Eurythmy - DVD
Balance of Body and Soul

Mark Neil, Beatrice Gwinner, Friederike Heinsdorff

12 Exercises for Harmony of Body, Soul and Spirit - Gentle and appropriate for all ages

$39.95 retail price

One of the most frequent questions we have heard over the past 10 or so years has been, "Is there any book or video that teaches eurythmy?" Now we can answer, "yes." Australian eurythmist Mark Neil has taken up the challenge and answer the need beautifully. In fact, what you'll find on this DVD goes far beyond anything we dared even wish for - even someone as naturally ungraceful as I am can follow the simpler exercises successfully, notice improvement over time, and emerge from each session feeling invigorated and happy (that's a testimonial - I have actually been doing them).

Every exercise is presented more than once, with clear movements for you to follow. My favorite, recommended for the evening, but I do it whenever I feel the need, is Hallelujah! Try it when you're feeling a bit frazzled - it's like seeing the sun come out on a rainy day.

The exercises are gentle and appropriate for all ages, though some of the more complex exercises may be best for teens and adults. As with all eurythmy instruction, there is no spoken instruction so as to be able to go from the act directly into body and soul without detouring through the intellect. As someone who loves to detour through the intellect, I must (reluctantly) confess that the approach works beautifully, once you just do it. It's not the way we are accustomed to being taught, but the results are something we can all love.

And, what will you gain from this? The list is enticing and in my experience, accurate: strength, flexibility, balance; you'll find you're more relaxed after a while and that you feel more alive; you'll sleep better and your ability to focus and percieve will be heightened; best of all, you'll rediscover your playfulness, you'll smile more often.

Contents:

Exercises for the Morning

• I take the warmth of the sun
• Rod exercise

Exercises for the Day

• I think speech
• I A O
• Looking for love
• Five pointed star (A E I O U)
• I'm happy, I'm sad

Exercises for the Night

• Hallelujah

Further Exercises

• I A O with jump
• Second rod exercise
• Evolutionary sequence
• Contraction and expansion

Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles
A manual of elegant knitting techniques and patterns

Cat Bordhi

Softbound

$16.95 retail price

Click image for a larger view of the socks

Cat Bordhi's first book has changed the landscape of handknitting socks. I'm someone who has never really minded using 4 or 5 double pointed needles to knit small items in the round; on the other hand, I have never really looked forward to it, either. Never once in my knitting experience have I gone out of my way to find an excuse to use double pointed needles. Needless to say, my interest in knitting socks was minimal at best.

All that has changed now: In addition to enticing me with terrific designs, Cat's technique, which replaces the 4 or 5 double pointed needles with 2 circular needles, makes sock knitting fun, fast and much, much easier to do well. Her instructions are crystal clear and well-illustrated and her techniques are elegant and sure.

Additionally, she is very, very funny to read -- the only trouble I had when trying to follow her instructions was that it's hard to keep track of where you are when you are laughing so much. However, even with that challenge, I did manage to move forward and can now zip along through a pair of socks as though I've always known how.

Cat Bordhi is also the author of Treasure Forest, the best juvenile fiction I've read in years, and A Treasury of Magical Knitting, above.

A Treasury of Magical Knitting

Cat Bordhi

Softbound

$26.95 retail price

Click here for a sampler of what's inside.

I cannot more strongly express my delight and excitement over your knitting book, A TREASURY OF MAGICAL KNITTING. After so many long years of the ordinary in the world of knitting texts, you have provided me with renewed vigor and almost compulsive interest with the contents of your book. Every pattern revives my anxious fervor to make it whether I have someone to give it to or not.

Nino M Esposito

A Treasury of Magical Knitting instantly became one of my oldest and best knitting friends. I've hardly put it down since it arrived and will bet that you won't tuck it neatly away on your bookshelves, either.

Cat Bordhi has done nothing less than blaze a new trail in knitting -- a trail that leads along pathways amazing, tantalizing, exciting and, yes, deep and meditative. She takes us far into the fascinating world of the Moebius, that truly magical form that has only one side and two dimensions, yet appears in our three dimensional world.

