Life lessons around every corner - and a little love too!

Just over a year ago I had surgery on my feet to remove my seriously painful bunions. My feet went from looking like this:

to looking like this:

Regular-looking feet for the first time in my life since I started walking. And they weren't just funny-looking - my feet used to hurt every day, sometimes to the point where I couldn’t walk any more. This time last year I had my bandages off, gave back my crutches and started shuffling around on my own two spanking-new feet. Yesterday as I stomped through the snow on my way home from yoga, I marvelled at how far I’d come since those first few tentative steps, when an old couple with a walker could (and did) overtake me with ease! 

But today I felt frustrated - while my feet definitely no longer hurt like they did when I had bunions, my big toes are stiff and often pretty sore, and I’ve lost a lot of flexibility. Flexible toes is not something I’d thought much about, until I started practicing yoga. My practice has come on in leaps and bounds, in almost every area except my leaps and bounds! Hopping back to plank, or forward from downward dog is almost impossible without being able to put all your body weight into your toes, and then even more as you spring up. Poses that require you to balance on your toes, like plank for example, have been more challenging for me than they would have before my operation, leading me to question whether it was all worth it. 

But today in class, with Valentine’s Day just around the corner, we were all invited to let in a little self-love, to use love as a mantra to help us focus. And when I did, I began to be a little easier on myself, and my frustration began to fade. I realized that I’d forgotten what it was like to not be able to walk without help. To have to use crutches, the wall or other people as support, and how frustrating it was to need 10 minutes just to shuffle to the bathroom. I might not be hopping up into poses right now, and in fact I may never get full strength and flexibility back in my toes. But all that means is that I’ll have to develop strength in other areas to compensate, and maybe one day I’ll be floating into headstands, rather than springing into them! I’ve realized that what is holding me back isn’t lack of flexibility in my toes, it’s fear of the pain that might happen if I try. So with that in mind, I attempted my first couple of hops back and forward - It hurt a bit for sure, but nothing that I can’t handle. Yoga has taught me that being afraid of something is no reason to not try, and has given me the patience I need to keep on trying, even (especially) when the first attempt isn’t pretty!

After yoga I hit up The Cannon for my post-class coffee, and while there my friend and I met and chatted to a lady with no arms and no legs. Seeing this woman deal with one of the most challenging hands life can deal with humour and grace gave me the perspective I needed - yes, my feet are sore and my yoga practice is slightly restricted because of it. But I have a strong body, all my senses work and if achy toes are the worst of my problems, I got a pretty good thing going on!

And speaking of love, if you're looking for an environmentally (and financially) friendly flower-alternative for a Valentine's Day gift, come check out my stall at Art Crawl tomorrow! Yes, it's going to be negative-something-or-other, and probably snowing, but I'll still be there with plenty for sale - hats. gloves, fleece-lined cowls, and these Forever-Roses:

Let's spread the love...happy Valentine's Day! xxx

I Heart Hamilton

Hamilton is full of surprises:

On one of the coldest but most beautiful days I’ve experienced I went for a stroll around Gage Park, and discovered that it’s not only stunning outside

but that there’s hidden treasures on the inside.

 Inside a tropical hothouse that contains lush ferns. brightly coloured tropical flowers and a pond complete with waterfall and fat koi carp you can relax on a park bench and breathe in the warm wet air of the tropics whilst looking out the misted window at the sparkling snow. The greenhouse is open every day of the week, and is free - a bizarre and beautiful distraction from the wintery weather.

There’s all sorts of wildlife running around the place. At the waterfront iceskating rink - which is free to skate on, and only $6 for skate rental - two mythical creatures, fair and graceful, were spotted. 

A mid-afternoon Saturday skating session seemed the perfect time for Work-Wife and I to sport our matching unicorn onesies (like all housemates have), and we definitely made at least one little girl’s day who posed for a photo with us, and amused most of the other people at the rink. I was even asked if we were part of a special group. I like to think so. 

I am full of surprises:

After a fair amount of internet research, demonstrations from friends and coaxing from my yoga teacher, I attempted my first yoga headstand:

and have been practicing every couple of days since. I’m trying my hardest to learn to walk before I run, to build up to an effortless headstand in phases, to have patience and trust that as I keep doing other poses I am building the strength to make headstands easier. I think that’s the most important thing I’ve learnt in the last few weeks - to be gentle with myself and not rush things…although it’s taken a few tumbles and days of sore neck muscles to make me fully absorb the lesson. 

