Blackbirds and bungled blocks on a Slow Sunday...

 Hello - well I'm still hanging in there... did more physical therapy this week... my gait and walking speed are pretty much back to normal... however I still need to work on getting my knee to bend more... it would help if the swelling went down in my knee... I'm icing and elevating and icing and elevating... 

The pace of life picked back up... on Monday I worked out with Anna and had a marvelous lunch with a friend... we talked for hours... Tuesday I did rehab... Wednesday I was a slug... I've caught a cold and while the sore throat and stuffy nose are gone, the cough however will not leave.. and I cough and cough and cough and cough... and you get the picture. Thursday had a lot of running around...went out to our favorite breakfast place, got Nick a beard trim, hit the grocery store, went  to rehab, got my hair cut and colored and went out to dinner... I was pooped... Friday started out quietly but then things fell apart... needed to go change a glucose monitor for a certain family member and while it should have taken 5 minutes it turned into an hour ordeal as we couldn't get his phone and the app and the glucose monitor to talk to each other ... grrrr... there are days I hate technology... finally got it straighten out and then my attempt at sewing some simple blocks together got totally bungled... arrghh... it is now Saturday after noon and things seemed to have settled down. 

It rained last week... it rained A LOT... strong winds on Tuesday uprooted a bunch of 100 year old trees... so sad... lots of people were without power. Luckily we were fine... I live in a neighborhood with a good amount of old trees and overhead utility lines... but we were spared. Lots of my plants got beat down but it is that time of year when I'm to the point that whether a plant lives or dies it is up to them. No special measures will be taken... honestly, I'm more than ready for Fall... 

As for crafty stuff, well there was some productivity... 

I finished stitching Priscilla... don't she Miles make a cute couple?

And while I was thinking about what to stitch next, I read about a Blackbird Academy SAL on Facebook... there is a prompt for each month August through May for a particular motif... August is an alphabet. 

Here's the syllabus for the SAL...

Now I joined the group and  I probably won't do all the months but this did give me a kick in the pants to get out a BBD project that has been in my stash since 2017... I should hang my head in shame... but I won't...LOL... now I do love this project ... but it is BIG  BIG  BIG ... 285 x 285... on 36 ct this is almost 18" square... I love the linen I painted for this... here's where I began...

There will be 9 separate charts... here's how they will look whenever I finish this... 

however mine isn't going to have that vertical column of flowers... I thought I wanted it, but I don't have room for it... and the more I look at it the more I'm fine without it... yes that was a GIANT cope... but it is okay. 

So here's where I am today... 

Close up ...

So according to my  rationale this fulfills the requirement of an alphabet and if I get the bottom half done that would fulfill the requirement of September for birds!! This square makes me laugh because look at the scale of those birds next to the cat... the are HUMONGOUS... mutant birds... I love that the scale of motifs on BBD charts is all over the place... anything goes... 

I'm looking ahead to October... the prompt is a pumpkin... I've done a couple of BBD pieces that have pumpkins already... gotta search my stash for  a new one. 

Oh and have you seen some of the new releases for the Needlework Market... I have my eye on two samplers from Snowflower Diaries and Kathy Barrick is re-releasing some of her stockings but with a chart to do it just as a vertical sampler... I like that idea a lot...I don't need anymore charts ... but I do love having them in my stash... and I think collecting charts is a separate hobby from stitching them... hey some people collect spoons or Hummel figurines or Beanie Babies ...so I'm fine collecting cross stitch charts!

As for sewing... well there's where the serious bungling come in... I've had this quilt top up on my design wall for weeks... all the blocks were done... all it needed was to be sewn together... long columns... minimal places to match... easy peasy... knock it out in no time... NOT THE CASE...