Cat plunged into the Moebius and has emerged with a knitting technique that is as magical as the form itself. It begins with a new sort of casting on -- using a long, coiled circular needle! Then, on the first round the stitches magically double; voila!, you are immersed in the center of a Moebius, knitting along, discovering that your creation is proceeding from the center outwards, toward both edges at once.

And, here's another piece of magic: the result of your joyous creation (we certainly can't call this "labor") is one of the most elegant pieces of clothing imaginable. These scarves, hats, capes, evening shawls, and more are beautiful, stunning even, and will look great on anyone who wears them. Once you've begun, you'll find that you're inventing your own original Moebius and discovering your own new ways of emerging with a finished product that is as much a pleasure to wear as it was to create.

A Treasury of Magical Knitting is the sort of knitting book that sets my hands tingling, so eager are they to get started with the next magical project. Whether you treat yourself to the world's most scrumptous knitting, or give it to a teen who has lost interest in the craft (or better still, leave it lying around for them to find themselves), you will love what the Moebius can do!

Cat Bordhi is also the author of Treasure Forest, the best juvenile fiction I've read in years, and Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles, below.

A Second Treasury of Magical Knitting

Cat Bordhi

Softbound

Retail Price: $26.95

Click on cover for larger view of sample creations

The adventure continues!

A Second Treasury of Magical Knitting has left me nearly breathless with inspiration and amazement.  A quick glance sent shivers up my spine; a closer look had me seeking needles and yarn, eager to explore the captivating magical creations. This delightful book is the stuff of knitters' dreams -- bold, breakthrough techniques and cutting-edge, delicious designs, all within any knitter's reach. 

I have loved playing with and thinking about Moebius strips since I first learned about them at about age 9. Cat has made it possible for me to find them magically appearing between my knitting needles, and then to watch as they transform into all manner of things I never thought they could be -- well, it really is better than chocolate! The Second Treasury takes us deeper into the world of magical forms, and introduces us to baskets, bags, hats and, oh, so much more -- all created from a two-dimensional form that has somehow contrived to enter our three-dimensional world. Oh my!

This isn't just knitting at its best -- this is life at its best!

Treasure Forest

Book One of the Forest Inside Trilogy

Winner of the NAPRA 2004 Nautilus Award for Young Adult Fiction

Cat Bordhi

Hardbound

$21.95 retail price

Treasure Forest is flat-out the best juvenile fiction I have read in years and years. It has the page-turning adventure of the Harry Potter books (the difference being that it is carefully written and well-edited) combined with the heart-warm depth of C. S. Lewis's Narnia series. In the midst of all this depth and excitement, Cat Bordhi brings something more: a crystalline clarity, a sparkling delight with the World and Creation, an understanding of nature and of people that shines with great love. This is a story not to be missed, one destined to nourish generations of children and adults -- a story that ripples outward, like the rings after a pebble penetrates the water.

It begins with a question, the bequest of beloved departed grandparents:

How can you retrieve a treasure from the bottom of a pond without disturbing the water?

The question is Ben's, but his quest for the answer involves his sister Sarah as well.

Immediately on the heels of the bequest, which also includes Grandmother's house by the forest, the villain of the story creeps into the scene, disrupting and destroying as he goes. Daggett is one of the most complex, modern villains to ever intrude upon the lives of fictional characters. Daggett knows, loves and understands nature, but can't in the least comprehend the world of people. As a result, he frightens and harms even those people whose love he longs for -- a villain for the 21st century, to be sure.

The mystery and magic which follow take us into the nooks, crannies and catacombs of life; into Nature as it exists in the Forest, and into the nature of the human heart. On the way, there are memorable characters, exhilarating discoveries, courageous deeds, and a treasure more precious than gold.

I would recommend this book for all children and adults over the age of seven. Even teenagers love this book, and I know that you will be as melancholy as I was to turn the last page. (The good news is that Book Two is underway!)

Cat Bordhi is also the author of A Treasury of Magical Knitting and Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles. Although she promised to behave herself and leave knitting out of Treasure Forest, she didn't quite manage it. On her website, you can find patterns for the forest socks her mother knits Sarah and the knitted treehouse (really!) Ben learns to make www.catbordhi.com