Catching Up

 Since last we met I had my back surgery to have a stimulator implanted which has greatly decreased the pain I feel in my back.  The only post-op thing I was told was to not pick up anything over 10# for four weeks.  When I went back for the post-op appointment I found I am in a "study" regarding the implant and need to be seen every 3 months, I don't know for how long.  I asked if they would be paying me to come in but was told "no" because it would be seen as collusion.  I better not be charged for those appointments.

Last week I had a total bone scan to see what progression of the cancer in my bones had occurred.  I also had an organ scan to see if there was any cancer impact there. 

Then on Friday I started having abdominal pain.  I didn't feel sick but did hurt and couldn't eat.  I also was very restless and figured I must have the flu.  By Sunday I was not getting better, was very weak, and shaky.  I decided I was dehydrated and needed help so off to the ER we went, along with our daughter (the nurse) and her husband.  Five hours later I was rehydrated, was told I didn't have the flu, was given anti-nausea medication (I didn't have nausea), and was given the results of my two scans.

I was told that almost all of my skeletal system did not appear worse than the scan that was done in 7/2015.  There is, however, one area where significant deterioration was noted.  The ER doc said he thought the pain I was experiencing from this bone deterioration and suggested pain medication.  I decided that I will use Advil and that seems to be taking care of that pain.   And, nothing was noted in my organs.  

Meanwhile Abby has taken up Mahjong.

And Stubby has taken up protecting the baby Christmas cactus from the cold.

I have been knitting and just a very little quilting.  I keep thinking I will feel that I can get back into quilting but even thinking about it makes me tired.  Gotta build my strength.   Gari

Misc. Fun

How about these?   I am calling them my "uptown nails".  My DD came for lunch Sunday and had these nails and I just had to have them, too, after all I am the one who collects owls.  So this morning I jumped out of bed and drove over to the nail place to get an appt.  Well they don't do appointments but the person who did DD's nails was available so here I am.  They are gell nails and different from anything I have ever had.  I don't think I like the squared off nails but will get them more rounded when I go back for the fill in two weeks.

My next find are these two row counters.  I saw them advertised on Facebook: they came from Singapore.  I currently am using both of them since the wonderful person who designed the Knit Along (above socks) has the front of the socks doing a different pattern from the back.  Without these row counters I think I would be really confused. 

I find knitting very relaxing but sometimes I don't want to be paying attention to a pattern.  That's when I turn to washcloths.  Here are 15 newly completed cloths.  I use them as washcloths and dishcloths and they seem to last forever.  So I even give them as gifts.  When they get wet they are so soft they are perfect for babies.

I have already shared that I am having fun with my Instant Pot pressure cooker.  I have made mac and cheese, pork roast, and here I was setting up for poached eggs.  And I spend way too much time online looking for new recipes to cook in my IPot. 

 On a livelier note, my Christmas cactus' are getting ready to bloom.  I was afraid that they were not going to produce but last week all kinds of buds were popping out.  I will be buying a new plant in December: this has become my Christmas event.

And last but certainly not least is Abby. I took this at 2am.  I got up to go to the bathroom, an old person's thing to do, and saw this at the foot of the bed.  She likes to sleep under the covers but it seems she needs her nose and feet out.  She looked so cute.  Then when I woke up in the morning she had migrated to the head of the bed to sleep on my pillow.

And now I am off to try to get my socks done before the end of the day.  Wish me luck.

Knitting Fun

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  I have finally finished my “leftover” socks.  There is yarn from 5 different earlier pairs of socks and I still have leftover yarn so there will be more leftover socks down the road.

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• And I also finished knitting 8 washcloths, 4 for my sister,

  

  Waunita/Jonni and 4 for my daughter, Lisa.

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I do want to share why it sometimes takes me a lot of time to get things done.  Abby seems to feel she is needed in case I drop a stitch.

But the need to be close to me ends when I offer for her, and the other two, an opportunity to go out to the “play pen.”  We had this fence put in because I am not strong enough to take all three dogs on leashes for a walk.  And they have a lot of fun chasing after the squirrel that likes to gather the little acorns under the tree. 

