Well I am happy to report that I am back in the groove. Life is starting to settle down. The house is as put together as it can be for now.
This past weekend marked the beginning of the Olympics. I marked the beginning of the Olympics with a party at my new LYS. They held a cast-on party for the Ravellenic games. I cast on for Team Briar Rose . I cast on Pea Vines Shawl by Anne Hanson. 379 stitches--woohoo. Let me just say that it takes a minute to knit one row. After knitting 2 days I finally feel like I am making some progress. I am also happy to report that I am holding steady on my fiber fast. Yay! It is amazing to me what the Olympics bring out in people. I watch and I feel the energy of everyone cheering on team USA and not even our country, all countries come together in a spirit of cheering everyone to do their best. I also think that the Olympics being held in London bring a majestic feel to this particular Olympic games. Isn't the Queen wonderful? I love her sense of humor and how she stepped out of her "box" to bring a whole new element to the Olympics. I love watching and knitting every day and I enjoy the camaraderie that it brings to my ravelry team as well. Go team brf 2012!!!
I am also happy to report that I have held steadfast to a healthy eating plan and this week I have lightened up 6 pounds. I know that is a lot to lighten up in only one week and yet remember it's the first week, and as we all know that any time we go on a live-it the first week or so we usually lighten up more than most.
63 weeks til Rhinebeck!!! I know it is so far away and yet I am super excited. I keep visualizing myself in a beautiful long cardigan that will keep me snuggly warm as I walk around all of the tents and vendors. It's a way smaller size than I normally knit. : ) I have a pair of felted mittens on my hand and a lovely knitted head band keeping my ears warm. Don't I look cute? In my mind it's cute. Now I just have to determine the yarns and colors to knit. In my mind I see me wearing a new Kaffe Fassett coat--yummy. Way too much work to get to before next October. I knit one of his coats over 20 years ago and it took me FOREVER! It was however, the most beautiful coat I have ever made. Well, there is my Prism coat--hmmm, What can I say, I think they are all beautiful! It is fun to dream about next year. It's the same way when you are planning a vacation. You think about it, plan it, and dream about it for weeks and even months and then before you know it--it's here. Let's hope Rhinebeck comes as quick.
I have been thinking about what has caused me to self sabotage in the past. It has been many different things from feeling unloved to being depressed to no confidence and the list could go on and on. What I realize is that different things are triggers for me. This week I noticed that I wanted to eat less healthy things when I was happy and having a good day. Isn't that odd? Perhaps not, as we tend to eat surrounding celebrations and if you have noticed in your own life that so many of our times together with others are centered around food. I wonder why that is? Food can be that thing that causes a bit of disconnect when we are with others. If you think about it, food can bring us together and then when the meal is over, that is our chance to dis-connect with the other person. Food offers excuses on many levels. I also noticed that when I was frustrated I thought some chips would help. I didn't eat them though. I was definitely being the observer this past week. I avoided all sugary substances this week and I can tell that I was irritable at times and yet overall I feel pretty good. I think that it will take a few weeks for the sugar to get completely out of my system. I will continue to contemplate the issues surrounding my food intake. For now I have my vitamix out and I am back to my green smoothies every morning and eating as close to raw as possible. I am eating a few cooked items as well and in very small quantities.
For the coming week I plan to stay on task. I will continue my self sabotage class and keep you posted.
Happy Knitting, Eating and watching the Olympics!
Monday, July 30, 2012
Monday, July 23, 2012
Time to "get in the groove"
It seems that I am having some issues with "getting in the groove". Do you ever really want something bad or think you really want something and yet it just doesn't seem to come to fruition? I have to say that is where I have been for a time now. Moving really does take something out of a person. For me it has meant starting all over in a new place where I know no one and really I don't know much about the place where I am living. I know that I am in the great state of Texas where everything is BIG and yet I really don't know much more than that. By nature I would say I am fairly extroverted and I imagine that my friends would say that I am extremely extroverted and yet what most don't know about me is that there is a part of me that enjoys the peace and quietness of life. So I believe that this move has allowed me to take some time to unwind if you will-time to decompress from the move and from life and all the yanks and tugs that life puts on us. I figure no one really knows me here, so now is the chance to take some time to get "me" in order. To do some contemplation and meditation and to get in touch with what has been keeping me from my goals.
