How to Lose 20 Lbs Without Diet or Exercise

I'm averaging 2 thesis-induced freak-outs per week. It's great, no really, grad school is great.

I did my last weekend taking care of the critters ever, which is really nice. What a way to go out, though. The colony is enormous now, and we had several hundred that had to be weaned and assigned to new cages, with new friends and new grownup diets. And of course, all have to have their sexes carefully checked so there aren't any . . . wild teenage parties (ahem). So glad there were no power issues over there after the storm. All the people in the city are hot and dragging, but they were frisky enough to make up for it. Now's there nothing for them to do but eat, drink and be merry until November. Wish I could say the same for myself.

Today I got to go to the new Knitorious. Very spacious and light. Looking forward to going back next month for fall projects. Too hot to think about sweaters still. As usual I admired the Blue Sky cotton, color Honeydew. A pretty pale green. I showed fortitude and did not buy any yarn, but I think Honeydew and I are meant to be together.

I got an Almighty Handy Reeling Machine. There it is modelling the Koigu for Tiff's socks. Yes, my dining table is also my desk. We have 2 computer desks, and I use the dining table.

And in other news, Sizzle is done! I'm very pleased, especially considering the craptastic knitting I've done most of the summer. I'm striking a little pose there, I know. But I just got a swift, so I'm happy.

Recently on KR there was a thread about why people do knitting blogs. Mine is for 2 things: to show pictures of my knitting (and hopefully someday exciting travel pictures) to a few friends, and to help me keep track of my projects, including pictures and a few notes.


So now I move to the Knitting Notes part:
I distributed more of the bust increases to the front instead of evenly between front and back (learning from the Picovoli problem) and also added some short rows at the bust so it wouldn't creep up in front. Had to redo all the math because 1) I was between sizes and 2) I like SouthWest Trading Co Bamboo at 6 sts=1 instead of 5. It also got standard Petitification: slightly narrower bands, shortened length and neckline, placing waist in right place, narrowing shoulders and neckline. It's a little lose in waist and hips, but I think it makes it a bit more comfortable in the heat. I also think the deep V lengthens the torso, though to wear out I'd put a camisole on underneath.

Here is what the yarn was before it sizzled. The previously mentioned, very unflattering Lotus Lace tank. A cute pattern, but not for me. I look 20 lbs heavier. There are so many problems with this, I don't know where to start. Shoulder straps too wide in general and too far out on shoulders--which is bad considering I reworked the neck to be narrower in the first place. Lack of waist shaping makes entire torso look as wide as bust. Dividing short body into 2 segments with lace makes torso look short too, especially with the waist length. Creeps up in front.
I'm putting this here as a reminder to myself to choose patterns based on reality, and not what looks cute on a cover model.