Saturday, February 12, 2011

Knitting and iPods

Another week has flown by; we’re almost halfway through February! I’ve made some progress on the little cardigan for Oceanna; the knitting is simple stocking stitch, almost meditative, so it moves along quickly. As well, having made two cardigans for myself, working on a little person’s garment just seems to go so much faster!

OCardi2

The colour, incidentally, is much closer to the actual colour in this picture than in the last picture I posted. This has been the extent of my knitting for the week. It will be coming with me to Sit & Stitch this afternoon, and I’m hoping to get the back done this weekend.

In other things, having finished two sweaters for myself and having had John photograph me in those sweaters, I’ve realized that there’s more of me than I’m comfortable with. I’ve known for a while that I really should lose some weight, but seeing myself in pictures and a Ravelry thread about must-have apps really brought it home.

One of the apps mentioned numerous times in that thread (among others) is Lose It!, a weight loss app. I’ve downloaded it and have been using it this past week, religiously inputting everything I eat and drink and any and all exercise. You start out by supplying information about yourself: gender, age, height and weight and your goal weight. The app tells you how many calories to eat per day in order to reach your goal. I have mine set to lose one pound per week. In addition to installing it on your iPod or iPhone, if you set up an account on the Lose It! web site, you can sync the information (I find it easier to input data on the laptop than on the iPod’s small screen).

I have to tell you, it’s been interesting and eye-opening. I’ve never been on a diet before; I’ve never needed to. And, have I lost any weight this week? Sadly, I’ve gained a pound. Must cut back on wine… must cut back on wine… must…

Yeah.

Last week, I asked you if you had any apps you’d recommend. Louisa recommended Knit Minder. I’ve had it on my iPod and deleted it. It was far more than I wanted in an app, but I can see the usefulness. I can remember thinking that, for me, the ability to track all your projects was somewhat redundant because of Ravelry and my blog. As well, the thought of typing in all that information on the iPod’s tiny on-screen keyboard was a little intimidating.

Anyone else? What’s your must-have app? It doesn’t  have to be knitting related. Next time, I’ll tell you about my newest time waster.

Winking smile

4 comments:

  1. Hi Ev, you're showing me up, with all your posting and your FOs! I just realised it's been almost a week since I updated my own blog and was shamed into posting :o)
    I think you look great as you are, but I know what it's like to have a few extra pounds that make the clothes fit a little too tightly. That's why I've been going to the gym and eating a little less myself.
    I'm just looking at my iPod....I'm currently stuck on BeEarthed, which I got for free, though it may not be free now. I don't know if I'd pay for it - probably would go for BeJewelled by PopCap if I was going to have to pay for something similar.
    I have a wordpress app so I can blog from the iPod - I don't know whether Blogger has something similar.
    I agree with you about the tiny keyboard - my thumbs are definitely too big to type with it the "right" way up, but turning it on its side does at least make the keys bigger and more manageable.

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  2. I love the Evernote app. I can put patterns in it, but also notes about anything I want. Plus I can copy something off a page on the internet and make that into a note too. There is a thread about it on Ravelry. It is either in the iPod or iPhone group.

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  3. The sweater is coming along very nicely. I like the richness of the color you have chosen too.

    As to your weight, I'm sure you know best what you are comfortable with, but I just wanted to say, from my point of view, you look healthy and just fine, so if you don't lose too much, I guess it won't hurt, since you are obviously not quite happy as is. :)

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  4. I was thinking only of knitting apps in my last comment. Otherwise I would have mentioned Evernote which I've been useing for quite a few months now, on my iTouch, my netbook and my desktop computers. I love how it syncs between all of them! Glad you found it.

    Sorry you didn't like KnitMinder. I don't use it as a sub for Ravelry at all really. The info I input is rudimentary. But I keep my sock pattern size info for the whole family handy. And my needles/hooks which are then accessible in the store before I buy yet another set I don't need. I also use the counters quite a lot.

    I don't play any games except Mah Jong. There are LOTS of versions but I found one I enjoy by Byterun.

    Oh, and I also listen to your podcast! ;)

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