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A Week of New

As I thought about the last week it occurred to me I spent it doing new things every day making the week fatiguing in a different way.  At a certain point in adulthood many of us decide to avoid taking on new things because we more than likely won't be particularly good at them.  I, too, have done my fair share of this sort of steering clear of something new, but not last week.  Here were five new things done that kept my mind active.

  • Last Saturday I took a beading class to learn new techniques.  I used new beads and thread and risked looking pretty silly in front of others, but that was not the case.  Should I have stayed away because of fear of not looking experienced, I would have missed out on something I really enjoyed.  BTW I want to show you the now fully finished Super O bracelet.  (No more loose threads flowing about.)



  • My exercise trainer decided to take a two week holiday, certainly a well deserved one.  She started her business last summer and hadn't taken more than a three-day weekend away since then.  Her absence this week and next has forced me to check out other exercise options in the area.  I do scheduled exercise classes two days a week with her but believe I need to add at least one and perhaps two additional days in a seven day period.  Pam suggested I try her Zumba class.  Zumba is aerobic exercise based on Latin dance moves and Latin music.  My entire life I find I can scarcely walk and chew gum at the same time, but nonetheless I gave it my best at Pam's Monday evening class.  It was a good work out and I kept up at least 50 percent of the time.  On Wednesday I attended another Zumba class with a different instructor and as you might expect the music and thus dance moves were different.  All this was a good test for using the gray matter trying to get my feet and arms coordinated in ways I don't move around the house.  (Do you dance your day away??)   The experience was not so much frustrating as it was exasperating.  Just as I got the dance steps figured out we moved on to a new one.  I will continue trying, just moving my feet and arms is a good start.
  • Chain plying in spinning should be intuitive,  I know how to make a crochet chain and chain plying uses the same placement of yarn.  All the videos I watched make it look so simple, but that wasn't the case for me.  I have managed to create quite a mess.  Sometimes new activities have to be practiced a whole lot before they become intuitive.  Since I do want to spin some of the lovely roving I purchased recently in a way that preserves the colours, chain plying is a must.  I just need to practice more!
  • The Dragon Tail Shawl/Scarf is moving along nicely.  Only one stitch is used throughout the project, the garter stitch.  It is the first stitch knitters learn and as such is rather elementary compared to some of the other knitting I have done of late.  This project was selected because I want to add a new approach to the knit stitch in my arsenal.  The technique is called flicking and you can watch VeryPink doing it here.   It seems to be a combination of the finger movements of Continental knitting added to a version of the Throwing style of knitting with the right hand.  I gave myself all of Dragon Tail to learn, which means knitting was slow and clunky at first plus messy with different tensions, but now as I near the end of the project my flicking is pretty good.  And as advertised it is easier on the wrists.  The hope is with some good blocking and perhaps a bit of felting the tension problems can be fixed.  Stay tuned for that result, but for now here's a quick peek.  (Once it is fully completed you will get the lowdown about it.)

  • I learned a new beading stitch, the flat square stitch to make the Sleek Bracelet.  Again it required a lot of concentration during the first part of the project.  Not all of it is perfect, but as I got it figured out, the bracelet began to look like it should.  When I make a second there should be no flaws to be seen, she says with far too much hubris.

In short this was a mindful week.  Each new activity required a focus on the here-and-now, a wonderful activity for someone like me whose mind wanders a great deal.  Next week though, I think I will finish  the things I have started and avoid all this concentrating.  Perhaps doing only one new thing a week will be sufficient to keep me focused.   Doing five new things was a bit much.

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