September Craftings

Sideways Hat
Started: 30th August 2018
Finished: 5th September 2018

Red and Blue Hat
Started: 6th September 2018
Finished: 7th September 2018

Greens and Navy Hat
Started: 8th September 2018
Finished: 8th September 2018

Soapy Gems
Started: 10th September 2018
Finished: 10th September 2018

Double Aran Hat
Started: 8th September 2018
Finished: 12th September 2018

Threes and Twos Hat
Started: 10th September 2018
Finished: 12th September 2018

Heather Hats
Started: 13th September 2018
Finished: 15th September 2018

Heather Hats, part 2
Started: 15th September 2018
Finished: th September 2018

I am all confused. The hatathon resulted in lots of hats, and I haven't documented them. I shall take some time to sort it all out.

Items made this month
0 sewn, ? knitted, 0 crocheted,  18 soaped,  0 cake

Items made this year
8 sewn, ? knitted, 1 crocheted, 23 soaped, 4 cake

Yarn this month
bought: 16
finished: 16

Yarn this year
bought: 33 (3.15kg of DK) 
finished: 63

Day 2 of Clean Eating

Breakfast: gluten-free porridge with cinnamon and vanilla

Lunch: prawn and egg, or tuna, salad

Dinner: chicken and veggie stir fry

The Beloved doesn't eat salads very frequently, and I am taking pains to make sure the salads are different each time. His prawn salad contained prawns mixed with garlic mayo, a sliced hard boiled egg, onion, cucumber, salad leaves, Chinese leaves, radishes, carrots, and olives.

The tuna salad had salad leaves, Chinese leaves, tuna mayo with sweetcorn, cucumber, tomatoes and a couple of baby corn on the cob.

Spinach and Sun-Dried Tomato Risotto

600ml vegetable stock

225g brown rice 

2 Tsp olive oil

2 onions, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

225g frozen spinach, crumbled

100g sun-dried tomato paste

dried oregano

fresh basil

freshly ground black pepper

Heat the stock, and add the brown rice to the pot. Cook for 30 minutes.

In a large frying pan, fry the onions in the oil for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.

Add the cooked rice to the frying pan, along with the spinach, the sun-dried tomato paste and oregano.

Rip the basil into small pieces and toss through the risotto. Season. 

Healthy Eating

At the end of July, I started eating far healthier food. Whilst I eat in this way, the weight comes off. If I eat junk, the weight goes back on. The family have noticed the difference in me and have decided to join me. 

It's all about eating good, unprocessed foods. The exceptions are bacon and prosciutto. There is also a restriction regarding the macronutirients or fats and carbs. They should be kept separate. This is because of the way the body processes these nutrients.

Breakfast: scrambled eggs with spinach, and bacon

Lunch: salmon salad

Dinner: roast chicken and roasted vegetables, followed by natural live yogurt.

Clothing In, Clothing Out

My bedroom had been give a good clean, and work has started on decluttering and organising my clothes. 

Everything in the wardrobe has been examined, and a decision made as to whether I want to keep it. Some clothes have been put into the 'out of season' drawer, and others have been taken from there and hung away. A few new items have been added, and a few removed. It's looking so tidy and organised now. I love it!

Tomorrow, it will be time to look at my underwear, pjs and knitwear. There's also a load of dark washing to be done. Decisions will need to be made about those clothes too.

It feels so good to have clean, tidy bedroom. It is a place of calm. And it's so good to have a wardrobe of clothes I actually wear.

A 15 Minute Day

Some days should be tackled 15 minutes at a time. Today is one of those days! Autumn has arrived and my body is creaking and groaning. The thought of getting up and doing lots of stuff makes me want to hide in bed. However, little things, in little chunks, I can manage.

So far, the dog has been walked (3/4 of a mile), dog breakfast has been made, and soup has been started. One load of laundry is in the machine, and the bed has been stripped, and a new hat has been cast on.  And now, time to sit for about 45 minutes and knit the hat.

20lb Down

At the end of July, I decided to do something about my risk of developing diabetes. There's a strong family history, and I don't want to become another statistic. I've switched to eating real foods, with a little processing as possible.

