The plan that worked for me

Greetings folks.  Lots of crazy weather across the country.  We had terrible winds for two days and very low temps.  Back in the sweat clothes and the furnace is running.  I hope you are all safe.

 

 Note - I received a few emails about the miniature sampler chart not printing on a full page.  It is corrected now in both post and FREE tab. 

 

Now.  About the "plan" I followed that several readers requested.  First of all, I am a piggy.  I don't have one piece of pie or cake, I have two, and another later.  So giving up sweets was extremely difficult, but after four days, I was OK.   I baked pies for mom every week, cake every few days, (glucose level was still respectable) and was able to take a bite and nothing more after the first week.  I learned a little about the glycemic index and how high simple carb foods can turn into fat quickly, and how the low are digested and absorbed differently.  So I checked online for some guidelines and food lists, cut out all boxed and processed foods (man foods) and ate more natural and simple foods (God foods).  I ate Hodgson's (hot cereal) oat bran and also oatmeal, eggs, nuts, things I like but in moderation.  Will never give up pasta, do not like the whole wheat varieties, started using Ronzoni brand "Smart Taste" with 2.5x more fiber.  But I also would eat a 1/4 cup of dry Fiber One cereal (original) before a high carb meal.  I reasoned that it would slow down the high glycemics, worked for me!   Fiber One was not the best tasting shredded cardboard I ever had, but I could handle 1/4 cup.  And when we had a loaded dinner, I would try to balance the next day with a large salad for dinner.  Light and heavy were figured in the same day too.  Birthday cake?  Light lunch and dinner that day.  Simple.  The hardest part is staying accountable for what goes in my mouth.  When you aren't counting calories or points, you can get off track easily, but cutting out processed foods, sugar, and junk makes it fairly easy.  There are also calculators online to figure foods. Splenda was my sweetener of choice for bad fruit (which we seem to always have locally) and anything else.  High fat and fried foods were avoided and I had no meatballs with my spaghetti so I could eat more pasta (homemade sauce).  Nickles' 35 calorie white bread and the Arnold brand flats were my breads.  My only processed meats were Hillshire Farms and Oscar Meyer reduced fat turkey, chicken or ham in the tubs but no other deli meats.  Home cooked shredded chicken breast and beef roasts made excellent sandwiches.  The big question - chocolate?  Of course, but reasonable amounts.  Snacks?  Popcorn, home made pita chips, hummus, nuts.  When I really needed a treat, Blue Bunny no sugar added ice creams (fabulous!) or Klondike 100 calorie fudge bars.  NO Aspartame (NutraSweet) drinks, only those with Splenda or Stevia.

Moderation of low glycemic foods, very little processed (boxed) food, big reduction in sugar, added fiber, and balancing.  I guess that's all I needed to say instead of the long winded version, huh?  When will I learn.


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Still changing

...colors. 

 

Decided to do the lion in a gold/orange and the majority were either too bold or too close to the linen and unnoticeable.   Rebecca had mostly green threads and used them throughout, but I didn't want green lions.  For as small as this piece is I wanted a little more definition  Also changing the bottom's 503 to one of the other greens.  Not sure I will stitch all the hearts, maybe just one or two.  I was trying to finish before I totally lost interest but when I change the colors as I am stitching, I end up doing it two or three times.  But making those choices before I start usually doesn't work either especially using one strand.  The floss skeins look dark and shiny, but soften when actually stitched, so there are always changes with that idea too.  But close!  Usually only a few shades different from the floss toss, like I am in the right church but the wrong pew.

 

 

Ain't she sweet?  The bottom border is one full stitch off in width, and one thread higher.  Since both errors are in the same row, I may remove and re-do, but at this point probably not.  When it is hanging from a peg somewhere, I will certainly not notice.  But I may remove the barely noticeable flowers and do them a little brighter. 

 

Have a good weekend.

 

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Strut your stuff

He's a big boy.

 

Progress on Rebecca Hall.  Not much contrast shows in the photo but there is enough between the Straw linen and the flowers.  822 was too light, other light beiges were too pinkish against it, so 738 worked the best.  I like it.  Instead of doing prominent colors, I decided to keep the soft look of the original, so I went with a muted brown and green.  Still may have some changes in the bottom.

Am I enjoying this little sampler?  Well, yes and no.  I really like it, I don't like to stitch it.  I told Mark I am about ready to stop the stitching and he encouraged me to continue small projects, and not to take a break.  We'll see.

 

Four weeks on WW.  The first week was five pounds, and I finally lost ONE more.  Three weeks. Sticking to points, not using the extras, hungry.  Everyone else is dropping weight more quickly.  I'll see what happens next week and if there is no more progress, I will return to my own plan that shed thirty pounds ten years ago.

 

Have a nice week!

Thanks for visiting.

 

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Composition books

Slip a plastic bag over the inside pages for protection.  Spread glue evenly over the cover, attach a sheet of lightweight cardstock butted to the black binding (this is a kraft pack of 50 from JoAnn's), smooth out with a barrel ink pen or roller.  Open cover and trim cardstock with utility knife or scissors, remove any excess glue on the inside, do the same to the back cover, stamp!  You could also print something on the cardstock first.  If you do, make sure to protect it with Krylon's Matte Finish 1311 spray or ModPodge before gluing.  I'm sure I could do a sampler, but I have other journals for that and I like the simplicity of these.

Wouldn't the tiny ones make nice favors or place cards?  A verse or quote printed in a nice font?  Lots of possibilities and the best part - they are really cheap so mistakes aren't costly.  The only problem I had was using too much glue on the edges and it seeped to the inside of the cover, and while drying they warp.  I held them closed on the very edge with rubber bands for an hour or you could use a weight.  Centering a nail file or cardboard strip beneath the covers before this was helpful, makes the cover bend in slightly.  For my mache journals another paper glued to the inside of the covers prevented the warp.  Now.  Did you really need all these details? 
Absolutely not.

 

 

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What's this?

Rebecca Hall on poorly cut linen.

 

Pineberry Lane is having a sale this weekend, ending Sunday 4/30 at 6pm.  I have several of her designs but one that I do not remember caught my eye.  Small and simple, chose the e-pattern, and decided to start it right away before the bloom faded.  But you know I am changing colors don't you?  Mainly because I chose 35 count Straw linen and this piece is pretty gold.  Changed the greens to brown but the blue will stay, and I may add more color into the motif body.  Reproductions are true to their antique originals but ..... I am not a purist and have no issue with making changes.

It will be another stuffed small to hang on a doorknob or peg, about 5.25" square on 35 count.

 

A cold and rainy Saturday brought the Nitster in for a snoozy afternoon.  He was curled up in the back of the box most of the day and I could not find him, thought Mark let him out.  Eventually his ornery little head appeared and he slept like this for another hour.

 

Hope your weekend is going well.

 

Thanks for visiting.

 

 

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Miniature Sampler chart

Also posted under the FREE tab.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The spaces between each letter are not the same throughout so make sure you don't  just stitch away without checking.  Stitched over two.

Click on chart to open in a new window, then right click and choose Print.  If you have problems, let me know.

You can see how small it is compared to my needlebook and the last little sampler.  Maybe I should have used a 30 or 32 but I wanted to use one strand of floss.  I think eyelets look much better with one than two.

 

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