Let the flood gates open

Wow - another intense day. Well, not really - I'm still pretty relaxed but then I'm almost always pretty relaxed.

Before I get to the quilting, let me chat about the weigh-in first. So one more pound has gone! That leaves three to go and I think there are two weeks left in the challenge. But that's OK if the three pounds aren't gone when the two weeks are up, I'll just keep going. I ran into someone yesterday who said that they have also given up sugar because of what I wrote on the blog. Hopefully, more of you will as well. It's not that hard IF you want to.

Here are some observations:

1. I only lost one pound this week because I cheated. There was a container of yogurt covered cranberries that had been purchased way before all this started. I hated to throw them out so I slowly ate them over the course of the week (yes - ONE WEEK). But those things are laden with sugar. On top of that, I had two hot chocolates (prepped at home with water). Both together in their serving size is not huge amounts of calories, but both are totally laden with sugar. Thankfully both items are now out of my house. While I can have those items, it's like everything - have it in moderation. I shouldn't have eaten all those cranberries in one week! But I did start having a half portion instead of a full portion and I was OK with that. 
2. Protein - that's a pretty important part of any meal. It's what fills you up and makes you feel less hungry. When I don't have protein with a meal, I'm very hungry soon afterward and that's when you want to start snacking! 
3. Fiber and water. When you eat a lot of fiber, it's very important to drink a LOT of water. Not going any further with that one. But we should be drinking a lot of water every day regardless of what we eat. 
4. Eating out is possible, even when you are trying to lose or maintain weight. The last two weeks, we've gone to restaurants that do not have their nutrition information on the menu. So I sit there and look it up on the internet. On the menu last night, I don't think there was any meal under 1000 calories and most were around the 1200 calorie range.  That's not far off my total daily intake. That's outrageous!!!!  So I had a burger - I never eat the bun - EVER and I gave the onion rings away. I figure I shaved about 300 calories off the meal by doing that. Maybe more???  I had a glass of water to drink. No dessert. I walked out of the restaurant feeling great - not stuffed. The woman beside me had a MASSIVE plate of ribs. I almost got sick looking at it. 
5. The other thing about eating? SAVOR your food. Sit down and enjoy it. I never used to do this. I would eat on the run. Then when I was finished, I would still be hungry because my brain didn't even acknowledge that I had eaten. Now I savor my snacks and I sit down for my meals. 
6. I wish I would have tracked the calories I consumed on a normal day before I started all this. I would bet that I easily consumed 2500 calories a day. Way more than I should have been eating which is why those silly pounds crept up on me. But they are gone - banished! Again, not so much the number of calories as the amount of sugar and fat. 
7. I think the bottom line is easy - it's all about choices. It's not about eliminating one food from your daily intake. It's not about liquid diets or fancy fad diets. It's about making choices of what you put in your mouth. Writing down the calories (or in the case of Weight Watchers - they have points), makes you accountable for what you eat. The Smartphone app called MyFitnessPal makes it a snap to keep track of what you eat (and how much sugar and fat you eat) and takes about 2 minutes in total per day to input everything. And I can't say enough about portion size. Start measuring your food and you would be surprised at what actual portion sizes are!!!!  

OK - that' my thing on weight this week.


Yes, I managed to get the next quilt quilted. Yes, it was mine and that's OK. Yes - this was one of my UFOs from 2017. It's now quilted and thrown on the table along with all the others that need to be trimmed.

My quilt - quilted!!!

The next one (oops - mine also) is loaded on the long arm. Just needs a piece of batting. I hope to get two quilts quilted today. I had a few errands to do yesterday and Ronda came, although we both worked while she was here. She made a binding and I was sewing.

I did get some pictures taken yesterday, however, there was a LOT of prep work before I could start taking pictures. I hope by the end of today to get four days worth of photos loaded on the internet and get a bit of writing in as well. Three days of pictures are already loaded so it's not that bad.

I did manage to finish not one, but TWO projects yesterday. More on that next week. But here's Finish Number 15. Just simple squares - easy. It's the beginner quilt project at Oh Look Fabric. So if you know anyone who wants to learn to quilt, I'll be teaching a beginner class at Oh Look Fabric. The dates for this class haven't been set yet, so get on their mailing list (or get your want to learn to quilt friend on the list), so they will be in know when the dates are announced.

Project finish Number 15 for 2018

Of course, while I was there, I had to buy some fabric. Look what I got. This collection is adorable. Since I have now figured out what to make with it, I'm allowed to buy some. I told Ronda what I'm going to make, but she knows that she's sworn to secrecy about the project until it's done. It's awesome!!  And I'm going to kill three birds with one stone with this one!

Purely Canadian Eh? fabric collection

 I got this at Oh Look Fabric and hope to find more of the collection at the Etobicoke Quilt Show this coming week. Oh shoot - just realized they did flannel as well. OK - looks like I have to find the flannel for the backing.

Here is my project finish Number 16 for the year!!!!  This one has been sitting around for a long time and just needed the binding sewn on. Well, the binding is now on as well as my little label and it's done!!!  This was one that I made with a Northcott panel (Fields of Gold) for Fall Market two years ago. The edges of the quilt were serged as the quilt did travel, but there was zero time to get that binding on.

Fields of Gold lap quilt - Finish Number 16 for 2018

I noticed something the last couple of days. There seem to be bits of red thread everywhere I look. On quilt batting, on bindings, on fabric and yet there aren't any red threads in the project. Why is that?

Mystery red threads

I'm down to seven projects in five days. I've got them all listed on my white (orange board) - I'll show you a picture tomorrow.  I also got one prototype block done on the test quilt. I've got all the fabrics laid out and two blocks completely cut and ready to go. That one is going to be touch and go, but let's see what we can do.  I think it's all doable - going to be tight, but doable. It's a wide open week this week. There is NOTHING on the agenda (except my spin class) and Monday sewing between now and Friday morning. Heads down and focused in the studio is the forecast for this week.

On that note, I'm out of here to prep and load more pictures.

Have a great day!!!

Ciao!!!