There are no ancients before me,
No followers behind:
Only the vastness of heaven and earth
On this mountain terrace.
Though heaven may know the ultimate,
Joy or sorrow is our own will.
Deng Ming~Dao
Look at that tangled bunch of yarn above, it's what my life was like last week as I was dyeing this yarn for a yarn club order in addition to the full days at my new day job. It was a super intensive method of dyeing that took me twice as long as it would typically take, but I love the combination of colors! This colorway was was inspired by the sweet little otter pictured below and it's called…"Otter Be Knitting". The yarn is for Lisa of Indie Untangled's yarn club where a certain percentage of the yarn sales goes to the Fish and Game Department. I love that part of this yarn club!
The yarn is safely on it's way to it's new owners and I hope that they enjoy it as much as I do. I will be looking for a different way to dye this though in the future to make it less time consuming. Because this was for a big mailing, I didn't want to vary much from the original 2 skeins that I dyed for the yarn club picture, but I have a few ideas kicking around.
One thing I did realize though is that doing big orders like this now that I am working 8:30 -4:30 every day, is that I'm getting too old to keep the pace of working all day and then working in the shop until 9pm. There are SO many new, young indie dyers in the fiber world that I will leave this kind of work for them. Their young backs can probably handle it better than mine these days…which brings me to the last part of my post.
Fitness Friday!
I will be posting along with Kym of Stepping Away from the Edge about fitness goals and accomplishments.
Now that I am in my 60's, I don't recover from things the way I used to, especially since my back surgery years ago, so one of my goals for this year has been to work on getting stronger and more fit, especially in my core and back. I love that this will help keep me focused on my goals.
As you know I truly enjoy walking in the mornings and have been really working on making that happen each day which has been challenging with the darkness of winter. I have to time my morning right down to the very minute to get outside and off to work on time,especially with the morning dog chores that have to wait until it's starting to get light.
It starts my day off though in the most fabulous way though! Not only do I get to see the sunrise most mornings, but it feels good just to be out in that cold air that makes you feel alive. I am however going to start incorporating some strength training into my life soon. I bought some light weights to start out with at home and my plan is to start working with a trainer at a new to me gym in a few weeks.
Kym and I will be doing Fitness Friday on the last Friday of the Month, so I'll report back next month how it's going.
What are your favorite ways to stay fit and strong?
The Woolen Rabbit 
Oh, that’s a lovely colorway, Kim! I haven’t figured out the “fit and strong” part yet, though a Fitbit is on the way… things could change.
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That yarn is pretty sweet! You’re going to rock your fitness this year Kim I can tell! Maybe I’ll take one of those lunch walks with you in August! 🙂
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That color way is gorgeous! I enjoyed working with a trainer and loved how much regular workouts changed my body. Right now I’m working out in an Arthofit gym, all exercise is geared towards people with knee or hip arthritis (with some total body workouts). It’s low key and basically about movement and strength.
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Oh, that yarn. It’s stunning and I love that it matches that sweet little otter. I think it’s awesome that you and Kym are pairing up for Fitness Fridays. She’s so good at being encouraging about fitness goals.
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Oh, Kim! That is just beautiful yarn!!!! I love watching your process move from inspiration to actual product. Lovely! XO And I’m so excited to be sharing your fitness journey with you this year. 🙂
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