Orca Bay Mystery Quilt

Last week I started working on a Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt that she does every November.  This is my first foray into the world of Bonnie's mystery quilts.  This one is titled "Orca Bay".  She was inspired by Orca Bay in Alaska at sundown by all the magnificent colors across the water.  My color choices are the same as Bonnie's (that worked out as they were the only colors I had a lot of)...black, neutrals, red and blue.  So far we have made 224 hourglass black/neutral blocks (2.5") and I am now working on the blue string blocks (3") and there are 72 of them.

I am having a wonderful time playing with this quilt over the last two weeks.  So far I am keeping up with the pack!  I will update on this every week and post some new pics!

Some updates

My Mom had the gall bladder surgery and had a pretty rough time of it.  She had some complications due to her digitalis levels being too high...it was literally poisoning her.  Then they gave her ambien to help her sleep and it gave her hallucinations very badly.  Scared the hell out of her. (and me with the middle of the night phone call)  I went and had a sonogram to check out my gall bladder (no stones!) and instead they discovered an enlarged liver.  Now I have to see a specialist this month about that.  Quite frankly I am scared to death it is serious.  I do not drink so cannot be alcohol related cirrosis.

I have been quilting up a storm for the holidays.  Made the portfolio...loved that.  Made two more lap quilts..one for Halloween and another generic that I may use as a charity quilt.  I am now making pillowcases.  They are so easy and quick to make. 

My sister is recuperating from her open heart surgery (triple bypass).  That was a scare I don't want to repeat.  She is only 51 yrs. old. 

I am sure looking forward to my trip to Lancaster with Roz in March.  Five days of quilt show and classes with some excellent teachers...a quilter's dream vacation!

So Much Has Happened

It has been a couple of very eventful months for me.  My hubby had his gall bladder surgery (you would have thought he was the only one who ever had it) and had a long recovery from it.  He was out of work for 5 weeks before being cleared for light duty.  Now he has to address the issue of his back.  His doctor doesn't want to do surgery yet as it would be extensive.  They are going to try injections first and see if they help him at all.  He has a lot of pain so I hope that it does something for him.  He really  needs to get moving again.  He has been lying around on the couch for months now every afternoon and evening.  It is just not like him and he is driving me crazy!

My Mom also had medical issues.  She ended up in the hospital with stones blocking her bial duct.  They had to remove the stones and put in a temporary stent to allow the backed up bial to drain.  She has to go back and get that removed and then have the gall bladder out to prevent more stones.  Mind you she is 83 years old....not sure she is going to go for the gall bladder surgery.  She may just take her chances.

I have had some pain in my right side as well...thinking it is gall bladder too.  Went for a sonogram and am awaiting the test results.  My family is just having a jolly time with our gall bladders!

I have done a lot of quilting in the last months.  I completed the three quilts for my daughters and the four quilts for my son-in-laws and stepson for Christmas.  I have been working on some small projects with an online group that I belong to.  We made:  Christmas pillow, small handbag, star pin cushion, christmas gift box tree ornament, set of 3 cosmetic bags.  I still have to make the file holder, sachets, pot holders, cactus pin cushion, etc. that the rest of the group has done.  Each week they pick a different project to do for a gift.  You can choose to make it or not.  I am trying to do them all.  LOL!!!  I need to retire from working so I have more time to quilt.  That is my dream!

My friend Roz and I made our reservations to go to Lancaster, PA for 5 nights, 6 days to the National Quilt Show.  We signed up for 5 different classes to take while there.  We will be staying in a very nice Marriott hotel right in the convention center.  Cannot wait for March. 2012!

Our East End Quilt Buddies is having our 2nd annual quilt retreat at Pat's Retreat House in October!  Just a few weeks away.  Really looking forward to this trip.  Our friend Vicki is going to be coming home just for our weekend!  We all miss her terribly.

That's it for now!

What a week!

