Getting Healthy with Spark People

It seems as if time has gone on ahead leaving me in the dust. There has been no time for stitching or much of anything else besides day to day stuff.

I am back on the wagon as far as dieting and exercise is concerned so that has taken up a chunk of my time. Spark People is an incredible aid in losing weight. It is similar to Weight Watchers but it is completely free and you don't have to buy specific foods for their program. You also don't have to buy a membership! If you sign up at SP, leave a comment on my blog with your e mail address and I will send you the link to my spark page.

I am trying to focus on consistency... to those around me I am constantly saying how I need to lose weight and I am off a diet, on a diet, off a diet etc and I am really sick and tired of those words coming out of my mouth. Did I mention how sick and tired of hearing those words come out of my mouth??? lol. It is so frustrating! I don't want to spend my adult lifetime overweight. So my goal for now is that I am trying to be consistent. =)

My consistancy comes in a few areas---

1- Watch what I eat. I am not forbidding any one food but I only want to eat a higher fat food if I have done good in the past. No more eating on 'credit' where I have to make up for it in the future. When I do that I usually give up.

2- Step at least 10,000 steps on my pedometer daily. That is my minimum goal. To hit 10K I have to actively do some exercise and/or go for a walk. For the past few days I have hit 15K. My all time record was 22K. I am so glad that spring has sprung!

I hope to post more this week for stitching. See you then!

Finished!

I think I am finished. I don't think there is anything else that I could add.

I added the heart and key and did the herringbone stitch directly above it.



I wish I had a scanner so I could get the full block in one shot.....but so you can get an idea...

ITG RR-Melissa's Block

More work on Melissa's block that I did this evening. Instead of leaving the paisley motif plain, I added some colonial knots to the motif. I think it helps pull the motif and the block together more.

Dahling- My eyelashes are NOT fake!

This is our neighbor's dog who has eyelashes that are at least an inch long! He is a cocker spaniel/shih tzu mix and has the longest eyelashes I have ever seen on a dog! Her name is baby girl.

Playing with Picnik

Sharon mentioned Piknik photo editing on her blog and I was surprised how easy it is. These were from the same photograph but I played with it and now they are a tad different. I like the effect. I think they will be adding more features in time. Wouldn't it be nice if we could make ovals and circle photographs instead of the same square and rectangular ones? I have already e mailed them and asked them and maybe if you do too they will consider it. =)

ITG Round Robin- Melissa's Block

The details in the first pic were done be Debbie. =) Sorry it's a little blurry.



Center area of block


I auditioned so many pieces of lace for this area of the block to balance the lace on the other corner of the block but nothing seemed to click. I tried this paisley motif and it just seemed to fit perfectly on the patch.


What can I say??? I love button/seam embroideries cause I think they look so 'vintagey'. The buttons on this seam ARE vintage- approximately 1930's or older. I bought them on the card and they are pretty small- about a quarter inch in diameter.


I hope you like your block as it is approaching its final journey home. I still have the olive green patch to work on and already have some ideas to play around with.

Seam Embroidery on Melissa's block

This is Debbie's seam on Melissa's block. So pretty!



And this is Debby's work on another seam- so delicate!

In the Garden- Melissa's Block

Isn't it beautiful? =)

This is Jackie's work on Melissa's block. Her work also includes the motif meandering down the seam towards the bottom.


I love the little birds in the center patch.


This wool (pearl cotton?) embroidery is so pretty and done by Debby L. The varying tecniques on the block are incredible!


This *tiny* little trim framed in silk ribbon is approximately 3/4 inch wide by 1 inch long and was stitched by Jackie


More pics tomorrow...

Blast from the (recent) Past

I pulled this block out yesterday inspired from Sharon's encrusted class at joggles.com. I think this is the most encrusted block I have ever made. What I really like about it is how it shimmers and shines when the light reflects off it and being a smaller block (less then 8 1/2 square) the patches are smaller and 'overflow' with embellishment. With all of the pastel colors of orange, lavender, greens and pinks it reminds me of ice cream sherberts.

Before and After

The pic of this block isn't that great but I wanted to show my progress in my SRE. The first pic is of a block I made last year and the one from the last week. =)

Finished Rose Motif

Here's my rose motif all finished. I don't think I want to add anything else. I really like how it turned out. The first pic is the direction it will be on the block but it is blurry so I am adding the second.

TAST and More Stitching

Leave it to me to not follow directions! I looked at all the wonderful examples that Sharon had on her blog for the TAST challenge and then went to stitching. The truth is I have never stitched the Algerian Eye Stitch or Eyelet Stitch so I should have went back for reference. So I am going to call this a variation. (It needs to be called something else because it doesnt resemble the stitch Sharon challenged us with!) But anyhoo, I still like the result. Now back to the drawing board. =)



I love to use buttons in seam treatments.


I still need to dye that stark white flower... hopefully soon,

Rose Motif

I really think my silk ribbon embroidery has been improving. I would like to try a less dense/compact motif- so hopefully in the future.

I followed the curve of the lace for this motif. It wasn't supposed to be so dense but it ended up having a mind of its own! ;) In the end the lace is mostly covered, which is a shame because it is beautiful, but I am pleased with how it looks. I still have to dye the jacobean style venetian rose and I added more accent flowers and will post pics tomorrow or later this evening.

More Cretan Stitch- TAST

I really like this seam! To the left I stitched the wreath and ended up taking it out. I normally try to leave things in but I wasn't pleased.

Last Basket Block

This is my last block for the basket wallhanging and I was auditioning the rose next to the lace. I liked how the bloom of the rose seemed to fit into the scallop of the lace. The lace was a gift from Melissa and I love it. Getting closer and closer to putting it together. I hope the fabric motifs and alternating crazy patched blocks look okay together. I pulled the colors for these blocks from the basket motif fabric.

My Garlic Motif

I did this last week on my silk crazy and I love this patch! I get so tickled when I look at it as a memory of living in Korea. Ha Ha! Garlic- forever immortalized on the patch of a crazy quilt. =)

Hey Mickey!

Of course I don't know what I will use this fabric for- it was a vest that I picked up at the thrift store last week... but I am sure one day it will be used by me or swapped. I was thinking of using the motif for a tissue holder or some small project. The mickey's are silk and about the size of a quarter.

...Now if I can only get that silly song out of my head. And I bet I passed it on to YOU now! *snicker snicker*

Latest Pedometer Reading

I am happy to announce that yesterday's pedometer reading was over 20,000. Woo Hoo- a record for me. Hopefully today will be as good as yesterday.

Our internet was down and we have finally got it fixed- we were having trouble with the router It was an ordeal due to the language barrier with the internet company and the computer tecnician who was so kind to us.

Hope to get on track with blogging soonest

Online and TAST

We have been offline so many times in the past ten days that I lost count. Talk about frustrating! Just when I was almost caught up with e mails etc, we lost service again.

I haven't done anything for the Cretan Stitch but have been doing stitches from past challenge weeks. This one was from the buttonhole. I really like this patch on my silk crazy.