First column went together just fine, second one too... but when I went to sew the first to the second I found that one block ... right in the middle of the first column was wrong... it was too big... I miscut the strips... but since it was too big I could fix it... and I did.. but then there was a too big block in the second column, and then I got to the third column and AGAIN... another too big block... I fixed it... and then the fourth column... and as you've already guessed another block that was too big... the first 3 bungled blocks were an inch too big, the 4th block was only a half inch too big... and it should have been an easy fix... until I cut off an inch on the last strip instead of a half an inch.... arrgghhh... I had put away all the extra fabrics for this project, so I hauled down the bin and searched through it... I was hoping to find enough to do just one more strip... not happening...  took a much needed break...came upstairs to ice and elevate and breath... 

Returned to the scene of the bungled block and made a new one... wised up and started checking the blocks BEFORE I sewed them into columns... there was a bungled blocked in columns 5, 7 and 8... only in one measly column, column 6 were all the blocks correct... sheesh...

But I persevered and it is DONE!!!

I'm calling this Fall Zig Zag... I used the Vanessa Goertzen (of Lella Boutique) book called Jelly Filled...the pattern is called Marbled Cheesecake... don't ask why...  I don't know why, but all the quilts had dessert names...the background is Moda Grunge in the colorway Curry... the fabrics ...each block is different ... are all from Sandy Gervais collections...some are old from Moda and some are more recent from Riley Blake... but they all play together nicely. Sandy Gervais is my favorite designer for Fall fabrics... I've made over 10 quilts using her Fall fabrics... and I'm sure I will make more... at least I hope I will. As I was making this one I sometimes looked  at a fabric and I LOVED it but I wasn't sure I wanted to use it ...because it was an older print and there isn't any more of it...but then I remembered that I'm not getting any younger and if I don't use it NOW it might never get used... so I'm gonna use the pretty fabrics! There really isn't a good reason to save stuff for the future when the future is here...

So I wanted to get this finished so I can take it up to Delinda on Monday... she has 4 quilts for me to pick up... a lap-sized Debbie Mumm, two panels... one Halloween, one Thanksgiving... and a bed sized quilt... I see lots of binding in my future... 

Next week is busy busy busy... Monday, work out with Anna, do lunch with a friend and then go up to see Delinda... Tuesday I'm spending with Elliott, it is his last day of summer vacation, they go back to school on Wednesday... I'm sad... I really liked the time we spent together this summer... Wednesday I'm doing lunch with my quilty lady friends and Thursday I have rehab... nothing is scheduled for Friday but I have a feeling something will come up. 

I've made my decision on the roof... just have to get with the sales rep and give him a deposit... probably will be 3 to 4 weeks before they get to the job. 

Need to get groceries on Sunday for a certain family member and then Nick has made meat sauce to go over penne for dinner... one of my favorite meals... I want to rest up the afternoon for the rest of the week... I think I'm gonna need it.

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts and check out what's going on ... hope your week ahead turns out just the way you like it!

happy stitching-

carol fun 

Up and Down on a Slow Sunday...

Hello - well as you would surmise my week was filled with activities related to recovering from my total knee replacement... and a couple of other things popped up too... as far as the knee goes I've been doing my exercises and went to re-hab twice...  I have no problem getting the knee flat, still need to work on the bending part but I was at about 100 degrees, which ain't bad... I took no opioids... drove on day 4 ... pain level has never gone above 5-6... only taking ibuprofen before going to physical therapy.  PT is impressed with my  progress... they told me on Thursday that my recovery speed is not the norm... and they chalk it up to my pre-hab exercise routine and a really good surgeon... I concur... if you are thinking about knee, hip or shoulder replacement look into the Jiffy Knee method... I am very very happy with my outcome. 

What really bothered me this week was the other ailments I dealt with... first I have this recurring issue with the salivary gland on the right side of my head... right behind my ear... out of nowhere it will get blocked and then swell up... which makes it painful to chew... treatment is to swallow swallow swallow... and warm compresses... I keep a stash of sugar free lemon drops in the house for when this happens... and as usual, it takes about 48 hours to rectify itself... and after that passed I caught a cold... now everyone in family has caught this and I had hoped that I would avoid it... but that was not to be... stuffy head, coughing, feeling lethargic and yucky... I'm attributing my catching it to the fact that I had to forgo my vitamins for 2 weeks prior to the surgery... I'm pretty diligent taking my vitamins and probiotics so I think my immune system just got weakened... I'm back on my regular routine and things should improve...