Juices, sweets, chocolate, crisps, sauces, starchy veggies and grains... they have gone, and I'm eating good, wholesome, nourishing food.  Since ditching sugary stuff, I'm so much fuller, and I don't have cravings. It's rather brilliant.  It's cheaper too. I've lost 20lb in weight. And, I feel so much better. Once I lose 2 stones I'll visit my doctor and ask for a repeat of various tests I had done last year. I'm very interested in comparing the results.

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I love the image at the top. A woman is running off the weight, but as she runs her clothing gets smaller and smaller.  I wonder what the metabolic pathway is for that!

No Hats Allowed!

This is getting crazy! It's hats, hats, HATS! 

It seems that when I am in a hatathon, my whole blog becomes little more than a record of the hats I have made. It's getting really monotonous! 

New rule, during a hatathon, I shall post new patterns, and a weekly round up of what's been made. That will hopefully keep me from being bored.

Child's Hat

Cast on 88sts (96,104), join and work in 2x2 rib for 4cm. Switch to stocking stitch, and knit until the knitting measures 13cm (14, 15) from the cast on edge.  

Crown Decreases:
Round 1: K6, K2tog; repeat to end
Round 2 (and every even round until round 14): Knit
Round 3: K5, K2tog, repeat to end
Round 5: K4, K2tog, repeat to end
Round 7: K3, K2tog, repeat to end
Round 9: K2, K2tog, repeat to end
Round 11: K1, K2tog, repeat to end
Round 13: K2tog, repeat to end
Round 14: K2tog, repeat to end

Cut yarn, leaving and end to thread through the remaining stitches. Draw the yarn through, secure and weave in ends. Trim excess yarn.

Twelve Hats

These are the twelve hats I have made so far this month.

This brings the total up to 32 hats for adults and 9 for babies/children. Time to switch focus.

Alpaca Greys and Blacks

Yarn: King Cole Pricewise DK

Composition: 100% acrylic

Colour: black
Yarn: King Cole Pricewise DK

Composition: 100% acrylic

Colour: dark grey

Yarn: King Cole Pricewise DK

Composition: 100% acrylic

Colour: clerical grey

Yarn: Drops Alpaca 4ply

Composition: 100% alpaca

Colour: soft green (2917) and lavender (4050)

Pattern: Super Chunky Hat (with 4ply variation)

Size: Adult

Needles: 10mm

Started: 14th August 2018 

Finished:  19th August 2018

The unifying theme of these hats is the alpaca yarns. These were knitted with 6 strands held together. The acrylic DK was held tripled. 

Breath of Life

Just before Easter last year, my breathing was radically compromised. Climbing a flight of stairs was a workout, and I needed to rest part way. I mis-understood what was happening, and as I wasn't wheezing, but coughing, I thought I had the cold. Things were getting worse, and my husband phone the doctor. The doctor had finished for the day, but on hearing what was happening, asked me to come in straight away. This lead to about three weeks on steroids and many visits back to the surgery to enable him to monitor me.

The steroids helped me so much, and enabled me to breathe again. However, they also made everything taste funny. Everything was unbearably sweet, but not chocolate or sugar sweet; it was saccharine sweet. The first thing to taste good again were veggies, followed by fruit, then protein, and lastly chocolate etc. One of the consequences of the steroids was we needed a new fridge, a bigger fridge, to house the all the veggies. 

Since starting on the Harcombe Diet, my intake of veggies has increased yet again. Yesterday I had beetroot leaves, carrots, garlic, cucumber, more carrots, sweet potato, onion, parsnip and leek. I did also have some green beans and broccoli out to add to dinner, but I forgot to cook them! Since the first of August, I've lost almost 9kg. I'm eating things I love, and I'm feeling great.

The chest infection back in April last year has led to a new lease of life and health for me. I'll loving it!

I Can Wear That?

(twirls) I'm wearing my teal panelled skirt.

About four years ago, it was getting to be a little on the large side. As it is a panelled skirt, I removed one of the ten panels. Then it was too small!

This morning, I tried it on to see just how much of me would need to disappear before I could wear it again. It was rather surprising when I could do up the button, and an even greater surprise when I could close the zip too!

