understand the underlying logic of patterns and the structure of knitting stitches and garment shapes, means that I can continue even if there's a mistake in the pattern or if I want to make some changes to the design to suit my own tastes and body shape.

If I didn't learn to think for myself for almost thirty years, that just shows that it's never too late to gain the confidence needed to stop being a follower.

Question Authority is my favorite motto and it applies in knitting as much as anywhere else!

Here's a fun quiz!

You scored as Existentialism. Your life is guided by the concept of Existentialism: You choose the meaning and purpose of your life.

“Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does.”
“It is up to you to give [life] a meaning.”
--Jean-Paul Sartre

“It is man's natural sickness to believe that he possesses the Truth.”
--Blaise Pascal

More info at Arocoun's Wikipedia User Page.

Existentialism created with QuizFarm.com

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Please do something this month to help spread awareness and stop sexual violence against women in your community.

Did you know these statistics?

The United States has the highest rape rate among countries which report such statistics. It is 4 times higher than that of Germany, 13 times higher than that of England and 20 times higher than that of Japan.

1 in 3 sexual assault victims are under the age of 12.

6 out of 10 sexual assaults occur in the home of the victim or the home of a friend, neighbor or relative.

Women are 10 times more likely than men to be victims of sexual assault.

22% of all women say that they have been forced to do sexual things against their will, where only 3% of men admit to ever forcing themselves on a woman.

Only 16% of rapes and sexual assaults are reported to the police.

Less than half of those arrested for rape are convicted, 54% of all rape prosecutions end in either dismissal or acquittal.

This month, I'll be featuring this topic on Knitting for Change throughout the month, instead of posting just once during the month. So check back for ideas on things you can do, knitting projects to promote awareness of this important problem, articles, and links to other sites with more information.