faeriedreamz

Yesterday I weighed in at 257 pounds.  Before I start explaining, let me note that in 2018, I was 299. I've lost over 35 pounds and kept it off for over 2 years. I'm super proud of that, but the journey continues. During the stay-at-home mandate, I lost about 15 pounds. Healthy eating, cutting carbs, lots of veggies, protein and healthy oils. But then I gained all 15 pounds back after started eating more "normally". It's a combination of introducing foods higher in carbs and craving sweets so much. (I really think it's the sweets. I wasn't eating a ton of sugar, but i was constantly craving sweet things.) Now, since the 4th is over,  I'm thinking about how to get back to my healthier life style choices.  How do i keep my Calorie intake under 1500 cal/day? How do I implement the healthier lifestyle choices I want, but still sometimes have bread? Can I enjoy breakfast at my favorite joint on Saturdays and still eat "healthy"? If I implement...

Bead crochet is all the rage in my head. It's been a couple of months, actually. During the Christmas break from work, I had a dear friend over to play with beads - she has a small stash, and felt like she wasn't getting enough out of them.  I was thrilled to have a reason to pull mine out.  She wanted to learn bead crochet, but i started her on the peyote stitch, because my bead collection had been spread out, and it took me a bit of time to find all the bead crochet stuff. We never got that far, she fell in love with peyote; but I remembered how i like to bead crochet, and off i went. I'll share pictures of those bracelets, and my process and materials as I have time. In the mean time, I want to share something else... beading of course. Over the course of years beading, I have come to rely on the bead mats that are commercially available. The first time I found them, I was at my local bead shop - I have several available, but one favorite stands head and shoulders...

This year for Mother's Day, I found the perfect pattern about 6 weeks ago.  Now, understand that my mom has lost an incredible amount of weight! This makes sweater building in short time much more doable. This is Nicole.  Her chest is clearly larger than the intended size, but she was checking fit for me while we were out to lunch one day! This sweater is Tappan Zee from knitty.com. I modified it just a hair, and used commerical yarn I picked up at Webs several years ago. (I bought it site unseen, and the color was "scarlet". It's not any scarlet I've ever seen before!) My mods are slightly longer sleeves, so mom can lift her arms without exposing her arm pits - just a comfort thing, and extending the buttons down the front. Mom would have very little use for a cardigan that didn't have buttons all the way down.  She seems pretty happy with it - if the pictures can be trusted :) I have a limited amount of time, and unless I plan something super far in ...

I haven't started blocking that shawl yet. We got a rug last week, and installed it over the week, but I haven't gotten the shawl blocked yet. :( I have, however, been studying and reading Cat Bordhi's new book, Personal Footprints: for Insouciant* Sock Knitters .  It's really fascinating.  If you are a sock knitter, or interested in a different construction style for socks, you should check out her page about the book, and the successive videos. It's incredibly simple and soooo smart. i will say this, however, if you choose to deviate from Cat's instructions (such as figuring you will mark the lifelines later... ) well, you might regret it. I did! Pictures when i get the sock done... but i think my love affair with sock knitting will continue!

The largest project I worked on this summer was the Shipwreck Shawl from knitty.com. My dear friend at work, Nicole, saw the shawl in the Summer issue.  I hestitated because shawls are really big undertakings - especially "Pi" shawls. I haven't yet finished my first "Pi" shawl! I didn't know if I could do it. However, I am not above bribery - and Nicole can be very persuasive and also, insistent when she needs to be, and I desperately needed a software license for a problem at work. I wasn't getting one from the contacts I had, so i figured I'd ask Nicole. I offered the shawl as a bribe, and she accepted. (You also need to know that this is the woman who rushed me to the hospital when my husband was in a car accident - our only car -  and stayed in the ER till 3/4 in the morning to drive us home. Nicole gets bribed with shawls for a reason ;) ) She took care of my issue, and I started working on the problem. I also started trying to find yarn ...

It's been a busy year. So busy, that I just didn't update my blog since January 1. That is either a) a very busy year or b) a very lazy blogger. We'll just chalk it up to very busy, right? ;) (wow, i just checked, and I had 3 posts I never actually posted...) My job is going strong, and I am very grateful to be working; especially as people around me are worried about dropping like flies. My husband is doing well, and his shoulder injury has been completely healed. (His depression too!) We have moved to a wonderful 3.5 bedroom apartment with two full bathrooms and a full sized kitchen! I love it. Our kitties are doing well, and the knitting is going well too. A few weeks ago, I decided to dye my own yarn for my very own Shawl That Jazz . Now, before I tell you the about the dying process, let me tell you about the yarn. After buying the much lusted over pattern, I pondered what yarn I would use. The biggest difficulty in this decision being that the sock yarn the pa...