not much, how ’bout you?

It’s about time I ended this blog break!  No reason for not blogging really, just a lack of taking photos and keeping busy.

I finished Avocado Cables – my Blanket for Birmingham!

It was a lot of fun to knit (although a hot thing to knit during the summer).

I hope it will bring some comfort to the tornado victims.  Now I have to concentrate on this:

Lots of squares from my friends across the country – thank you!  I’m waiting on a few more squares, but I think I’ll start seaming this weekend (if we’re not in the woods).

My obsession of late, really since January, has been eating healthily and working out.  I absolutely have an obsessive personality and while I haven’t given up my old loves (spinning, knitting) or even my more recent love (quilting), my time over the past couple of months has been spent educating myself on nutrition and workout plans.  I’ve read so many books and done so much research!  Of course, it’s stuff we all know, for the most part.  Eat good foods.  Move your body.  Enjoy treats occasionally.

We went day hiking a couple of weeks ago, back to one of my favorite places.  The last time I tried to hike there, in 2009, I turned around halfway because it was too steep and my knees were killing me.  This time – no problem!  I was sweating profusely (it’s still really hot here) but I didn’t get out of breath and my knees only bothered me a little bit on the downhills.

Here’s a before and during progress picture.  In the 2010 photo, I’m wearing a size Large men’s shirt and bustin’ out of those pants – there was a lot of wiggling just to get them on that morning.  In the photo taken a couple of weeks ago, I’m wearing a ladies’ Large and the shorts I bought in June are loose. Yes, I’m even posting my weight for all to see because it’s really not about weight, it’s about losing fat and being fit.  It’s the SIZE that matters!  Heh.

So, progress.  Sometimes it’s not happening as quickly as I want – like when I looked at all the pictures from our hike and immediately focused on my big butt, my cellulite-ridden thighs, batwings, etc.  It was depressing.  After all my hard work, I still have so far to go.  But after going to bed early to avoid eating ice cream, I woke up, looked at where I’ve been, and realized that it’s okay that I’m not where I want to be yet.  It’s a journey – a marathon, not a sprint.

And I’ll get there.

a multitude of thanks

I’ve had some pretty awesome mail calls lately.

This stack was waiting when I got home from vacation.

Each package deserves its own post, but since I seem to be posting in a weekly basis, I’ve got to put it all out there.  I won Two Years, No Rain from the generous Robyn who had a killer blog contest!  I have two books I’m reading now but as soon as I finish one, this is going to the nightstand.  Thank you!

The lovely market bag, yarn and fabric is from my pal Jacey.  We did a swap – jam for a market bag and we both threw in extra (what?  She NEEDED some handspun!  She has a spindle and fiber already, I just gave her a little nudge) but she really went over and above.  I LOVE my bag (and fabric and yarn), and I especially love this:

She made me a pillow cover!  Even the boy loves this pillow!  So awesome.

ALSO – I’ve received squares for the Blankets for Birmingham project!  I’ve received three packages of squares, from Gwen in Florida (no blog), Sharon in Texas (ditto), and Melissa over at Knitting Sandwich.  Amazing!  (you can see some squares in the picture above this – as luck would have it, they all coordinate really well, so it should be easy to make a blanket with them).

And then there was yesterday’s mail.

I have to tell you that when I opened the box, I cried.  It was already a super emotional day, and this pushed me over the edge.

A whole blanket.  From Tina in Michigan.  And get this – her Ravelry name?  Goodie2needles.

Someone is going to love this very very much.

Words aren’t enough.

 

knitting and life

I’ve been knitting steadily on the Avocado Cables Blanket for Birmingham – usually just a few rows per night because the rows are really, really long.

I reached a milestone last night – finished the first cable repeat!  I have to keep up the momentum with this project – it’s been very hot here this week and if the air conditioner isn’t running all the time, this blanket is difficult to have on my lap.  When it’s finished, I can start with squares and I’m definitely looking forward to that!

For my Project Spectrum picture this week, may I present my breakfast:

Multi-grain English muffin, lightly toasted, topped with one egg and a teensy sprinkling of cheddar cheese.  The Project Spectrum part is the red Fiesta plate, which we started using for everyday dishes this year, in a variety of colors.  They’re holding up really well, my favorites are the 9″ lunch plate and the small bowl, which help me eyeball an appropriate serving size.

I  haven’t blogged about it, but I’ve been counting calories and exercising for a few months now.  I guess I didn’t want to say anything in case I failed, like I’ve done many times before.  But this time is different – I can feel it.  It’s not just “until I lose X amount of weight” (or more realistically, until I get sick of it) and I’m not so much concerned with how long it takes.  There isn’t a date I’ve set as a target – I don’t have a dress to fit into for a reunion or wedding or any other special occasion.

