Namaste

Namaste (salutations to you)

This craft blog is turning out to be a bit of a lifestyle blog...unless maybe I live craft??

Well if you haven't guessed from the first word I have taken up Yoga.  I tried it years back and we never quite got on but now I am loving it.  I've been attending a Hatha Yoga class every Tuesday evening where not only have I learnt some postures I have also learnt something deep breathing and relaxation techniques.  Which is doing wonders for the ole anxiety and keeping the doc happy! 

I'm a little obsessed with it at the mo' and as Mr C is working away all weekend I am looking forward to having some me time and some time to do some long Yoga practice.

But for the proper crafty bit.

I bought my gorgeous pink yoga mat from Tesco but I didn't have a carry bag for it.  I since bought Yoga socks and take a water bottle with me so getting a carry bag was beginning to become a necessity.  So roughly following this post I created this little beauty...

Complete with Yoga mat inside to prove it does the job!

I say roughly followed that post as you can see I used ribbon for the handles, didn't have a button closing (couldn't get the button bit to go inside out so threw it across the room) and its not exactly the same but it does the perfect job for me.

Look at that for a bottom seam.  Not only are the handles are aligned, I managed to give it a rounded end (which wasn't easy as I didn't fully understand the instructions).










I also got a book from the library 'Yoga for a new you' Dorling Kindersley 2012 which I am considering buying as its really good.

I've also downloaded a few apps to my smart phone Pocket Yoga and Pocket Yoga Builder both by Rainfrog LLC but I haven't properly used them yet.  If I'm not at class I tend to use a DVD I have called 'Roxys Bite Sized Yoga' which has different routines split into bite sized chunks of 15 minutes each.

I'm hoping to get more regular practice in, especially as its doing my overall health so good, and have downloaded worksheets from my friends Alyson Tyler who is a Yoga teacher and writes a blog here (which has been super useful).  But I feel I need a little more guidance from a video clip for now.

I hope to try out some Youtube videos, in particular ones from Tara Lee, like this one...

...and will let you know how I get on.

Oh and I have seen a pattern for easy Yoga pants in my book 'The Sew Everything Workshop' that I bought to accompany a Craftsy Class so watch this space for more Yoga related craftiness!

P.S I can do a mean tree ;)

Getting Craftsy with wool

Hi folks,

Recently I've signed up to a tonne of craft courses on the video tutorial website Craftsy...darn them and their spring sale (pun not intended)...but they also have some free introductory courses which I thought could be pretty useful, like this one 'Know Your Wool.'

Being an avid knitter forever stuck in the realm of beginner knitter I thought getting to know the ins and outs of wool would be useful for when it comes to choosing the right wool for the job.  I also live in a very rural area in mid Wales and frankly not knowing more than one sheep breed is getting embarrassing!

I quite like the format and style of the Craftsy courses, especially as I can watch the classes on the iPad - with access to all the same features as the PC -and replay them as many times as I like.  The site itself is easy to use and nicely laid out and I like that in the classes you can post video notes and see questions from other learners.  I have also noticed that the video lessons start off from where I last viewed them, which is very useful so I don't need to keep notes of where I am.

So far I have completed the introduction looking at the differences between wools and some sheep breeds.  So far I'm thinking this section is particularly useful for hand spinners, although I am beginning to understand why certain wool is better for say a hat and a different type for socks.

I have quite a few videos still to get through but will let you know how I get on.