grrr

I quilted another quilt on Saturday, so now I have two waiting for binding to be cut, attached, and tacked down.  I can make it look like I'm being productive:

 Or I can show you what it really looks like (notice right corner):

 But the quilting is shortlived, and my days are spent like this:

 And this is how much fun it is:

yeah.  The cast is too tight, I'm afraid my toes are going to fall off, and I have an extra appointment today where I'm going to beg/insist that they stop casting it and let the swelling go down first.  Wish me well, because the current plan is not to my liking.

End of dump.

First Finish 2016

I started a post a few days ago, but it was one without pictures, and seemed to be too much of a pity party to finish.  On Tuesday, a check-up with the orthopedic PA resulted in removing the by then much-too-big cast, and putting on a new one.  Again I chose red, because I wasn't yet tired of it.

Things that used to be automatic and no-brainers now require a lot of thought and preparation.  Do I REALLY want another cup of coffee?  It's no longer a matter of taking a cup to the coffeepot, pouring, and returning to the table.  What took 30 seconds is now a 5 minute production.  I've passed on a lot of coffee, as well as a lot of other things.  Who knew that a leg was so useful?  I can honestly say that before Dec.22, I never once gave thought to my fibula.  In fact, the only thought I ever gave to anyone's fibula, was to memorize its name and location, to pass a few Biology classes in high school and college.  ironic, right?

But you didn't click on this to read about my broken leg.  You wanted to see my first finish of 2016!  I asked my husband to take a picture, and this is what he took:

 I told him that although I was pleased with the way I looked, it wouldn't do at all.  What I wanted, since I was going to be in the picture, was to include the foot.  I want to be able to look back on this and remember what a challenge sewing can be.  I want evidence of my victory.  :)

My mind continues to paint wonderful pictures of all the things I could do, now that I am housebound.  But reality has truly arrived, and high level productivity will not be the order of the day.

Then again, I submitted my first entry for The Best of the Valley Quilt Show, and I encourage you to do the same.  Entry forms can be found here, and our online entry option is pretty slick.  It worked beautifully.  The deadline is February 14, 2016.

And with that, I need to decide if I'm going to a) dig through fabric trying to find suitable binding for the baby quilt I have finished quilting, or b) quilt another baby quilt.  I suspect I will choose option b, though with my husband home for the next couple of hours, maybe option a would be better.  Trying to do something like that when I'm home alone isn't the wisest choice.  Either way, I'll try to have something new to show you in my next post.  Goals are good!

Inching Forward

Usually the New Year brings a time of looking back at where I've been.  Somehow, this year is different.  I am focused on the here and now, just trying to rearrange the day to accomplish something.  Apparently a broken leg will do that to a person.  Or at least to me.

I've learned to operate my machine with my left foot, and finished quilting a baby quilt on Saturday.  It still needs to be trimmed, and to have the binding made and attached.

 I worked on the first quilt with my leg down, which resulted in too much swelling and discomfort.  Yesterday, I tried putting my leg up.

 I quilted half of a baby quilt, but find that sitting 24" back from the machine is not the best.  It is not very good at all.  Today, I will be experimenting with different angles, trying to find a way to get that foot up and yet be closer to the machine.  Goals are good.

According to my sidebar, this year I finished 13 quilts, only 4 of which were UFOs.  Wow.  I really fell down on the finishing department.  Perhaps this year I will make a more concerted effort to put a dent in that UFO list.  I also recorded 13 quilted cards and 50 postcards.  hmmm.  The postcard number seems right.  The card number?  Seems awfully low.  Then again, I know that I wasn't terribly productive in 2015.  I was busy running around on vacation, etc., too mobile to get anything finished.  Mobility is NOT the word of January 2016.  I will be home, I will not be running around.  I guess the question is, "Will I be productive?"

I certainly hope so.  Goals are good!

A New Year

hmmm.  A New Year.  New Beginnings. A Time For Goal Setting.  Where does one even begin?  I guess at the beginning, right?

 My Studio is still in the state of chaos that it was in on Dec 21.  On Dec. 22, I broke my leg.  It seems more than the leg was broken.  The rest of my Christmas preparations came to a halt, and I've spent the past 10 days learning to ask for help.  It's a steep learning curve, and one that I find exceptionally difficult to navigate.  I was raised to think that needing assistance was a sign of weakness.  I've learned that asking for help is more accurately a sign of courage and trust.  I feel like a stranger in a strange land, but my kids have been terrific in terms of helping me to adjust.

The one who is not adjusting well is Scruffy.  He used to have the run of the kitchen, and was dependent upon us to let him outside.  Now his indoor space has been severely decreased, by a relocation of the indoor doggie fence.  My son installed a doggie door, which took Scruffy 48 hours to learn to operate.  He thinks its purpose is to allow him access to the slider, where he leaps and jumps and barks demanding entrance to his kitchen.  Sorry, Scruff.  Go back to your doggie door.  His unfortunate reward for his noisy behavior is to wear a bark collar.  He acts like he's being punished, which is not the case.  But try explaining that to a dog...I'm not getting very far.

