As a teacher of knitting, there are many times when I will have to work on a project with a student so I can see where they are in order to help. I have rewritten lost patterns by slowly deconstructing a piece and charting it as I go so that the knitter could have a new pattern to save and work by. I have fixed errors and ripped back for knitters in order to get them back on track. I have spent hours learning something that I didn't understand when a question was asked that I didn't know myself so that I could turn around and give good advice. All of these things I really enjoyed doing. They challenged me and allowed me to give back to the knitting community...most of all, they helped me empower someone else in the process.
I can't tell you the number of students who come back and tell me that now they are passing on and teaching someone else...this brings me great happiness. There is always someone who can teach me and someone I can teach; it is an endless spiral of give and take and sharing and community and it makes me so happy to be a part of this beautiful fiber world.
I haven't designed any knitting for a while. My focus has been on enjoying the process again, but I'm starting to feel the urge. Pictured above is where I am on the sweater with the scarf that needs to be blocked in the driveway to reach the 7-foot mark that the pattern calls for. So much lovely green.
I have been creating herbal concoctions and this is an enjoyable but slow process. Herbs take time to steep in vinegar and oils and I am patiently waiting as they do their thing.
In the meantime, I have been writing new recipes where the herbs all blend together to form something amazing...like a community. I've been slowly gathering new essential and carrier oils and creating a good strong foundation of essentials.
It feels good to watch things slowly come together; to have a supportive community that is eager to try my new herbal recipes and I am so thankful for all my testers who have helped me rediscover my love of herbs and how they can help us heal.
This weekend I played with red peppers. Red chili peppers contain capsaicin which is a chemical that increases blood circulation and stops the pain transmitter receptors from reaching the brain by overloading them. I am making a red chili pepper oil which will become a base for my new muscle rub.
If you do this be very careful, red chili pepper can burn the eyes and mucous membranes. Use gloves when touching the peppers and never ever lean over to smell how yummy your peppers are. I might have done this in my youth while I was ironing...you know multi-tasking. And thank the Goddess that it didn't end in disaster because my eyes were burning to the point of there was nothing but pain in my head. Blind, I wandered outside somehow and then found my neighbor who was gardening and who gave me a cup of milk and I poured it on my eyes.
That was the best...feeling...ever. Beautiful, instant glorious relief. I was covered in milk but that was fine and dandy.
Thankfully, the iron was upright...the whole thing is laughable now and my hubby loves to tell the story of the day I was making homemade chili powder and basically, pepper-sprayed myself x 10.
Moral of the story; always use caution with chili peppers and save your ironing for later. Oh, and in case you are wondering the homemade chili powder was the best my boss had ever tasted.
I've been looking at different options and listening to what people have asked for and I'm trying to accommodate everyone on some level. First of all, was the smell; the man who asked for this rub didn't want it to smell medicinal. So I went for musky, mysterious and homey.
I'm not sure which of these warming oils are making the grade yet or if I will have a woman's and a manly rub...but I was thinking about:
Chamomile - anti-inflammatory, eases muscle pain and spasms
Frankincense - anti-inflammatory, reduces stressed muscles and eases pain
Ginger - eases back pain, improves mobility, eases rheumatic and arthritic pain and eases spasms
Lavender - anti-inflammatory, relieves muscle tension and spasms, eases joint pain and headaches
Nutmeg - warming, used in massage oils to soothe soreness in overworked muscles
Rosemary - anti-spasmodic, reduces muscle and joint pain, eases backache and headaches
Sage - anti-inflammatory and spasmodic, eases muscle tension and spasms
If it all works out right, I should have a nice warming deep penetrating anti-inflammatory, anti-spasmodic pain reducer that smells good too.
Yay! A very productive and varied week.
Happy crafting,
Ruinwen
:)
