Getting Smaller = Smaller Projects

Hello Friends! Sorry for the long absence. I’ve been freelancing, living life, and starting a new beginning for myself. I’m on a weight-loss journey, and it’s changed my perspective on just about everything, including knitting.

In December, I had weight-loss surgery. It’s a huge thing, and I’m so happy I did it. I’m down 50 pounds, and feeling great. (Seventeen of those pounds were lost before surgery.)

I’ve struggled with my weight since grade school, and I’ve tried everything from Jenny Craig, to Weight Watchers, to the LapBand. I got the band 13 years ago in Tijuana, and it worked okay until it didn’t; I had to get it removed because it slipped.

Since I had some success with the band, I started exploring the other surgical options. I have a wonderful surgery group here in Spokane, and this whole thing has been an amazing experience.

Many who go through this process are hesitant to share it with others, which is something I don’t understand. I mean, you’re going to notice a big difference, right? And I want to share my success with people, including all of you!

So here I am, the incredible shrinking woman, forced into a sweater-knitting hiatus. That’s my favorite type of knitting, although I’ve had a couple of disasters in the last year. You all know about Veronica, but I also had a total fail on O’Keeffe, from Bristol Ivy’s gorgeous book, Knitting Outside the Box.

The sweater turned out HUGE on me, and this was before any weight loss. I thought I had gauge, but I think I loosened up. I was close to finished when I figured this out, and that was part of the fail—try on your sweaters as you knit them, people!

I did have a great success with Andrea Mowry’s Sheltered. I knit this with Shepherd’s Wool Worsted, which is a delight to work with. It’s one of my new favorites; my local knit shop owner, Kris from KnitKnit the Studio, introduced it to me. I knit Sheltered in the medium size, which was snug for me when I first finished it, but now it fits great. The pattern is written with a lot of ease, so I’m hoping it’ll fit me forever.

Isn’t that cute? It has a hood, but I didn’t add that. I just did the cowl neck all the way around. I’m not a fan of knitted hoods; they take so much more yarn than you think, and they just add bulk, IMHO.

So, what am I working on now? Socks. I know, the self-described non-sock-knitter is on her second pair. What brought this on is my freezing feet. I’ve never suffered from cold feet, but I guess it’s common when you’re losing weight quickly.

I just finished the Vanilla Latte Socks (a free pattern on Ravelry), which I knitted with Cascade Heritage. I choose a pretty gray, because it’ll go with my wardrobe, and because it was in my stash. I really enjoyed working with this yarn.

I’m working on a pair of Rose City Rollers now, cute little footies that I’m knitting with Tofutsies. These are roll-top socks that I’ll be wearing around the house. I love the yarn colors, so springy and bright. I find I’m constantly wearing socks now, even in my slippers, and I think this pattern will be a good one to use to knit multiple pairs.

I’ve also got yarn set aside for some Turkish Bed Socks, which I love because I can wear them with my myriad Danskos.

Next up, a moss stitch cowl of my own design. I’m so much colder in general, and I’ve been wearing cowls around the house. It’s amazing how much warmer I am when I wear a cowl, and I love knitting them, so win-win.

I’m going to use two skeins of GORGEOUS Road to China Light in the colorway Sapphire. I’m using a size 4 needle and casting on 151 stitches for a finished measurement of about 25 inches in circumference. This yarn is so soft, and the color is saturated and beautiful. It’s slightly variegated, which I’m not sure you can see from the photo.

So that’s what’s happening with me. I promise to blog more and keep you up to date with my weight-loss progress. Leave a comment below and let me know what’s happening with you!

Cheers,