And now I need to get off this computer and see if I can find all the parts of my cardigan and figure out where I was in the pattern.  I hope everyone has a great weekend and I’ll see you all here next week, I hope.

PS: I am linking to Patchwork Times where you can see some more knitting fun.

                                  Gari

Flying Needles

I am making great progress on these socks.  I have a little over half done on the heal and will soon be headed up the leg.

I like how the heel looks.  And these are really sturdy socks.  I bet my feet will be nice and warm this winter.  And, I may just have to make another pair.



















I am a little behind in my sweater knitting.  My first reason is that I have been doing more sewing (see the next post) and I also have started a couple of new knitting projects.  I usually have a washcloth/dishcloth started and today I started a bulky scarf.  I forgot to take pictures so they will show up next week.  Anyway, I am about 6” along with the sweater.  I need to do another 1.5” and then I can knit off the sleeves.  This will reduce the stitches by 120 which will make the rest of the stitching go a little faster.  But I am in no hurry, I am enjoying the process.









I love sharing puppy pictures and this one is just funny.  It is blurry because I took it at 2 am.  Abby likes to sleep under the covers but since I was sleeping on top of them she had to settle for crawling under a pillow.  You know, it is hard to  keep from laughing as you struggle to get your phone (camera) and not wake the sleeping dog. 

And now I am going to close this post and get back to my knitting.  I will be sharing this on Patchwork Times tomorrow.   Gari

On and Off the Wall

On the Design Wall was Henrietta Whiskers, a Bunny Hill BOM.  The center was completed over a year ago and then put on my “completed” rack.  Every time I saw it I thought it was ready for quilting so on Saturday I took it off to measure so I could prepare the backing.  Was I ever surprised to find that it only had two borders sewn on.  So up on the design wall it went.  And, then I said “what was I thinking?”  I love orange but it just didn’t look good with this top.  So off they came and I started thinking up a new plan.




I found these two fabrics to join with the orange.  The plan: small darker border, orange border and then the wood like border.













However after putting the first little (1”) border on I decided the quilt was finished.  It is the perfect size for a wall hanging and I have the perfect wall for it.














I already had the backing fabric so before I could overthink it, off to the frame it all went.  I didn’t start the quilting but will this week.















I did spend some time at the sewing machine and got all the applique sewn down on the Owl wall hanging.  It will probably be the next thing on the frame.










I found some time to enjoy my  quilter’s hammock.













And even time for Abby who, every morning, pokes her head out of a quilt to ask if it is time to get up.





Hope everyone has a great week.  Gari

Linking with Patchwork Times.

2013 Begins

Everybody ready for a fresh start in this brand new year?  Well, I am making a stab at it.

So this is my Design Wall today.  On the top is what I have done, so far, on Easy Street.  I really like how it is looking and am loving my color choices.







I decided that I would kit up each block and triangle so all I have to do is pull out a baggie and sew another piece together.











Well, that’s not quite all.  While doing the kitting I discovered that I must have misread the cutting directions a couple of times and there were not enough of some parts.  So I made a list of what was still needed and put those blocks on top of the box of fabrics, ready for me to do the cutting, after I get all the ready blocks sewn together.  I am calling that organized disorganization.



This is the Teapot for January.  Again I had a small piece of funky fabric and was just waiting for the right teapot for it.  I will eventually be appliqueing it with navy blue thread so the outline stands out.









I also got the second of my “scrap” placemats started.  The colored lines are actually the strips of fabric cut off of the Funky Chicken applique pieces.  I hate to waste even little pieces of batik so I have stuck them on this pretty fabric.  Later I will be putting them on a backing fabric and quilt them both at the same time.



Yesterday I put my feathered star table topper on the frame.  This little top has been ready to quilt for about 2 1/2 years but I have been afraid to quilt it.  Since we used it in our Christmas decorations, I decided that it shouldn’t go back on the “to be quilted” rack so on the frame it went.  I will be roaming in and out of there , in between Easy Street blocks, trying to decide how I want to quilt it.



I think the holidays wore Abby out.  But she sleeps under a beautiful quilt and looks like a princess.  This is one pampered pup.