Last month, I cut out processed foods from my diet, along with rice and potatoes. It's now single item ingredients, apart from the occasional stock pot, and a few dressings for salad. It wasn't plain sailing, and I slipped a few times, but often success is getting up one more time than you have fallen. This month, I started cycling and using hand weights, and I'm now cycling 30 minutes each day, and doing two hand weight exercises 60 times. For some reason, I seem to becoming more 'concentrated'.

Excuse me whilst I do a little dance.

Heather Hats

Yarn: King Cole Pricewise DK

Composition: 100% acrylic

Colour: dark grey

Yarn: King Cole Pricewise DK

Composition: 100% acrylic

Colour: black

Yarn: King Cole Curiosity DK

Composition: 100% acrylic

Colour: Heather

Pattern: Super Chunky Hat 

Size: Adult

Needles: 10mm

Started: 13th August 2018 

Finished:  15th August 2018

I love the way these hats don't look identical, despite being knitted from the same balls of yarn.

Io Sono Vlad (completed)

Salve, mi chiamo Vlad.

Tanto tempo fa, nel dicembre del millequartocentotrentuno, io sono nato, in Romania. Mio fratello e io siamo cresciuti sui Monti Carpazi. Ogni estate, noi siamo andati in Ungheria per visitare i nostri nonni, i Nosferati. Noi siamo restati per tre mesi. La vita era buona.

Nel millequartocentosettantasette, un pipistrello mi ha morso sul lato sinistro del collo. Poi sono morto. Ora, io sono un morto vivente. Io sono Vlad Dracula!

Ho bevuto il vino porto scuro e ricco. Adesso mi piace bere il sangue. Agli abitanti del villaggio non e` piaciuto questo. Loro sono venuti a casa mia, e urlato, e gettato delle pietre grandi e rotto tutti vetri. Così, sono partito per l'Inghilterra.

Noi abbiamo navigato fino al porto di Whitby, e siamo entrati in una terra nuova.  Siamo arrivati all'hotel, ma l'addeto era uscito. Noi siamo tornati più tardi. Era tornato ubriaco. Così, io ho bevuto lui.

Dieci anni fa, io sono ritornato in Romania.  Gestisco l'hotel Transilvania, un hotel per i mostri, vampiri, fantasmi e licantropi. Abbiamo tredici camere da letto. Vuoi prenotare una stanza?

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My story is complete. In class, we were given homework to use a number of verbs that take 'essere' in the past perfect tense. One warning was given, 'Don't say "Io sono morto." as this means "I was dead, but that over now, complete."' Naturally, this got my little grey cells working, and Vlad Dracula popped into my noggin. 

It was hard work trying to shoe horn each verb into the story, and when my work was being corrected, one of those verbs was changed to make it an Italian would say it.

The very best bit was when my tutor laughed at "Era tornato ubriaco. Così, io ho bevuto lui." (He arrived drunk. So I drank him.) She also laughed the end when Vlad opened a hotel for monsters.

Threes and Twos Hat

Yarn: King Cole Merino Aran

Composition: 100% merino

Colour: cream

Yarn: King Cole Merino Aran

Composition: 100% merino

Colour: Linden

Yarn: James C Brett Top Value DK

Composition: 100% acrylic

Colour: navy

Pattern: Super Chunky Hat (aran variations)

Size: Adult

Needles: 10mm

Started:   8th September 2018 

Finished:  12th September 2018

The navy DK yarn was used holding three strands together. The aran yarns were worked using two strands.

Soap Bubbles

I have been playing with soap today.  

235g of clear soap base was melted, and this is enough to fill the domed ice 'cube' tray, plus 3 little hearts. Six drops of red were added to the melted soap, and 20 drops of rose oil. When half of the ice 'cube' tray was filled, I added 1 drop of blue. 

When these have solidified, I'll make some blue and some pink ones too. These will then be set in white soap. Hopefully, there clear, colours domes will appear as gems in the white base.

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800g of white soap base was used. It seems like the mould I was using can take up to 1.5kg. That's a lot of soap!

Changing Shape

August was the month when I really started making a difference in the food I eat. I'm still falling into bad habits and eating things that are not what I really want to eat, but what I'm eating now is so much better than what I was eating in July. And what I was eating in July was better than in May, etc.

