Go Team Canada!!

so i had my doubts... knitting olympics: 16 days to complete a challenge project was intriguing, buti honestly didn't have a project i could start today... i either didn't have the yarn, or i didn't have the equipment (needles, pattern, etc.). then iI realized (in my sleep) that i had some yarn i wanted to get rid of, and this might be a good chance to get it all done with. it's my first time working with cotton, and this is rowan's summer tweed, an aran weight cotton silk blend. and it just doesn't have the spring of wool. sigh... so it is entering the simple raglan cardi category of the olympics. 16 days and i hope it's done!

my other projects will be on hold until then. oh my, yes, it will probably breathe fresh air into a few of them (i hope it doesn't take the air out of others).

this is also good because i have realized that knitting is the perfect weight control tool, especially in the winter. it keeps food out of my hands. if you let yourself get a little hungry (especially after eating a meal) you lose weight. it's not anorexia, it's understanding that hunger is fat burning, and that you SHOULD understand that feeling. you'll know when it's right to eat, when your body wants versus when your body needs. i need that back, so i'm going to knit and keep knitting while thinking about whether i NEED food, or just kinda want it. i'm hoping to lose about 5 pounds a month for a few months, doing this, working out a little bit, and adding a few acceptable weight loss methods along the way (no late night eating, etc.)

these are the plans, lets see how they work!

it's been a while

project load| medium high
sanity| calm to moderate
yarn addiction| mild fever and shakes
wallet| empty


my stats are not as bad as they have been, but no where near where they should be. not only have i spent too much money on recent projects, i have started so many that i am beginning to feel overwhelmed with completing any of them. after finishing the mermaid last year, i felt it was safe to cast on some smaller projects. since, i have made some socks, a hat, and a pair of latvian mittens. i've started another pair of latvian mittens, laid a never ending kiri shawl to the wayside for a while, started GOLs frost flowers and leaves in cobweb, started Eunny Jangs print o' the wave stole, begun designing a very sexy little tank top and started sketching out some definition to this lys dream of mine. none of these are near completion. i do a few rows/rounds on a few everyday. during the interesting parts, i run with a project longer, but my mind is constantly wandering to what i want to do next. the only thing that remains steadfast is my lys dream.

recently i took some steps towards making the dream a reality. i met with someone with more experience and things felt like they might gain momentum, but, alas, that route has been stopped in its tracks. i have not given up on montreal and my lys, however, and i hope to find new opportunities and make my way along this arduous path. i just try to stay level headed. i admit, owning and operating a lys is not for everyone, and most are not making a profit. montreal seems to have the space and the budding hand knit community, and that makes this goal of mine a little more glorious in my mind... but montreal is different. it is different in every sense of the way. the way this city operates both astounds and agonizes me. i guess, until i truly understand these nuances, my dream will most likely stay a dream.

but, i'm an optimistic person. and i'm ambitious. and i believe in myself and don't often let myself down.