In my mind I know everything that is required to get my body in the shape that I desire it to be. I know exactly the proper nutrition that it needs. Movement and exercise are required and I know the amount of water that it needs and I also know the things that it doesn't need. For most things in life I believe that we know these thing innately. We pretty much know what the resulting consequences of our actions will be--would you agree? When I started this blog it was to work on two specific areas of my life, to write about them, and to share my journey over the next year and a half to come. What I didn't think about was how working on any area of your life if you are serious about, it affects all areas of your life. For example have you ever noticed that when you really want to focus on saving money and getting your financial "house" in order that things show up or happen that really just blow your plan? I know that when I decided that I was going to get caught up with all my bills and get all of my credit cards paid off then all of a sudden the Universe put many other financial things on my plate for me to take care of too. My car all of a sudden needed $1500 worth of work and then a hospital bill from eons ago that I thought insurance had taken care of all of a sudden needs to be paid or it goes to collections etc. etc. You get the picture? I think that the same thing is happening with my weight as well. I say that I want to work on it an boom- I find every excuse in the book to avoid it. I go to the grocery store and stock up on the m&m's (I love the peanut butter ones) and I get bbq chips and dip. A few bottles of wine and a jug of margaritas for mexican fiesta night which we have at our house every Friday. We call it Fiesta Friday at our house and it is our tradition to have mexican food and a family movie. A tradition that we continue even though our kids are mostly grown-we all love it! The list goes on and on. Then I was absent from this blog because in my mind all I had to write about was failure. The truth is that it is hard to admit our failures and yet that is where we learn the most about life is in our failures. While I had been making bad choices about food I have been doing great with the yarn. I will explain about the yarn in a moment. I want to stay on the topic of food for a moment longer. Last night I realized that I was totally sabotaging myself. I don't even know why. In fact I can think back over my life and look at the patterns in my life and see all of the ways that I have self sabotaged. So for part of this journey that will be a part of my healing. I wanted to share will you that I will be looking at my patterns and working to see if I can find the underlying program that is sabotaging my eating habits. I don't know if you have ever thought about it or not --I think that we are kind of like mini computers and through out our life we have been programmed to believe one way or another or think one way or another. Does this make sense? I can think of things that I do or say because my mother told me to do it that way and so I do. I was just programmed to do things a certain way. It's not right or wrong it just is. As I get older I recognize those things that I learned and that I never questioned and sometimes I wonder why.....And this is where the growth for me begins. When I begin to question and search out answers and deeper meanings to things this is where I begin to see life in a whole new way. About now you are all probably tired of my rambling so I will get to my point. Last night when I realized the sabotage I decided to sign up for a class where I can explore things on a deeper level so that I can find some answers inside of myself and begin to heal whatever it is that is hurting. So this morning is a new day and I am on a new path to discovery. I will keep you posted.
