Weigh in Wednesday

217 pounds.  5 pounds lost in 3 weeks.  Not great, but 5 more than in that many months.  I'm sure there's a direct relationship to how many times I went to the gym. *cringe*  I'm not really comfortable going yet.  If I went more often that would change, I know.  I have stuck to my diet, however, that's probably the only reason for any loss, at all.

This is the last large flower, cut, glued and basted in place.  I'll sew it tonight and then I have 19 (20, poo, I miscounted) to go!  I'll sew the smallest flowers next.  There are very few of them.  The middle-sized flowers are the easiest, I'll save them for last, like dessert!

More Flowers Done

I've been working away on Rachel's quilt this week.  21 flowers to go!  That's out of the original 80.  I got close enough to the end to just work on the largest, most time consuming, flowers.  There are 3 sizes and it's nice to see the hardest ones coming to a finish.

If I ever make another large applique quilt, it'll probably be a traditional Hawaiian design.  Two colors, maybe aqua and white, with one continuous line of hand-sewing.  Not 330 individual pieces in the large flowers, alone!  Boy, I wish I hadn't thought that out.

I can hardly wait to get the flowers done. There will be so many hours of quilting to finish this, but that will be a nice change.  A quilt this intricate will have a lot of stitching.
Sadly, I already know which quilt top I'll begin piecing as soon as I begin quilting this one.  I've had a kit called "delectable mountain" picked out for child number 2 since shortly after starting this one.  It won't need nearly the hours to complete it.  It originally called for white fabric to complete it and I had always thought I'd replace the black print with a green and use black fabric for the main color.  Now, I see so many quilts using gray and love the look.  A light gray would be perfect for the completion.
Back to these flowers, I feel so much accomplishment and not a little excited to see it taking shape.

Weigh in Wednesday

218 pounds.  That's 2 more pounds.  Not going fast, but it is going.
The day almost got away from me.  I'm not in the habit of taking my picture, ever, so this might be hard to remember some weeks.
I had a lot of help, my littlest granddaughter wanted to be in the picture too.  Oh boy, she sure looks tiny next to all of me.
I treated myself to some new things for the gym.  Once I got my membership, I realized that I didn't have much to wear.  I got shoes, two pairs of pants and two sports bras today.  Now, I need to find some tank tops.  Shirts with sleeves, stick to you as you sweat, ew!

The first day back

I made it through the doors of the gym 2 times so far this week.  It was daunting, just the thought of it.  It was much easier the second time.  It used to feel natural to get in the car to go to the gym.  I'm sure it'll be that way again.
I haven't been very good on my diet this week, feeling a little stressed out over the cold and feeling a little behind at work.  I wasn't horrible, but I'd better be good the rest of the week.
I had 4 days off, great, but nobody put in full days covering my spot while I was gone.  I have a lot of vacation, that'll happen if you stick around 14 years.  Sometimes it's a burden to find a way to use it up.  Getting time off, when there's no one to cover you, makes it hard.
Back to the gym after work again tomorrow, I hope it'll be empty because of the holiday.
We had a birthday party for my oldest daughter yesterday.  I can't believe she's 29, it seems like only a few years ago that she was little enough to give a piggy-back ride to bed.

Weigh in Wednesday

220 pounds, 2 pounds less.  Not a lot for a first week, but I haven't been to the gym either.  I don't feel horrible, draggy from my cold, so this is the day.  I've still got a little cough and stuffiness, but it's so much better.


I finished another project last night and this morning.  I've made a few wool blankets this last 2 years.  They're lap or baby blanket sized, about 40" square.  I love them and thought they would be a good selling item on Etsy, but I thought wrong.  I've given one to my sister for her birthday and she says she loves it, too.  I sold one in my shop, thank you so much to the person who bought it.  I started one with a different design this fall and then got busy with Christmas before it was finished.  My daughter liked it so much, that I finished it for her.

