My first video

It's difficult for us novice skaters to hold a camera in position while skating. 
And I took this one of her.   Click here  to see my skating pal.

Scrap skirt

This last Thursday was the second week of derby boot camp for DD and DDF.  To assist DDF who works ten hour days and cannot possibly get from her job to her home and then on to the rink by the start of practice I pick up her dogs in the morning, keep them all day and then return them to her apartment on my way to the rink for the evening session. She says she couldn't do the bootcamp without my service.  This makes me feel good; I like to help DDF out. 

DDF's dogs are familiar with me as I've dogsat them many a time, so other than driving them back and forth, the only big thing is to walk them.  No problem.  It was hot that day so the dogs and I spent a lot of time sitting in the shade of the garden.
Around two o'clock I started thinking about skating and wondering what I could wear that would be less warm than my usual black workout pants.  Decided right then and there that I should make a summer skating skirt.  Wasted a lot of time searching for the box of Lycra pieces, thinking I might have some turquoise that would work nicely.  Never did find it but did come across a stray piece of white Lycra in a bag near a pile of unfinished quilts.  Didn't want a boring white skirt so I rummaged about for suitable skirt fabric.  Not enough of any one piece to make a whole skirt.  As three o'clock drew near I had no choice but to give up the idea or make the skirt from odds and ends.  By four-thirty I'd finished the skirt.  Here is what I made. 

left side of skirt, green front, orange back, chiffon and lace

Seventh of ten

Ten girls; no boys.  The first was born in 1930, the last in 1955.  Mama was 16 when she married, 17 when her first was born.  Our parents grew up in Minnesota, had five children there before moving to Oregon where the last five of us were born.  I don't recall Mama ever mentioning any skating forays but I know that Daddy did a bit of ice hockey in his youth. 
There was an ice rink just blocks from the house I grew up in on 6th Street, in Eugene.  Many stories of the fabulous skating costumes Mama sewed for my older sisters, who evidently were stars at the rink, held my wonder.  That rink was long gone by the time I strapped on my first pair of sidewalk roller skates in the mid 1950's.  I didn't ice skate until my adult years and only then for a brief period. 

Here is a picture of me with six of my sisters.  They came all the way to Portland to observe my 60th birthday in March, 2010.  Here were are at Oak's Park.  One is absent because she couldn't make the trip and sadly, two have passed on (the oldest and the youngest).

Skating tips

Helpful advice I've received over the past 13 months:

1. Keep your knees bent.
2. You shouldn't attempt crossovers while skating in a straight line, only do them on a curve.
3. Hold your abs tight while you skate.
4. The bent leg holds you up, it's called the working leg. The other is the pretty leg and may be straight with foot extended to point the toe. It is understood that each leg gets equal time being pretty and working.

5. When you transition from foot to foot, as in a crossover, rest a moment before setting the next foot down. This looks a lot more elegant than the herky-jerky quickleft-quickrightcross-quickleft.

6. To make a curved movement you must balance on your edges. Even a slight lean to one side will cause you to use edges and go in that direction.

7. Never use the toe-stop when going forward; you should employ a T-stop or snow-plow to stop or slow you in a forward motion. Toe-stops are only for stopping while going backwards.

8. Bend your knees. I know I've already said this but it is essential to doing just about anything on skates. It bears repeating and you'll hear it a lot. Strengthen those knees and the other moves come along gracefully.

9. The "and" position is when both feet are brought back together, side by side. This for proper stroking.

10. When going forward, lead the body from the sternum. Keep your neck straight and hold your chin up. Always keep posture in mind and you'll develop other skills properly.

My advice for processing the above guidance:
1. It takes time and a lot of practice to master anything. Be patient with yourself even if you think you aren't making any progress. Bottom line is to have fun and enjoy yourself. Do give yourself credit just for being a good sport and not giving up.

2. Break it down. It's easy to become overwhelmed with the many components of footwork and balance. Focus on one small part of anything you want to learn before adding the next part or step of the sequence.  You don't have to be perfect and there is no clock or calendar counting down the time. Play with it and enjoy the moment.

3. Don't listen to everyone.

4. Watch good skaters.
5. Learn how to take proper care of your boots, plates, wheels, bearings, cushions and laces.
6. Spend as much time as you possibly can skating.

Play clothes

Truth be told, I take skating seriously but I'm not a serious skater. I don't care about achieving any noted levels that require taking lessons and passing tests. It's all about the fun, the sensation of gliding; for me it's an endless carnival ride. Oh, and the clothes. I love colorful socks in bold patterns. Having such fun on my feet it seems logical to dress them up for the occasion.     Sporty, comfortable and good looking clothing is another point of interest to me. I love the look of the classic skating skirt, but I never considered getting one until recently. Yesterday I cut out and stitched one up in about four hours. I had to design the skirt pattern from scratch, I have one somewhere in my many boxes of patterns but I was too impatient to hunt for it. The attached pants (hidden from view) are from a McCall's swimsuit pattern (number 3566). I chose the boy-leg trunks, article F. This isn't the first skate skirt I've ever made but the first for myself.