Now for discoveries I have made about yarn. Last week I decided to have my hubby help me carry in two of my bins of yarn from the garage (oh yeah, you know it there are more than two --I had to start somewhere) I began to write down the yarns and the patterns and compiled a list so that I could begin to knit from the list. I have one list of sock yarns and sock patterns(smallish projects) and the second list is sweaters and shawls and other various projects. Is this making sense? I thought that if I wrote them down on paper and began to cross them off the list as I knit them it would give me a sense of accomplishment. What I didn't count on when I started this project was that it would be such an eye opener to ALL that I have. From those two bins and a basket of yarn in the house I have 79 projects complete with both yarn and patterns. I would say about 30 skeins are sock yarns and could perhaps be used for scarfs or shawlettes. Who needs that much sock yarn? Up until now I've been going by the yarn harlots rule that sock yarn doesn't count for your stash and now I think I need to reconsider that rule. Elizabeth, my friend .who I am doing this fast with says that all yarn counts for this fast(even sock yarn) : ( And really, now think about it, who needs 30 pairs of socks? What was I thinking? I can tell you that at the time I was thinking "oh that it is sooooo beautiful and what yummy socks it will make" etc. etc. And now I am thinking who can I make socks for-I don't need thirty pairs of socks to wear : ) As for the other projects I am thinking --what was I thinking? I have nearly 50 shawls and sweaters, purses and projects just waiting for me to make them. I have to just say that writing it all down was probably the best thing for me because I can tell you that I went to two yarn shops last week and while I did look at all of the yarn I did not even think about buying some--woohoo!! I would say that is some progress. I have been working on my two mystery shawls from the Unique Sheep--One that I am doing online and one that I am doing through a yarn shop. I am also working on a test knit and I am working on socks for an international sock swap. I have the lists posted in the front of my notebook and look at them daily as a reminder of how blessed I am to have so many beautiful projects waiting for me to make them. As I look at the lists I am thinking about the order in which I will knit them. Some will be for gifts so I may have to start them next. What I have decided to do first is that I will not cast on any more new projects until I finish what I have started. That will include not only the ones that I just described but also two other shawls that I have on the needles waiting in their bags for me to give them some attention. I have a friend who has her own system and that is- she has seven projects going at one time. She works on one a day and she rotates them through the week so that she doesn't get bored and so that she eventually will have completed seven different projects. She said that when one projects ends she starts a new project in it's place, she never doubles up. I think that this is a cool idea that I might try in the future. I also have another friend who only works on ONE project at a time--really? Who has the will power to do this? Perhaps I should try his method??? For right now I must get my test knitting and swap knitting finished so I can't really try it now. I will definitely keep their methods in mind for the future.
I want to leave this post with just a few final thoughts. I have 64 weeks until the Rhinebeck fiber festival that my friends and I are going to. My goal is to lose 100 pds by the time I go which means that I need to lose 1.56 pds per week to meet my goal. So I've decided that from now on I will post my weekly progress. I am only going to weigh in on Monday mornings. In the past I would weigh every morning which made me crazy so I am doing something new this time. This will be a good way to stay accountable.
As for the nearly 80 projects that I have to knit I know that it is impossible for me to be able to knit through them all in 64 weeks. I do have to sleep! I am ok with that. I believe that if I can knit through 25 to 30 of the projects then I will feel good about buying new yarn at Rhinebeck. I am open to any thoughts that those of you reading this might have.
My action thoughts for today are to list 5 things that I do to sabotage myself and then 5 things I can do to counter act them.
Above all have kindness and compassion and love for myself and I hope you do the same for yourself.
In my mind I know everything that is required to get my body in the shape that I desire it to be. I know exactly the proper nutrition that it needs. Movement and exercise are required and I know the amount of water that it needs and I also know the things that it doesn't need. For most things in life I believe that we know these thing innately. We pretty much know what the resulting consequences of our actions will be--would you agree? When I started this blog it was to work on two specific areas of my life, to write about them, and to share my journey over the next year and a half to come. What I didn't think about was how working on any area of your life if you are serious about, it affects all areas of your life. For example have you ever noticed that when you really want to focus on saving money and getting your financial "house" in order that things show up or happen that really just blow your plan? I know that when I decided that I was going to get caught up with all my bills and get all of my credit cards paid off then all of a sudden the Universe put many other financial things on my plate for me to take care of too. My car all of a sudden needed $1500 worth of work and then a hospital bill from eons ago that I thought insurance had taken care of all of a sudden needs to be paid or it goes to collections etc. etc. You get the picture? I think that the same thing is happening with my weight as well. I say that I want to work on it an boom- I find every excuse in the book to avoid it. I go to the grocery store and stock up on the m&m's (I love the peanut butter ones) and I get bbq chips and dip. A few bottles of wine and a jug of margaritas for mexican fiesta night which we have at our house every Friday. We call it Fiesta Friday at our house and it is our tradition to have mexican food and a family movie. A tradition that we continue even though our kids are mostly grown-we all love it! The list goes on and on. Then I was absent from this blog because in my mind all I had to write about was failure. The truth is that it is hard to admit our failures and yet that is where we learn the most about life is in our failures. While I had been making bad choices about food I have been doing great with the yarn. I will explain about the yarn in a moment. I want to stay on the topic of food for a moment longer. Last night I realized that I was totally sabotaging myself. I don't even know why. In fact I can think back over my life and look at the patterns in my life and see all of the ways that I have self sabotaged. So for part of this journey that will be a part of my healing. I wanted to share will you that I will be looking at my patterns and working to see if I can find the underlying program that is sabotaging my eating habits. I don't know if you have ever thought about it or not --I think that we are kind of like mini computers and through out our life we have been programmed to believe one way or another or think one way or another. Does this make sense? I can think of things that I do or say because my mother told me to do it that way and so I do. I was just programmed to do things a certain way. It's not right or wrong it just is. As I get older I recognize those things that I learned and that I never questioned and sometimes I wonder why.....And this is where the growth for me begins. When I begin to question and search out answers and deeper meanings to things this is where I begin to see life in a whole new way. About now you are all probably tired of my rambling so I will get to my point. Last night when I realized the sabotage I decided to sign up for a class where I can explore things on a deeper level so that I can find some answers inside of myself and begin to heal whatever it is that is hurting. So this morning is a new day and I am on a new path to discovery. I will keep you posted.
