For one Marysville woman, Janice Ross, she turned to making art with beads, despite losing half a lung three years ago to cancer.

For Connie Workman, she decided to lose weight to be healthier physically. She went from 290 to 160 pounds.

Ross recently received a Grand Champion ribbon for her framed tapestry made from beads at the Washington State Fair in Puyallup. There are approximately 400 beads per row and 576 rows equalling 230,400 beads.

Ross bought the original tapestry in England in 1979 when she was in the Air Force.

“I had to have it,” she said, adding she loves Clipper ships. She didn’t like the colors, they were dull and drab, so she packed it away.

She then worked for Boeing for 20 years as a mechanic building airplanes. She stopped doing that job when her spine began to degenerate.

“I was falling down all the time,” she said.

She was transferred to a job where she communicated with other employees by two-way radio. To pass the time, a co-worker made jewelry.

“I told her, ‘I wish I could do that,’ and we’ve been competing ever since,” Ross said.

Jewelry soon wasn’t a big enough challenge for her, so she started to make beaded flower arrangements “that never die,” she said.

Boeing provided her with a medical retirement, so she started a business with some friends, and they sold items at craft fairs.

She decided to redo the cross-stitch tapestry.

“I yanked it all out,” she said of the yarn.

She worked on it mostly during winters for eight years, finishing in May. During the warmer months, she would work on updating her older mobile home.

In 2012 she found out she had lung cancer, and had half her right lung removed. Ross said she loses her breath quickly so she likes to sit quietly and bead for hours, sometimes from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

In 2013 she had back surgery, limiting her mobility even more. Still, she worked on her tapestry and took care of her parents who lived next door. They both died earlier this year.

Ross has entered creations at the Puyallup fair and Evergreen State Fair in Monroe for years and won many ribbons. But entering the tapestry after eight years of work was special.

“I knew thousands of people would be there, and I wanted them to see it,” she said.

At least one person didn’t like it, however.

“One lady was upset, saying it was over the size limit,” Ross said of the 24-inch by 36-inch tapestry. “I guess that lady always took grand champion.”

Meanwhile, Workman, who had cancer in 2006, said she started gaining weight no matter what she ate.

Two years ago she went to Emily Countryman at Ideal Wellness in Smokey Point. She lost almost half her weight.

“It was a life-saving godsend for me,” Workman said. “I feel so good, and my cancer is still in remission.”

She said at first it sounded expensive, but considering she doesn’t go to restaurants and doesn’t buy junk food that it probably all equals out.

At Countryman’s office, Workman bought Ideal Protein products for breakfast and lunch, such as omelets, pancakes and soup, and then could have protein-emphasized regular dinners following certain guidelines. She said she had cravings for carbs at first, but got past that quickly, with the help of her husband, who ate the same food.

“It’s not in the house, and that helps,” she said of food she was not supposed to eat.

She admits to not eating perfectly every week, but Countryman is there to coach her at the weekly weigh-in and hold her accountable to get her back on track.

Workman said at one point she was so big she had to use a wheelchair. So she was excited when she found out Countryman could help her lose weight without strenuous exercise.

“I don’t enjoy heavy exercise,” she said, adding you think you are hungry but you really are just thirsty.

Countryman said exercise is minimal because people need to burn fat not muscle.

Workman, of Granite Falls, said she didn’t tell her doctor before going on the weight-loss plan, but has been excited about the results.

“I’ll probably stay on it the rest of my life,” she said, adding it’s been high school since she’s weighed 160, and now she’s 63.

Countryman works with a registered nurse and clients’ doctors to make sure the program is safe for clients.

She said her role as coach is important.

“You have something to prove to someone else and don’t want to let them down,” she said.

Countryman said the diet was invented by scientists and medical professionals.

“It’s one size fits most,” she said of what she likes to tell people.

Countryman said the products can be “as easy or as complicated as you want them to be,” adding they can be for people on the go or for those who like to take their time and really cook.

“There’s always something for everyone,” she said.