Near Miss

This is a very quick post before I head off to work.  Weigh-in day today, I was hoping to reach 86kg, which would have meant I could have started knitting my beautiful Rowan top.  But alas, would you believe it, the rotten scales said 86.1  !!!!  Yes, I know it is much the same thing, but I am determined I am NOT starting it until I reach 86.   Drat, I knew I shouldn't have had that beautiful vegie tart with puff pastry yesterday :(

On a brighter note, I have started my next customer order, which is going to be a doggie polo jumper !! It is a DROPS pattern, and I have had to make it a little bigger as this doggie has a slightly bigger tummy than the pattern states!  So, I have written it out, allowing for an extra 12 stitches, oh, whoever would have thought that learning maths at school would have come in handy one day!   Then I have coloured my own chart, which I am quite impressed with...

So now I am all set to go.  At least with having to postpone starting my Rowan top for another week, I will be able to make good progress on this!

Well, hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work I go,

Happy knitting........

Back in to the swing

Well here I am, no thinner after my long absence, in fact, oh no, my clothes are not fitting any more :(  Time to take action again.

Having just returned from a week in Tasmania, thought I would share some photos...

This was taken in the beautiful town of Oatlands, this house with attached shop was up for sale, so SORELY tempted!  

And what did I find in the middle of the main street - yes, a wool shop!  Sadly it was not open when we were there, truly, you could have heard my sobs from the other side of the world.  All the door knocking and foot stomping in the world would not bring anyone to the door.  I had to stand and gaze longingly at this beautiful locally spun wool through the window (yes, I know it is very blurry, but I am a knitter, not a photographer)

And then there was this one, knitting chair already in place..

And so it was back to beautiful Hobart, where thankfully their wool shops WERE open!  Here is the addition to my stash, I wonder what it will all become.

So now it is back to the real world, I am recovering from a horrible cold that I picked up on our travels, and I just wish I could sit and knit today, but must get some washing done, ironing, maybe after lunch.........

Happy knitting......

Where's Winter?

Well, I can't believe we are just in to August, we should be having temperatures in the mid teens, rain, wind etc, but what do we have?  Nothing but sunshine!  24 yesterday, and 25 today!  It is just like spring.  Yesterday, I had loads of cleaning to do, but decided with such a beautiful warm day, I needed some time to enjoy.  So, armed with my pot of jasmine green tea,

and my knitting

and beautiful Scully,

I enjoyed some lovely time out in the sun.  The sun was making Scully's collar sparkle,

and everything felt great.

I made a lovely vegetarian dinner, lentil and veg hotpot, but forgot to take photos.  

Today is another beautiful day, but I must tackle the bathroom (ugh) and the bedroom.  Then, it will be time to get on with some knitting this afternoon.  I am in the process of making my first ever doggie jumper, not for Scully, but for a friend's dog.  If it is a success, I will be selling them, so fingers crossed. Well, off to the cleaning :(

Happy knitting....

Missing in action

Yes, I have been missing in action, still doing lots of knitting (try stopping me!), but the diet has way disappeared :(   However, all is not lost, I   am still 18 kilos down, and have come up with a very unique way of kick starting my healthy eating.

And, of course it involves knitting.



This beautiful design is from the latest Rowan catalogue, and yes, I am going to finally knit something for myself.  I am going to do the "m" size, which is the 2nd smallest size.  I have broken this lovely top down into kilogram segments, for every kilo I lose, I can knit the section, i.e. I am going to lose my first kilo before I start the band on the front, then I am going to lose another 2kg before I start the patterned section above the band, and so on.  By the time I have finished, I will have lost the 25kg that I want to lose!  Can't wait to get started, wool has been ordered (Rowan wool/cotton 4ply).  By doing it this way, not only do I lose weight and end up with a beautiful hand knitted item to wear, but I also get time to get on with some more market stall knitting.

Speaking of which, I have just finished this beautiful Estonian lace scarf....

I have now moved on to a beautiful striped baby's jumper, will take some progress shots later.
Oh,and the best news of all, I am on holidays for 2 weeks, then, I start a new job !!  I have moved on to a new school, and will be working in the library for just 2 days per week, such bliss, will have time to do all my cleaning, cooking, without being stressed about getting it all done.  And of course, there could always be time for more knitting!

Happy knitting.....

My week so far..

I started my new week (eating week which starts on Fridays) with a bang, completely stuck to my program on Friday and Saturday, the halo around my head was shining so brightly.

On Sunday we went to a friend's baby's naming ceremony, and I did overdo the food intake, not by too much though, so when  I got home I very studiously "approximated" the points values, which I guessed to be a whopping 30, and added it to my tracker.  Then, went for an hour's walk.  The halo had slipped slightly, but was starting to get back in place.

Then, started knitting.  Only had five rows to go of my current project (beanie), couldn't wait to get finished as I am keen to start another one and finish it by Saturday as it is a gift.  Then, the unthinkable happened, I RAN OUT OF WOOL.  Oh no!  I sent an sms to my neighbour and knitting friend Jackie, I had a feeling that she had a ball of the same wool, but no, she didn't.  While all this was going on, I was watching "The Great British Bake Off" on tv.  Big mistake, they had to bake Teacakes, and I couldn't believe it, we had some Tunnoch's Teacakes in the fridge, which our aunty had brought with her when she came for dinner the other night.  So far I had resisted them.