My time in Hamilton is coming to an end. My third and final Art Crawl is in a few weeks, and I have an out-of-control yarn collection I’ve got to make a serious dent in before I leave. I'll be making my usual cowls, gloves and tea cozies, but I thought I'd learn something new - so here's my latest (and possibly most favourite) achievement - the Cat Bum Coaster!

There’s going to be a fair amount of sitting around crocheting…I think there’s a park bench in the rainforest that’s got my name all over it! 

'If I could do it again I'd make more mistakes, I'd not be so scared of falling.'

A new year, and I really only have one resolution. It’s not even really a resolution, more of an intention - this year I intend to learn. 

Learning, for me, can be a tricky thing. I love being able to do a lot of different things, but I really don’t like to be bad at things. And something I’ve learnt the hard way is that you’re always bad at something when you first start doing it. So often that fear of being ‘bad’ at something has stopped me from taking the first step and actually learning how. Add in a need for everything I do to be perfect and beautiful, and I talk myself out of even trying. 

I’d like this year to be different - I’ve started a crafting business, and the only way I will get that business to grow is by learning new things. I need to learn new techniques, styles and stitches, and to work with different materials. 

I’ve been researching freeform crochet, scrolling endlessly through pictures on Pinterest and looking up various artists. I’ve found spectacular hyperbolic crochet sculptures:

and beautiful freeform crochet landscapes and portraits by artist Jo Hamilton:

Textiles artist Prudence Mapston (www.knotjustknitting.com) creates scrumbles, small patches of freeform crochet that are sewn together:

Freeform crochet doesn’t follow set written patterns - it’s about combining different stitches, styles and materials to create unique fabric that can be sewn onto clothes, sewn into clothes, or just hung on the wall as art. The possibilities are endless, and I’m excited about learning the techniques to allow my imagination to run wild, and get me out of my comfort zone a little bit!

Yoga has definitely inspired me to become better at learning, to accept that the first time you do something (whether is a crochet stitch or a yoga pose), you’re probably not going to do it perfectly. But if you keep doing it, day after day, and keep working at it, before you even realize it’s happening you’re doing Bird of Paradise. Every time I’ve tried to do a particularly tricky pose, I’ve done the best that I can at that moment, and then I leave it. I keep going to class, I keep doing the poses I can, and then a month later I’ll try again. And in that month I will have built up enough strength, balance and flexibility that the harder poses become a little easier. The first time I tried Crow pose I thought there was no way I would ever be able to do it. The first time my toes came off the ground, even for a second, was so exhilarating I couldn’t wait to try again. On Friday I managed 5 seconds of perfectly balanced balancing - and it will only keep getting better, just like everything else I’m going to have a go at learning this year. 

Times Flies, Art Crawls

Another month in Hamilton has flown by, and the little business I seem to have set up in my friend’s living room is getting more official by the day. I’ve had my first Christmas commission, designed my own business cards and spent many hours setting up Pinterest boards and Instagram profiles…which counts as work, right?!

So it’s been a busy month, and tomorrow is Art Crawl; Thanks to my lovely friend Helena at In Fine Feather Yoga I had both a model and a beautiful place to take some photos of the pieces I’ll be selling tomorrow. There are great stocking fillers, like these flower pins and hair slides:

or these iPhone cases made from old t-shirts - ideal for the eco-friendly among us!

I’ll also be selling fleece-lined cowls and gloves, perfect now the snow has started again!

So, Hamiltonians, come out and support your local (or not-so-local!) arts-and-crafters at Art Crawl tomorrow, even if it’s just to say hi! I’ll be on James St from 7pm-11pm if anyone fancies coming by with a nice hot cuppa!