However feeling yucky and tired did not motivate me to do much crafty stuff... I spent waaaaay too much time just mindlessly scrolling the internet... sigh... here's what I did do...

Need'l Love - Holiday Friends...  the guy I'm calling Miles Standish...

now Miles gave me a bit of a struggle... first I assumed the collar was symmetrical... it is not... so I had one too many stitches on the left... I thought I could rectify the situation by adding a stitch to the right... annnnnd... that didn't work... so I had to frog a lot of his upper body to get him back on track... 

 I started Priscilla... and she has a way to go...

Didn't touch my sewing machine... but did piddle with this sock... 

a lackluster week craft wise... 

As for decor ...I have more chickens!!

Starting up top on the left...  I have a rather large stuffed felt rooster... bought this at a Hallmark shop over 20 years ago... where does the time go??? The little metal basket was a Target Dollar Spot purchase years ago and the cross stitch is Rise and Shine by ScissorTail Designs. 

On the right a chicken mini quilt... Welcome Summer by The Drawn Thread and a new ceramic chicken from Hobby Lobby... it has that Portuguese  pottery look but without the price... 

Moving down ... Tansy, Yarrow, Rue by Pineberry Lane... I brightened this one up... I like a lot of the primitive designs but not fond of too much muddy brown...

And over on the right... Good Deeds by With Thy Needle & Thread...

and on the bottom shelf... a snippet from Hands on Designs Fresh Egg Farms...

There was some retail therapy in my week... bought this bundle of fat quarters on Etsy ... Cosmo Cotton  Japanese fabrics... I love the tulip print ones! 

And a FQ bundle of Christmas fabrics that should arrive on Tuesday... and I preordered an Opal Sock Yarn Advent Calendar... while my fingers couldn't seem to stitch or knit  they were quite capable of pushing "Buy Now" buttons... LOL

It did rain decently this week... which helped my garden... however I have a water leak in my drip irrigation and I'm pretty sure that's the reason why my water bill was sky high... I'm going to call the irrigation company and see if they can come out and find the leak and fix it... now if I wasn't just 11 days post op I would tromp through my beds and find the leak and fix it myself... but I don't think that is the prudent way of dealing with this at the moment... forecast for the week has one 90 degree day and several chances for rain... that is good... right now I've hit that place where I love the flowers and the yard is wild and crazy ... but I'm kinda over it... if things die, they die... sigh... I did have a delivery driver tell me that they loved the yard ... they thought it was whimsical... oooohhh... I love that description... whimsical ... not "a crazy lady lives here"...LOL...

As for the roof... I've gotten 2 estimates and right now I'm leaning on going with the company that gives me a longer warranty ... and the fact that he took drone shots of my roof and pointed out that my chimney cap is damaged... one of the flue pipe is broken off and the cement holding the other one is cracked... this company can do the entire job... roof, gutters, gutter cover and masonry... different crews but the same company... and the price was in the same ballpark as the first estimate which didn't address the masonry issue... I called to schedule a 3rd estimate but they can't come for another week, so I need to find one more company just to have a comparison... I really do want to get this show on the road.

Next week - rehab Tues/Thurs... and after that probably only once a week for another week or so... also have hair appointment on Thursday... get my hair cut and my roots touched up... not watching Elliott this week but should be able to swing it next week... and the week after that he's back to school... August 19... where did the Summer go???

As I type this on Saturday afternoon Nick and I have invitations for dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow...  this evening my sisters-in-law are visiting from California... dinner is at a Chinese restaurant... tomorrow we are meeting our dear friends Kim and Kyle for Mexican... life is good... 

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts ... plans for after lunch are sitting in my stitching chair... hopefully putting in some stitches and  most definitely napping... I will say this surgery hasn't been painful but it has made me tired... I was told that sleeping is good for you after surgery and this is a directive I can follow!

