More Dolly Knits…still going….

 

I’ve been knitting up a storm for my girls! Soon I will have to go into Christmas outfit mode, I think I’ve pretty much done the autumn thing!  I used the owl motif from a pattern for mitts that I made, of course it came out smaller with 4 ply yarn and tiny needles, just right for doll clothes! I made the trousers too, but the less said about my sewing skills, the better!

Tiny Kitty got a Halloween outfit, again, my sewing skills have deteriorated, and the knitted shrug isn’t the best thing I’ve done either, but they look ok.  Have one more dress to make for one of my 16″ girls,then I go on to the winter stuff!

 

This is actually more wintry than autumnal, but I liked the yarn a lot, red variegated from Colinette and small company in Wales. You will be seeing more of their yarn!

 

Like right here! I love fall colors and even bought another skein of this…for next year! LOL!

 

This is another color of their yarn, I love their colors, always bright and vivid. I made the trousers, these turned out better than other things I’ve made!

 

Now this skirt is from someone who can sew! Jackie from Katz Meow, makes lovely doll clothes, lined, the works! They look almost as good on the inside as on the outside. Unfortunately, the color didn’t show up as well, its sort of a medium brown and the twin set is more beige, it looks a bit grey here. She also made a chocolate brown cord skirt, I have made another twin set for it, but it still needs to be blocked, so will go in a future post!

My dolls are doing very well right now! I will be knitting for me after Christmas…I’m still losing weight and want to knit smaller things for spring…I’ll go baggy for the winter!

I love knitting for dolls, its mostly a case of instant gratification! And adult sweater usually takes a couple of weeks, these take one or two evenings! Also, a ball of really nice expensive yarn goes a long way! I won’t pay £70 for yarn for myself, but £5 for a ball for the dolls isn’t bad! And quite often I find one ball of something in the bargain bin because its the last of that dye lot…win!

Well, I best get back to my knitting, I don’t have the powers of Mrs Weasley to make my needles do it by themselves!

 

Living the Lo Carb Lifestyle…still….

Well, 12 weeks have gone by..that was fast! When I weighed myself yesterday, I had hit the 30lb lost mark! Still a way to go, but I’m very happy with that so far! I’ve lost 6 inches off my waist line since starting, and my blood pressure has been going steadily down each week. I’ve had a couple of weeks where no loss was showing, but that’s normal.

I’ve learned to bake using ground almonds, coconut flour or ground flaxseeds instead of wheat or other grain based products. They are a bit different texture wise, but at least its something to put my butter on! Even my husband likes some of the lo carb desserts I make…maybe its the whipped cream!

I was using a lot of the Atkins bars at first, but now I have found cheaper substitutes, and things that are a lot less processed. I still keep a few around, they are good for when I’m out all day and need a lunch. I do use sweeteners, Splenda was always my sweetener of choice, it doesn’t have a weird aftertaste like some of them. I bought some Xylitol because it was recommended in a book I was reading, but haven’t tried it yet. Most people seem to have gone to stevia as its more natural, I’ll try that after I finish my tub of Splenda and bag of Xylitol! I threw out a big bag of bread things yesterday, they have been in the freezer for a very long time, I felt sort of bad, but I know it is akin to poison for me.

When I was having toast in the morning, I noticed my blood sugar was high after. I started to put peanut or almond butter on it and my blood sugar was normal…Or if I ate egg and bacon with my toast, I was usually ok, that was with taking 2 metformin in the morning and two in the evening.

Now I’m not taking any. I had cut down to just one in the morning and one in the evening, but still had low blood sugar symptoms from time to time. I’m taking a break from it and checking a couple of times a day and seem to be doing  just fine. The first line of defense against Diabetes 2 should be dietary. But these days, they whisk you right onto tablets! I have to admit, when I was first diagnosed, I probably wouldn’t have done the dietary thing…in fact, the kind of diet they recommend, would not have done the trick! Someday the medical profession will learn that carbs turn into sugar in our bodies and cause the spikes of insulin etc.

In fact I haven’t taken my BP or Statin medicines for 3-4 days now. I’m taking a break and seeing what happens. I feel confident that I can do without them and have to prove it. After not having them for 3 days, my BP was lower than its been in a long time, my pulse was normal and I feel fine. I’ll keep an eye on it, I have the stuff if I loose heart! I had cut my tablets in half and was only taking half a dose for several weeks, so I have weaned myself from them…at least in my mind! I should check with my doctor, after all, he was actually positive about my going lo carb, but I’m afraid he is still stuck on the meds. He didn’t mind me cutting back on the metformin, but wanted me to keep up the others. After reading the things I have found about statins an BP meds, I just don’t want to be on them. I’m also re-thinking the flu shot thing. They haven’t killed me yet, so will probably succumb to one this year, but by next year, I think I won’t. Trying to save the NHS money! LOL! (and my life!)

On the happy side! I bought new trousers and a top, in smaller sizes! They fit really nicely. I figured one new outfit was called for! I can wear slightly baggy clothes most of the time, but sometimes I want to look a little nicer! Its great to put something on that used to be in danger of splitting and have it be loose!  I’m hoping to stock a few charity shops with plus size clothes soon!

Another plus, I can lay on my back now….I used to feel the fat folds around my neck collapsing into my windpipe and couldn’t breathe properly, but now, no problem! Not that I sleep on my back, but sometimes its nice to lay flat, especially when my back is acting up as it does on occasion! Its the little things….

So, this is me, the way I will eat for the rest of my life! It doesn’t mean I can never have certain things again, well, sugar and grains, no, its my choice not to, but I did have a jacket potato with cheese the other day, with no ill effects. Once in awhile things are ok.

And so it continues…..