The path opens

I realize that I started this blog and have only made two posts, and I intend to resolve this problem. I want to at least update weekly, if not more often than that. I also need to start uploading pictures of the knitting at the very least.

I'm getting in more sword classes than aikido. I'm not really complaining about this, as sword makes me aware of my balance/center and that feels really good. I'm learning how to center myself, which I'm noticing makes me a lot less wobbly. This is good, because my equilibrium isn't the best, so balance has always been an issue.

Since I've gone to a few classes and practice here at home (not as often as I should, I admit, another thing I need to work on), I've noticed a few other things. I have to teach myself to relax my shoulders and keep my elbows in. I don't know why my elbows want to stick out and I want to hunch my shoulders. Then I have to learn to flow more with the sword. I need to learn how to extend my arms without over reaching. I need to learn to shuffle better, but that's coming more easily. I find myself working more on my footwork than anything else. I practice that at random times in the house. I haven't done it much while in public, but I suspect that will change with time.

On the knitting front, I've been avoiding things I shouldn't be and doing other things. I completed a 198 yards of heaven shawl - made of out of Caron Spa and it was closer to 300 yards. It knit up fast, but came out a bit smaller than I had wanted, but is fantastically soft.

When I finished that I was agonizing over what I would do next. I found a shawl that I wanted to do on Ravelry and bought the pattern, then realized that I could not find my 5's. Irritated, I realized I would have to wait until next payday to get a set. I decided to make a knit picks order, but didn't want to not doing anything in the time that I need to wait to make the order, so I looked at shawls I could make with my stash and current needles. I found another shawl that I wanted to do, that also needed 5's. Finally I looked at a pattern that I had decided a couple years ago I wasn't skilled enough to do.

Haruni scared me when I first saw it. It was a lot of lace and a strange cast off. I decided, because I didn't like how the pattern looked, that I would not be doing it. Well, I looked at it again at the end of April and decided it was time to do it. I cast it on, size 4's and Malabrigo Caribeano sock yarn. I also used some blue 6/0 beads on the leaves. I studied this pattern. I went through a bunch of other people's projects, looking at what they did, what they had in their project notes, their suggestions, opinions. I went back a couple of times and looked over a few again, when deciding where I wanted to put the beads. I decided when I did bead it that trying to put the beads on the right side row was royally messing up my tension, so after two rows of beads, I started beading on the wrong side before I purled the stitch. This worked a lot better, my tension was no longer suffering. I'm almost at the end, where I'm still not certain if I'm going to do the crochet bind off or the knitting bind off. If I do the knit, I'm going to drop my needle size down to a one to conserve yarn and also make the i-cord bind off look less clunky.

Over the past few months I've noticed a slightly annoying thing - I'm getting pain in the tendons between fingers on my left hand. Sometimes I'll have an ache that will radiate up my first finger and I put the knitting aside for a couple of days, or up the needle size I'm using. The good news is the muscle in my shoulder that has given me problems in the past, seems to be less likely to be dumb in the past few weeks. I think sword might be helping to strengthen it. This makes me very happy, knowing it won't be giving me as much trouble.

My knees do complain a little bit from time to time, because for some reason it's hard for me to remember to bend my knees - I guess that goes with the shoulders and elbows problem. I do know that if I mess up technique and don't watch my elbows, I may end up hurting them.

I'm trying hard to pay attention to those things without over thinking it. It is so easy to over think. We went to the cutting class, at the dojo, a couple of weeks ago and watched those that had been practicing sword for a while do live cuts. It was fascinating, but a few of the students messed up, because they were caught over thinking their movements. Each andy every person there taught me something in their motions. I watch E as he does his kata and it looks so fluid and amazing, but I have to remember that he's had years of practice. I feel clunky and somewhat wobbly, and every so very often, I get it right and then screw it all up again when I do the next one.