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Tuesday 6 January 2015

1 WIP down, Another Blonde episode and reflections on weight.

I took Ben to the vet this morning for a check up and then straight to the groomer.

He no longer looks like Chewbacca, a bit of a shame as I like him scruffy. The trouble is he has to be bathed twice a week for his skin and all that hair just gets in the way.

While he was being pampered I got stuck into one of the WIPs, I think a Woop woop is in order.

 
Sprawled across the Toyota.

 
The back, I like to add a little repeat of the front. I quilted it from top to bottom either side of the red sashing with a serpentine stitch.

 
Multi coloured spotty binding, just because.

 
I love dots.
 
I have the next finish lined up ready to get on with, the chevrons rows are nearly together, just 1 more seam on each row. Then it will not take long to sew 12 rows together.
 
I did consider making a few more HSTs and making a bigger quilt but have kept it 36" square, a nice baby size. Somebody is bound to have a baby this year, I hope.

 
The small stack on the right just needs joining to the other one. I will look for backing and binding later There is quite a bit of baby fabric in the stash.
 
 
Dinner was home made soup with left over Yorkshire puddings crisped up in the mini oven, lush. Ben likes them too.
 
 
I watched a bit of that Katie Whoosit on telly the other day, apparently she has been stirring up half the country with her strong views on the Obese. I saw her stuffing her face to gain weight and looking miserable about it. I see people mindlessly stuffing random food into their faces while walking round the shops and some of what she says is all too true.
 
The problem is that it is all too easy to generalise, this is a case where one size does not fit all. Sorry about that.
 
Yes there are many many people who just have to learn to Put The Fork Down, get off the sofa and go for a walk.
 
There are also many many who have a terrible relationship with food and do not have the power to stop or in some cases start eating.
 
I am at the top end of my weight guideline and feel slow and sluggish, I am walking more and making a determined effort to make wise choices at meal times. Having said that I have been busy today so had brunch, a small bit of left over pie, and then my dinner. I did take Ben to the groomers in the car but walked down to fetch him.
 
That reminds me, I had another Blonde moment yesterday. I had a parcel to post so walked Ben down to the Post office. I got in, queued up and got to the counter only to find that my purse was at home, DUH. Off we toddled back. By the time I had found said purse it had started to drizzle so I drove down and posted the parcel. On coming out of the shop I noticed that the groomers was open so ran over and got Ben booked in for this morning.
 
I was so chuffed that I started straight off home, walking. Half way home I realised that the car was back at the shop. Howzat!
 
 
When I am busy I do not think about food unless I feel nauseous or start to growl. When I am just pootling about I can graze for ages and then come to my senses with little idea of how much I have stuffed in.
Mostly I do not buy very much naughty stuff, the Christmas chocolate has been put away, all but the started stuff and I am staying very aware of what I am eating.
 
I have worked with the anorexic, bulimic, the greedy and the ones who use food as a punishment/reward/attention substitute. I come firmly into the greedy category, for years I could eat what I liked and the weight never came. Now it is a different story, I need to stay aware. It is so easy to say but not so easy to do.
 
I have a friend who is obese and also diabetic, her mobility is impaired due to arthritis and breathing problems, she went to her GP for help and he told her to join weight watchers. While our health care professionals dish out that sort of uncaring comment the issues will only get worse.
 
There is no easy answer, there hardly ever is. In my case I am going to limit how much I put on my plate by using a smaller one. Then I am going to keep a check on the fat in my food, I do this already, I do not use sugar but like a slice or 3 of cake. This just means that if I bake I must then portion it up and freeze it.
 
I am going to resurrect one of my old habits and keep a plastic container of chopped celery, peppers, carrot sticks and so on in the fridge. A handful of that when the urge to nibble comes over me should do the trick.
Please do not take any of this as a personal slight, it is just my take on something that I picked up at random. It was pertinent to me and opened my eyes YET AGAIN. It is easy enough to talk the talk. Now I have to walk the walk, not nearly so easy.
 
   On that note I am going to find my coat, and Bens and get out for 20 minutes break.
 
     TTFN                                                                        Pam
 
 


28 comments:

  1. I love your quilt, it is gorgeous. I also enjoyed your blonde moments :) I'm greedy at times and feel like my jeans are a bit on the tight side after Christmas. Like you I need to have healthy snacks on hand and I am enjoying my daily walks to school again.
    Twiggy

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    1. I did not gain much weight but for about 6 weeks in the run up to Christmas I was so busy crafting that all I di d was the minimum walks with Ben, the rest of the time I was sat down. I have got flabby. I can see the difference in my legs after 1 week of more brisk walking.