Hope your week ahead is a good one... 

happy stitching-

carol fun 

Recovering on a Slow Sunday...

 Hello - the TKR surgery went very well and now I'm in the recovery phase and it is moving nicely too. As I write this I'm 72 hours post- op... I can walk without a walker or a cane...I haven't taken any opioids...just the Journavx (a new non-opioid pain med)  and ibuprofen and Tylenol... and the pain (not really pain, just stiffness and discomfort)is only an issue when I exercise the knee and it is manageable... I did PT on Friday and they were impressed with how well I was moving... today I'm tired and the knee is a bit stiff but I'm going to use the CPM (continuous passive motion) device later today... but so far this is a  way better situation than I anticipated!!

I think what has helped is I've been working out with Anna for over 18 months and I am definitely stronger ... both my legs and my upper body... I think getting the Iovera shot which freezes the nerves is a big help... it allows me to move without pain so the exercising is easier... and definitely the Jiffy Knee is the way to go... less cutting of tendons, nerves and muscles makes for an easier recovery. If you are having issues with your knees, hips or shoulders I would strongly suggest you look into this surgical procedure. The website I linked above has a listing of surgeons who use this technique. Locally my doctor and his partner are the only ones in the Cincinnati area doing it this way. I'm seeing small private practices in Columbus, Dayton, Lexington and Louisville popping up...I lucked out as my doctor is only a 10 minute drive from my house. Just Google or Grok or ChatGP Jiffy Knee for your area and I'm sure you can find a doctor and watch the videos on Youtube and Facebook... I found a lot of them when I was researching the procedure. 

That said I am really tired... doing lots of napping... I suppose that is the  result of not sleeping well for the week before hand and the stress and anxiety ... in hindsight I didn't need to worry so much... but I'm really really really good at worrying... 

I do have some crafty stuff to share... more of my chicken decor... this is the wall quilt that is the result of some leftover leaf and flower blocks from a Lori Holt book... all the fabrics are American Jane...

The tier tray has more chickeny stuff and the cross stitch piece is Summer Scissors from Nikycreations which you can see here. And in the background is my newest big chicken ... got her at Homegoods ... she's guarding  that laundry cart of quilts ... and the laundry cart came from Homegoods too, years ago. 

Here's another favorite big chicken... polka dotted... that was from Hobby Lobby... on a stack of American Jane quilts!

Over on my tier tray table I have more chicken knickknacks and several cross stitch pieces... on the top shelf I have a little chicken stack freebie from PinkernPunkinquilting...  you can find it here... the piece on the little easel is from Heart in Hand... it was the Square Dance pattern for September but I changed the word from the month of September to the words Cluck Cluck... here's the pattern...

On the bottom I have another cute freebie piece from PinkerNPunkin called Bees, Blooms and Chickens and you can find it here...  and the little lady on the left is a snippet  from Pineberry Lane pattern called Tansy, Yarrow Rue... you can find it here.  

And there is more chicken decor for next Sunday... 

I spent  Wed/Thur/Fri vegging and scrolling the internet... but today I've gotten motivated to pick up my needle... now I said  I wasn't going to start any new projects but my plans changed when earlier this week I found a unicorn chart that I've wanted for  quite a while on eBay... I tried getting this chart last year around my birthday in September... it was an auction item and I slid into the bidding pretty close to the end... and from the time I put my first bid in until it closed the price went up over $100... so I lost out. Then I found it again and I was able to get my copy for less than that ... but still a pretty penny ... my gift to me to cheer me up about the surgery... this is the chart... Holiday Friends by Need'l Love circa 1986..

I love the Pilgrims and Uncle Sam and Lady Liberty and the cute little guy that looks like Ralphie from The Christmas Story movie... 

I'm starting off with the Pilgrims... doing this little guy on 16 ct Aida in the Wren colorway... he'll finish about  3 1/4" high... the were originally stitched on 7 ct Klostern and were twice the size... here's the little guy I'm calling Myles... like Myles Standish... who I thought was a Pilgrim till I did a little research and while he was in the Plymouth Colony he may have been Catholic... history is interesting...

