Slow stitching.....and a glimpse into something else!

Yay.....it's March!....March always makes me feel good because we should start seeing glimpses that Spring will indeed happen once again.

I've done a bit of slow stitching this morning, as usual. For the past few mornings I've worked on my wool applique project, the Summertime Sampler BOM.

The first step is whip-stitching all the components onto the background...

Here is a previous block, so you can see how things look after the embroidery....although I can see I still need to attach some eyeballs to the birds...

I've been skipping the blanket-stitching lately because I have something else in mind...

I've been taking a wool applique class at Quilt Junction, where we are learning lots of cool Sue Spargo stitches to spice up our wool applique projects. Here is this past month's block...and, again, another block where I still have to complete the eyeball!...

I'm so surprised at how simple, but effective, some of these stitches can be! 

Also, I have to mention, when I posted the above picture on Instagram, I had a comment from Sue Spargo herself! 

So, my plan is to utilize what I am learning in these classes to dress up my Summertime Sampler blocks...should be lots of fun. 

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Now, just a glimpse of some blocks I worked on on Saturday. I'll explain more in a future post, but I just need to share pictures of these sweet blocks.

Here is a typical log cabin.....probably one of my favourite blocks....

.....but here are my two little log cabins shown in a way that you can see the scale of the blocks....

The finished size of these blocks is 1-1/4" !!!!!

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Now I am going to hijack this post for a completely different topic. I promise this will be a one-time thing....future posts will be all quilty-goodness.

A few months ago, completely by accident, I learned of a lifestyle called Intermittent Fasting.

I had, for a few months, been on Weight Watchers to try to slim down a little bit for my son's wedding in November. This experience helped me be more aware of my meals and I did lose a few pounds, but after taking a break for the wedding week, I never really seemed to get back into tracking my meals.

Mid-November is when I heard of IF....and I thought, what the heck, I'll try it through the week and take a break on weekends. Well, right from the get-go I have settled very comfortably into this way of life.

Here is the concept in a nutshell...

You eat how you like in a window of time through the day. A common window is an 8-hour one. That's how I started....only eating between 10am and 6pm. This is referred to as 16:8....fasting for 16 hours and eating only in the 8 hour span.

During the clean fast you only consume water, black coffee, black tea, green tea or unflavoured sparkling water.

I thought there was no way this could work for me, as I was one to typically get "hangry"....I'd usually eat breakfast at 8am and if lunch was an hour late I would get dizzy and very irritable.

To my utter surprise, I have not experienced this once since starting IF. I think it is because I am not starting the "engine" first thing in the morning. Believe me when I say, I do not feel hunger during my fast.

Now for some benefits....

People refer to this way of life (note, it's not a diet) as being full of health benefits, with a side effect of weight loss.

Well, I have not seen the scale move much, I seem to bobble back and forth with the same three pounds....but my body is changing, thats for sure.

Evidently during a fasted state, our cells experience something called Autophagy....a theory that someone has actually won a Nobel prize for in 2016. What seems to happen is that, while in a fasted state, our cells will work on repairing our body.

So, for me, even though there is not a lot of change on the scale, my cells are working hard at building muscle and bone.

The testimonials on the Facebook pages are amazing. One thing I see over and over again are peoples accounts of having reversed their Type 2 Diabetes, high blood pressure, among other things.

I will certainly be looking forward to getting my blood-work done in a couple of months.

This is not a quick fix, but I will say that myself and a couple of others that I know personally can tell you we feel so good. I am feeling like my old self again in many ways....like I'm ten years younger. I have much more energy and I am getting so much more accomplished in my day. 

I could go on, but I know this has been lengthy already. I just have to say, what have you got to lose? This is terribly easy and it's free!

The only money I'd suggest spending are on two books. One is this one....

What a great title....sums it all up....you can eat the foods you've always loved, you just have to delay eating them until your "window".

The other book is by Dr. Jason Fung, a kidney specialist from Toronto. His book is The Obesity Code, and is a much more science-y book. A great read, but I'd start with Delay, Don't Deny as it reads like you're having a conversation with your girlfriend. I think, at this time, that it is only available on Amazon.

I'll end by saying that, of course, I have no medical training, so if this sounds interesting to you, have a talk with your doctor if you have medical issues. I hesitated to write all this, but I just had to, as I feel like I've stumbled upon some big secret to the fountain of youth :)

I won't write of this again....if you have something you'd like to ask me, you can email me at sandra.croley@gmail.com

Have a lovely Sunday!

I am linking up with Kathy for Slow Sunday Stitching.