So, anyway, back to goals for 2016.  My first goal is to figure out how to operate the foot pedal of my Bernina with my left foot.  And then I have a stack of 6 baby quilts, just waiting to be quilted.  Good thing I got all of that basting done, back when I was able to do it! 

And with that, Happy New Years to you all.  I hope you each are able to set an attainable goal, something that really gives you a sense of accomplishment.  Right now, it doesn't take much to make me feel victorious.  Sometimes just getting up out of the wheelchair is huge.  Quilting a quilt?  That will be a dream come true!

Time

Back in October, when I was in Houston, vendors would stop me and ask, "What are you looking for?"  I would reply, "Got any time for sale?"  Others would ask, "What do you need?" I would reply, "I need more hours in the day...I need more time."

"Ask and ye shall receive."  Apparently that holds, even when one is being a smart aleck.  :)

What I got for Christmas was a boatload of time.  Hours of time.  Days and weeks of reclaimed time, in which I cannot drive, and am limited in the household chores I can perform.  I asked for it, but now that I have it?  What am I going to do with it?

Well...

Yesterday I began to tackle my household desk.  Actually, this was the third time I'd gone after it this week, but I decided that taking a picture of it would be very motivational.  A friend wrote back, delighted to see that, "Someone's desk is worse than mine!!"  hahahaha!  yep.  You should have seen it LAST week.

 I got a section of it cleared off yesterday, but I'm going to have to go back and begin with the drawers.  Much of the stuff on top needs to be filed away, but the drawers are too full.  I see shredding in my future, before I continue this archaeological dig of my desktop.  I found an envelope of photos for Christmas cards from 2013!  I can't wait to see what else I uncover.

 A couple of hours of digging through the desk was enough.  My son's girlfriend brought down my knitting, and I put in a few rows on the mostly wool poncho I started long ago.  Maybe I'll even get a chance to wear it in 2016.  Goals are good.

 Here is proof that I'm behaving myself.  Before the cast, my foot was as fat as an overgrown zucchini, and my toes looked like little gumdrops glued on as an afterthought.  Now my toes look like toes again.  I hope to keep it that way.  The great thing about the cast, is that when swelling starts, I have to elevate it.  With the boot, I just readjusted the straps and let the swelling continue.

So, anyway, today is a good day.  Rather than list all of the things I can NOT do for the next couple of months, I will seek out the things that I have not been doing because of lack of time.  Just think!  I might write past page 45 in my novel.  Wouldn't that be something!  Ahhh, yes.  Goals are good, and I've got a brand new year coming, just waiting to meet them.

Stop. Rewind. Start Over.

Well, the verdict came in from the ortho guy, and it wasn't good.  The quick care PA got it wrong.  It's not the best place to break a fibula, it's the worst.  And so, the news is 4-6 weeks - best case scenario - in a non-weight bearing cast.  Lucky me!

The attached sandal is to keep the cast clean, should my foot drag. 

Oh, and I'm supposed to keep it elevated...above my hip.  Terrific!  So much for my short term goals in the quilting department.

The good news is that the "kids" return tomorrow for round 2 of holiday celebration.  They say they will make my house handicap-friendly, as all of my travels are currently conducted via wheelchair or crutches.  The one item they mentioned that lit me up was to fix a sewing area that is easily accessible.  Now that definitely sounds like a good idea!

In the meantime, my MIL said something about the bone knitting.  (It's cracked in 3 places, but not broken through.)  Knitting!  That's a GREAT idea!  I have a poncho/shawl thing that I started knitting three or four years ago, but I always gravitate towards sewing and quilting and away from knitting.

My youngest son's girlfriend is bringing lunch by this afternoon.  When she gets here, I think I'll ask her to wade through my "studio" and see if she can get the project off of my shelf.  Then maybe, just maybe, I will feel more productive.  Goals are good!  yay!

What To Do?

Therein lies a question, that is not easily answered.  Put your foot in a "boot," get instructions to "stay off of it," and what can a person do?  The answer is "not much of anything, really."  Today I see the orthopedic guy, and hope to be released to walking on the boot, but am not hopeful.  Swelling is spectacular, with sunset-inspired purples streaking the foot.  wow.

The "kids" decorated the tree on Christmas Eve, when our out of state children arrived.  We put them to work immediately, as I was close to useless in the kitchen, along with everywhere else.

While they went to the store, to buy the food I neglected to purchase, I sat in a rolling desk chair and whipped up some toffee squares.  If I'm the only one home, it seems to be less of a production.

For Christmas morning, and on Dec 27, I made cinnamon rolls.  On the 26th, while the folks went to see Star Wars, I made snickerdoodles.  Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of them.  I guess I contributed a little bit in the kitchen, at least in the tasty calorie department.

 I forgot to take a family picture on Christmas.  This was taken with my camera, as we waited for hubby to set up his tripod.  Unfortunately, I did not get any copies of the "good" pictures from his camera.