Then guess what happened.....

Yes, 2 teacakes and one icecream later.......

So, this morning, I tracked it all, I still have 20 weekly points (the extras) left for the week, so I am ok.  Back on track this morning, off to see if I can buy another ball of wool, although I have a feeling my quest is doomed, hopefully I will be able to order a ball of it on-line.

The weird thing is, I have made exactly the same beanie with exactly the same wool but a different colour, before, and had no problem.  But when I made that one, when I switched to dpns for the crown, I only had a smaller size, so I used those.  This time, I had bought myself the correct size dpns, which were a bigger size.  That is why I am thinking I may have used slightly more yarn.  Oh well, lesson learnt, always have a little extra wool to what you need!

Happy knitting.....

The damage

Well, last night I went to my first weigh-in for the year.  I must say I was pleasantly surprised.  I hadn't been since the end of November, and what with all the pre-Christmas dining out, Christmas, post-Christmas eating, and then being away on holiday for a week, I had only put on 2.5kg.  I was expecting about 4, so I got a really nice surprise.  It has given me a real boost to tackle this thing now.

What I like about Weight Watchers this year is that they have given you another option to follow, they now have three different eating plans:  PointsPlus, Filling and Healthy, and their new plan, Simple Start.  I think the points system will generally still suit me better, as we eat out a lot, and I can fit eating out into the program.  However, the other two are going to be really good on a week when we are not going out, so my plan is to alternate the weeks depending on what we have on.  The challenge will be to fit ANY of the plans in when things come up spontaneously - oh dear, that is always my downfall.

So, this week we are going to a friend's baby's naming ceremony, so it will be the points system this week.  I am about to plan today's food.

I am really enjoying knitting my current project, the green beanie, I am hoping to have it finished by the end of the weekend, as I want to start another one for a friend's birthday.  She won't quite get it in time for her birthday, but better late than never!!  So, tomorrow, off to the wool shop to buy some wool in her favourite colour !  Hmmm, I think there might be  a sale on too............

Happy knitting... 

Weigh-in Day

 

 

Well, today's the day.  Tonight is my first weigh-in since the beginning of December.  I am guessing I have gained about 3-4 kgs, but whatever the number, it doesn't matter, because it all starts from here.
I have already started my exercise program, had a workout yesterday and today (having a daughter who is a PT helps), and am actually looking forward to getting started on the Weight Watchers program again.

Day 1 tomorrow will be a challenge - my darling mother-in-law has been in hospital with an infected leg wound, for four weeks, and she finally came home on Monday, so we are having a welcome home dinner for her tomorrow night.  We are going to have a roast, make it "Christmassy", as she can't really even remember Christmas Day.  However, as deserts are my downfall, we are having a plum pudding (bought one), which I don't like, and I am going to make a diet fruit jelly, which I do like, so I should be able to fit all that in to my program OK.

On the knitting front, I have finished the little baby's wrap around jacket I was making, I am so happy with it, and the colour is just beautiful.  I wasn't sure about the ribbon when I got it, I wanted plain organza, but as usual, when you know exactly what you want, you can never find it!  This ribbon is the closest I could get, but now that it is all finished I really like it.

                                      


More details of my knitting can be found on my facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/slimknittings

Now on to my next project, a nice deep emerald green beanie, with an intricate cable pattern.  I love this pattern, and have already made a purple one,

 

I was going to make four of these, all in different colours, but now my beautiful eldest daughter Michelle (29) has started to learn to knit, and she raided my stash!  So now I only have the wool to do three.  Oh well, another trip to the wool shop might be in order!

Happy knitting.......

2014 - new beginnings

Well, as far as 2013 goes, it wasn't a very successful year as far as my healthy eating plan goes.  I actually put on about 10 kg !  I know why - I think that I thought I had done it!  I had lost 27kg, and people were saying how fabulous I looked, I was fitting in to size 12 clothes, even some size 10s, and I was feeling fantastic.

I thought it was all done, even although I wasn't at my goal weight.

I stopped attending Weight Watchers on a regular basis, and the kilos started creeping back on.  When unexpected events happened, I threw my hands up in the air and thought, why bother!  I can't control what I eat at events, dinners out, celebrations etc.  And believe me, we are out quite a lot.

So, this year, I have to learn to conquer this.  I have to learn to NOT eat my feelings, and to plan my days well when we are going out.  I have to learn to accept that "eating" events crop up spontaneously, and I have to, especially in these circumstances, make very healthy choices. Thursday night is my first day back at my Weight Watchers meeting, so I will see how much damage I have done since I last attended, I am suspecting it will be about 4kg.

This is it, this year I am getting back on the wagon, and staying there.  I am going to persevere, accept that I will have an occasional day off the wagon, and not beat myself up for it.

The one constant over the past 12 months has been my love of knitting.  I have completed several projects, and am hoping to have a market stall in June this year.  I still have lots of projects I want to make before then, so the plan is that this will take my mind off food in the evenings.  I am about to finish my current project, so will post photos later.

This is it, here I go, no looking back, 2013 is remembered, and learnt from.  2014 is my year, the year I am going to achieve my goal of reaching 58kg, the year I am going to start selling my hand knitted products, the year I am going to be a more "organised" person, the year I am going to feel good about myself. 

Ready, set, go !!

Happy knitting !