Quid Pro Quilt

I’m involved in an activity on the HGTV Message Board that is kind of fun but to be honest, I am not sure is going to work for me. We are doing something called Quid Pro Quilt. The object of the exercise is to support each other in losing weight and/or having healthier eating and exercise habits. For every pound you lose, you make yourself a block. Alternatively, some people put money into their fabric stash kitty. Some people measure in inches rather than pounds. It is quite flexible. I suspect some eat a chocolate bar for every pound they lose. If I find out who they are, I won't turn them in. I'll see if I can shake them down for a Dove Bar.

I KNOW that it is good to have a support group and they are just the sweetest, funniest, supportive ladies you could hope for. It is just that I am really not sure I’m committed to doing what I need to do.

My weight is rock steady, although it goes up and down 3 pounds depending on what I am eating, drinking or otherwise. I can starve myself for a week and lose 3 pounds. The next week it is back. I can stuff myself like nuclear winter is approaching and gain 3 pounds. The next week, I am right back on 135. It has been this way for 7 years. The year before that, I weighed 123 pounds. The year before that? 118 pounds. Husband is a great cook. A FABULOUS cook! He cooks with lard, bacon and butter. I married in 2000. I haven’t seen the 120’s since 2001. I am afraid that if I dropped down to the 120’s I would become such a guy magnet that the young boys from the local high school would start texting me.

Right.

So anyhoo, I sort of blew off the first week. My weight stayed about the same, probably due to the nachos. I've come to the realization that extreme concentration and prayer doesn't work on weight loss. Of course, about all I prayed for that week related to my weight was for a chocolate bar.

This week I cut back on sweets and ate low calorie frozen dinners for supper and lunch. I could tell the difference in just a day or so. About mid week, I announced to the HGTV ladies that I’d lost 2.5 pounds (it was really 3 pounds) but that my weigh-in day was not for another three days. Sure enough, by weigh-in day, I’d only lost “one” pound. Well, that is what I claimed. It might have been two pounds but I just don’t have faith that this body mass is going to budge, easily. Moreover, even during the time I lost the “two” pounds (claiming one), I took up eating ice cream. I KNOW that will pack on the weight. Plus, we are leaving for two and a half weeks of vacation in less than two weeks. I ALWAYS gain weight on the road and Husband’s family is great about feeding me.

Well, enough of that. At least I lost ONE pound (which will probably be back by tomorrow, she wrote skeptically).

I want to lose 12 pounds so 1 pound a month seems reasonable for a year, and I figured a nice wall hanging for the new kitchen would be nice. I designed a simple block, intending to make it 4 inches square. I drafted the block quarters and somehow wasn’t thinking. Fancy that. When I started putting them together, I wasn't sure if I'd messed up how the fabric lines up. I couldn't figure out how I'd messed it up but it looked like the seam allowance might not cover up a flaw. Now I know better than that but still worried.


Sure enough - worry for nothing. Once stitched, the seams matched fine.


For a four inch block, the quarters should have measured 2.5 inches, each. Like a dumbass, I made them 4.5 inches. So instead of a four inch block I have an 8 inch block.


Oh well – that will work, too.