Lordy this has been the longest week....my Mom was admitted to the hospital last Wednesday with a UTI and a stone that is in her main bile duct coming from her liver.  This could be a very, very serious situation if things begin to change and it backs up in her system.  The plan is to do the procedure tomorrow to remove the stone and then follow up with a gall bladder removal withing a day or two after.  She is 83 yrs. old and has heart and diabetes issues as well.  She is scared and quite frankly I am a bit worried for her as well.  Can she withstand the anesthesia for that long for the surgeries?  What do we do once she comes home?  We all work and cannot be home with her.  I have taken three days without pay already to be at the hospital with her...can't keep doing that!  This is sooo hard.  My one sister has just recently gotten custody of her two very young grandchildren so she is unavailable to sit at the hospital with Mom for a shift and my younger sister will visit, but only for an hour or so because she has a busy life.  My brother is too darn busy with his fishing tournament this week....so that leaves me to sit at the hospital for 10 hours a day to deal with the docs and all.  I am exhausted!  Enough complaining....

I got a lot of sewing done in the weeks prior to all of this.  I made 14 aprons for gifts and donation to the church fair.  I made a set of three cosmetic bags for a gift, finished my block of the months, and made two quilts for two of my son-in-laws for Christmas.  Thank God for my quilting and sewing...it keeps me sane!

I am going off to get some lunch and then off to the hospital to spend a few hours with Mom.

Friday! TGIF!

Wow, I am glad this week is ending.  It has been a long one for me.  My three daughters have not been getting along lately and it is causing me great heartache.  I sure don't remember ever having these kind of disagreements with my two sisters.  If we got hurt or angry by or with each other we just said our peace and got it done with.  My three don't do that with each other.  They talk about each other to me and to each other, but never confront the issue at hand.  I try very hard to not engage in conversations where one of my daughters is talking badly about her sister.  They don't seem to get the fact that it is painful for me to hear that they "love her, but don't like her" nonsense.  I keep telling them "if you are angry at your sister ...tell your sister....clear the air and move on", but stop putting me in the middle like this.  They take it as I am defending their sisters actions rather than just trying to stay out of it.  Now one of my girls isn't speaking to me and said some very hurtful things to me.  I am sure it will blow over, but is painful nonetheless. 

Thank God for my quilting!  It has gotten me through the painful week.  Each night I go upstairs and do a little sewing to keep me occupied and not focusing on the whole thing with my daughters.  I am working on a flannel quilt for my son-in-law, Jim.  He is one who truly appreciates each and every quilt that I make.  I have made three quilts for my girls for christmas and they are all at the quilters being quilted.  I am making aprons for all the women in my family and some extras for the church holiday fair.  I have joined a "Gifty Galore" group online and each week they pick a project for the week.  It is fun throwing together small gift items to see if they are something I want to keep or make more of for gifts.  So far I have made one "shop hop" purse/bag.  It is 4 x 6 in size and has credit card/license slots in it and room for a wallet and keys.  Perfect for the shop hopping day!  I have most of the supplies for some sachets they made and need some interfacing for some cosmetic bags I am going to do as well.  This week they chose a holiday pillow.  I have all that I need to do that project already so I will do that this weekend.  It is fun as they are all quick and easy projects and are making me do things I don't normally do...like zippers. 

I am off to our Friday night Sit n Sew tonight.  I am bring with me 8 already cut out aprons to put together.  It is a reversible apron and very quick and easy to make.  One of the women in our block of the month group had me and a friend over to her home and showed us how to make it.  Once I have completed these 8 I will have 16 all together to give as gifts and use for the church fair.  Of course I plan on keeping at least one for me!  It is going to be hard to chose just one though...they are all different!

Well that is it for today....God bless.

Heat Wave

Here it is mid July and we are having a heat wave....96 degrees today so far and will probably reach 100 by the end of the day.  It has been a hectic couple of weeks.  My hubby had been having really bad abdominal pain now for almost a year.  His doctors were sending him from doctor to doctor to rule out other things before deciding on the gall bladder.  I always knew it was gall bladder....of course who listens to me????  He finally had his surgery on Monday the 18th and is home recuperating.  He is feeling a bit better today and of couse, being a man, he decided to do a few things.  I hope he isn't overdoing it.  Why can't men just follow doctor's instructions and not do anything they aren't supposed to?

My hubby's step father passed away on Saturday the 15th of July.  No great loss.  He was a mean man who made everyone miserable and when my hubby was a child he would beat him terribly when he misbehaved or did anything wrong.  When I say beat him I mean like with a broomstick.  He just wasn't a nice man at all.  I think his Mom was actually relieved although she would never admit it.