It started as the spiderweb string quilt design, adapted for wool sweater felt.  I used some cabled sweaters and aligned the cables the way the strings would go.  It just needed a border to finish it.  Esther likes it, too.

It's stitched in bright neon green.  I chose two sweaters to use and decided on 5" borders.

Another completed project.  It must be time to applique some flowers tonight. After the gym. :D

Will this cold never end?

I haven't made it to my first day at the gym.  I've dragged my heels each day, like the bad girl I am.  Since last Wednesday, I've had a yucky cold.  The last thing I desire is breathing hard and sweating.  I did make it over there today to set up the account I'd already purchased.  I think I'm going to like the gym and the pool.

This Christmas, I sold 25 stockings.  I really enjoyed picking out the sweaters to use for each set and the whole production of cutting and sewing.  Every time one sold, I felt so happy that someone had chosen my creation.  The idea that they will look forward to seeing their own special stocking come out of the decorations box each year, feels good.

Today, I sewed the last of those stockings.  It was requested just 2 days before the holiday to be made after.  This is a next year's stocking.

Here are pictures of the pieces cut out.  I usually make the back plain, he wanted it striped on both sides and a fold down cuff.  There will be 2 pom-poms at the hanging edge by the end of the evening.

Pieces cut and ready for sewing.
Some still need to be cut in half.

Showing both sides

Ta-da!  Nearly finished and ready for pom-poms.
The pocket is sized for index cards.

Rachel's Quilt

Long ago, I started a quilt for my oldest daughter.  We designed a beautiful quilt with old-fashioned colors, part of it pieced and a lot of floral applique using the pattern on the left.  It moved along very well, there was steady progress, the piecing was all done and I moved on to the applique.
All the biggest parts of the sewing were getting done, the ribbons, fan, vines and leaves.  I finished one flower, out of 80, and it hit me......... what was I thinking?  This one flower had fourteen separate pieces of fabric.  How was I ever going to finish it?
I decided to take a break and put it away for awhile.  Awhile, became fourteen, fifteen years.
This last fall, I decided it was time to bite the bullet and get it back out.  I'd taken it out many times over the years to admire it, this time I needed to sew!

Close up of the center flower

Before Christmas sewing took my time, I managed to get quite a lot done.  I now have thirty-two flowers left to sew!  Don't even get me started on how much hand-quilting this is going to need.

Some flowers waiting to be sewn

The full quilt

Top Right

Bottom right

Top left

Bottom left

Close up ribbons and flowers

Close up ribbon and flowers

Weigh in Wednesday

222 pounds.  I'm 5' 7 1/2",so this is about 80 pounds too much.  It was really hard to look at these pictures.  Today is the first day of my diet and I'm still waiting for my gym membership to arrive in the mail.  You can't hide anything in knit clothing, bleh.  I only hope the pictures will get better over the next few months.
The side view is the worst!  There's a good reason finding something to wear is so hard.  No way do I want to buy bigger clothes, so I better do this already!

The beginning- New year, new start

     After many years of starting projects willy-nilly, I think it's time to finish the most important of them and deal with the rest.  There will be pictures of progress and finishes.  I manage to take simple projects and make them bigger and bigger, until I have a hard time getting them done.  My ex bragged to me once, that he didn't have any unfinished projects.  I pointed out to him, that you have to start a project, to have an unfinished one.
     I've also let my weight get out of hand, these last 10 years.  It happened slowly, but surely.  After spending the first 40 years of my life skinny to slender, I was foolish to think I didn't have to diet or exercise to stay that way.  I purchased a 2-year gym membership and will be getting back on a diet this week.  I've decided to take my picture every week this year and I hope I'll have a 52-page fat to skinny flip book by the end of the year.
     I've been a cake decorator for 15 years.  If you have to work for a living, this beats most.  I work for a grocery store chain, so it's not fancy Cake Boss stuff.  I'm going to start taking pictures of the cakes I'm proudest of.

     My family, immediate and extended, is the joy of my life.  Everything really important in my life is tied to them.