I "taught" my sister-in-law to crochet via video chat (and then her grandma really taught her) a few years ago. Since then, we've been exchanging pictures of our current projects and trading ideas for future making. Over the holidays, we decided to do a crochet link up where we would both pick a pattern and text photos back and forth regarding our progress. She chose the rouge infinity scarf pattern, while I chose the every man scarf, which I wanted to make for my brother who lives in the cold hinterlands of the north. She asked me if I planned to change colors as indicated in the pattern, and I was like, "Nope! Too much work for me."
I used Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick and Quick for this project, which I purchased at Wal-Mart. I went with the variegated moonlight color to give some character to the scarf. This yarn was pretty pricey and took almost three skeins to make an approximately 5 inch by 70 inch scarf.
I chose this pattern because it was easy. In truth, it was probably a little too easy. I managed to screw it up by doing front post only double crochets every other row (instead of back post only double crochets, as stated in the pattern), but it worked out. I only completed seven out of the ten rows with my ergonomic J hook. Three more rows would have been overkill. (I thought ending on row three made the pattern look better, so that's what I did. Basically, I altered this pattern a lot without meaning to.
I completed this #bucketlistproject item in five days, more quickly than expected due to being down with a flu-like virus for a week, but oh well. It's done. (And my sickness might explain why I inadvertently changed the pattern so much.)
Step-by-step pictures are below:
Row 1:
Row 2:
Row 3:
Row 4:
Row 5:
Row 6:
Row 7/Finished project:
Thoughts on this step-by-step crochet post? Do you have questions about this pattern? Do you want to see more or less posts like this? Please share in the comments section.
Some time ago, I wrote about self-care and selfishness. Since then, I've see a lot of Instagram posts and blog articles about self-love. there have been other articles about how people don't need to love themselves, but rather accept themselves and where they're at. In all this, I've started to wonder how self-love intersects with my Christian faith. I don't want to idolize myself, but I don't want to fail to care for the body God has given me either. I don't want to be a self-centered glutton, or an ascetic. What is the balance?
In a sermon on 1 John 4:7-8 this weekend, the pastor reminded us that love originates from God. Boom! All of this self-love stuff started to find its place in my heart. Love for self that comes from God and an appreciation of how fearfully and wonderfully He made me (Ps 139:14) is profitable. Love for self that comes from a desire to serve myself and ignore the needs of others is self-centered (Phil 2:3-4). Love for self that includes honoring rest and the needs of the body God gave me is beneficial because it places myself and God in the correct positions (Ps 46:10). Love for self that is for my own gain is sinful and unedifying to those around me (Ps 119:36). Failing to love either myself or others is failing to acknowledge the source of love in God.
Scripture does it again and sets my wrong heart aright. Now may the Holy Spirit help me practice love for self and others in the right fashion.
This is the thought I had as I laid down for a nap a week ago. I had debated this event all day in my head and couldn't decide whether or not to go. So I went to bed and decided to see if my body woke me up in time. It did, but my decision to not attend the event anyway is besides the point of this post.
The point of this post is my realization that I fail to listen to my body too much of the time. I write a lot about intuition, but it is something that still needs a lot of work in my life. There are definitely some times that I just have to push through, but sometimes I just can't, and I need to learn to be okay with that. And sometimes I need to tune out the noise around me and tune into my body.
For example, instead of listening to the media noises that I should choose "healthy" desserts, maybe I should "give in" to my body's craving for Dairy Queen and go get a blizzard. Maybe I should ignore the societal "expectation" that I should wear jeans every day and wear the more comfortable yoga pants I own. Or maybe I should resist the pressure to overeat sugar at the holiday party and go home and have a healthy dinner because that is what will make me feel healthiest. Maybe I should press pause on the project I "should" have gotten done today and just go to bed because my body and brain are tired. There are times and places for limits and accountability and boundaries, but God made my body smart. I need to listen to it more.
What about you? Are there areas where you need to tune out, and tune in? Please share below.
Ever have those days when you're on task and then suddenly like, "Oh crud! What have I been doing for the past [X] minutes?" Ever have those days when you can't find resolution to the problem you're trying to solve? Or you just generally feel crappy? Here are a few things I do to snap myself out of the funk and try to restart my day:
1) Sweep the floor*. It's quick, and it has tangible results (e.g. all that dirt I sweep into the dust pan).
2) Wash the car*. Again, I can see that I've made a difference.
3) Get out in the sunshine. It boosts vitamin D and my mood. (See this post for more on sunshine.)
4) Write a list of ten things I can thank God for. It changes my perspective.
5) Help someone else. This gets my focus off myself and onto the other humans around me.
6) Do jumping jacks. Run stairs. Or otherwise get active. Getting myself moving and some endorphins flowing is sometimes all I need.
7) Bake*! Working with my hands and seeing tangible results works wonders. Plus, research is showing that cooking has therapeutic benefits.
8) Sing a song of praise. It's hard to be frustrated, sad, or made when I'm praising God.
9) Read a blog post. This gives me something else to think about .
10) Purposely smile. Smiling activates the brain and releases chemicals that make me feel better.
Quick fixes? Yes. Permanent fixes for sustained depression? No. But by doing at least one of these things a day I train my brain to think more positively and hopefully avoid ruts of negative thinking that can lead to depression.
*Caveat: It is possible to base self-worth and happiness off what I do rather than who I am. When I'm in this frame of mind, it's better to pick something off this list that is internal, rather than external (e.g. 4, 8, 9, and 10).
(A "normal" nighttime snack of avocado pudding, almonds, leftover pancakes, and an apple)
I've been a night-eater since, I don't know, seventh or eight grade. And my mom always eats a bowl of cereal before she goes to bed. I've been reading a lot about bingeing at night, though. (See ImmaEatThat and In It For the Long Run.) And I started to get concerned. I even freaked myself out that I had Night Eating Syndrome. But that's not in the DSM, and I don't have all the symptoms, so I decided to give that idea a rest.
But I still eat a LOT at night. And lately, it's been even more. Not eating enough at lunch probably has something to do with it, but I always seem busy and preoccupied, so satisfying lunches don't really seem to happen. I don't feel super hungry during the day (even though I definitely eat three meals), and then I'm SUPER hungry at snack time. I've been fighting the hunger, trying to portion out my food, limiting myself, etc., but it never seems to work.
So you know what? I'm giving in. A few nights back, for example, I had quite a few tortilla chips with crunchy peanut butter after my initial snack of toast, apples, peanut butter, and a bowl cake (aka mug cake). I tried to hold back, but I was hungry, and if I'm hungry, I don't sleep. I wanted to sleep. And guess what? I woke up hungry after eating all that, so I guess my body needed the fuel.
I struggle mega-big-time with self acceptance, and for me, this night-eating seems to be part of life's journey. It's about accepting my body, honoring its needs, and being okay if I sometimes eat more than I probably "should." Maybe eventually my hunger and eating will even out, but for now, this is what it is (no labels), and I accept it.
Also, a big shout out to My Uncommon Everyday for her Day in the Life post about her nighttime snack. She's honoring her hunger and her body, too.
