Tag: community

A quote from my mother:

On By iswimlikeafishIn reflectionsLeave a comment

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Despite a good faith effort to find the person who first said it, I’m only able to attribute these powerful words to my mother. For a long time, I used to think that she was telling me that I would never be good enough. Now that I’m older, I realize that she was really telling me that I should always challenge and push myself to be better. Especially when I think that I’ve done the best I can do.

With everything that’s been going on over the last few days, weeks, months, years, I think it’s a good thing to keep at the forefront of my mind. I’m doing as much good as I can, but I can always do better. Even when I think I’ve done my best, I can always do better.

This is one of the most interesting things to think about as an adult. At what point do you decide you’ve done enough? At what point do you think you’re good enough? At what point do you look at the world around you and say “That’s all I can do to change the world?” I’m not there yet, and I can’t imagine being in a place where I am. There is so much more I can do to better myself and the world around me. I promise that I’ll continue trying. I promise that even when I feel that I’m at my best, I will work to be better. To those who are struggling, I will do better and I will encourage others to do the same.

I will:

  • Listen harder
  • Spread compassion
  • Be hopeful, but work towards making that hope a reality
  • Meet people where they are and support them as they work towards their own dreams
  • Be mindful
  • Be openminded

And I will try to never be satisfied with my best.

on Ramp Up to Camp 2020

On By iswimlikeafishIn knitting, patterns, ravelry, yarnLeave a comment

resized952020050495085018As I’m sure many of us can appreciate, working from home has returned my commuting time to me. This means I have over an hour of time back in my day, something I am enjoying as the days get longer and the weather gets nicer. While my coworkers have spent this extra time catching up on shows that they’ve fallen behind on, my partner and I have spent the extra time driving to remote trails. In other words, overall I have not really lost much car time.

That being said, what I’ve lost in having my car time break-even, I’ve gained in not driving. So as my partner drives us all over the place, I’m able to cheerfully knit in the passenger seat. Yes I am cranking out knitting projects left and right. Yes, it is starting to affect my creativity, and my ability to slowly think about what to knit next.

Enter Camp Loopy, a series of challenges that involves knitting one project in June, July and August. Normally, I’m not into deadlines or being told what to knit, but something about Camp Loopy is always a good time.

Someone, whether or not it was in honor of Covid, had the grand idea to create a pre-camp challenge, a ramp up to camp if you will. This came just in time, as I hadn’t yet decided to make my partner’s mom a Venzia shawl for her birthday and am currently trying to use up as much stash as I can outside of the summer challenge.

There were 9 prompts to choose from, this is the one I selected:

Buried Treasure: make something that has been in your Ravelry queue or on your Ravelry favorites list (or on your internal “must make” list) for more than a year. It has been buried in your list – now it is time to unearth it!

img_20200517_152847What was my “buried treasure”? The Wish and Hope cardigan by Anne B Hanssen, which I would make out of some leftover Wollmeise in Pinie. Hanssen promoted this pattern as free a while a go and I couldn’t help but eye it from a far.

When I first started the pattern, I couldn’t help but marvel in the beauty of working an intrecate pattern for a baby — after all a tiny sweater means you’re done with the lace work relatively quickly!

Don’t get me wrong, overall I’m happy with the way everything turned out, but I won’t be knitting this one again. I stopped the leaf pattern after the edging because I was tired of working it. Then I had to sludge through picking up so. many. stitches. But the icing on the cake was a three needle bind off at the top, which created a visible seam.. I should have used the kitchner stitch to graph it together. I could blame the wordiness of the pattern, but there’s a balance between providing enough information for beginners and overloading your experienced knitters.

I think my neighbors were happy with it, I left it outside their door with a note and haven’t heard anything. Nothing like being busy with a new baby!

on Rediscovering Letter Sending

On By iswimlikeafishIn hiking, knitting, patterns, ravelry, yarnLeave a comment
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We proudly hike remote trails, and love the fact that we can finally drive to them with the windows down

I’m very lucky, I live surrounded by mountains, lakes and rivers. On top of this, most of the activities that I enjoy doing take place while enjoying those natural beauties. What I’m trying to say is, not only are my partner and I healthy, we’re still able to do the things we love within the restrictions from COVID-19.

Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of things that we miss doing. By a lot of things, I’m really only referring to the numerous thrift shops that I enjoy hunting through and the family that is now harder to see. It sucks that my sister is about to have a daughter and there are additional pressures that come with being a new parent. It also blows that I may not be able to meet her for a while. But again, we’re all healthy, so am I really in a position to complain?

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On the positive end of the spectrum, my friends and I have rediscovered sending messages to each other via “snail mail”. It’s been fun sitting down and writing out stationary that I’ve been hoarding since middle school. In her last letter, my friend asked me to knit her a teapot cozy. I used the pattern Cinnamon Brioche by Elizabeth Sullivan and some leftover Alegria, which 100% reminds me of Batwoman. Don’t get me wrong, I’m proud of how it came out… but I’m more proud of the letter I’m sending with it.

