Tuesday, April 17, 2012

The Cure for What Ails Ya'!

I've been sick for the past couple of days. I had a mild version of the stomach thing that's going around. It crept up on me Saturday and was in full-force Sunday and Monday. Today I'm feeling human again. The magical cure? Noodles! RTC Noodles from Rice Thai Cafe, to be specific. Oh, and crocheting. Don't forget the crocheting.

Crocheting is an awesome activity for me to indulge in when I'm sick. The television can be on or not, music can be playing or not. I don't want to do anything that requires a lot of thinking. Nothing intricate or count-heavy. I just want to slow down and breathe and feel the yarn run through my fingers. It's like moving meditation. Crocheting narrows my focus. When I was sick, it gave me something to think about besides how ishy my stomach felt or how bad my headache was. I'd chosen the perfect project to work on in my infirmity. I'm making myself a yoga mat bag. It's basically round after round of half double crochet, so I relaxed my mind into a legato cadence of, "Yarn over, stitch into the work, yarn over, pull through." That and the noodles (and the concern and prayers of my mommy and my friends) are what got me healthy again.

The idea for the yoga mat bag was not mine. I ran into my friends Jason and Angie Bender at one of our fave neighborhood joints, Pillars, a couple of weeks ago and they asked me if I could crochet a yoga mat bag for Angie. I hadn't ever made one before -- hadn't even really thought of it before they asked me -- but how hard could it be? Just a cylinder with a drawstring and a strap, right? And you know my response when people ask me if I can create something new. Say it with me now: "Of course I can!!"



So I took measurements of my yoga mat, chose Lily Sugar & Cream cotton yarn to cut down on the stretch, and started stitchin'!! I used a J hook to increase ventilation and began making a cylinder of double crochet. Wow, even in an unstretchy cotton yarn, double crochet can get a little out of hand! So I pulled it all out and opted for a round of single crochet followed by a round of half double crochet. Now we're cooking!! Looking good! I got it to the length measurement I wanted, stitched the strap in row after row of single crochet, put my yoga mat in to make sure it was functional, and discovered that the weight of the mat in the bag made the bag W-A-Y too long!! I also didn't like the way the seam was structured. And I wanted to make sure it was something I was proud of, especially since I was selling it. SO I tore it out once again. But you know what they say -- the third time's the charm -- and now that purple yoga mat bag is a thing of beauty. A complete stranger who saw me working on it at my favorite coffee spot, the Common Cup, said it was the best yoga mat bag in the city. I thanked him and told him I'd coast on that compliment all day!

Tomorrow is the day that I deliver the yoga mat to Angie. I hope she loves it! I know that I loved making it -- so much so that I'm making one (in pink, of course!) for myself.

So that's the news for now, my angels! Until Thursday, peace, love and yarn!!

2 comments: