Studio

My studio is progressing. Peter is now painting. 

Windows

My studio has windows!

I'm at the markets!!

Now you can visit me at the Wirrabarra and Port Pirie markets.

2 nd Sunday of the month - Port Pirie 8:30- 12:00

3 rd Sunday of the month- Wirrabarra markets 8:30 - 12:00

I'm stocking:

Hand crafted items ... Hats, mitts, scarves, shawls and more

Fibres .... Washed fleece, dyed fleece, carded fleece, dyed rovings, and more

Yarns .. Handspun and commercial yarns hand dyed.

Come and make an enquiry about upcoming classes and workshops..

Learn to spin

Spindle spinning

How to hem pants

Beginning sewing

Custom work is always welcome..

Spinning,

Alterations and mending

Hemming.

Have you noticed...

Have you noticed how happy you are when you get what you need, not what you want?

A deep thought. Yes, Ive been running again. I do my best thinking when I'm plodding along.

I ran my 5th half marathon just over a week ago. My fastest so far.
Giving myself what I needed, not what I wanted has certainly paid off.

I want Timtams and cakes but I need lean protein, vegies and fruit. If I had what I wanted, too often, I'd still be over 100KG but by having what I needed I'm now at a healthy BMI and running half marathons.

It's a philosophy I'm taking into my parenting too. I don't always give my kids what they want but I always give them what they need. Water, Healthy food, love, safety, routine and a place to call home.

There's always a little room for treats, too much of what you want doesn't lead to happiness.

I hope today you get what you need and not a smidgeon more!

Still on the run.

I'm still running.
I'm still surprising myself at my "stick-to-it-ness". 
Some weeks I'm more dedicated than others. 
I'm still around goal weight, made it past a year.

I swam again this summer. Wearing swimmers and shorts. Still gives me a boost to pull on a pair of shorts. When I was big I dreamed of wearing shorts.

I ran a half marathon last weekend and have entered another which is in less than two weeks.

I came second in the Booleroo  Tri- challenge. Another medal in the cupboard. I also got medals in swimming this year. The older I get the less competition I have ;-).

I've not added any more babies to the tribe. Although a newborn can still make me melt. Peter says, "no" and "we're almost out of nappies!"

Not much creating going on here. The occasional spinning, a little knitting and the odd crocheting. Swim season kept me well occupied.

I still occasionally dream of being a textile artist but I'm realistic in that I have more than enough to do right now in raising a family.

The kids are all "disgustingly healthy!" To quote a doctor. A true blessing I am enormously appreciative of. My baby is now 3 and oldest will turn 16 this year.

I still pop in to ravelry on a spasmodic basis. I'm still staying off the social media. Even managed to permanently delete my Facebook! That took some effort and patience. 

Cheers
Tracy

Raising Awareness and funds for Autism SA

Hi all!
Long time no see? Over 6 months!
Time has whizzed by.
I'm bringing the blog back, for a few months as I fund raise for Autism SA.
James was diagnosed as Autistic a while back now and is now receiving support from Autism SA.
Autism SA works to raise awareness of Autism, educating the community and supporting individuals and families of Autistic individuals.

To raise awareness and funds I will be running in the City To Bay on September the 16th. I would really like it if you could support me in raising awareness and funds for Autism SA by clicking on the link below and donating to Autism SA and passing on the message to mutual friends to come and support me too.

Link here:

I Love Someone With Autism

No idea!

Self revelations come on my runs.

Today's was a relatively short run for me at 4kms. I'm not a fast runner, yet. I'm getting there with the distances. I enjoy my runs so much that I get out of bed at 6am to do them! Today's run was great, I did some good times in a couple of my 1/2km splits.

12 months ago I would of laughed at anyone who told me I'd be happy to get up at 6am to go run. Some days I squeeze in a second run after dinner.

Today's run revelation was that I have no idea, no idea of what I am capable of! Twelve months ago I would of told you I couldn't run for 1 min, let alone an hour. Now I run almost 2 hours!

I've come to see that my only limitations are the ones I set for myself. That by thinking "I can't" I'd fulfilled those limitations.

I'm happy to say I have no idea of what I am capable of. I'm so looking forward to finding out what I can do, no longer hampered by the self doubt and negative self talk.

I've gone and done it...

I've signed up and paid for my first 1/2 marathon!

I'm going to do the Clare Half Marathon on April the 1st!

Now I'm dragging myself out of bed at 6 am to get my runs in.

My aim is to finish, I'm not concerned about my time.

My longest run so far was 15kms about 6 weeks ago and I still had some get up and go at the end 

so I'm certain I can do a half, which is just over 21kms.

If you're in Clare on the 1st of April, 

make sure you throw some water on me and say hello!

Fake it 'til you make it!

Today is my year anniversary at Weight Watchers. A year ago today I joined. A year ago today I made the decision that this was the last time I'd ever weight 89.9kgs (or more) I took the last photo of me ever at that weight.

A year on and I've achieved my goals. 

At times it's been an easy ride at others the hardest journey I've ever taken. I've learned so much and grown so much. I've become mentally and physically healthy.

There were days I just had to fake being the healthy, fit woman I dreamed of being. Times I had to ask myself, "What would a fit, healthy woman do?" Would she go the gym or sit on the couch eating the salt and vinegar chips?

Days I had to ask myself, "Who do you want to be?" The depressed, overweight mother or the fit, energetic, happy mother. Days I just had to fake being that fit, happy, energetic woman.

Ever day I faked it was one day closer to making it. By acting like a fit, healthy energetic woman I have become that fit, healthy, energetic woman. Today I don't have to fake it anymore. 

My blog has been poorly neglected of late. I've lost my blog mojo, not a bad thing really. I did weaken and rejoined facebook for a few weeks there but once again 'social networking' started to take over my life. Would a fit, energetic, woman sit on facebook? Or would she be out playing with her kids? I decided to deactivate my facebook account again, I'm not the sort of person who can use it in a balanced and moderated way.

The blessing of being bored.....

When i was growing up, to say "I'm bored" would of been like swearing to my dad. He'd quickly put me down by telling me, "Only boring people are bored!"
I've grown up to think of boredom as a negative emotion and state of being. And I've gone on to also parent expressing to my children that boredom is a very negative state of being.

But is boredom such a negative thing?
And should children be made to feel bad about being bored?

There are many who will tell you that kids are increasingly bored as they no longer have the concentration span to stay engaged in an activity for any length of time. I'd argue that this isnt true I've got kids who will spend hours on a single game on the computer!

So what is boredom?
For me boredom is a restlessness and inability to settle to a task. A seeking of something new to do. An itch in my soul that needs to be scratched but I just can't reach. Being bored is not a comfortable feeling, for me it comes with a lot of guilt from childhood. I can hear my dad ... Only boring people get bored.... Those who lack imagination get bored.... As a result I feel sad and angry with myself when I feel bored.

But is boredom really so bad?
I'm starting to think it really isn't the negative thing I have always thought it to be! Boredom is the thing that spurs me on to try something new. If I hadn't been bored with my other crafts then I may not have tried spinning. I often feel bored prior to designing many of my designs here on the blog. Boredom really is the catalyst many of us need to try something new. Maybe boredom is the sign of a very creative mind, an inquisitive mind a mind that thirsts to know more.

Parenting and boredom...
I'm rethinking the way I respond to my kids now when they tell me they are bored. If I look at boredom as being the tool of a creative mind to learn more then my attitude to the emotion of boredom changes.
I can start asking a few questions and learning more about my children. Why are they bored? What do they need to learn? What new experiences can we engage in as a family?

Maybe I can use their boredom as a way for us to connect and be together as a family.
Why don't we go the park while we think of what else you'd like to do?

Boredom is such a complicated and sophisticated emotion and being. Truly a necessary emotion that I believe is responsible for many advancements in human knowledge and understanding. Instead of putting children down when they express they are bored maybe we should encourage them to explore the feeling and embrace the new learning it brings.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..

 We've had our Pageant.

Another fabulous community event.

With lots of local floats, lollies and good cheer.

It's such a lovely way to get together as a community 

and celebrate the start of the Christmas Season.

 It's become a tradition to put our tree up after the Pageant.

Heather was fascinated with the process.

All the decorations from years past were hung with lots of talk about their history.

" I remember ..." was said frequently.

 Very few of our ornaments are shop bought.

Mostly they have been made by the kids in years past.

And here is the little Geek.

Heather managed to snaffle both ipads.

One she had iview on and the other she was playing the new ABC Kids app.

She is a whiz with an ipad.

Not a lot crafty going on here.

I've been baking lots of Gingerbread and eating it too!

I've been swimming a lot, which makes finding time to run difficult.

Rose and I have been to two swim meets this season..

Rose keeps beating her personal best times.

I'm slowly improving my technique.

The kids are all out swimming me.

Many of the kids I train with, I taught when I was relief teaching a couple of years back.

It's nice to spend time with them again in a different context.

The kids are been great in accepting me as a fellow team member.

Our swimming club has such a lovely supportive and friendly atmosphere.

 

Taking the plunge

 

Pattern For the English Woman's Weekly 29th November 2011

Less than 4 weeks to go... 

and I still haven't bought a single present!

So much for last years promise to myself not to leave it to the last minute this year!

I've opened an Etsy store.

My handspun yarns will slowly get listed as 

I work out what I have and get the time to take photos.

The LINK to the new Shop.

I've been setting myself some new goals.

One of which is to become a Successful Creative Fibre Artist.

I had to think about what my measure of success is.

I've decided it's money!

And as such I need to start making an effort to sell some of my yarns and creations.

If I fail, well I fail, there's nothing lost.

And I'm used to failing so it's not a new emotion to deal with.

But you never know I may just be successful.

Feel the fear and do it anyway!

Ho Ho Ho....

Ho Ho Ho..

There's 4 weeks to go!

Just in case you didn't know

A rather wobbly santa.

Pattern from the English Woman's Weekly 29 November 2011

Fit Your knits.

Another Craftsy course I'm enrolled in is Fit Your Knits.

One of the knits featured is Bad Penny by Stefanie Japel

 Bad Penny is a free pattern from Knitty.com

 I've altered the Bad Penny pattern to include waist and hip shaping.

Although the pattern is a little big in the shoulders for me,

I am happy with the fit of the waist and hip shaping.

I knitted the smallest size of this pattern,

I will knit it again but will reduce the size by casting on less stitches.

 I'm enjoying the Craftsy Course.

I've been binge eating again.

I still battle with the emotional eating.

Last night I baked some Afghan biscuits and

I knew when I was making them I was going to binge, 

but it didn't stop me!

I'm an emotional eater, 12 months ago I would of told you 

I'm fat because I eat too much and don't exercise. I just like eating.

I know now it's a lot more complicated than that.

You can like eating and not be obese.

My obesity came from emotional eating.

From not dealing with my feelings but eating them down.

From not saying and expressing how I feel.

I can see now if I don't change my parenting my children

may too be dealing with obesity.

I need to help my children to learn to express themselves emotionally.

I need to stop telling them how they should and should not feel.

I need to start telling them it's ok to feel angry.

When I'm angry and frustrated I eat my feelings.

The kids were noisy, arguing and fighting last Saturday.

I was feeling frustrated and angry and fed up.

I headed off to the supermarket to grab a few things for lunch.

While there I bought a large pack of Salt and Vinegar chips.

The thought pattern as I put those chips in the trolley was....

"Oh you've been so good, 

you deserve a treat, 

you can just have a few and put the rest on the table for the kids,

they are on special!"

Most of the chips were eaten by the time I got home.

I won't be going near the supermarket when I feel so angry and frustrated again.

When I started my journey to lose weight,

I never knew how much I'd learn about myself along the way.

When I started I was so focused on all I had to give up to lose the weight,

now I see how much more I have gained.

I may never get to the point where I don't battle the binge,

but being aware of my behaviours and the triggers for them 

gives me the ability to learn new coping skills.

Comments are turned back on

After cleaning out my email inbox of over 2000 emails!!
I have come to the conclusion that having comments turned back on may be a good idea.
I found emails in my inbox that readers have sent and I've not replied too because I hadn't realised they were there. Emails lost amongst the marketing emails and spam emails. I think I have been a little too free in signing up to all the FREE marketing emails, with all the FREE patterns and information.

Another example of information overload and how it gets in the way of being productive.

I'm going to start blocking and unsubscribing from many of the marketing ones, will be a work in progress!

If you have sent me an email of late and not heard back from me, expect a reply shortly!

It's all in my mind...

In the supermarket yesterday I was lined up at the checkouts. One of the other school mums stopped and smiled at the woman in front of me and started a conversation, she never acknowledged me! Seemed to look blankly at me as I smiled at her from behind the woman she was chatting to.

I was a little upset as I left the supermarket. Had I offended this woman? She normally smiles and says hi. We aren't friends, more nodding acquaintances.