After the madness of Art Crawl is over we still have the craziness of Christmas to contend with - On Saturday 6th there’ll be sleigh rides, carollers and the big man himself (with the missus of course!) on Locke St, so if you’re in the area head down for some serious festive fun…and check out the Vintage Garden Tea Room for a great cup of tea and some pretty cute tea cozies:

And soon these comfy yoga shrugs will be on sale at In Fine Feather, along with headbands and yoga socks, all made from bamboo yarn which is soft, breathable and anti-bacterial - the ideal material for yoga-wear:

If any (or all!) of the above tickle your fancy, and you won't be making it to Art Crawl any time soon, everything that I make and sell is easily mailed - email me with any questions or requests: labouroflovecrochet@gmail.com 

"If In Doubt, Yoga”

I’ve always been very on the fence about yoga. My full experience of yoga consists of the occasional class taken at the gym I went to when I was at uni (which is now an embarrassingly long time ago), a few sessions with a friend who became a yoga instructor in Indonesia, and a couple of mornings trying to stretch and bend on the rolling deck of a sailboat. So basically hardly any. I’ve always been very drawn to the benefits of yoga - who doesn’t want to be more flexible, strong and at one with the universe. I’ve never really got my head around the more spiritual side of things - I mean, how much exercise can you possibly be getting while you lie around on the floor breathing? - and have been put off by how expensive the classes can be. Recently though, I’ve been feeling more and more like yoga could be just the thing my body needs. Maybe I'm getting older, or just getting colder, but waking up in the morning and feeling stiff and tired is becoming less and less acceptable to me. And my mind is definitely a lot more open and accepting of new and different ways to improve my life than it was when I was in my early 20s (as if my life needed improving then, wasn’t I and everything about me just bloody perfect?!) 

So my body was able and my mind was willing - I was just looking for the right situation and circumstances. Hamilton has provided yet again, and I found myself tagging along with my friend to her local yoga studio, In Fine Feather on Ottawa St N. I was promptly signed up for the 30 Day Trial (30 days of unlimited yoga for $30) and handed a class schedule. The studio is open all week, with classes throughout the day, and since I don’t have a job (yet!) I decided to really throw myself into it, and resolved to practice yoga every day for the next 30 days. My aim was to go to the studio for a class a day, but if something came up and I couldn’t make any of the classes, I would make sure I did at least half an hour at home instead. 

I’m writing this post on day 15, halfway through my yoga-challenge. Right now I’m ready and waiting to head to my 12 o’clock class, and I’m actively looking forward to it, which as anyone who knows me will testify, is an unusual way for me to feel about exercise. And there’s no beating about the bush, it’s definitely exercise! I might not be sweating buckets, constantly out of breath or in agony the next day, but even after just 15 days I can already feel benefits and changes start to happen.

Almost immediately I started to become more aware of my posture, how I stand, sit and hold myself when I walk. I’ve always known mine left a lot to be desired, but sitting up straight seemed too uncomfortable, unused muscles having to work to hold me upright, and slumping and slouching was just so much easier. After just a few classes, though, I started to catch myself slouching or curling my shoulders up around my ears and began to straighten up. Sitting up straight feels like the more preferable way to hold my body, and it’s getting easier every day.

My balance is definitely improving as well. My feet and ankles aren’t very strong, and I’m certainly not the most graceful of creatures. I wouldn’t say I was now either, but I don’t feel that it’s necessarily my strength as much as my technique that’s got better. Breathing, focus and concentration are just as important as strong muscles and it feels like developing one side will help the other. Every day I practice I notice small improvements, poses getting stronger and my legs getting less wobbly, which is also wonderfully motivating - on a similar 30 day gym trial I never really noticed anything getting bigger or stronger except my desire to not go any more! 

Yoga has also helped me to realise that there is time, and lots of it, to do everything that you need to do. I take an hour out of the day to make my mind and body stronger and healthier, which surely must be one of the most important things on my to-do-list! As I lie in Shavasana at the end of class, something I previously thought was a pointless waste of time in a workout, I realize that one hour out of the 12 or so waking ones we get is really not a huge amount. If I can find time to do this for myself every day, then what else might I be able to find time for? Taking that small amount of time to breathe, stretch and relax has made me more productive in the rest of my day. It’s helping me to worry less about ‘running out of time’, allowing me to be more present and have a good time - an unexpected side effect that I never got from going to the gym.

At the halfway point I’m stoked to already be seeing benefits, and I’m excited to see how much improvement I’ll make over time. More importantly, I hope I’ll have made yoga into a habit that I can’t kick.