I have great hopes that one month spent "in the boot" will result in some quality studio time.  So far, its only result has been quality baking time.  The next wave of visitors comes through for New Year's.  After that?  We'll see how productive I can be.  Goals are good, and I know how to set them!

Blessed Christmas

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.  Isaiah 9:6

Flying Time

Christmas is just around the corner.  Are you ready?  Oh, I thought I might be, but life had other plans.

I basted a stack of baby quilts, and even got one quilted.  I suspect that the month of January will see me spending a lot of time in the studio, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

 Quilts from earlier years were put to good use, as Penny recovered from a stomach bug.

 On the 18th, Grandpa took Penny (and her mom) to see the SF Ballet perform The Nutcracker.  Looks like they had a GREAT time!

I stayed behind, to keep track of the well drillers.  Yesterday, we finally made it to 500'.  We're about a week away from completion of the drilling portion of this project.  Machines broke down, rain came (yay!) and in general, it's been a muddy mucky mess out there.

 Look at that glop.  I'm not even sure if this is what they dug out of the well, or if it's what they were using to do the drilling.  It's just...gross.  blech.

I spent last week keeping watch over the doggies.  This is what Pixel looked like when she was at her house.

 This is where she hangs out at my house.

Roscoe was there too

 And Sheila.

When my son got back into town, I took a few days off.  Then yesterday, when there was a break in the weather, I suggested we let the dogs run.  One thing led to another, and in the end, I slipped in the mud.

 The bad news is that I broke my fibula.  The good news is that my son put lights on the tree for me.

We've got family coming in tomorrow, and lots of plans for the next 10 days.  If I don't check in with you, don't worry.  We're not planning on breaking any more bones.  Merry Christmas, my friends!!

So Busy!

I'm stunned by the fact that I haven't posted in two weeks.  How did that happen?  Where does the time go?  Turn the calendar to December, and the days flip faster than ever!

When last I left you, I was piecing baby quilts.  I have one more to piece, but the basting tables have gone up and come down, and they won't be going up again until after we ring in the New Year.  In the meantime, I can begin quilting one of the SEVEN quilts that I basted last week.

Actually, the fifth from the bottom, with the black on white fabric, has already been quilted.  It still needs its binding cut and attached, but that should happen sometime soon.  The others?  I'll get to them when I get to them.

Our Itty Bitty quilting group had our annual Christmas party on Dec. 2.  Wow!  It came and went so quickly, I wasn't even sure it was December yet!

 It did inspire me to hang some Christmas quilts, but other than that?  I'm way behind on decorating.

 Then again, my husband was on it, when it came to putting up the outdoor lights.

 I did a wee bit of baking, beginning with a family favorite.  These are toffee squares, from the Betty Crocker Cooky Book.  I've been making them for almost four decades!!

 Our persimmon tree is LOADED.  I've never been much for baking with persimmons, but this year?  I decided it was high time to get my act together.  I've been picking them and giving them away.  I think I've placed about 5 dozen, to date.  :)

 My first loaf of persimmon bread fell.  It was raw in the center, so I put it back in the oven for almost double time.  The second attempt, in which I went from 45 minutes at 325 degrees to 60 minutes at 350 degrees was much more successful.  I will be making more, just so you know.

The tree is in the house, but nary an ornament hangs upon it.  I still need to put the lights up.  I am unexpectedly home today, so perhaps I will take advantage of the gift of time.  I had planned to be out at the walnuts, just in case I was needed.  We have a BIG project going on right now.

We put down our deposit in April, and now, eight months later, our well driller has arrived.  Yesterday they drilled 80', so we've only got 420' to go.  It rained yesterday - thank God! - and saturated the ground so that they couldn't bring in the fuel truck or more pipe.  They expect to be back at it tomorrow morning, bright and early.  Our current well did not go dry, but the possibility was there.  I think we've got 20' of water left, which should see us through until the new well is functional.  That's going to be a while, but goals are good, doncha know?!

Merry Christmas, and I will try to post again soon, rather than allowing another two weeks to pass in silence.

Steady Progress

I seem to be plugging along, getting quilting time here and there.  It's not yet all quilting all the time, but I'm working on it.  I pieced another baby quilt over the weekend.  It's a bit BUSY.

 It's still busy, when you're up close and personal.  I thought of putting dots on the back, but that might be just a bit much.

Remember the scraps I pieced while on retreat?  They were leftovers from an unsuccessful challenge entry.

 I kept thinking it needed a pelican.  Last night, I pulled out the brown paint and painted one on.

 This morning I picked out some nice variegated King Tut thread...

 And then I started quilting.

 I love the fabric I chose for the back.  It seems to have lined up quite well.

 I trimmed it, and added facing.

And the next thing I knew, it was finished.  Well, it still needs a sleeve and a label, but it's pretty close to done.

Yes, I think the pelican was just what it needed.  Cross one more thing off the list.  woohoo!  :)