Almost there....kinda.

I thought it was about time that I did a "BEFORE" and "AFTER" picture - just to motivate myself. This month has been good and not so good, very difficult and exhausting, but also sometimes pretty smooth. I'm up to 83 pounds lost since October 15 and I'm hoping to reach my goal, if not by October 15th of this year, then definitely by December 31st. I have about 20 or so pounds to go.

Can I do it??? I sincerely hope so!!

So, here is a picture of me while knitting on my Swallowtail Shawl in Kauni around about the beginning of October. (This is the closest I could get to a truthful picture...the rest have been de-let-ed!)

BEFORE:


Now, here is the most recent picture of me from Monday at Hampton Beach. (Oh, the boobs!!! Why can't I get better support??)

ALMOST AFTER:


Also, a few other pics of me and Ian while on our anniversary vacation to Mystic, CT - we had such a relaxing and wonderful time! (and no kiddies - just us!)

Ian and I at the Stonington Lighthouse Museum "beach" area:



Just me with my knitting bag (see the purple Namaste bag with blue knitting in it on the left???):



And, now, I'll share some of my newest FOs and progress on the Lizard Ridge Afghan -which is close to halfway done!!

1. Quant from the newest Spin-Off Magazine and also Knitty.com:



Super quick and fun to knit with my own Rambouillet handspun!
(See details and more pictures on my Ravelry page here.)

2. Mousie from Ysolda Teague's "Whimsical Little Knits":



and, Mousie loves Ben...and Ben loves Mousie....



Ben loves this toy and it only took me a few hours - it's extremely fun and quick to knit using just a little bit of yarn (Katia Mississippi 3 Solids in gray and bright pink).
(See details and more pictures on my Ravelry page here.)

3. Icing Swirl Hat from Ysolda's book, "Whimsical Little Knits" (I've almost done half of the projects in the book!)



Super, super fast and very soft and warm. I loved using the Misti Alpaca Chunky for this- gorgeous. I wish the store had the Lipstick colorway, though...that one is awesome!
(See details and more pictures on my Ravelry page here.)

4. Sea Urchin from Ilga Leja Designs:



This top didn't take long at all and was enjoyable from start to finish. Very light, very airy and so comfortable to wear. I used the Katia Mississippi 3 Solids again in the bright pink and I was really happy with how it came out.
(See details and more pictures on my Ravelry page here.)

5. Lizard Ridge Afghan from Knitty.com:



I've got 2 full panels done now and will be knitting at least 2 more, probably 3. I love using the Noro Kureyon - the colors just make this blanket so impressive and stunning. Plus, it's not that scratchy and will be soo warm!
(See details and more pictures on my Ravelry page here.)

Whew! That's a LOT of damn knitting...LOL!

I'm also working on my October Frost Cardigan, my mom's Fudge Swirl Mock Cable Pullover and the Buttercup knitted top in Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool in a bright blue, which is coming out awesome.

Do you think I'm slacking???

(Hugs to all....thank you so much for your comments and constant support!)

Teddy Gained a Sweater, I Lost 50 Pounds!

"Poor Teddy is so cold!", says my 6 year old. "He needs a sweater!"

So, in my mind, the ONLY thing to do in this situation is to whip out the laptop and check Ravelry. Wouldn't you? (he he)

Almost immediately, we found the pattern, "Monkster's Sweater" and we both thought it was adorable. We rushed out to the yarn store (which I'd just left at 1 pm) just before they closed to pick out yarn. Ben chose 3 skeins of Noro Kureyon in color 226 - a blend of dark greens, reds, dark orange, purple and blues. It wasn't a color I would usually pick, but Ben (and Teddy) loved it.

I was so psyched to make this (after knitting the baby cardigan on size 2s for so long, I wanted something quick and fun) that I ended up working on it all night and made it in 4 hours! I was so much fun to knit and I'm very glad that I ended up spending a little more on the yarn because the sweater came out FANTASTIC!! (I'm even thinking of making Ben a sweater in the same yarn to match)

You can find details of this project HERE on Ravelry...I also added some hints and things like that, too.

Hmmm...what else is new? Well, I finished my Fabulous Scarf (see pattern link on right or HERE on Ravelry) out of the remainder of the Ivy Brambles Superwash Worsted to go with the Amanda Hat - both shop samples.

What do you think?


I think it's pretty convenient that you can make both out of only 1 skein - would make a really cute gift for someone, I think. I just used the same size needle that I used for the hat to make the scarf and, although the yarn in thinner, the scarf comes out lacier and has a nicer drape. Plus, the colors of this yarn are sooo pretty!

