Sunshine!

At last a nice few hours in which to try and take some photo's. As promised here is Tilia in 'Meander' !

And here in forest canopy in 'June Wedding'.

Sucess!

At last I have lost a pound! Not much I grant you but a pound is a pound and I am happy. Unfortunately I have a lot more to go but at least I have begun.

The Rosemary Conley lady had a big pound block of lard and she used to make us hold it if we said 'oh only a pound' on weigh in day and it actually seemed like a lot in your hand so I am picturing it now!

I will leave you with that thought for now and be back tomorrow with Tilia photos if the weather stays dry for long enough!

Just quickly!

I have my last class before the summer hols today so just a very quick note to say that Tilia is done! I cast off yesterday and then blocked it as well. That was a job and a half especially as I thought it would be good to do it outside and then had to bring it in as it rained.

I found it tricky to get the shawl to look right and re pinned it several times until I finally got the hang of it, will put up pictures tomorrow when I have more time. I thought 3 weeks and 4 days was not bad going for me. Am now casting on Lotties 'cindarella' version which has drop beads instead of knupps (I don't mind doing the knupps but we thought it would be nice to do the prom shawl a bit more funky).

More soon ........

Oh dear!

I have just stepped on the scales this morning and I have not budged a scrap - next week should be easier as Lottie has broken up from school and there is lots to do so I should be really busy. Perhaps that will help with the weight loss? I think this week is partly down to the fact that 2 nights we couldn't go out walking as it was far too wet. Lets hope next week is better!

Look forward to catching up with you all soon girls!

Oh so blue!

It is Tuesday night and I am all alone yet again (apart from Ted)! Lottie is at senior section, they should have been having a cook out but 15 minutes before it was due to start down came the rain and ruined every ones plans! We were out walking Ted so got a bit wet and then rushed off to deliver afore mentioned child along with marshmallows and emergency DVD games.

'Him indoors' is down south yet again (can you tell I am not over the moon about that?) and my lovely plans for mowing the lawn and cutting down a mangy bush have been scuppered. So what will I do with myself now you ask? I am off to put the kettle on and do some more knitting on Tilia - ah now there is the bright side! Bye for now!

The one that got away!

So how did this happen? Yesterday when I got up I had a quick look at the scales and joy of joy one of my pounds had disappeared. Today when I did my official weigh in it was back? Where did it go and why is it back? I am not impressed at all!

So my official weigh in says stayed the same, hope you had better luck than me girls. I will be trying really hard next week to sort this out as 'him indoors' has lost 3 pounds this week and I am so fed up as he has continued to drink his wine!

Am moving along slowly with Tilia, almost finished the first set of the leaves repeat (2 more to go). I have not looked at my socks since I started on Tilia and they are sadly neglected for now.

Happy weigh in day, let me know how you all get on!

So far so okay!

I would like to say so far so good but I have not managed to give up my glass of wine yet! Last week it was no problem I didn't have any because it was too hot and I was sitting out with my knitting and feeling a bit lonely (him indoors was away and Lottie was in and out being busy). This week however all are home and it is nice to sit on the sofa with everyone home and relax and chat about all that has gone on.

On the food front I have been quite good, yesterday I managed beans on toast for lunch and the quorn sausage and veg for dinner - that's not too bad really but I don't think that I drank enough water so will have to try harder with that today. Plus we manged our walk once Lottie had been retrieved from work experience (she is loving it and has had her drawings submitted as part of a planning application so is very proud).

I have finished the first chart on Tilia and am working on the second set, there are a few less stitches now so it is slightly quicker! Top down shawls seem to get to a point where the rows take ages and it grows so slowly this one is quite the reverse it grows really slowly to begin with especially as you are only decreasing by 2 stitches each row. We shall see how quickly it grows soon I hope.

Keep up with the good work girls it is only half a week until weigh in! Plus it is Wednesday so your posh pink packages should arrive today (can't wait to see your goodies). Did the box reach home yet Claire?

Just a quick one!

Hey Diet Girls,

Hope today goes well for us all, yesterday was a bit of a none starter for me - buffet lunch at the party (wasn't standing there counting calories was I) plus needed to try a very small sample of each pud (didn't add extra cream). Think they might have been OK as more than 1 person went back for more! I did however manage a long walk later on but did have 2 glasses of wine - see I can't even manage that bit. But as Alison points out yesterday was only weigh in day so we can start again today!