And to go along with Miles I'm going to do the little gal and I'm calling  her Priscilla, from the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem The Courtship of Myles Standish... and to keep Myles and Priscilla company I want to do the Indians from this Need'l Love pattern called Fall Friends... and I'd like to do the turkey too!

I'm going to stitch all of the Thanksgiving themed pieces on the 16 ct Aida Wren using DMC ... nice comfort stitching. 

And right now I'm in need of a bit of comfort... next week has PT Tues/Thurs and a post op follow up appointment on Friday with my surgeon.. and Mon/Wed I've got 2 roofing companies coming to give me an estimate on a new roof and gutter with covers... I had hoped to put this project off for another year or two but Nick informed  me of  bubbling paint in the corner of the ceiling in his room... so there's a leak ... and several houses in the neighborhood have gotten a new roof recently... all the homes are approximately the same age and are needing help at the same time... I figure I need at least 3 estimates to make an informed decision... and I hate that process... so many companies are soooo pushy... sigh

Hopefully by Friday I will be able to drive... I actually feel I could drive today as I can easily bend my operated left knee and I'm not taking any opioid pain meds... but I will wait a little bit... trying not to overdo things... but it is my nature to be in a rush... LOL

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts today... just gonna chill... stitch a little, nap a little, do some exercises... Chris is coming over and we'll figure out dinner... I want to get out of the house so I'm plotting for a meal that requires us driving somewhere... maybe the burger place about 20 minutes from here we all like... 

I hope that your week ahead is a good one... the weather (which I always grouse about) is giving me a break and we are forecast to have some rain almost every day this week which will mean I don't have to worry about my potted stuff needing water... Thank you Lord for this favor!

happy stitching-

carol fun 

Settling in with my chickens on a Slow Sunday...

Hello - well that was a busy busy busy week... trying to get a bunch of stuff taken care of before my surgery this Wednesday... and I think I am ready... need to re-check stuff today... I'll get to the recap of my week later in this post... remember this is a diary of my life and I often look up things I've written in the past to figure out when something happened... events I remember, dates are hard.

Anyway, I did get all the patriotic stuff put away... it all fit back into the 2 bins it came out of... yeah... and Nick helped me re-decorate with chickens... a lot of chickens... LOL... but I think it is perfect for August, as it is a little late for patriotic and too early for Fall... but I'm looking forward to Fall ... as I LOVE FALL MOST OF ALL!

Here's some pictures of what I've done... starting out on the sunroom porch... I suspect I'll be spending a lot of time out here after my surgery... it is cozy and sunny and I can watch the birds at my feeders... a pleasant place...

I put a lot of the same stuff here that I did last year... and I liked it last year, and I still like it... 

Up top I have a sampler from Prairie Schooler No. 45 Garden Samplers and a cute little cookie jar from Debbie Mumm ... if you check out the PS chart there are 3 samplers and I think I need to stitch the one with the bird house ... hmmm... a project for my recovery?  maybe... 

In the middle I have a sampler from Theresa, aka Kitten Stitcher/Shakespeare's Peddler called Magic Garden... I changed the color of the flowers on the left hand side... they are charted in black... which I didn't understand until I read that Theresa took her inspiration for this piece from a Tim Burton film... ok... but I'm happier with orange daylilies...

On the bottom I have a little piece that certainly gets a workout at my house... I've used this in displays that are Spring, Summer and bird themed... it works so well every time... that cute little bluebird pulling a cart with button wheels is from Homespun Elegance and is called Delivering Posies... 

Inside in the living room I have a favorite McCoy vase with my favorite cut flowers...Peruvian Lily/alstroemeria... I need to see if I could grow these... I just pick them up at Krogers... only $5 a bunch and they last quite a while... and I'm using the vase to prop up 2 cute hens from Lori Holt... that's Myrtle on the left and Hattie on the right.