Now for discoveries I have made about yarn. Last week I decided to have my hubby help me carry in two of my bins of yarn from the garage (oh yeah, you know it there are more than two --I had to start somewhere) I began to write down the yarns and the patterns and compiled a list so that I could begin to knit from the list. I have one list of sock yarns and sock patterns(smallish projects) and the second list is sweaters and shawls and other various projects. Is this making sense? I thought that if I wrote them down on paper and began to cross them off the list as I knit them it would give me a sense of accomplishment. What I didn't count on when I started this project was that it would be such an eye opener to ALL that I have. From those two bins and a basket of yarn in the house I have 79 projects complete with both yarn and patterns. I would say about 30 skeins are sock yarns and could perhaps be used for scarfs or shawlettes. Who needs that much sock yarn? Up until now I've been going by the yarn harlots rule that sock yarn doesn't count for your stash and now I think I need to reconsider that rule. Elizabeth, my friend .who I am doing this fast with says that all yarn counts for this fast(even sock yarn) : ( And really, now think about it, who needs 30 pairs of socks? What was I thinking? I can tell you that at the time I was thinking "oh that it is sooooo beautiful and what yummy socks it will make" etc. etc. And now I am thinking who can I make socks for-I don't need thirty pairs of socks to wear : ) As for the other projects I am thinking --what was I thinking? I have nearly 50 shawls and sweaters, purses and projects just waiting for me to make them. I have to just say that writing it all down was probably the best thing for me because I can tell you that I went to two yarn shops last week and while I did look at all of the yarn I did not even think about buying some--woohoo!! I would say that is some progress. I have been working on my two mystery shawls from the Unique Sheep--One that I am doing online and one that I am doing through a yarn shop. I am also working on a test knit and I am working on socks for an international sock swap. I have the lists posted in the front of my notebook and look at them daily as a reminder of how blessed I am to have so many beautiful projects waiting for me to make them. As I look at the lists I am thinking about the order in which I will knit them. Some will be for gifts so I may have to start them next. What I have decided to do first is that I will not cast on any more new projects until I finish what I have started. That will include not only the ones that I just described but also two other shawls that I have on the needles waiting in their bags for me to give them some attention. I have a friend who has her own system and that is- she has seven projects going at one time. She works on one a day and she rotates them through the week so that she doesn't get bored and so that she eventually will have completed seven different projects. She said that when one projects ends she starts a new project in it's place, she never doubles up. I think that this is a cool idea that I might try in the future. I also have another friend who only works on ONE project at a time--really? Who has the will power to do this? Perhaps I should try his method??? For right now I must get my test knitting and swap knitting finished so I can't really try it now. I will definitely keep their methods in mind for the future.
I want to leave this post with just a few final thoughts. I have 64 weeks until the Rhinebeck fiber festival that my friends and I are going to. My goal is to lose 100 pds by the time I go which means that I need to lose 1.56 pds per week to meet my goal. So I've decided that from now on I will post my weekly progress. I am only going to weigh in on Monday mornings. In the past I would weigh every morning which made me crazy so I am doing something new this time. This will be a good way to stay accountable.