I'm still working on the baby cardigan, which I need to finish in the next week or so...and I'm designing a new pattern, too, which is super fun to make (of course I'd say that, right! LOL)

I have a new FREE earth-friendly pattern coming out right before Earth Day in April, so keep an eye out for that, k?

Oh, and before I forget.....guess what???

I finally made my second goal of 50 POUNDS lost on WW!!!!!

I'm very happy and I'm crossing my fingers that I can keep it up until I reach my goal weight. (please, please)

Here are the things I do everyday to stay on track:

1. Exercise for at least 30-40 minutes (a mixture of aerobics, Wii Fit and yoga) 6 times a week or more
2. Be vigilant about keeping track of every single thing I put in my mouth in my WW journal
3. Eat one Flat Belly Diet food with every 8 point (approx. 400 calorie) meal - this TRULY keeps me fuller and more satisfied
4. Drink at least 64 oz of filtered water per day...or more
5. Knit or spin whenever I feel like I want to eat
6. Eat more veggies, fruit and protein than carbs (I love carbs) because carbs make me so much more hungry - and I eat one carb per meal, but it's whole grain and full of fiber.
7. Only eat out once a week at a restaurant, if possible. (sometimes, it's twice, but if I do go out again, I only order a salad and grilled chicken and bring my own dressing)
8. Journal!!! (I can't tell you how addicted I am to journaling - even my iPhone has a Gratitude Journal app!)
9. Take some nice, deep yoga breaths (with or without music) to make me feel calmer
10. Eat my favorite food once a week so I don't feel deprived - but I make sure to count the points.

And, finally, a picture of me from last week with my new haircut - you can't tell, but back is to my collar and the front angles towards my face and it's longer. Do you like it? (My oldest took the picture -he's so nice)



This week I lost just under 4 pounds to make my goal. I'm freezing all the time now, but it's sooo worth it to feel better and fit more easily in my clothes. AND, I'm actually looking forward to my yearly doctor's appointment this year. Go figure!

I wanted to thank everyone who posted supportive and loving words on my weight loss - I can't tell you how much it means to me. You're like my Blogging Cheering Section and I love you guys for it. Really : )

Spinning Made Me a Loser!

Finally, after many months of a spinning "dry spell", I got back on my *ss (literally) and started spinning a little on my Ashford Joy. The fact that I owed my friend, Donna, a skein of handspun for over a year now was also very good motivation! (he he)

For those of you that spin, you might have had that "nah, don't really feel like spinning right now..." turn quickly into "omg, do I have enough fiber to keep spinning through the weekend?!!??" feeling. Yup, that's what happened to me.

I not only finished this large handspun skein for my friend, but I'm also very close to finishing 7 oz of a beautiful blend of Icelandic lamb/mohair in an off-white color. Sooo pretty. I always hope for a 2 ply laceweight (which I've come close to, but not actually achieved yet) and I think this one might be the one!! I have a beautiful lace scarf or shawl in mind for this yarn, depending on how many yards I can get out of it after plying.

Anyway, here are the details of the very vibrant handspun I just finished...

DETAILS of HANDSPUN

Fiber: Sereknity's BFL (blue faced leicester, 100%) in colorway, "Blue Hawaii)
Weight: 4 ounces
WPI: (wraps per inch) 20-21, fingering weight yarn
Ply: 2 ply (singles spun with Z twist, plied with S twist)
Ratios: Singles (8:1), Plying (11:1)
Yardage: After plying, 355 yards
Fun Level: Absolutely awesome - not just because the fiber was a good quality, which it was, but also because the colorway was so interesting to look at and see how it transitioned from the bright blues to the turquoise to the purple. Lovely!

And, now, some more pics:

On the wraps per inch guide- (notice that I plied it loosely so that it would have extra softness and bounce- oh, it's SO soft!)


Finished yarn all wrapped up nicely-


I had a number of yards of singles left over from one of the bobbins, so I decided to use the navajo ply technique to make myself a little 3 ply to keep.



and, the wraps per inch for this was...about 14, which made it a DK weight-


I ended up getting only 9 yards of the 3 ply, but still enough to make a swatch!



I love this yarn so much that I'm having a hard time thinking I'll be giving it to Donna on Friday. But, she deserves it for waiting soo many months for it and I hope she likes it as much as I do! (if she doesn't, I can always keep it, right??!!??)

Now, how did spinning make me a loser?? Well, I did so much spinning this week (as well as my Wii fit, yoga and jogging some here and there), that I lost 4 pounds this week!!!! I can't tell you how happy I am about this!!!

So, now I'm up to 44 pounds in 16 weeks..woo-hoo!!! (I was wrong last week - I was only on my 15th week - I talked to the receptionist at WW today and I just finished my 16th)

I don't know if my back, shoulders, neck and wrists can keep up this level of knitting and spinning, but I'm going to try.