Hello! It has come to my attention that you require my Tea Genie magic to keep your pot cozy. I promise, you ain’t never had a friend like me.

You don’t understand, by day, I walk the streets like the classy lady that I am. Shaking my red hair, rocking a black tank and winking at all the ladies. By night, I’m a tea vigilante. Swooping in to save heat and providing maximum relaxation. (Seriously though, flip me inside out to the colors you’re in the mood for. I don’t mind).

You should also know that I come with a special utility belt so that I can hug my pot better. Just slip the buttons through the loose edge and I’m not going anywhere (My other side will hold onto the spout. I’m a professional after all).

It’s been so long since I have sent something other than a thank you letter or holiday card through the mail (ok it’s only been five years). Don’t get me wrong, I’m the girl who sent her boyfriends handwritten letters when we were long distance, even when an email would have been faster. You can’t help but feel a little more loved when a letter comes in for you, there are more steps in the way of sending them. What I’m trying to say is, I’m not sure why I fell out of practice, but I’m going to make an effort to send at least a post card when this is all over. After all, I can’t be the only one who’s tired of getting only bills in the mail.

Featured: Knitted Bliss

On By iswimlikeafishIn knitting, patterns, ravelryLeave a comment

I was featured on Knitted Bliss! Julie stumbled across my modified Azalea and featured it in her blog (below). After loving her Stockholm Scarf from afar, I couldn’t help but have a small fangirl moment when she reached out for permission.

Mod Monday is back! For those that were missing it, honestly there are fewer and fewer modifications that are being documented, at least where I can easily find them.  So if you do come across a great knitted mod, let me know! 

Let’s look at this lovely knit, shall we?

Original Pattern: Azalea

Knitter Extraordinaire: isimlikeafish (Ravelry profile, blog)

Mods: Changed the top of the original strappy tank pattern to be a raglan t-shirt instead. Details can be found on her project page, here. And a note that if you love to read and are looking for knitting with a dash of book review content, her blog is great!

What Makes This Awesome: I love the original pattern, it’s been in my queue for a while- but those little spaghetti straps, they can easily put a knitter off. But here we have such a great solution- knit the shoulders as a cap sleeve tee, and focus on the original pattern details lower down. This is a great idea for anyone who loves a design detail on a tank top, but wants a little more shoulder coverage.

This would be an especially great pattern mash up if you have a knit that you love the fit and look of the shoulders and neckline, and want to incorporate the details from a different pattern into the rest of the body. Now that the warm weather is on its way, maybe it’s time to look at modifying some knits for summer?

December Book Club: The Whale Rider

On By iswimlikeafishIn Book ClubLeave a comment

949039The copy I have of this book is a gift from one of my best friends, who purchased a used copy because he knows that I have a soft spot for books that have lived a life before coming into my possession.

It’s worth noting, before even diving into this review (see what I did there?), that the language used in this book is poetically descriptive and sets a beautiful landscape for our story. I love that each part of the book was separated by an update of the whales and what they were up to. It was a nice parallel between what was happening on shore.

The Whale Rider is a beautiful story that looks at the intersection of tradition and change. More specifically Ihimaera focuses on this idea that change does not mean the dying of tradition, but rather the strengthening of it for future generations. Kahu spends her days wanting to learn more about her culture, despite the idea that only men can carry on the tradition. When it comes time for the day to be saved, Men are called into action but are unable to make a difference on their own. Kahu, in her white dress and ribbons, finds herself knowing what to do and dives into the water to become a whale rider.

Kahu’s potential sacrifice marked a turning point for the “elders” of her tribe and the whales. As her Paka came to the realization that she was the leader he was looking for and the whale came to the realization that his original rider had moved on, Kahu risked her life to save both. Each, in turn, realizing how special the child is and how they had been living in the past.

I found myself becoming lost in this story and could hear the waves crash upon the shore. Though this was a quick read, I didn’t find myself longing for more story or more detail. The pacing of the tale and Ihimaera’s ability to put me into the story as if I was sitting in the room with the narrator, Kahu’s Uncle, listening to him tell me a story about his niece and why she is special.

It is unclear, at this time, if I will sacrifice the images I’ve created of the people I have experienced by watching the movie. A part of me fears that adaptation will miss some of the nuances that I have come to love.

For January’s book club, we’ll be stepping back into historical fiction with the Australian novel Picnic at Hanging Rock. While I don’t typically read a lot of historical fiction, I stumbled upon this title while looking for something to watch on Amazon Prime and was taken aback by the trailer. This book, I believe, will be the gothic horror that I was hoping to find in November’s book club.

791345It was a cloudless summer day in the year nineteen hundred.

Everyone at Appleyard College for Young Ladies agreed it was just right for a picnic at Hanging Rock. After lunch, a group of three of the girls climbed into the blaze of the afternoon sun, pressing on through the scrub into the shadows of Hanging Rock. Further, higher, till at last they disappeared.

They never returned.

Whether Picnic at Hanging Rock is fact or fiction the reader must decide for themselves.