As for the nearly 80 projects that I have to knit I know that it is impossible for me to be able to knit through them all in 64 weeks. I do have to sleep! I am ok with that. I believe that if I can knit through 25 to 30 of the projects then I will feel good about buying new yarn at Rhinebeck. I am open to any thoughts that those of you reading this might have.
My action thoughts for today are to list 5 things that I do to sabotage myself and then 5 things I can do to counter act them.
Above all have kindness and compassion and love for myself and I hope you do the same for yourself.
Monday, July 2, 2012
Starting Over
Well it has been quite some time since my last post and that is because I have been without the internet for a while. I guess I never realized how important this form of technology was until I didn't have it. I had to return the cable boxes and modems before the move and I made a date for return without the thought of how I will stay in touch through cyber space. I was able to get my hot spot on my phone turned on- the only problem with that is that I had terrible reception with the hot spot in the country where I lived so it really was useless. My only touch with the outside world came when I went to the knit shop with my computer or went to my friends who gave me access to the web. So now I am officially transplanted in Austin, TX. Time to start over in a new city. It has been a journey just dealing with all the stuff that goes with moving. I do have to say that it has gone so smoothly I almost can't believe it. From the trip here with my son and the girls (my two goldendoodles) to the utilities all getting hooked up at the appropriate times (esp. the cable guy), to the movers showing up and unloading in perfect time to the unpacking-- it is all working in perfect harmony. The interesting thing about this is I wonder to myself- why is this time different? Why is this move so easy in many respects compared to other moves? I am not saying that it has all been a piece of cake and yet it hasn't been so bad either. After 3 days in the house I am at least 75% unpacked and organized, which is unheard of. I am grateful for the transition happening so smoothly. I love my new house. It's going to be perfect for us. We were so blessed to find a brand new home. The only things that really bugs me about the house are that It has no linen closet and no drawers in the bathroom vanities and no medicine cabinets either--who does that? No worries though. You may not know that I am the queen of improvising, so far I have managed to turn some shelves in the master closet into a linen closet and today I head out to bed bath and beyond for some drawers for the bathrooms. Problem solved.
I imagine the biggest problem of the whole trip was my ankles. I know it sounds silly and I am here to tell you that they have given me some problems. Before I left KY my friends forced me to go to the Dr. to get them checked out. So I did and do you know what he told me? I was too fat and needed to lose some weight. Color me surprised! He said it wasn't my heart or my kidneys (whew) it was simple, the amount of weight I carry is putting pressure on my veins which is causing the constriction that is causing my swelling etc. etc. etc. He said lose 10 or 20 pds and you will see it go away. He makes it sound so simple. The thing is, I actually think he gets how difficult it is--he himself is a very overweight man and he was probably one of the most non-judgemental Drs. I have ever met. Sure he told it like it was and yet he also had compassion in his voice because he understands. He gave me permission to do the drive with the caution to watch the salts and to walk every few hours (which I did). Even with his advice my ankles were the worst they have ever been by the time I arrived. It has taken several days for the swelling to come down. It is slowly, but surely. Today is the official day that I kick of my raw campaign. I have gone back and forth as to whether to start before or after the fourth of July. In the end that has just been another excuse to put off what I say that I really want to do. I haven't found the scale as of yet so that I can get a true starting weight and I guess that the numbers don't really matter. They are just a guide that helps me know if I am on task or not. The truth is that if I am eating properly then a scale doesn't matter at all. Hubby and son are joining in the healthy food changes that the household is undertaking. Pretty cool that we are all going to be on the same page. I have the vita mix ready for green smoothies in the morning. Here I am starting all over with my eating regimen once again. Why is it that I am starting over again? Interesting to think about--because I have been at a comfortable weight for my body in the past and then emotions crept in and I began eating to bury or stuff the feelings that I apparently didn't want to deal with. I know all of this in my intellect and yet the emotions seem to over power me and food comes in to save the day! Well not this time. I am working through emotions as they come. Here's to my Health!!! I am sure that we will have an opportunity to walk through some of the emotions to come.