This month, I have been concentrating on exercise. My plan has been to increase the amount of exercise in a gradual manner, and to aim for consistency. Each morning and evening, I've been cycling and lifting hand weights. The cycling has increased in 1 minute increments daily. Although, I was unable to cycle last night due to joint pain. I'm going to absorb those 9 missed minutes into today's cycling. I've already nibbled away 6 and a half minutes, and will add the missing 2 and a half minutes to this evening's cycling.

Lifting hand weights is rather new to me, and I started with 10 repetitions of two exercises on the 1st of September.  There are arm curls and shoulder presses. After a few days, I realised 10 repetitions didn't feel like work. I increased the number of repetitions by 3 each day. I'm now at 30, and the last 3 shoulder presses are a bit of a killer! I'll stick at 30 for the next little while. When things start getting easy, I'll add in a different exercise to work my arms, shoulders and back in a slightly different way. 

This morning I came across this quote, "Don't wait until you've achieved your goal to be proud of yourself. Be proud of yourself for every step you take towards your goal." I am proud of myself. The last few months have seen a number of steps towards a healthier lifestyle!

Double Aran Hat

Yarn: King Cole Merino Aran

Composition: 100% merino

Colour: cream

Yarn: King Cole Merino Aran

Composition: 100% merino

Colour: Linden

Pattern: Super Chunky Hat (aran variation)

Size: Adult

Needles: 10mm

Started:   8th September 2018 

Finished:  12th September 2018

Instead of knitting with 3 strands of DK yarn, use 2 strands of aran.

Greens and Navy Hat

Yarn: James C Brett Top Value DK

Composition: 100% acrylic

Colour: navy

Yarn: random ball of leftover yarn

Composition: 100% acrylic

Colour: green

Yarn: random ball of leftover yarn

Composition: 100% acrylic

Colour: green

Pattern: Super Chunky Hat (stocking stitch variation)

Size: Adult

Needles: 10mm

Started:   8th September 2018 

Finished:  8th September 2018

I worked 12 rounds of ribbing and switched to stocking stitch. In the decreases, every purl was changed to a knit.

Io Sono Vlad!

The story progresses!  

In Italian class last night, we were told to practise using the Passato Prosimmo, the Present Perfect tense. This is used for things that have happened, and have been completed. At its simplest, it's a noun or pronoun, the correct form of 'to be' or 'to have', and then the infinitive.  eg 'Io ho mangiare' and 'Io sono nata'. Most verbs takes 'to have', but we were asked to practise the ones that take 'to be', and we were warned about 'Io sono morta'. It has the flavour of 'I was dead, but I'm finished with being dead now.'

Naturally, this led my thoughts into vampiric pathways, and before I could concentrate on how to translate "I arrived at the cinema at 8.15pm" (Sono arrivata al cinema alle 20.15), I had started planning out a story about Vlad Dracula. Here's where I am at the moment. There's quite a bit more to add, but I'm rather liking it so far.

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Salve, mi chiamo Vlad.

Tanto tempo fa, in diciembre millequartocentotrentuno, io sono nato, in Monti Carpazi, Romania. In millequartocentosettantasette, un pipistrello mi ha morso sul lato sinistro del collo. Poi, sono morto. Ora, io sono il morti viventi. Io sono il vampiro, il vampiro grande. Io sono Vlad Dracula!

Ho bevuto il vino porto scuro e ricco. Ora, a me piace bere il sangue, e odio l'aglio.

Gestisco l'hotel Transilvania, un hotel per i mostri, vampiri, fantasmi e licantropi. Abbiamo dodici camere da letto. Vuoi prenotare una stanza?

Red and Blue Hat

Yarn: James C Brett Top Value DK

Composition: 100% acrylic

Colour: navy

Yarn: random ball of leftover yarn

Composition: 100% acrylic

Colour: red

Pattern: Super Chunky Hat (stocking stitch variation)

Size: Adult

Needles: 10mm

Started:   6th September 2018 

Finished:  7th September 2018

I worked 12 rounds of ribbing and switched to stocking stitch. In the decreases, every purl was changed to a knit.

