Disappointed

Well, the news was not good at my weigh in last night, I gained 400g.  Not too much of a tragedy I know, but  I really hate putting it on when it is so hard to get it off!  I am blaming the TimTams!  Well, myself really for putting them in my mouth :)
However, the good news is that I stayed for the meeting, which put me back in the right frame of mind, and feel very inspired today, have been eating healthy food all day, now just have to deal with going out to an Italian restaurant tonight for dinner...

Today was my day off from work (I have Fridays off) and I had to take my car to get it serviced this morning.  Instead of getting my daughter to follow me and bring me home, I decided to stay and wait.  It only took about 2 hours, and, naturally, I took my knitting with me.  I got a few funny looks, as you just don't see people sitting around knitting any more, well, not here in Perth anyway. Then, lo and behold, a lady came and sat near me, also waiting for her car, and out came a GIGANTIC blanket that she was crocheting!  It was just really cheap yarn she had bought at a $2 shop, a multi-coloured yarn, and it was looking just stunning!  Made me want to learn to crochet. I felt like we had a bond, secret knitter's business he he.

Now for the photos of the beautiful alpaca yarn that my lovely friend Jill gave me at work the other day..
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Jill has even "met" the particular alpaca that this beautiful yarn came from, her name is Amber Rose, and the business is called "Cosy Yarns", you can find them at www.cosyyarns.com.au     I will be putting in another order some time soon !

 

Well, we are out for dinner tonight, so no more knitting for me today.

 

Happy knitting....

The tension builds....

Thankfully my healthy eating has been back on track, had a great day yesterday, got stuck into my knitting last night, and managed to stay away from chocolate biscuits!  Tonight is weigh in night, not sure how I will go, have had a rotten cold/flu thing for a few weeks now, and I can't exercise, because as soon as I exert myself I get short of breath.  If I stay the same I will be happy.  My own fault for eating all those TimTams !!!

I have started on the front sections of my baby jacket, although I am used to the pattern now, I still have to have my wits about me.  It gives you the instructions for the row with the buttonholes, but doesn't tell you which rows to do them in!  So, I am just going to judge the first one from the picture, and as the pattern is 16 rows, will do a buttonhole on the same pattern row each time.  I am definitely challenging myself with my knitting these days, and tackling things of higher difficulty!

Hopefully my daughter will take some photos of my new yarn while I am at work today, and I will be able to post them tonight, along with a (fingers crossed) weight loss figure !!

Happy knitting......

An amazing gift

Well, what a fantastic day at work.  A bit of background, many months ago, just before Easter, my wonderful work colleague, also a Jill, had an accident and fell off her pushbike.  She ended up in hospital for 3 months with a badly fractured pelvis (apparently in 30 places), and a fractured wrist and shoulder.

While she was in hospital, we had a relief at work, well, she was the relief from hell.  I pride myself in getting on really well with almost anyone, but this one was the most difficult person to work with.  It was a very long term.  Thankfully, Jill made a remarkable recovery, and came back to work at the start of this term (about 5 weeks ago).

Today, she arrived with presents for both myself and Carole (my other workmate), to thank us for putting up with everything while she was in hospital (she really didn't have to).  Guess what she gave me?  Six balls of PURE alpaca wool, all natural, no dyes.  Her brother & sister-in-law own a property in New South Wales and they have their own alpacas.  They get them shorn once a year, and get the wool spun.  It is 8ply and just beautiful, so soft.

Now I wonder what I will make.  It is about 450 metres in total.  I have found a nice shawl pattern on Ravelry that might be a winner :)

Trouble is, I just wanted to leave work immediately and do some knitting!  Oh well, have just finished dinner, the knitting will be coming out shortly.  I will post some photos of the new addition to my stash as soon as I have a day off.

Happy knitting........

Keep on knitting

Well, last night was a disaster for me.  I was so tired, I put my knitting away, as I didn't want to make any mistakes (this is quite a complex pattern).  But what happens when I am sitting at night, one daughter was out, the other daughter was watching a movie in her room, and hubby was having an early night??  Well, I had a TimTam  (chocolate biscuit), then I had a second one, then a third, then before I knew it the whole packet was gone!  Oh dear, well, back into it all today.

Today is a holiday for me, I work four days a week in a very nice private school.  This weekend was what we call "boarders' weekend", we send our boarders home for a long weekend so they can catch up with their families.  The good thing is, the whole school closes for this, so I get to enjoy a nice long weekend.

And, the best thing, it has been raining on and of today.  Now, I live in Perth, Western Australia, and rain is quite a rare event for us, even in winter, which we are supposed to be in now.  It was 26oC the other day !!  So, thankfully today is only 19, and fantastic knitting weather.  I went out this morning, did a bit of food shopping, bought a new chair with my tax refund (I say this rather glibly, but it was damned expensive), however, it is going to be my new "knitting" chair!  I have a nice sunny corner in my dining room that is crying out for a beautiful chair.  It is being covered in a regency style fabric, it will take four weeks, I can't wait.

So, this afternoon I have been enjoying watching "Emma", a BBC adaption of the popular Jane Austen book, and have been getting stuck into my knitting. 

 

I have just finished the sleeves, and have zoomed in close so that the pattern is more clear.  It is quite complex, but I am getting the hang of it now.  I always like to do the sleeves first, as I do them both together, and next I shall probably do the left and right front panels, as I will also do them together on the same needle. After dinner tonight, I am getting straight back into it, those chocolate biscuits will NOT get me again!! Just a shame I have to go back to work tomorrow .....

 

 

Happy knitting......

My first post of my new blog!  I love to knit, I find it relaxing (well, unless doing a complicated pattern), and keeps my mind off food.  I also love food!  I have always had a weight problem, so I took up knitting again two years ago, to help keep my mind off food.  It worked!  I have lost 25kg to date!   But I am now absolutely addicted to knitting.  I love visiting yarn stores, oh, if only I had a lotto win, I would open my own store, as there is none close to where I live.

This is my latest project

 

 

This is made from Noro Silk Garden Sock yarn, I loved knitting with it.  It is basically a 4-ply yarn but there are section where the colours become thick and luscious, which has given the wrap a lovely texture.  This pattern is "Hitchhiker" from Ravelry, and I just loved it!  Very easy.

 

Now on to my next challenge - a Debbie Bliss baby jacket, full of bobbles and cables, not quite so easy, but loving it.  Will post some photos next time.

 

Happy knitting :)