I felt so badly for so long and couldn't quite put my finger on what it was. A general malaise. I would get home from work, take Penny out, and then go lay down. Months of this. I finally made a doctor's appointment, and after listening to me for a couple of minutes, she sent me next door to the hospital to get a belly ultrasound. When it was over, the tech said he needed to call the doctor and left the room. He came back in and asked me to follow him, and he led me to Admitting. What? Uh uh. No way. The doctor called me on my cell and said my gall bladder was about to explode and it needed to come out. Well, I protested all the way through admitting because my dog was at home alone and my car was in the parking lot. You know what? They totally ignored me. Anyway, just an overnight stay, a couple of days home to recuperate, and another few weeks to get adjusted to, once, again, having a body part removed. I think I've finally turned the corner although I'm still a little scared to eat certain things. But, as they say, all's well that ends well.
So I haven't been sewing at all. I've read new quilting books. I've ordered new patterns and fabric. I've read hundreds of blog and IG posts. No sewing at all. That's about to change.
I have two months of Portage Lake BOM to get caught up on. Thank goodness it's all piecing with only a tiny bit of applique. I have two months of Sew Sampler bonus blocks to do. And I have several backings to make. I'm going to get all of the above done before the end of the year.
I decided that in 2017 I was going to teach myself to English paper piece. The inspiration was Minick & Simpson's market release quilt, Lake Effect. Love that quilt!
The pattern is not out yet, but I saw that Laurie had the template and hexie paper pieces on her site, so I ordered them. Oh, my, I wasn't quite prepared for the package that arrived yesterday.
I don't know if you can tell from this picture, but included were two acrylic templates and about a bazillion precut papers. That is not an exaggeration, a bazillion. The six-sided elongated hexie template and a teeny one that's an irregular triangle. Teeny. I had to study the picture carefully to even find them in the quilt. Yep, they're there. Oh, my! Gulp! Okay, so I kinda got scared. Maybe I need to try an easier project first.
So Brenda Riddle regrammed an Instagram post from Sweet Girl Studio about a kit she was offering out of Brenda's fabrics. I'm on it! Just regular hexies. "I can easily learn EPP on this project," she said with confidence! She -- that's me.
Well, that package arrived. I'm feeling all confident when I opened the package - and then I fainted. Beautiful Brenda fabrics and two packs of ----- 1/2" hexigon papers. One-half inch. As in .5". Really?
But you know what? I'm up for it. Up for both of these projects. I'm just trying to wrap my mind around turning the seam allowances on that tiny triangle in Laurie's quilt and the 1/2" hexie on the other one. Wish me luck!
In other news, Thanksgiving was quiet here. I cooked a ham and my favorite smothered green beans and potatoes. I wasn't so sure how the green beans would work without my missing body part, so I put in lots of potatoes. I ate a little and my freezer is stocked with quick meals. I totally forgot until the next day to cook baby yellow squash. It was a tradition in our house growing up. My mother would say that we had to have squash because that's what the Pilgrims ate. My dad would a.l.w.a.y.s reply, "You ought to know. You were there." We always groaned, rolled our eyes, and as I got older, I starting saying it along with him. A happy memory!
We're so busy at work as it's tax season. I truly believe we have some of the nicest citizens here of any city in the country. We're a small enough community that I remember a lot of them from last year. I will have my one-year anniversary on 12/10. Doesn't seem like a year, does it? And two years since I moved here! Anyway, being busy sure does make the days fly by.
That's about it for now. I have a lot of catching up to do, both in the Cottage and on my blog. More posts to come.
Happy Thanksgiving!
18 comments:
I hope you're on the mend for good, and doing well. You've certainly had more than your share of problems lately, but 2017 is a new year and a new beginning. And you do have all those hexies to look forward to! ( If it were me, I'd be doing all that paper piecing all 2017, and 2018. And 2019 . . .) I hope you have a great holiday season, and are able to fit in lots of sewing.
So happy to see you posting again. I think you'll really enjoy EPP.
I must admit I was getting worried about you. How did Penny fair with you in the hospital? Glad to see you are still going gunho on all your projects. You inspire me.
glad you are ok. I have been worried about you.
I'm so glad you're back..I'd check in and see the same post from long ago and think 'well, maybe she's decided to quit the blogging' and it looked more and more like that everytime I checked. So happy you went in when you did and they got it out before it did explode! Who took care of Penny? I've been lackluster with the sewing as well and don't have the excuses you do. Hope to see you post more often now that you feel better!
I'm so glad that you are okay! I have missed reading your posts as I look forward to each and every one of them. You inspire me with all that you accomplish :). Thank you for letting us into your world! Colleen C. from Mulino, OR
Welcome back! I've missed your posts too. So very glad to read you are on the mend. I do not envy you those tiny hexies! Yikes!! LOL
So glad you are OK! Gallbladder pain is so awful!!
Happy you are on the mend. I also missed your posts. Good luck with the little (tiny) hexies. Hope to read more about your catch up time.
It's good to have you back on-line!! I'd been wondering what had happened to you and about all that flooding in LA this Fall. I love to EPP and it's really not that difficult. Consider using a glue stick on the edges of the papers to hold the seam allowance. You're a pro and it won't take you long to catch on. :-)
Wow! You had quite a problem with the gall bladder. I had mine removed many, many years ago. I had to wait five weeks once it was diagnosed as a test revealed that it was infected. Pain pills kept me going until the doctor was sure the swelling had gone down.
I have hexie paper pieces and have for a long time. I should have purchased a bit larger size as I don't want to be stitching forever to get a quilt top. Maybe some day I will put them to use.
Glad you are feeling better. That is quite a story. You will like pp I think. Very meditative to me. Happy holidays!
Mary
I'm glad you're on the mend and starting to feel much, much better.
I know you're really going to enjoy your paper piecing projects! I know, because, you truly enjoy handwork. I can't wait to start seeing your progress.
ILY
Glad to have you back. I've missed your posts.
I love making hexies. Have several "in progress" hexie projects. Glad you're back and hope you get in some good sewing time now that you're feeling better.
I do like to EPP.....but I haven't done more than a couple of accent flowers in a while. Time to pull out the never ending project from about 3 yrs ago. Oh wait, I have to finish binding a quilt to gift first! Hugs!
I have missed your posts, also. I thought of trying to contact you to see if you were okay but in the end I didn't because I was worried you would think I was rude and intrusive. I so hope you will feel like yourself again! It is okay to work and come home and simply snuggle with your dog. It doesn't reduce your value as a human, but when you are used to doing much more, the fatigue is not normal.
As with everyone else I was worried about you. Gall bladder problems can really get you down. Enjoy your EPP. I love it.
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