I’m in it for as long as it takes and even then, I’m in it for LIFE.  Which is kind of a scary thing because it’s never-ending, it’s not a “I can do this for 30 days” mentality.  But it’s really the only way to do it and I’m committed to it.  Not to say I won’t ever have a donut, or cheese sticks or other indulgence foods.  Just that they’re not the mainstay of my diet.

For example, I made pots de creme for our Mother’s Day lunch, with real whipped cream and a brown sugar shortbread cookie.  It was deliciously indulgent and I enjoyed every bite!

There are people who say that diets don’t work and there is some evidence to back that up, but there’s also personal experience.  I know that for me, if I am eating good, healthy food and getting exercise 3-5 times a week, my body responds, and it responds by losing weight.  Seeing the scale numbers drop isn’t the be-all and end-all – but it does matter.  Carrying less weight makes it easier for my body to do what I ask of it.  My knees hurt less.  My plantar fasciitis hurts less.  I’ve totally eliminated what used to be nightly heartburn and have much more energy.

So far I’ve lost 25 pounds and one pants size, almost two!  The pants I’m currently wearing are baggy, but the next size down is a bit too tight to wear and not be self-conscious all day.   I’ll get there, I’m not worried about when.  I already FEEL so much better, so much healthier – I can bend over easily and am stronger every day.  I feel like a balloon with a slow leak.  And I like it.

frazzled

It’s been a busy week!  I am bowled over by the response to my Blankets for Birmingham post – people are so kind and generous!

I’ve started a blanket from yarn in my stash:

Saffron Cables from IK’s Fall 2006 issue, using 12 skeins of Misti Alpaca Pima Cotton & Silk.  I bought this yarn to make Kerrera, but it’s much better suited for a blanket – it’s heavy stuff!  I may not have enough yarn to make the blanket full size, but I think it’ll be okay.  The cable charts are 75 rows long!  Definitely keeping me on my toes.

After several years of spectating, this year I joined Project Spectrum!  This month’s color is red, and here are a few shots from around the house.

I recently painted two chairs red, and the table in the above picture blue.  It’s definitely brightened up our porch!

I love geraniums … and all flowers, really…

And I am going to loooove this tomato with lunch today!

Happy weekend!

Blankets for Birmingham

I’m throwing up the Knit Signal!

I’m sure you all have heard about the devastating tornadoes that hit the South on Wednesday, and hit Alabama the hardest.  Over 300 people lost their lives, over 200 of them in Alabama alone.

It’s hard to write this, it’s hard to even think about it without crying.  My family and I were so lucky.  We were at home, watching the skycam show a mile-wide tornado approaching downtown Birmingham, ready to move to the crawl space under our home if necessary.  Thankfully, it wasn’t necessary and we didn’t even lose power, unlike over 300,000 residents.

Two of my co-workers lost everything they own.  We’re collecting donations at the office and with the generosity of the partners and employees of this firm, I’m sure they’ll be able to rebuild in time.  But others aren’t so lucky.  They may not work with a large company whose people have the resources to give.  For people unfamiliar with Birmingham – the areas that were hit the hardest are some of the poorest areas of the city.  Why is it that disaster often strikes those who can least afford it?

There’s not a lot that I, personally, can do.  I don’t have a ton of money to donate.  I don’t have spare household items to give.  But what I do have, and what I want to give, are my time and energy.  Following the footsteps of my friend Laura, I am asking each of you, and your friends, your knitting groups, anyone at all who might be interested, to knit 8″ squares (no stitch preference) to be sewn into Blankets for Birmingham.

Since this is Birmingham and it is hot 10 months out of the year, cotton would be the best fiber to use.  I know it’s difficult to knit with cotton, I know it hurts your hands – it hurts mine too.  But I think it’s a pain we can manage, don’t you?  It doesn’t matter what color or kind of cotton you use – it can be Blue Sky organic or Sugar ‘n Cream.  Gauge doesn’t matter.  The squares don’t have to be perfect 8″ squares, and if crochet is your preference, that’s fine too!  I’m sure we can make it work!

I thank you all in advance.  If you’re interested in helping out, you can email me at elizabeth *at* trailingyarn dot com and I’ll give you my address.  Thank you all, and thank you for the emails and Facebook posts checking on me and my family.  You are all very special to me!

Highlights for skimmers (godloveya):

• 8″ squares from cotton yarn – any stitch pattern
• Email me for shipping address – elizabeth *at* trailingyarn dot com
• Due date – September 1, 2011 – making this the perfect summer project!