I let myself stew on the incident for awhile, then it struck me, she probably hadn't recognized me! I haven't seen her for awhile. It's happened a couple of times now. Especially since my last hair cut and colour.

Makes me ponder how I sometimes create my own dramas, by making assumptions.

It's just not FAIR!

One of my children just loves to scream, "It's just not fair!"
Usually screamed at another sibling, or me, or just life as a whole.

Life really isn't fair.  Something I tell my kids often, a lesson they seem to be learning slowly.
Makes me ponder, why do many of us believe life should be fair?
Does it make us feel safe, by believing there is a set of fairness rules for life?


How my children deal with their perceived unfairness of life will be a test of their character and of my parenting.

I can finally see there are three ways I can deal with difficult moments in my life....

1. Rant, rave, scream. Make myself and everyone around me as miserable about the situation as possible.

2. Work to change the situation. Take inspiration from the adversity and make the most of it, as an opportunity to grow. Use it as the catalyst for change, that will make the world a better place.

3. Let go and move on.

I am much happier when I can accept that life is just not fair.

While I'm in a deep and meaningful mood....

I've discovered that:
I'm much happier when I'm not overwhelming myself with too much information.
I'm more creative when I'm not constantly on the net looking for inspiration.
When I focus on a few core things in my life,  I can achieve many things.
Simple doesn't mean easy. It's simple to lose weight eat less, exercise more... but is it easy?
Simple things are the most important things.

Hat, hat and more hats!

Sweetpea hat

 I spent a happy weekend working through the Craftsy Course

Learn to Knit Hats four ways.

Wheeler

 I really enjoyed the course.

Even though this course is aimed at beginners 

there were still a few little tricks I learned.

There are 3 hat patterns included in the Course Materials.

I enjoyed knitting along with Stefanie Japel

Sweet Pea again

 I tried a couple of new to me ways of knitting hats.

I'd never knit in the round with one long circular needle before.

I still prefer the short circular and will mostly use my new found skills 

for decreasing the tops of hats instead of Double Pointed needles

Rosie

 The course covered a lot about design of hats.

And I feel pretty confident now in designing a few of my own hats.

You may see one or two new hat designs popping up on the blog in the near future.

If you are interested in doing the course,

check out the discount you get if you enroll in the FREE shrug workshop.

I need to knit a couple more of the shrugs in cotton.

They'll be handy in keeping the sun off my shoulders as I walk down to the pool.

You're worse than a reformed smoker!

I had a huge chuckle when Pete threw at me today..."You're worse than a reformed smoker!!"

He's right you know!

I just want to shake some people and tell 'em.

"Wake up! You're killing yourself!"
"You are beautiful, you are worthy, you need to love yourself!"
" You deserve to be here for as long as you can."
"The world needs you!"

I walked past a beautiful, tender young mother in the shopping mall the other day. She was cuddling and kissing her child. The love just radiated from her. And she was morbidly obese. And I felt so sad for her, sad for all she may miss out on. Sad for the example she unwillingly is setting for her child.

I am going to keep this weight off. I have too, I have seven beautiful children to raise. I tell myself it would be wrong for me, not do everything in my power to ensure I am the healthiest I can be, to live as long as I can, to be the mother they need me to be. That is my motivation, it's also the stick I hit myself with when I think it's all too hard.

One-skein knit shrug

I've been getting emails with offers for joining Craftsy.

I've ignored them mostly, then I took a little peak 

and found they had a FREE workshop with Stefanie Japel

 One-Skein Knit Shrug

The pattern is free with the workshop.

I really enjoyed the workshop and ended up buying a couple of the courses.

psst...Size 9 Jeans west jeans ;-)

 I knitted my shrug in my handspun yarn.

The shrug is easy to knit and can be varied easily.

I will be knitting a few more of these little shrugs.

I've discovered that swimming is like riding a bike,

once you know how to do it you can remember how to years later!

After 20 plus years of not going anywhere near a swimsuit I'm now swimming laps!

I'm remembering how much I loved swimming as a kid and the skills are returning.

I'm getting better technique, endurance and speed every session.

As a kid I was in Surf Life Savers and spent many hours in the pool training.

I grew up on the beach and even used to surf!!

Over the years I had forgotten how much I loved to be physically active.

I used to think my weight wasn't a problem, it never stopped me doing what I wanted to do.

I had forgotten how much I enjoyed being active.

I'm turning 45 in a few weeks!

And for my birthday I'm hoping to get an underwater MP3 player.