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I keep describing my 5k as insane and awesome at the same time. I woke up Sunday morning and looked out the window... it was snowing. Hard.
Now, I expected pretty chilly weather but I was not expecting snow at all. I still went for it. ^_^
It wasn't as bad as I thought it could be; once I got running I warmed up pretty quickly. The snow was falling in my favorite type: big, puffy, drifty, clusters. The only things I really had to contend with was the strong gusts of wind (usually blowing against me), the slippery ground from the snow, and potholes ... covered by snow. But, overall it was an awesome experience--like running in a snow globe.
Maybe this wasn't the best idea but I signed up for an 8k coming up on the 29th. I barely made it through the 5k... I don't know if I'll be ready for an extra 2 miles in 2 more weeks. o_O
So, it's March. For the Malabrigo Junkies group on Ravelry, March means casting on projects in Malabrigo's Merino Wosted.
It's Malabrigo March!
I didn't Cast On anything on the 1st. I had a few ideas in mind but nothing really set. I didn't pick out yarn or finalize any patterns... I was being a bad Junkie. After a few days I pushed forward and got the pattern, some new Malabrigo, and finally CO the Dr. G's Memory Vest. It's a really awesome design and in order to get the pattern you need to make a donation towards Alzheimer's research. It's an awesome way to give.
I haven't done cables in a while so this is fun and refreshing. The cables are small enough that you can do them without a cable needle and once you work through an entire repeat of the center tree chart you'll probably have the pattern memorized. It's not moving as fast as I'd like... but, I spend an average of only 1 or 2 hours a night working on it.
I'm also planning on Casting On for a Brioche Stitch scarf... I just need to decide on my colors.
I received the Malabrigo March prizes straight from Tobias and Antonio of Malabrigo. Here are some pictures:
This is their new line Dos in Caribeano.
This is an un-labeled orange in Merino Worsted. I'd say it's very similar to their Apricot colorway.
We finally have some beautiful weather here... I can't decide whether to run outside or go to the Sunday knitting group. Hmm...
Knit hard!
I don't knit as much as I used to. I still knit some every week but it's not enough to keep up a regular knitting blog so I think I'll start transitioning cashmere blend into a more... all around blog. =)
I've had personal blogs in the past but they have all retired. I actually love going back and reading what I had been doing with my life so I'll definitely be picking up the blogging again.
Lately I've become very ... intent on becoming healthy.
I've probably told this story before and I seriously tell it every time I talk about weight loss but back in high school I weighed an enormous 110 lbs. Enormous. hahaha, I was a stick. I used to actually pray to be fat so all the working out I was doing in gym class and as a swimmer would have actually have purpose: burning fat.
In college I stopped working out regularly and I would brag about how I could eat anything and not gain weight. And I would prove it by ordering and eating extra food.
It all came around and bit me in the behind.
I hit my highest weight about 6 months ago at 185. According to the BMI I was walking the line between simply over weight and obese. Yikes.
I managed to get it down a bit to 181.. just by becoming a bit more active... but, it was pretty much stuck at 181.
On December 28th, as sort of a pre-New Year's Resolution, I decided to start counting calories. I've never counted before... so I downloaded a cool little app on my iPod Touch and it's really been helping. So, a little over a month later I'm down 11 lbs! That's completely diet.
I have a 5k coming up on March 1st so I've started incorporating running again and hopefully that running will speed up the weight loss.
My current goals:
Lose about 2 lbs per week
Gain muscle
Hit my goal weight (145) by mid-April
Run the entire 5k on March 1st (I've done previous 5ks but always run/walk them)
Run the entire 8k at the end of March
Do an indoor Triathlon in July
That's a basic summary of where I'm at right now. Last week I only lost 1 lb so I'll have to crank it up a bit this week. Running should help.
On the subject of knitting... I was looking through a few projects on the Guy Knitters group on Ravelry and they always re-inspire me to push hard at finishing stuff. =) I have 2 sweaters on the needles, 1 waiting to be Cast On, yarn for 2 afghans, and a ton of other skeins waiting patiently to turn into something.
I'm working on the sleeve for my blue sweater. I'm hoping to finish tonight at Knitting Group and then Casting On for the 2nd sleeve and hopefully finishing it by next week so I can Cast On for the collar and assemble.
It's starting to get warm already so this might have to wait until next year for me to wear.
I'm back... not sure for how long though. But, I'm re-inspired to become a regular blogger once again.
I haven't knit much since my last post. The grey/burgundy cardigan is still in the works. Technically it's on hold. The sleeves turned out really wide and ... billowy almost. They're like wings. I'm considering ripping back some inches and re-knitting them narrower but, I'm not a good ripper. hahaha. The girls in my Monday night group keep telling me to bring it in and they'll do the dirty work... so, I'll probably end up doing that.
I'm working on another sweater, however. It's coming out pretty well.
That's the front. It's a pretty deep V but it actually gets a very awesome looking scarf collar. I'm working on a sleeve right now. I adapted the pattern so I could knit it in the round instead of flat... and I wasn't about to do 2 sleeves on 2 circs so I'm doing 1 at a time with DPNs. ... I love my DPNs.
I've also become obsessed with making stitch markers. I joined a swap through Ravelry and decided my partner was going to get a set. I did a search for a bead store in my area, found one, drove there, and picked up some fresh water pearls and a few Swarovski crystals. I originally planned to pay Nina and/or Ivi to do the actual making... but then I thought I could probably do it myself... so, drove over to Joann's and picked up the whole aisle of pliers and got to work. Out of the 9 I purchased I actually only needed 3. Go figure. But, I examined a few of the stitch markers I already owned and was able to construct my own set of stitch markers.
I already sent my partner her set... but this is a set I made for myself. I found Swarovski pearls... very inexpensive but they look great. Also found some magnetic beads made of Hematite... and, those are my manly stitch markers. =)
They stick together! Yay magnets!
I can't stop making them! Not counting the magnetic markers, and the markers for my swap partner... I've made 4 other sets and I'm working on another 2. o_O
I should probably start selling them?