If you're a spinner, how is YOUR spinning coming along so far this year??

When is it MY turn???

Hi you! I know...I've been pretty lazy about blogging lately.

I feel as if there are these weird excuses priorities for knitting, like:

ONE: Find pattern
TWO: Find yarn
THREE: Knit item
FOUR: Admire/wear/share item
FIVE: Find time to take pictures of item
SIX: Swear profusely when you can't get a good picture of item. (Apologize to children for swearing)
SEVEN: Remember to load pictures of item to computer, once you find your camera AND camera cord (This sometimes takes days)
EIGHT: Post item on Ravelry...after many side-tracked hours of pattern-surfing.
NINE: Go to Blogger and attempt to finally share a new blog post (which is usually at least 1-2 weeks behind), but get side-tracked (AGAIN!) in reading friends blogs.
TEN: After much effort, getting to the "Create New Post" area and listing 10 reasons why you haven't posted until now.

Pretty clever, huh?

So, now that I've done my necessary blabbering, I will show you a new FO (woo-hoo!!) and share some other stuff, too. Most of it is pretty interesting, too! Imagine that!

Ian's Felted Clogs

Yarn: Cascade 220 in a dark gray #8400
Pattern: Fiber Trends' "Felted Clogs"
Needle: US 13 (20 and 32" circ - I used Addi Turbos)
Time: Took about 4.5-5 hours (of actual knitting time) per slipper, not counting the sewing on of the suede sole (which took 1 hour total for both). Started on 1/ 06/09 and finished (with knitting, felting, felting more, and sewing up of both) 1/17/09.
Fun Level: B+ (I liked this pattern very much. It was clearly written, even though it was a bit complicated at parts. Once you make one slipper, the next one is a breeze. The only two things I didn't like were making 2 soles and sewing on of the suede sole - that was a pain in the a**!)

Picture of the slipper in progress:



Picture of the unfelted slipper on my hubby:



Pictures of the slippers on him:



He really loves them and has been wearing them since I finished them. They're a little big in the toe area (a little too wide) but, other than that, perfect!



Now...I'm working on a pair for Tim! (Black with red trim)

I just bought a number of skeins of yarn this week...I know, I know...I don't need them! But, I've had more requests for knitted items and I just can't say "no". (This is a weak point of mine.)

Let me share with you my yummy yarns:

1. 2 Skeins of Malabrigo (for Armando and Amanda Hats!) and 1 skein of Berroco Comfort in red.



2. 1 skein of Berroco Comfort in teal and 1 skein of Jojoland 100% cashmere laceweight in the most beautiful blue in the world!!



The Comfort yarn is for this: Hai-Riyo Dragon! (Rav link) One for each of my boys- and I bought some matching Berroco Lumina (sparkle, sparkle!) yarn for the dragon-y accents.

Since the beginning of December 2008 (so...about a month), I've been working on a number of items of other people:

-The "Branching Out" scarf for my mom's boss
-My dad's crocheted (acrylic!!) blanket
-Felted Tote for Felice
-Knitted Flower washcloth for Tim's piano teacher
-Felted Clogs for Ian and Tim
-Knitted socks using Sereknity yarn for Gigi (in exchange for a gorgeous pink, angora crocheted scarf!)
-Lace sample for the yarn store

And, I'm asking myself...."When is it MY turn???" When will I finally be done knitting things for others so I can knit for me??? I know this sounds horribly selfish, but knitting starts to become more like a chore than fun at some point. I DID get to knit a couple of things that I wanted to since December...like:

-My Mr. Flurry snowman (Rav link)
-A design item that I sent in
-Bella's Mittens (Rav link....oooh, see pics below -these were VERY fun!!)



AND...I have a baby sweater to knit (which I'm actually kinda excited about because it's soo cute!) for my mom's boss' daughter's baby-to-be - which is due late Feb.

Will I finish everything?? Will I end up having a nervous breakdown before then? Stay tuned for the results.... (he he)

P.S. Weight Watchers Update: 37.5 pounds total in 14 weeks!! I'm very excited. I've been doing yoga every day and also working out on the Wii Fit 5-6 times a week for at least 30 minutes. I'm trying not to eat too many snacks in between meals and still following some of the Flat Belly Diet rules along with my WW rules and points. I'm drinking TONS of water and eating TONS of vegetables -which, to me, is hard to do in the winter. Must-keep-gooooooiiiinnnng!!!!!

Weight-ing for a Baby Sweater

Well, it's back again.

The weight, I mean.

I always think that, this time, I'm finally on the right track with my weight loss and then....wham!...something (usually emotional) comes along and throws my diet (and motivation) into the trash.