Now is time for confessions of a yarn a holic. Yes, it is true that I am on a fiber fast. When I agreed to do this my friend Elizabeth and I set up some rules to follow that would be our guide to having money for the Rhinebeck trip Oct. 2013. We did give ourselves some grace. We have allowed ourselves to continue to be a part of some of the groups we love through the Unique Sheep. If you haven't tried their yarn then you are missing out BIG TIME. It is fun and beautiful and yummy and well I could go on and on about them--you just need to try them out!!! You will love it! So we are both continuing in their KAL's and clubs and that is pretty much all that we allowed ourselves with the exception of gifts. However, I rec'd some money for a going away present and for my birthday with the stipulation that I buy something only for me and something I really wanted. Well..... I really wanted yarn. For my birthday on Thurs. I went into one of the yarn shops here in Austin after we arrived--just to look mind you. How was I supposed to know that they would have this new yarn that I had never seen before? It called to me--you know how when you see something and it just calls to you and it says "buy me, take me home, I will be something beautiful for you"? I know that you have heard fiber calling to you that way--come on, don't deny it. So this new yarn that I had never seen before from Hazel Knits in the base called entice and the colorway jam session came home with me for my birthday. I continue to pet it every day and it is giving me some ideas of what it wants to be. I haven't quite decided on a pattern--though. This was a great purchase and yet I still had birthday $ in my pocket so I decided to hide it in my wallet for just the perfect time. Can you believe that only 3 days later I found myself in yet another knit shop and before I knew it I had found the perfect yarn for a shawl and it was 20% off--Really? That is a no brainer--what knitter can avoid a 20% off sale? And just before I was ready to leave the store I spotted it near the cash register--A skein of yarn for the fourth of July. It was called patriot and it was red, white and blue with silver sparkles all over it. You know at that moment it was all over. I had to have it. I want you to know that I did try to talk myself out of buying it. Especially since it would leave me almost out of my birthday money and then what? How could I buy yarn without a gift cert. or money that was supposed to be for my yarn? I guess it's time to start over and get back into the fast. No more ways to justify buying yarn. I think I have enough money left to buy one or two skeins and then that is it. My yarn buying days are over---UGH! Elizabeth is there any way I can have a reprieve for the yarn crawl coming in Oct.? Or do I have to save this $ until Oct. and hope that I can find something to fit the amount of $ I have left? Why am I making such a big deal about it? I have more yarn than I really need. Why do I want more? I don't just have yarn--I have amazing and beautiful yarns. I think that in the morning when I get my "hard" work done I will sit and make a list of the projects that I have in my queue and perhaps that will help me to stay motivated to knit from my stash and NOT buy anymore yarn until next year per the plan. It's funny to me though how I am having such issues with this. I know that it is not true what they say--she who dies with the most yarn wins. It can't be true--what fun would that be? How about just enjoying the yarns that I already have and have fun creating with them. I think that is the plan! Play with what I have for a while before acquiring more.
So for this Monday it is a day for starting over. I am in a new space and place in a new city and life is starting over with a new chapter. Can't wait to see how it unfolds.........OOOOHHH the phone is ringing................................