This hat finished the last two balls of my 52 ball challenge this year. It feels like quite an accomplishment to finish 52 balls of yarn in 52 weeks, well 36 weeks, which is even better. That's on of my crafting goals for this year completed.

The other two are 'use more fabric than I buy', and that one needs some work. But the third goal is to make 52 items. So far, I'm at 44 items. That goal is going to be reached.

Mi Chiamo Vlad

Mi chiamo Vlad. Sono nato in milleduecentodiciotto, in Ungheria, e sono morto in millleseicentosettantadue. Io sono il vamipro, il vampiro grande, Vlad Dracula.

Sideways Hat

Yarn: James C Brett Top Value DK

Composition: 100% acrylic

Colour: navy

Yarn: random ball of leftover yarn

Composition: 100% acrylic

Colour: red

Pattern: Sideways Hat

Size: Adult

Needles: 10mm

Amount used: 90g

Started:   30th August 2018 

Finished:  5th September 2018

Holding the yarn tripled, cast on 30 sts.

1. Knit 3 sts, k2tog, yo, k to end.

2. Knit

Repeat these two rows 42 times.

Cast off, and then sew together the cast on and cast off edges.

Make a twisted cord, and thread it through the holes at the top of the hat. Tie it off.

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The cord can be undone, and the hat can then be used around the neck if desired.

The hat above was made by knitting two rows of red, and then four of navy.

Decluttering Kitchen Drawers and Pantry

Thankfully, I'm feeling a little more myself now. 

Whilst I was making dinner last night, I was enjoying having all the space and clear surfaces. It made the task so very much easier. I was able to have everything laid out and prepared, just waiting for their turn to be cooked.

Tasks:

Declutter 2 shelves in pantry

Declutter kitchen utensils, knives and gadgets, and organise

Declutter and organise parchment, foil, and plastic 

Declutter food storage containers

Six out of date items have been ditched. They were things people have tried, but didn't really like, or didn't use often.

Scurryfunging Central

It's tough keeping on top of housekeeping and decluttering when you are ill. This evening we have a friend over for dinner, and I have so little energy.

This means it is a time for list after list. The most important things are at the top. The stuff at the bottom might be done, or it might not. (Edited to add: with assistance from the Offspring, the list was completed!)

Ta Da!

make cheesecake

make raspberry cooli

make raspberry sauce

clear kitchen surfaces

clean hob

wash dark clothing 

hang out washing

sweep sitting room floor

wash sitting room floor

sweep kitchen floor

wash kitchen floor

sweep hall floor
wash hall floor
wash dishes

red sitting room (remove items that should not be in the sitting room and put them away, tidy the rest)

de-fluff the sofas of Ava-hair

vacuum sitting room floor
dust sitting room

Clean Hob

Yesterday's declutterings and tidyings gave me such joy. That's not to say I like it whilst it is happening, but I do like the results.

Sadly, my energy levels are really low, and things need to be slowed down a tad. There will be time to race ahead when I have recovered from this cold. Therefore, it's time to clean the hob.

Decluttering Begins Again

The major advantages of decluttering are:

• it makes me happy
• I prefer living with less clutter
• it take less time and effort to keep the house clean and tidy

And with these things in mind, I have decided to get back on the decluttering bandwagon, and declutter the house between now and the new year. The plan is to follow Taylor's 365 Declutter tasks, but instead of doing one task each day, I''ll do 3 or 4. So many of the these task have been done before, it is just a question of straightening up, and looking at items that have crept in since the last decluttering.

I had so wanted to start this with a bang and get things moving at quite a pace. However, I have a healing finger to consider, and a cold/sore throat too. But, it's not going to hold me back. It's going to get done.

Today's tasks are:

• Declutter and organise the kitchen sink area
• Clear kitchen counters
• Declutter front and top of refrigerator
• Declutter front and top of freezer
• Replace paper on top of kitchen cupboards

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I'm loving the difference! Clean, clear surfaces, space to move and breathe! YES!

September Goals

Goals for September:

• regrow fingertip
• make as many hats as possible
• declutter every day
• exercise every day
• finish Ducky quilt