I tucked some chicken stuff into the shelves on the TV cabinet...  the cross stitch  on the left, is  Vibrant Flowers by Kathy Barrick and  on the right, The Queen's Garden by The Scarlet House... I love her crazy hair... and I like the little flock of red polka dot chickens...

I'm still mulling over what I'm going to work on during recovery. I may be too optimistic as to how I will feel ... but I'd rather err on the side of optimism versus pessimism.  I have decided I'm not starting on any new BIG project. I have a few, a couple, several... well a whole lotta BIG projects already started.  I've pulled out these 2 samplers to keep close to my stitching chair... and we'll see how far I get... 

There is A Cheerful Heart by Shakespeare's Peddler...

And the Blackbird sampler from the book of the same name, The Bells on Christmas Day...

Both of these are samplers I want to get up on my walls... might focus on the BBD one first as I want it as part of a Christmas display. 

Now this recovery should be "better" than when I fell and fractured my knee. I can put both feet on the ground and I am encouraged to walk and do exercises. The surgeon said you can drive  in about 10 -14 days as long as you aren't taking opioids... and my plan is to avoid the oxycodone if at all possible.  I'm hoping to be able to drive by the week of August 9th... fingers crossed. And if I can drive well, I can do all the stuff I was doing before. I might walk a bit slower but I know I'll pick up speed. 

As to the recap of my week - you can skip this if you want... 

The week did not get off to a good start... so I told you last week that the "check engine" light was on in my car... and then it went off... and it stayed off for about 36 hours... and just as I was going to cancel the appointment it came back on.... argh... but that wasn't the big problem. The problem was every time I stopped at a stop sign or traffic light and then started back up the car bogged and chugged... that would go on for about 10 seconds and then it would pick up speed. I'm no mechanic, nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn Express, but I knew this was NOT right. Soooooo... I was on my way to work out with Anna... I quickly texted her I wasn't going to make it and then with Nick in the car I limped up to the dealership... a very intense 20 minute drive.  When I got there the service rep immediately went out to the car and checked the codes and told me there was good news and bad news ... turn out the problem was a coolant valve-  malfunction... that is bad, but the good news was that Subaru has extended the warranty on this part and the repair, labor and parts, were fully covered!  OH that was nice. And then they gave me a brand new Subaru Forester as a loaner as the repair would take till Tuesday. My stress level came down considerably. 

When I left the dealership on Monday they estimated the repair wouldn't be complete till mid-afternoon on Tuesday... and that would have been cutting it close to go get my car and then pick up Elliott from day camp. But things worked out great, as when I was eating lunch at my favorite restaurant not far from the dealership they called and said I could come and pick up my car... and I had plenty of time before camp was over... yeah.

Wednesday things heated up again. I had an 8:30 am appointment with my surgeon to get an Iovera injection in my knee. Now if you know me you know I am NOT a morning person... but I dragged myself out of bed and was even a couple of minutes early. The Iovera shot is a non-opiod treatment that uses extreme cold to stop nerves from sending immediate pain signals. It should reduce my pain after the surgery and should last for about 90 days. Now the injections (there were like 4 or 5 places he injected around my knee) were a bit uncomfortable but right now the knee is lightly numb. If I poke my knee (gently gently) I feel that numb sensation but otherwise it is fine. This surgeon is all about non-opiod ways of controlling pain. I'm also getting a prescription for Journavx, another non-opiod drug to control pain. It is pricey but he gave me a coupon for 50 pills for $30 versus about $15 per pill. 

I had a lovely lunch  on Wednesday afternoon with my quilty lady friends at noon and then we all came back to my house and had cake and talked and talked and talked... afterwards I went to  the pharmacy to get what meds were ready... and then Nick and I met other friends for dinner... a full day.

