Journey to health through creativity

One of the events I love attending at Stitches West is the pajama party, hosted by Marly Bird, who by the way, puts together a fantastic team to assist her. They make sure it is so much fun for everyone attending! I don't even remember how now, but I managed to win a free subscription to Creativebug.com. A few days ago, I finally found a few free moments to go online and redeem my gift and O.M.G.!!! People, check it out..I promise you won't be sorry. There are classes, online tutorials, techniques, and freebies. Seriously, who would've ever thought to put a class together on sewing machine maintenance!??! I know, right?? It couldn't have come at a better time! Even though I just put out over $200. for a cleaning, tuneup, and repair of the reverse function on my machine, by a supposedly very reputable store/dealer in my area, it still doesn't work properly. They have had two chances now to make it right, and still, they can't seem to get it right. Hmmmm....they also happen to sell sewing machines...are you thinking what I'm thinking? Uh huh..thought so. It ain't gonna happen though. I love my machine. It has sentimental value to it, as my son bought it for me 23 years ago. It has sewn many bridal garments, clothing for my children, ex-husband, and now my grandchildren. It's not going anywhere. I'm determined to make it sew properly, and hopefully, my husband will have a chance to take a look at it this weekend for me. Between it and my mom's machine, I have managed to sew my quilt, but I would like to have the reverse function back on my machine once and for all.
Anyway, back to creativebug. I signed up for a class on art journaling, and have completed the first week. I won't be showing you any pictures right now, but suffice to say I'm so excited over this form that is now considered legitimate art. It's a very personal art form, and as the instructor tells us, we don't have to let other's eyes see it if we choose not to. I'm excited to see where I go with this! It's extremely meditative and just seems to go hand in hand with my new outlook on life.

Becoming as healthy and fit as I can be at the age of 61, has been the best gift I could ever give myself and my family. My journey began on November 1st this past year, and so far, I've taken off nearly 40 pounds. At times, it hasn't been easy, but it has been well worth it! I'm down three clothing sizes, and every time I walk past a mirror, it takes a few seconds for it to register that it's me and not somebody else. The best part though is I have never felt better; I have never felt more energetic, and my numbers are well below the pre-diabetic stage. Yes, there is loose skin, but you know what? It's worth every new line in my face!!! My sweet, sweet husband has offered to pony up for the cost of cosmetic surgery, but at this point in my life, I want to embrace every wrinkle. It's who I am and who I have learned to love again, so for now, I'm going to opt for facials, massages, and just love being ME! It may not be for everybody, but it's the right decisions for me. I would never stand in judgement of others who choose to have the surgeries, in fact, my hat's off to them. Right now, it's just not for me, and especially because I'm not at my goal weight yet. Most of all, I want to embrace the health benefits of this journey, physical and emotional, as that's what it was all about for me in the first place!

 

If you recognized the cowl I'm wearing in the above picture, you'd be right in saying "hey, that's the 'Vanessa' cowl she was working on!" I finished it yesterday morning, and immediately put it on, where it stayed the whole rest of the day. It is so freaking lovely to wear!!! Most of the colors are from Cascade 220 Sport, and I think it was two of the colors I purchased from Polka Dot Sheep at Stitches West 2015. Both yarns were lovely to work with and are very soft and comfortable to wear!! This is an exceptional design by Christina Wall of the Knitter's Life podcast, and I thank her for so generously offering it to us for free!!! If you have never done stranded color work,i.e., fair isle, Creativebug offers a class on it, and I'm pretty sure you could find one also on Craftsy.

 

My socks are gaining length and a couple of my knitsibs at knit night last night commented on how "vintage" they look. I love that!!!! The darker, thin red line you can see is where my afterthought heel will be placed. This is my new favorite go-to heel. It's so easy and the fit on my foot is amazing!

 



My local knitting guild I'm a member of has been hosting a knit-along for the Nymphalidea Shawl. Mine came off the blocking table yesterday morning and I'm so very pleased with it! It's light, it's drapey, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to love wearing it. This was a very fun, easy knit. I'll try to get better pictures wearing it soon.

 

The last bit of knitting I've been working on is my Tickled Pink capelet. While it's a bit challenging, it's mostly just staying focused since it is lace work. I'm so very excited to be knitting this and can already envision my 'new' self wearing it. As I've mentioned before, it can't be purchased on Ravelry (not sure why the designer hasn't put it on there), but rather from a lady I met through the Lacy Knitter's Guild I'm also a member of. The actual name of the pattern is Gossamer Capelet, by Betty Fryer, and if you would like more information on how to get the pattern, just contact me via Ravelry or leave me a comment on here (Rav ID is KnitNurd). I'll continue to post my progress on this so you can get a better idea of what it looks like, as I don't have a picture of the pattern to show you.

 



 

Eventually, I'll get back to my other WIPs, as I've been on a finishing jag lately. I have done quite a bit of spinning this past week too, so I'll leave you with a couple of pictures of that. I hope you and your family has a wonderful Easter holiday!!