Lace and Weight Loss

I'm designing a scarf. I came up with the fish lace motif a few years ago, when I made my Ichthus Shawl. I never did publish the pattern, so I decided to take the motif and put it into a scarf instead.

I'm using KP Alpaca Cloud laceweight yarn, which is incredibly soft. I really like how it's turning out. It's a pretty simple design, which is a nice diversion after the hood and glittens I designed recently. I'm already planning the photo shoot for this one....I'm going to need a white sundress...and a warm day.

I'm so ready for winter to be over. This past week, there were several days when the temperature didn't reach zero. And it snows every day. And it's cold. And windy.

♥

In other news, I've been working out since the beginning of January. It's a secret, though. Well, not a total secret. But the fact that I've lost 13 pounds since New Years is. It would have been more if I hadn't taken a week and a half off from my intensive workouts because of injury(did yoga instead). I'm keeping my progress a secret from my family until I go visit them. I'm hoping to get time in March to do that. By that time, I should have lost enough for them to see the difference and be shocked. Hubby hasn't noticed yet...and I'm not pointing it out to him either. I'm waiting for him to notice. He's going to be traveling this next week, so I'm hoping that I can reach my first goal of 20 pounds while he's gone. 

It's not easy; I'm working out every day(using the PACE system), and eating less than I used to. And I'm drinking water almost exclusively. I allow myself one soda on Friday nights, and alcohol is only for very special occasions. I discovered a day-spa water recipe...I know, that sounds goofy, but it's good! I slice an apple and put it and a cinnamon stick in a pitcher, fill the pitcher halfway with ice, and fill the rest of the way with water. I put it in the fridge for an hour before drinking it. I'm up to almost a gallon a day, which is huge, because I never used to drink water! I'm adding in green tea now; I've heard that it's great for weight loss. My problem with tea is that I hate unsweetened tea, and I detest fake sugar. I usually use two teaspoons of sugar to a cup of tea; I'm cutting it down to one. 

I'm not using any faddish gluten-free/carb-free/all-liquid/protein-shake diets, and no diet pills of any kind. Just the good old-fashioned exercise-more-eat-less diet. No alcohol, no caffeine(well, almost), and I'm allowed to eat what I want as long as it's only a little bit. If I want chocolate, I have one. If I want chips and queso for lunch, I get a very small dish of queso, and only as many chips as it takes to eat up the queso. We had spaghetti tonight, and I really wanted seconds, but I let Hubby have it instead. If I want a cookie, I have one. I've learned that when I refuse to allow myself a little splurge now and then, the craving gets so bad that I end up having a big splurge, and then feel so guilty I give up. Not letting that happen this time.

13 pounds down, 47 to go...

And once I've lost this weight, I'm going to look terrific in my as-of-now non-existent white sundress and Ichthus Scarf...

Ichthus is DONE!

Presenting the completed Ichthus shawl! Here it is, pinned to my carpet, blocking...about 5 minutes before my youngest daughter grabbed it and tried to use it as a blankie. Said child got a severe talking-to (I had just told her not to touch it) and an extended naptime. I got it smoothed back out and pinned back down, and I'm hopeful that it will be dry by morning, so I can take a picture of myself wearing it.

Okay, the vital stats on this shawl...I used 3 1/2 183-yard (50 gram) skeins of fingering weight bamboo/silk/cotton blend yarn. It is 64 1/2 inches wide at the top, and 32 inches long down the centerline(blocked measurements). It's a little smaller than I thought it would be, but since I'm a fairly small person it fits me well. I'm very happy with how it turned out!
The lace pattern itself is fairly simple, but with the combination of the lace and the techniques, I'd call it an intermediate-advanced pattern. I still have quite a bit of work on my hands, turning my little chart and my almost-nonexistent notes into a marketable pattern.

Beginning of a new week.

It's a new week. I really enjoyed the worship service this morning. I love my church; we worship passionately, and the Word is preached without being watered down. Speaking of my church, my pastor's wife, Laura, had her cancer surgery last week, and from the reports we're getting, everything looks good. The tumor had shrunk dramatically before the surgery, and the doctors are confident that they got it all out. Laura should be out of the hospital in another day or two. You can read more about her journey at http://www.laurashooksblog.blogspot.com/

♥

We went to a church "splash party" this afternoon. It was a lot of fun....for the kids. Actually I had a pretty good time, too. But I don't think I need to go for a walk this evening, after chasing Dolly all around at church. She's pretty fast for a two-year-old. My legs are tired.

♥

After a major tinking experience last night, I have regained my momentum with Ichthus. I've finished the second skein, and I'm on the last row of fish before I start the edging. I'm not sure if It'll take one or two more skeins. I'm just glad it looks like I'll have some yarn left over; I want to make some socks with this yummy yarn.

♥

The kids are ready for more schoolwork tomorrow. Guess I need to get ready. Angel read "Swiss Family Robinson" today, in it's entirety. Yes, it was abridged, but even so, it's a fairly long book. I know she loves to read, but I was surprised with how quickly she finished it. Princess told me a few minutes ago, "I didn't do any schoolwork today!" She was very concerned about this oversight. I had to explain to her that we don't do schoolwork on Sundays. She showed me a little coloring book that Angel had drawn for her and she had colored. As I praised her coloring skills, she informed me that she had the "most fantastic" pictures. How many four-year-olds talk like that? It made me smile. And ask hubby to repeat what he had said earlier about our girls not going to "a real school". Our school is plenty real, thankyouverymuch! Time for me to sign off now; I need to go print some math worksheets for Angel to do tomorrow.

"Ichthus"

In the time after Jesus's death, resurrection and ascension into heaven, the early Christians were persecuted, imprisoned and sometimes even executed, simply because they were believers in Jesus Christ. It still happens today in some parts of the world. Believers could not simply come right out and say that they were Christians, because they didn't know who could be trusted. They had to devise ways of letting each other know, without alerting people who would turn them in.
Someone in the early Church came up with the idea of a fish symbol. The Greek word for fish is "ichthus". Each letter (Greek letters) stands for another Greek word, the translation of which would be "Jesus Christ, God's Son, the Savior". I'm writing it out in English even though I can pronounce it in Greek, because I can't spell it and don't have Greek letters on my keyboard anyway. The early Christians would draw the shape of a fish, and if the person who saw it was a Christian, they would know what it meant.
I have chosen "Ichthus" as the name for this prayer shawl I'm designing. The "ch" is not pronounced like it typically is in English words. Think of the movie/play Fiddler on the Roof, and the song, "Le Chaim"; it's more like that. Ichthus is now about 35 inches wide at the top, and 17 inches long down the centerline. I can hardly wait until I get it finished; it's going to be so nice to wear. I'm still figuring out the idea for the edging, but it'll be a little while before I'm ready for it anyway. I apologize for the sideways picture; it was right on my computer, and I don't know why it uploaded this way.


This is the only thing I'm actually knitting at the moment, though I am in the process of putting together some other design ideas...