Thursday still had me running around... we went out to breakfast at our favorite morning spot ...we go there once a week ... I LOVE their baked omelets and Nick loves the pancakes and we are friends with one of the best servers I've ever met. Sandy has been waiting tables for like 35 years and she remembers your name, your order, your grandkid's name, where you live and what you're doing... she is a gem!  After breakfast (I got a baked feta cheese omelet... so yummy) I had to go to the bank and get some cash. Nick had a med appointment with his doctor at 1pm... I had my last pre-hab workout at 4:00 pm... that lasted till 5:00 and then I swung back to pick up Nick and we joined Chris and another family member for dinner. After that we tried to install a Ring doorbell for this family member but realized we needed a wedge mounting kit to get the angle correct... we'll finish up on Sunday.

Friday was finally a quiet day... spent a lot of time in my recliner on the sunroom porch... I needed the break... stitched a little, knitted a little, napped a little. Nick stripped our beds, washed the sheets and helped me put them back on the bed... I LOVE fresh sheets... I recently got a new set of percale sheets from LL Bean for both me and Nick... they are heavenly... they remind me of the sheets my Mom had back into the 60s'. 

As I write this on Saturday I'm working on relaxing ... my nerves are starting to edge up as the surgery day gets nearer... tomorrow I need to get groceries  and stop by the pharmacy for a certain family member ... Monday I'm planning on working out with Anna and Tuesday I'll hang with Elliott for a while... obviously not planning anything for Wednesday and figure I'll just be resting on Thursday ... and I have my first re-hab appointment on Friday. She told me it  would be my "honeymoon" appointment... an assessment of where  I'm at and some gentle movement... then the plan is twice a week for a couple of weeks. 

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts today... not sure what I'll have to show for my time next week ... and you probably just realized I didn't show anything crafty I got done this week... because I didn't... I did get my sewing studio cleaned up and worked on re-arranging some fabrics. Oh I did get a binding on my Vivian quilt... my DIL said she liked it beforehand so I sent it over to their house... but Elliott commandeered it and it ended up on his bed... I know it will be loved!  However I forgot to take any pictures of it... so here's what it looked like on my design wall...

and here's a link to what the quilting looked like...and that is the only tangible crafty thing I got done this week... oh well... some weeks are like that!

If you have a moment on Wednesday say a prayer or send me good vibes for the surgery... I hope you have a wonderful week!

happy stitching-

carol fun 

Finishing up a bit on a Slow Sunday...

 Hello - well the week was  slightly less annoying than last week... so that's something... I'll get to the annoying part later... it has been a hot week weather wise... and I really shouldn't be surprised as it is the middle of July... we had some intense storms on Friday and while my garden was appreciative of all the rain, but the wind beat up the flowers a lot... and the lightning and the thunder and the lights in the house flickering were a bit unnerving ... glad that's over. The week ahead is a bit cooler... 80's instead of 90's and a couple of chances for rain... I'm all about the rain these days... I've had to water all the potted stuff twice a day this week...I'm ready for a break from that.

At the moment the cleome have overtaken the yard... I did NOT plant these this year... they have come back from previous years and multiplied exponentially...

they've crowded out the little zinnias I put along the edge of the beds... so next year I won't bother planting them there... I do love how the cleome look... and they take the heat... and the bees love them... and the deer don't bother them... a win-win... next year my plan is to wait and see what happens... if the cleome come back and the dahlias and the nepeta come back there will be little I need to plant a bunch of new things... which would be a good thing because the older I get the harder it gets to do it all.... sigh...

As for productivity I did get a couple of things finished... yeah for me!!  

I finished putting the patriotic decor away... and I got some of the Summer/chicken stuff out... I want to finish this task by Tuesday as the quilty ladies are coming over on Wednesday... it is good to have a deadline.

I finished the Bent Creek Autumn Soapbox...

not sure if I'm going to frame it or take it somewhere to be framed...decisions decisions.

A side note - I got a new phone and iPhone 17 pro... and so far it doesn't capture green linen any better than my old phone... sigh... but I needed a new phone as the battery wouldn't hold a charge and I couldn't update anything. 

I finished a pair of socks...

this is another pair where I alternated 2 different skeins of striped Opal sock yarn so I get similar but non-matchy patterns... I like the 2nd sock more than the first one I did... but overall they are a nice HAPPY pair of socks. I'm going to pick two more skeins of Opal and knit another pair... maybe something more pink...