Gettin' Crafty

I've been in Hamilton, ON for almost a month and it's amazing how comfortable and settled I feel here - the weather has been gloriously sunny and mild and I never dreamed I would be walking around Canada in a t-shirt in November. I've been exploring my new home while trying (pretty half-heartedly I have to admit!) to find a job, discovering lovely coffee shops, my local library and farmer's market. I finally got my hands on a bike last week, and it has revolutionized my life - flying along the bike lanes on Cannon st in the autumn sunshine has been the high point of most of my days since. I've been to a lecture on the local food movement in Hamilton at the university, met a beekeeper and picked a pumpkin from the patch for Halloween. I've even taken up yoga. It's fair to say my days have been pretty packed, but somehow I've also managed to seriously indulge my crochet cravings. I hit up a couple of fantastic yarn sales and doubled the size of our collection…the bag of yarn is now pretty much an entire corner of the living room. And oh, how I've been making my way through it! 

On the second Friday of every month the city of Hamilton holds Art Crawl, an arts and crafts market, on James St downtown. Artists are invited to come to James St and display their wares, free of charge, to the wandering public. As soon as I heard about the event I knew I wanted to get in on it - the main reason I've avoided markets is the high cost of renting a stall - so since almost my first day I've been desperately crocheting every moment I get (including whilst waiting for a job interview!) to get some goods together. Scarves and gloves seemed the obvious place to start…

Some beautiful cotton yarn on sale became a range of yoga headbands…

And there's clearly no need to explain the appeal of making these tea cozies!

The Vintage Tea Garden on Locke St will have a display of cozies for sale - I'm hoping tea lovers find them as adorable as I do (in fact, here's the one I made just for me!)

But I've spent most of my time in the last week making Remembrance poppies to raise money for the Canadian Royal Legion. It started with one for myself and one for my housemate - within days people were asking if I could make a couple for them and their buddy/kid/boss. Around the same time I stumbled across a knitting group that meets every other Wednesday night at at baby store in my neighbourhood, and while I was there making more poppies I asked the owner if I could put a jar on their counter to collect donations. She agreed, and during the week I made around 60 - the last lot ran out on Saturday afternoon, and I collected the donation jar on Remembrance Day. In less than one week we managed to raise $164 - I'm so pleased people liked the poppies enough to get one, and to donate so generously for them…people of Hamilton, good on ya! 

Art Crawl is tomorrow, and I'm nervous to have my things on display for sale for the first time. But all the lovely crafty ladies I've met in the last few weeks have been so encouraging and helpful, and the response to a simple little flower was so positive that I can't help but be hopeful. At the very least I know I'm going to enjoy hanging out on James St with my knitting, a thermos of mulled cider and a steady supply of muffins from my favourite coffee shop…there are worse ways to spend a Friday night!

"Come along inside... We'll see if tea and buns can make the world a better place"

There's maybe a few things you should know about me before I launch into my first blog post. 

First of all, I'm English. It's usually fairly irrelevant, but this will be important soon.

Secondly, I'm a long way from home, and have been for some time. Whether it's bumming about Australia in a van, teaching diving on a tropical island in Indonesia, or cruising the Central American coastline on a sailboat, it's fair to say it's been a while since I've really had a  place to call 'home'.

Thirdly, I both have a cold and feel the cold. Both are rubbish, especially in Canada. 

Like I said, I'm English, and we all know that the English love a good brew. Whether it's a builder's tea made from a bag straight in the mug or a beautiful pot of leaves served in delicate porcelain cups, we love it all and are known throughout the world as the 'tea-drinking nation'. A quick look at the World Tea  News website (yes, such a thing exists, at http://www.worldteanews.com) reveals that Turkey is in fact the world leader in tea consumption - 3.15kg per capita, compared to the UK's 1.91kg. However, it should be noted that the Turks use on average 6g of tea per cup that is only used the once. Brits use 2g, or an average bag, and can consume between 4-6 cups a day. Stats for Canada show that 'heavy' tea drinkers will drink about 8 cups a week by comparison. So it's safe to say, Brits enjoy the odd cuppa more than their North American cousins, who've opted firmly for Team Coffee.

But what is it about tea that so captivates and delights? When compared to coffee I think it's easy to see the appeal. Coffee is brash, harsh, a kick up the arse to get you moving in the morning. It's loud to prepare, with the grinder and milk frother,  there's a million confusingly different-yet-similar ways to make it, and it's so easy to get wrong. Tea, on the other hand, is soothing. Preparation is near-silent, unless you count the whistling of the kettle, it's almost impossible to mess up a cup of tea (as long as you are allowed to add your own milk), and it's often served with cake. 

