Return of the Blog: The Chemistry of Life

 Thank you for being here. 

Brief BIO and Purpose

I have spent a dozen years earning a new life with a Bachelor's of Science and soon, a Master's of Science in Bioengineering. In the time I've been away, my middle child became gravely ill and was diagnosed with severe Crohn's nine-and-a-half years ago.  Ever since I've worked tirelessly to educate myself about Crohn's and earn degrees that will help me seek a cure for Crohn's. I want to share what I've learned with you about overcoming obstacles, creating healthy boundaries, and despite grief living with intent, joy, and hope. 

*** Please find a Counsellor if you do not have one already. A good Psychologiest saved my life and I encourage you to find someone suited to your needs. 

For the Moms and all Woman Who want to Live a Dream

I write this for the woman you will become after journeying with me. I am already friends with that woman. We will share more than you expect. 

I am a survivor of savage physical, emotional, and sexual abuse by a devout Catholic man who happened to be my father. My mother came from a family of origin that was fraught with bitterness, and fathers who despised having daughters. Who left them without money, or inheritance. Even after they cared for them well into their old age. He sent me to a Catholic school that shared his belief in savage discipline and told me I was a dummy, that my pain from being an undiagnosed Celiac was in my head, and that I'd never be a scientist.

It's taken me a lifetime to overcome the worst of the abuse, and I'm still working on it. Through the pain, and the bouts of suicidal ideation, I have somehow held onto hope, with the help of Divine Grace, therapists, friends, and family. I want to help you no matter what your background: abusive, blissful, or somewhere in between.

Welcome to a New Classroom Free of Abuse

I hope this space will bring you peace, but if you were abused as I was, had mean-spirited teachers, the healing process may bring you turmoil first; I promise peace will follow. In my Introductory Bio Class I learned that there is a Universal human instinct to hand down knowledge. And that is exactly what I want to do here.

Lesson 1: Write down your dreams. Get a journal. It doesn't have to be fancy -- use a brown paper bag and tie it with yarn if you must! Write down your dreams in as much detail as you can. Do you want to start a business? Write a novel? Cook your way through Julia Child's The Art of French Cooking? Step one -- write it down. At least a paragraph. Then come back for Lesson 2 next week.

If you are interested in how to pursue your dreams even though others have called them impossible watch this space.

I will welcome you back with love, open arms, and encouragement. Journey with me and escape the abusive classrooms in your brain, heart, and head. 

 

Happy New Year 2010: Keep Knitting!

Happy New Year and happy knitting! 2010 is two weeks old and it's time for some inspiration and updates. I want to stay connected with you in 2010 and share the wonderful journey of life and knitting. You'll find some updates here as well as a link to a great You Tubevideo that may help cure some tension problems when knitting. I'm going to post separately about the swatch you see here and (more importantly) how to see where tension problems exist and how to fix them.

The Knitting Guild of America has great advice on technique, especially when you are trying to perfect stitch tension.

I vow to knit more in 2010. You are my witness. This will be a challenge. Why? Time for you to be updated: I took on a new challenge in 2009 that will impact 2010, my life in general, and, of course, my knitting. I filled out the appropriate paperwork and declared a second undergraduate degree in biochemistry. It is a wonderful and challenging course of study. I must admit, though, classes have cut deeply into my knitting time. Also my sleeping, eating, and family time. I am on a mission, though, for most of my adult life I suffered from undiagnosed celiac disease, an autoimmune disease, andI intend to make a contribution to the field of immunology.

Having said that I must insist: being a science major is fun. Yes, I'm not only a yarn-nerd but a science nerd, too! So, extra emphasis on time management skills in 2010. Let's learn together as I am convinced we could all stand to manage our time just a bit better. I want to hear from those of you out there whose lives are quite frankly getting in the way of their knitting. How do you work around it? How do you sneak it in? I'll be giving some ideas about portable knitting and approaches to working on projects at least a few minutes a day. I hope to add an e-mail link to me, soon. In the meantime, please comment!

In 2010 you'll see some new posts and sections on the blog that reflect the marriage of yarn and science. I'll be sharing some links to podcasts and audible books that are inspirational and informative. Also, I'll share more techniques as I work my way through Lesson 1 on the Knitting Guild of America's correspondence course. Well worth it! And, my instructor understands my limited time and is working with me. Great!

One of the first lessons I've learned is to watch my tension. Or, more accurately, to learn to see how uneven tension can affect my stitches. I knit in the Continental Style. When I first learned to knit I honestly did not know there were even different ways to knit, to hold yarn, etc. I now understand that the way you knit can result in tight or loose knit or purl stitches. My instructor recommended this video from Craft Sanity -- craftsanity.com -- to help me from making my knit stitches too tight and my purls too loose: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuRLFl36tDY.

Watch this blog for annotated pictures of my lesson swatches to see how too loose purls show up in your knitting. Simple techniques, big effect on your knitting.

Until next time, keep knitting. Be happy!