I have been doing lots of sewing.  I made up six aprons to be used as gifts for Christmas this year and plan on making several more.  I am working on a shadow box quilt with winter scenes of kids playing in the snow and another project with a group of ladies that is a dresden plate quilt exchange.  I have so many finished tops that need to be quilted that I have lost count.  I really need to email Sue and learn how to use that long arm of hers.  It will be worth all the cost of the lessons to be able to do my own quilts.

I think tonight I will spend some time working on a couple of Sylvia's Bridal blocks.  I haven't touched them in a while. 

Sure wish I was in Alaska or somewhere like it right now...................

Another Day!

Just another Monday....
Well today my poor hubby goes to see the gastro doc to schedule an endoscopy.  This whole thing with his abdominal pain has gone on way too long.  This all started nearly a year ago with a trip to the ER.  He has had severe abdominal pain in his right side intermittently ever since that first occasion.  It has gotten progressively worse.  He has had MRI's, CT scans, sonograms and many many blood tests.  The scans ruled out any tumors hanging around and did reiterate the bulging disk problems he has in his back.  The spinal surgeon he saw doesn't think it is the back problems causing the abdominal pain he is having (this is what his primary care doctor had thought).  I have been saying all along that I think it is his gall bladder, but they all kept blowing that off. He was sent for a colonoscopy and that showed nothing wrong.  Why in heaven's name they didn't do the endoscopy at the same time is beyond my comprehension.  All of the scheduling and appointments with doctors to get the prescriptions for the testing has taken almost 12 months and in all that time my poor husband continues to suffer with this pain.  He has even returned to the ER twice since that original visit.  This last trip to the ER the doctor said he feels strongly that his pain is his gall bladder and he must return to his primary doctor to have a special test on it scheduled.  Another two weeks waiting to have that test....the test then shows his GB is only functioning at 30%.  So his primary now sends him to a general surgeon.  The general surgeon wants to have the endoscopy done before he schedules GB surgery so he can rule out ulcers first.  He calls the gastro doc and asks his office to expedite this test for my hubby.  Well they then give my husband what they called the first available appointment...3 weeks down the road.  That appointment is today.  Now to schedule the test itself.....probably another 3 weeks at the rate this whole thing has  been going.  It is just so frustrating for both of us, but my poor hubby is in such pain for him it must be awful.  He has certainly been a lot crankier lately...and that is saying something since he has a grumpy nature anyway.  Even our grandkids call him "Grumpy" and bought him a "Grumpy" t-shirt from the Snow White shop at Disney as a joke. 

While he was out fishing for Father's Day I had the whole day to myself to sew away the hours.  I spent it playing with a "bag of crap" the local quilt shop put together for an Apron Challenge they have going on.  We have to use at least 30% of the "crap" in the bag in the construction of our apron.  There is a load of junk in that bag too.  Buttons, snaps, trimmings (very very small) from cutting fabric, one focus fat quarter that must be used, ribbons....you get the drift..."crap"!  I had fun working on the project and am about half way done.  I am making it a "crazy quilt" design using all the trimmings under the decorative stitches I put between each fabric and the focus fat quarter as part of the fabric pieces making up the crazy quilt.  I will embellish with the buttons, etc.  Made bows out of some of the very tiny pieces of trimmings and stitched them along the waistband.  Will put buttons on the center of the bowtie.  Probably won't win any prizes, but had a lot of fun doing it.  The first prize is a new sewing machine, 2nd is $100 gift card to the shop and 3rd is $50 gift card.  Judging is done by the shop personnel.  There will be an extra "voewers choice" award that will be a basket full of quilting goodies! 

I have so many projects going on at once it is making me dizzy...I don't know what to work on when I walk in the sewing room.  Block of the months (4 of them), still working on the Civil war quilt and the Back to Nature is way behind, still working on Sylvia's Bridal quilt, have about 8 quilts to be layered and quilted, two that need bindings and loads of kits in two baskets to be done.  Sure wish I could retire from work and just take care of my home and sew.  But alas....there is a mortgage on my house that must be paid!  I will continue to work until they take me out in a pine box! LOL

Spent some time yesterday with Michelle's girls sewing on their doll quilts and then Susan stopped by with our little Allie who had her tonsils out on Friday.  She is doing amazingly well with the surgery.  We made table toppers for the three of the girls for their bedrooms.  They were all very excited to take them home and put them on their night stands.  If I was retired I could spend so much more time teaching them all to sew!  The two older girls (6 and 10) are learning quickly. 

Well that is it for today....be back again soon!