But, I'm not giving up. I've rejoined Weight Watchers for the third time. The first time, I got to within a few pounds of my goal weight and then...got pregnant with Ben. (I've heard that this happens often...) Second time, I joined with a close friend (not sure if she wants me announcing this on my blog, so I'll be discreet) and then I totally lost my motivation after a certain number of pounds. (It was over 25, which I was happy about, so I don't really know what happened....)

Julie and I have decided to cheer each other on with getting back in shape and check in regularly with each other so that we keep ourselves on the right path...and to be accountable to someone, which is always a good thing. If you can't be positively motivated for dieting, then at least you can be scared sh*tless into having the other person know you've gained weight - or didn't go to the gym when you were supposed to. Sometimes having a good dieting "fright" can be helpful. LOL!

And, as you can see from above, I'm also knitting something new this week. My husband's cousin just had a baby boy and I'm making him the Presto Chango cardigan/sweater with the most unusual yarn.

I found this yarn while in Vermont at the Northeast Fiber Arts Studio in Williston, which is literally down the street from Ian's grandparents. It's probably only 1/2 a mile. A great store (as I've said before) with lots of my favorite yarns, weaving, spinning, and felting supplies. Friendly people, too. I could shop there for h-o-u-r-s! Anyway, I was looking for a washable cotton yarn for the Presto Chango and, when I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for, I happened upon this:

Queensland Collection's "Bebe CotSoy"

Now, it may not sound that impressive, but OMG...it's awesome! Everyone who touches it says, "Ohhhhhhhhh! So soft!" and makes that slightly obscene-partially orgasmic face...you know the one I mean, right?

I'm definitely not a fan of cotton yarn knitting, but this yarn takes exception. Truly. To me, it feels very close to cashmere and knits up almost like it. Some people have compared it to touching silk or a non-fuzzy angora. It comes in some really excellent colors and I love the bright blue I'm working with right now. The price is very reasonable for the 110 yards.

I only have two issues with it (and those issues are very small):

1. It says that the gauge is 5 stitches per inch on size US 7 needles. I'm a loose knitter and I'm getting 5 stitches per inch on size 4 needles. Not sure how they're getting this figure, but I think, as long as you do your own swatch, you should be fine. It's more of a sportweight yarn than a dk weight, in my opinion.

2. The yarn has a bit of a fluff problem. Not an overall fuzzy situation like angora, mohair or some cashmeres, but more of ann occasional "fluffy fart". After about an hour of knitting, there'll be a few farts puffs of fiber here and there on me or on the knitting. They come off easily and not very irritating, but still there. I don't mind, but some others might.

Other than those, I'm in love, with this yarn and the pattern is pretty great. Can't wait to finish so I can see how it all fits together.

I'd love to have a blanket (or panties) made with this yarn. Mmmmmmmmm..................

Before I go, I wanted to leave a few tips that I've used this week (I lost 7.4 pounds in one week!) that I incorporated into my Weight Watcher points that I found on the Prevention/Flat Belly Diet website: (for anyone who cares to try them)

These rules are supposed to be for the first 4 days of the diet only, I believe.
1. Make sure to drink 8 glasses of water a day.
2. Do not add additional salt to any meal.
3. Do not drink any carbonated beverages (including seltzer, diet and plain soda)
4. Eat cooked rather than bulk, raw vegetables
5. Stay away from gassy vegetables and fruits like broccoli, peppers, cauliflower and citrus fruits.
6. Use their Sassy Water recipe for your water (I didn't like this recipe, so I made my own by adding 1 tablespoon of unsweetened cranberry juice and 1 tbs. fresh lemon juice to 64 oz of filtered water to drink per day).
7. Don't chew gum - this adds more air to your stomach.
8. Reduce your carbs, but eat whole grain ones when you do have them.

These are general eating rules for this diet, though I haven't read the book fully yet, so please read the book first yourself and consult your doctor before trying anything here....I want you to be safe and informed!

- Eat (4), 400 calorie meals per day.
- Eat 1 serving of a MUFA with each meal.
- Movement is good throughout the day.

MUFA Serving:

1. 2 Tbs. of nuts/seeds - like almonds, sunflower, macademia, flax, pistachio and walnut and/or peanut butter
2. 1/4 cup of Hass Avocado/guacamole
3. 2 Tbs. oils - like olive, flax, canola
4. 10 large olives
5. 1/4 cup of dark or semi sweet chocolate chips

I followed these rules for the week and I did pretty good for weight loss. (I'm upping my yoga routine and walking, as well.) I wasn't hungry as long as I made sure to eat every 4 hours and all the foods I picked were so tasty. I hope this works for you, too ; )