In Lombardi and Petroni's beautiful book, 'Tea Sommelier', the following instructions can be found for 'English Tea': "The perfect tea time must be accompanied by scones, clotted cream, strawberry jam, tea sandwiches, cakes and pastries." Perhaps a bit exact (I prefer raspberry jam myself) but the sentiment is sound - tea is all about pleasure and savouring the moment. There is no expresso equivalent in the tea world. Tea takes time to make, and therefore time should be given over to the consumption of it. And to me that means cake. 

Tea in all it's varieties, colours and flavours, comes from the plant Camellia sinensis, of which there are two types: China, (sinensis), and Assam (a sub-species assamica). Tea is native to Asia but is now grown across the world, including Canada (check out www.teafarm.ca/category/growing-tea/). Young leaves are preferred for tea, so usually the tip (the bud) and the first two leaves are harvested. Changes in flavour are produced by variations in the environment the plants grows in, such as soil, water and sun levels, and different chemical reactions during processing create six different categories. They are green, white, yellow, blue-green, red and black. The leaf is also categorized, based on the quality and how many tips are present, the best being Special Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe, which I think is a truly wonderful, wordy way of describing what is essentially dried leaves. There are over 3,000 types of tea produced, which means your brew from a bog-standard bag is only scraping the surface of what a cup of tea could be.

Walking into my friend's kitchen after a full day of travel to get from Costa Rica to Canada, I instantly felt at home - the first thing that caught my eye was a shelf in the kitchen, simply labelled tea (that's right, she labelled her shelves for me…she's just that awesome!) Jars and tins and boxes, all filled with flavours and varieties I'd never heard of. Some were versions of old classics, such as Creamed Earl Grey. Others were bizarre and tropical, like the Coco-Lemon Thai, a white tea with lemongrass, coconut and ginger. All are loose-leaf teas, and the first thing I noticed is how relaxing preparing of a cup of tea can be. Used to a quick 'brew-up in the cup', I always thought leaves would be messy and time-consuming. And they are; I had just assumed that these were bad things. But what is wrong with taking your time over something that is for your enjoyment, especially if taking that time is going to increase your enjoyment of that thing. Tea needs to brew, to infuse the water with it's flavour and colour, and that's a thing that just can't be rushed. The Japanese have a world-famous tea ceremony that involves special equipment, gestures and protocols; it can take decades to master the Cha No Yu ceremony that uses finely ground green tea. Russians sitting around the samovar, and Moroccan sweet mint tea are other examples of tea tradition and culture around the world that celebrate the place of tea and it's importance. A cup of tea revives and refreshes, makes me feel comforted and satisfied, and that seems worth the wait. Oh, and those pesky tea leaves that seem to get everywhere? They can go straight into your compost, or used to make homemade beauty and cleaning products, so nothing is wasted. 

I can't write an entire essay on tea without mentioning the numerous health benefits, but I don't want to harp on about them. The main reason I drink tea is because it's delicious and soothing to make - the fact that it's good for me is just a pleasant bonus. But tea is good for you, as the young green leaves contain high concentrations of anti-oxidants; for example, the antioxidant activity of two cups of tea is equivalent to seven glasses of orange juice. Anti-oxidants also stimulate the metabolism, are anti-inflammatory, boost the immune system and help lower cholesterol levels. And if that's not good enough, tea also has amino acids that reduce stress, increase concentration and improve sleep disorders. The only downside is perhaps the near-constant need to pee that I've had since I made a start on Mal's tea collection, but even that just makes me feel healthier as I effortlessly expel chemicals and toxins! 

There's so many ways tea has become a focus in my life at the moment - right now I'm far from home, on a new adventure to travel and learn, am scared shitless about the whole thing, and snivelling with a cold to boot. A warm cup of aromatic refreshing tea is exactly what the doctor ordered, and preparing a fusion of plum oolong (a blue-green chinese tea) with yerba mate (not even technically tea, but a South American species of holly!) to enjoy while crocheting away a cold day with my friend is one of the most satisfying ways to indulge both my inner geek and inner aesthete. And in Eganville, Ontario, 5 hours from Hamilton, the Algonquin Tea Company is making organic, hand-picked, indigenous Canadian herbal teas that I would love to get out to see. 

Tea is not just for old ladies and fuddy-duddies - tea blogs abound online (have a look at www.teageek.net for example) and clearly the culture is alive and well around the world. Maybe next time you meet up with a friend for coffee, make yours a tea and become part of a tradition spanning millennia that still captivates people today. 

In the meantime, I think it's time to put the kettle on, don't you?