I am linking with Patchwork Times, Quiltville, and What A Hoot.

Almost November

These are the frogs that are completed: all the applique done and they are squared.  I still have 9 more to square and then I will be sewing the sashing strips to them.








I don’t know if you noticed that one of the frogs didn’t have eyes.  When I was fusing them I found that two of the whites were missing.  I decided to continue with the applique and do these eyes later.  However, while appliqueing those little tiny eyes, I decided that this one frog could be sleeping.  I think he is a really cute addition.








I did get all of the insects squared and ready for sashing.  They were planned to be “in the hoop” appliques but I decided to do them as just embroidery.














Toward the end of last week I had my Christmas 1 quilt on the frame.  Can I tell you that I was really excited when I could see I was almost done?










And then there was the celebration when the quilting was done and off the frame.













On Wednesday I started the binding which I completed yesterday.












Thursday  through Saturday I was in an machine embroidery workshop with Walter Floriani.  This is not a good picture of him but he was constantly on the move so even this was hard to get.  I learned a lot about digitizing and editing embroidery designs and am really looking forward to working on practicing what he taught.









But after three days away I was itching to get back to my machines and projects.  So the first thing I did was to sew the backing for Christmas Quilt 2 and get it loaded on the frame. 









However, I must say that when I first start, and all that quilt is lying out in front like that, quilting it appears to be quite a daunting task.

So I left it like that so I could work on my frogs and insects.













Over that past few weeks DH has been using our Deere to create paths in our woods.  Can you see this rather large one here?  The puppies and I are having so much fun running up and down the paths.  And DH says he is going to make some more so we should be able to get some good exercise right here at home.








And we are not the only ones who are playing in the wood.  Here are Ms. Murphy and Abby at the end of playing hide-and-seek.  What good friends they are.






Now, as much fun as I have had showing you what I’ve been up to, it is time for me to get to the laundry and dishes so I can return to the studio and sew, sew, sew.

Design Wall 10/3/11

This is my design wall for the first Monday in October 2011.  These blocks are from an internet swap a couple of years ago.  I have had them on the wall a few times with no certain idea of what to do with them.  This week I decided they will be a gift and began the design process in earnest. 

 

First I put the blocks out on the wall and, of course, move them around several times.  Then I decided on the sashing and borders.  Originally I planned to have the sashing, which is also the second border, be just that fabric.  However, when I put it on the wall it looked way too busy.  Using the cornerstones, made from the first border fabric, calmed down the already busy center.

I have the center rows sewn together, not an easy feat since several of the blocks were poorly made, and am ready to sew the first border. 

All this sewing will have to wait.  I have a new WW meeting to lead on Monday and two on Tuesday and since I have to travel a little over 100 each day I will probably only be up to feeding the animals when I get home.

 

Speaking of animals, we seem to have a new one here.

Meet our newest member (?).  We found her a little over a week ago, wandering the streets in downtown.  We have placed ads in the newspaper and on the radio and visited the two vets, attempting to find where she has come from.  The plan is that if no one has claimed her by Tuesday, she will become part of our family.  We have not named her yet, that would mean she was staying and we don’t know about that, yet.

 

Here she is with Abby.  We figure she is about 6 months old but we will know for sure when we take her to the vet for a check up and shots next week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is finished.  And I got it done before the end of September.  I really like the scrappy binding and it almost finished that 30s fabric.

 

 

I did get the URR on the frame.  The backing is a batik fat back I bought at MQX in 2008.  It has been sitting around, waiting for a quilt to come around that fit it and finally it did.  I can’t show it yet since it is all rolled up on the pole, but will later. 

 

Now, if I could just come up with a plan for the quilting.

 

 

 

 

 

And now, one last picture.  This is for people who think we have no Fall color in the South.  This is a maple tree that is just beginning to turn.

This poor thing was cut down a few years ago and this is what has grown out of the stump.  It is about 15’ tall now but has about 7 small trunks.  I don’t know how this effects it’s growth but it makes a very pretty sight in our very green yard.

And now it is time to pour yourself another cup of coffee or tea and hop on over to Patchwork Times to see what other quilters are up to.