I imagine the biggest problem of the whole trip was my ankles. I know it sounds silly and I am here to tell you that they have given me some problems. Before I left KY my friends forced me to go to the Dr. to get them checked out. So I did and do you know what he told me? I was too fat and needed to lose some weight. Color me surprised! He said it wasn't my heart or my kidneys (whew) it was simple, the amount of weight I carry is putting pressure on my veins which is causing the constriction that is causing my swelling etc. etc. etc. He said lose 10 or 20 pds and you will see it go away. He makes it sound so simple. The thing is, I actually think he gets how difficult it is--he himself is a very overweight man and he was probably one of the most non-judgemental Drs. I have ever met. Sure he told it like it was and yet he also had compassion in his voice because he understands. He gave me permission to do the drive with the caution to watch the salts and to walk every few hours (which I did). Even with his advice my ankles were the worst they have ever been by the time I arrived. It has taken several days for the swelling to come down. It is slowly, but surely. Today is the official day that I kick of my raw campaign. I have gone back and forth as to whether to start before or after the fourth of July. In the end that has just been another excuse to put off what I say that I really want to do. I haven't found the scale as of yet so that I can get a true starting weight and I guess that the numbers don't really matter. They are just a guide that helps me know if I am on task or not. The truth is that if I am eating properly then a scale doesn't matter at all. Hubby and son are joining in the healthy food changes that the household is undertaking. Pretty cool that we are all going to be on the same page. I have the vita mix ready for green smoothies in the morning. Here I am starting all over with my eating regimen once again. Why is it that I am starting over again? Interesting to think about--because I have been at a comfortable weight for my body in the past and then emotions crept in and I began eating to bury or stuff the feelings that I apparently didn't want to deal with. I know all of this in my intellect and yet the emotions seem to over power me and food comes in to save the day! Well not this time. I am working through emotions as they come. Here's to my Health!!! I am sure that we will have an opportunity to walk through some of the emotions to come.
Now is time for confessions of a yarn a holic. Yes, it is true that I am on a fiber fast. When I agreed to do this my friend Elizabeth and I set up some rules to follow that would be our guide to having money for the Rhinebeck trip Oct. 2013. We did give ourselves some grace. We have allowed ourselves to continue to be a part of some of the groups we love through the Unique Sheep. If you haven't tried their yarn then you are missing out BIG TIME. It is fun and beautiful and yummy and well I could go on and on about them--you just need to try them out!!! You will love it! So we are both continuing in their KAL's and clubs and that is pretty much all that we allowed ourselves with the exception of gifts. However, I rec'd some money for a going away present and for my birthday with the stipulation that I buy something only for me and something I really wanted. Well..... I really wanted yarn. For my birthday on Thurs. I went into one of the yarn shops here in Austin after we arrived--just to look mind you. How was I supposed to know that they would have this new yarn that I had never seen before? It called to me--you know how when you see something and it just calls to you and it says "buy me, take me home, I will be something beautiful for you"? I know that you have heard fiber calling to you that way--come on, don't deny it. So this new yarn that I had never seen before from Hazel Knits in the base called entice and the colorway jam session came home with me for my birthday. I continue to pet it every day and it is giving me some ideas of what it wants to be. I haven't quite decided on a pattern--though. This was a great purchase and yet I still had birthday $ in my pocket so I decided to hide it in my wallet for just the perfect time. Can you believe that only 3 days later I found myself in yet another knit shop and before I knew it I had found the perfect yarn for a shawl and it was 20% off--Really? That is a no brainer--what knitter can avoid a 20% off sale? And just before I was ready to leave the store I spotted it near the cash register--A skein of yarn for the fourth of July. It was called patriot and it was red, white and blue with silver sparkles all over it. You know at that moment it was all over. I had to have it. I want you to know that I did try to talk myself out of buying it. Especially since it would leave me almost out of my birthday money and then what? How could I buy yarn without a gift cert. or money that was supposed to be for my yarn? I guess it's time to start over and get back into the fast. No more ways to justify buying yarn. I think I have enough money left to buy one or two skeins and then that is it. My yarn buying days are over---UGH! Elizabeth is there any way I can have a reprieve for the yarn crawl coming in Oct.? Or do I have to save this $ until Oct. and hope that I can find something to fit the amount of $ I have left? Why am I making such a big deal about it? I have more yarn than I really need. Why do I want more? I don't just have yarn--I have amazing and beautiful yarns. I think that in the morning when I get my "hard" work done I will sit and make a list of the projects that I have in my queue and perhaps that will help me to stay motivated to knit from my stash and NOT buy anymore yarn until next year per the plan. It's funny to me though how I am having such issues with this. I know that it is not true what they say--she who dies with the most yarn wins. It can't be true--what fun would that be? How about just enjoying the yarns that I already have and have fun creating with them. I think that is the plan! Play with what I have for a while before acquiring more.
So for this Monday it is a day for starting over. I am in a new space and place in a new city and life is starting over with a new chapter. Can't wait to see how it unfolds.........OOOOHHH the phone is ringing................................
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