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  2. The quilt is gorgeous, well done! I love the colours. I agree with you weight loss is a real challenge but ultimately only the overweight person can solve their problem. It's a growing problem and it seems to be affecting even younger people. Well done on tackling the weight, it's not easy but it is worth it x

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    1. The issue for me is portion control, I have changed to a smaller plate and cereal dish and I have a measure for porridge. I am hoping that with the extra walking I should get it sorted.

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  3. I utterly love the spotty binding xxxx

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  4. Gorgeous quilt Pam. I love the spotty binding too.

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    1. Thank you Karen, I have a special stack of dotty, spotty fabric in lots of colours.

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  5. That quilt is lovely, so colourful, cheerful and very Pam-like and there are still several cold weeks ahead of us for snuggling under winter quilts. If you don't have any babies to give your quilts to, Project Linus collect them for sick and troubled babies and children. They have local collectors and the quilts are distributed locally. This is a link to their web page. http://projectlinusuk.org.uk.

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    1. Thank you Jenny, I do like to splash the colour around and red is a warm happy colour to brighten up a grey day.

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  6. Pam the quilt is beautiful. so colourful.
    Rosezeeta.

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    1. I love using lots of colour, I do not worry about clashing, after all nature throws every colour together and it all balances out. I do like white as a background but in the grey days I often turn to bright solids. Red is a warming happy colour and makes me smile.

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  7. You quilt is stunning!! I would like to watch Katie doo dahhh to see what all the fuss is about so may have a look to see if it's on catch up.

    You know I struggle with health/weight and it infuriates me when people don't at least try and help themselves.

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    1. Thank you, I have given the quilt as a gift to a friend who is housebound, it is the perfect size for a lap quilt and like me she loves colour. I always know when my weight needs addressing sharpish as my knees kill me. But it is all too easy to backslide.

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  8. I love your quilt and can't wait to see the next one finished. All of us have left the car at local shops and walked home, at least you only go part of the way home before remembering. As for you weight, it sticks to us as we get older, I watch almost everything I eat, like you it's greed which is my downfall, so I don't keep treats in. Last year I started checking the sugar in everything, that's why I stopped eating yogurts.

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    1. Like you I no longer eat yogurt, I buy natural yogurt for cooking rather than cream and thin it down to use in place of buttermilk. Cheese is my big bad area and I only buy it as I need it for meals, I have been known to eat a block while pottering round getting dinner ready.

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  9. Whoop whoop! The quilt is gorgeous. So vibrant and the spotty binding is lovely. xx

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    1. I love it too and it is now loved by a new owner.

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  10. Pam the quilt is gorgeous and would be great for a baby the colours will stimulate their senses. You had me laughing so much I set off a coughing fit when I read you'd walked halfway home then remembered the car LOL. I've not done that but have forgotten where I've left mine, I have several blonde moments per day the family just shake their heads :)
    I struggle weight wise, from the age of 10 until I was 32 I was involved in sports so the weight stayed pretty consistent. Unfortunately my health deteriorated a lot of damage was done to my spine through playing netball all those years on a tarmac court. I have mobility problems with several health problems, I have an ongoing battle with cancer but make myself take at least one walk around the block even if Mr B has to come with me. We have a sit down on one of the house walls for a few mins if we need it.
    My downfall is sweets! I'm not a chocolate fan so it's limited to minty type but still with sugar!. It is quite logical, if you have to sit most of the day you're not using as many calories so don't need to put so many in, I watched Benefits-I'm to fat to work the other night, to lose 3lb at slimming class then go home to celebrate with the largest kabab I've ever seen just amazed me.

    Well it's back to the border on my Cottage Ripple blanket then it's finished, enjoy your day and thank you for sharing you latest quilt.

    Peg x

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    1. I saw it advertised and then forgot all about it. The quilt has gone to its new home but the next one is on the way. I have the yarn for a blanket tucked away, I just have to decide on the pattern. I was going to buy new fabric but have woken up to the realisation that I need no more for at least another year. There are lots of projects worth here, without all the WIPS.

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  11. Quilt is gorgeous and I love dots, too!

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    1. Dots are happy little things and make lovely binding.

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  12. gorgeous quilts and very envious you have finished something! i'm looking for yet another WIP!

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    1. I aim for another finish tomorrow morning, I will do the quilting tonight but the binding will wait till the morning.

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  13. The quilt is gorgeous - something ese for me to have a go at! I bought 2 fleece blankets today for £3.99 the pair in B&M to use instead of batting.I'm hoping to make a start next week when KL has gone back to uni and I have the house to myself again during the day. I also have a knitting project on the go, which didn't get finished in time for Christmas.

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    1. I have used fleece to back a quilt and just had the two layers. I used some really soft fluffy stuff on a baby quilt and had to hand quilt. My machine had one whiff of it, spat it out, broke a needle and jammed the bobbin race. What is B&M, I have never heard of it before. I have knitting and crochet for the evenings when there is something on the TV to watch.

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