I don't think lack of breakfast is a problem really, you could try having a snack mid morning instead if that works. What is important is having enough calories as if you don't eat enough the body stores everything instead! I know it sounds silly but the body thinks that there could be a famine and so saves every bit it can and so you won't loose weight no matter what you do. That is why yo can only do 2 weeks on 12oo cals and then have to eat more after that.

I had a look at the comments bit and I have had this problem before. I have to log in to blogger and then go to the blog post to comment that way it doesn't need the log in bit on the post page (hope that makes sense).

Am sad you are not getting on with the knupps I have managed to get into a bit of a rhythm with them but I have to be careful when I purl them all together. Ah light bulb moment here, when it comes to the purl together part I am very careful and I count each wrap bit onto the needle taking care that they are not crossed over each other, if they cross as you purl them then that could account for why you are getting 'messy' looking knupps. If you are passing near me this week we could meet up and I could show you if that would be of any use?

Allison well done on getting the Tilia you wanted! I am glad you will be joining us. Can't wait to see how everyone gets on.

Must dash now as I have a beading class this morning and I haven't seen them in ages so I have loads of stuff to get ready! At least I can't eat if I am busy.

Weigh in!

So I did a first weigh in today (7am) and it seems that I am 11stone bang on! Oh dear that is not good news and 'him indoors' is most upset that I have put so much weight back on after I did so well a couple of years ago!

I have a small problem today in that we are going to a birthday party later for which I have made 3 puddings, fresh strawberries (the healthy option), summer pudding (a fairly healthy option) and chocolate truffle torte (heart attack on a plate) all of which can be served with or without cream. The problem though is this I really want to try them as I haven't made the pudding and torte in so long that I feel I must taste them just to be sure that I did them right. If I only taste them do you think it will be OK? If not then too bad 'cause I need to check I got it right - market research etc........ Will do a long walk to make up for it later instead.

PS Anything I can do to help with the nupp problem BeeJay?

4 to go!

You will be pleased to hear that there will be 4 of us on the diet - along and it starts on Sunday! Scales at the ready and calorie guides in hand girls. Here are a few diet myths that we won't be using!

If someone gives it to you it doesn't count! (yes it does or you won't get very far)

If it is frozen it doesn't count - according to my Mums friend frozen chocolates have no calories?!? (they do and that is why she doesn't loose weight at slimming world).

If it matches the colour of the plate it doesn't have calories! (where do people get these from of course it does).

And a couple of 'helpful hints' as well :-

Drink lots of water ( I think 2 litres is the goal), it will make you go to the loo lots at first but then that settles down in a few days. This really does help the pounds to go. Last time I did this I found that on the bad weeks where I didn't loose anything it was because I hadn't drunk enough.

Do a bit more exercise than you normally would, don't go mad or you will hurt yourself but walking is one of the best things. Build up slowly and then pick up the pace a bit.

Rosemary Conley has a 2 week no alcohol or treats 1200 calorie kick start and after that you can have a glass of wine a high fat treat and a few more calories so tonight will be my last glass for a couple of weeks ! At least I will be able to plod on with the lace!

Make a note to self of your start weight and also set yourself a goal of how much you want to loose (usually they only let you put down a stone at a time) but I want to loose a stone and a half.

LET THE DIET BEGIN!

PS I am up to row 21 on Tilia.

Do or Diet!

For those of you wanting to loose a few pounds the 'diet along' starts on Sunday(unless you have a better suggestion for weigh in day in which case just shout up).

This week all you have to do is choose the diet you are going to follow and then weigh yourself. It doesn't matter what time of day you do it - as long as it is the same each week.

All we need to know is how many pounds you have lost each week and at the end of the month the winner will be sent a small goodie by everyone else - does that sound like fun? You will also need to share you address with the group (send it out by email please).

How is the unofficial lace along doing? My Tilia shawl is going quite well although I did have to undo a few rows as I missed a YO and clearly I can't count to 14 anymore! Normally missing YO's are easy to correct on the purl row but if you don't spot it and carry on regardless then unpicking seems to be the only way to fix it. I thought I would really hate working from a chart but it seems easier than I thought (and yes the pattern is starting to look like it should). The lace seems to be a good project in this heat - a good excuse to sit still anyway!