And why is it the hotter it gets outside the more I like to knit wool socks?  It could be because the older I get the less I like the really hot weather... give me FALL ... cooler temperatures, less garden work, pumpkin spice stuff!!  All things I LOVE... 

And to put me in a Fall mood I started stitching The Frankenstein by Stitching with the Housewives...

I didn't get real far but I like the linen... I found this in my stash... I painted this a couple of years ago... glad I kept it. 

I'm also contemplating starting this chart... Stay True by With Thy Needle & Thread...

I've been waiting a year for this to be released. It was the project at a cross stitch retreat in Amana Iowa as I recall... and this has so many motifs that I LOVE... that yellow brick house in the middle... the alphabet scattered throughout the piece... that border.... oh that border... so much going on there... I ordered the threads from 123 Stitch ... and I have to decide whether I'll stitch it on a 36 ct fabric as it was stitched on, or my normal 32 ct.... it is pretty large piece ... 229 X 267 ... 12 5/8" X 14 3/4"...  and will be even bigger on 32ct... 14 3/8" x 16 3/4"...  either way I need to dye some linen for this piece ... it might be what I work on after my surgery... 

And speaking of surgery... it is scheduled for July 29... coming up quickly... I'm at that stage where you can't take any NSAIDs... sigh... and several days my knees and hands have really wanted an NSAID... the arthritis in my hands  flares now and then... and right now is one of those times... I can take Tylenol but it doesn't do a lot for me.  I am also getting an injection in my knee on Wednesday... it is called  Iovera   and it is supposed to help with pain after the surgery... I ordered an ice machine and a wedge pillow and the doctor's office is supposed to arrange for a continuous passive motion device which gently bends and straightens your knee ... I have 2 friends who've done a knee replacement the traditional way and said the machine was helpful ... and as you can tell I will do EVERYTHING I can to reduce pain and get me back on my feet as soon as possible!!

Dan the handyman was over on today (Saturday as I write this)... I had a game of musical chairs that needed his help with ... I've been wanting to replace the old recliner out on the sunroom porch... so I ordered a new electric lift chair...  which is sitting in the garage... but instead of putting the new chair on the porch I want to put it in the living room and move the chair in the living room to the porch... and  Dan said he'd take the recliner on the porch which was an added bonus,  now we don't need to drag it to the curb on trash day... so the chair in the garage went into the living room, the living room chair went to the sunroom porch and the chair on the sunroom porch went out the door and into Dan's van... everyone take a seat!!

I'm happy with this ...  it is very soft and it reclines all the way which might be helpful after surgery... 

So upcoming week...  work out with Anna on Monday and I may have to take my car into the shop... the check engine light came on and it appears to be a bad sensor... it's been that way for 2 weeks... but last night when I was out going to dinner it disappeared ...poof!!!  I drove it today and put gas in it and the check engine light has not re-appeared...  fingers crossed it has fixed itself and that it doesn't come back as soon as I cancel the appointment.  Elliott on Tuesday... the Iovera shot Wednesday morning and the quilty ladies for lunch. Thursday a  pre-hab physical therapy appointment and I think Friday only has dinner with friends... 

As for this week's annoyance. I had made 2 appointments for Nick and another family member at the dentist... but I needed to re-schedule one... so I called and left a message... THREE TIMES... and no one responded. So we were out doing errands and decided to stop in the office to get things re-scheduled... and there was a sign on the door... they had closed this office and moved!!  And the office they moved to is a  30 minute drive away... WHAT THE??? What patient is going to drive clear across town when there are other dentists in the area... sheesh... so now I have to find a new dentist for said family member (my dentist isn't taking new patients)... I'm annoyed that they never sent out an email or a text message or a letter informing their patients of this move... I don't think that is too much to ask... and not doing that is very bad customer service... 

Well I need to get groceries for a certain family member and then I'm hoping to get my Summer/chicken decor out ... and I want to sit on the porch and take a nap in my re-located comfy chair... I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts today...

Hope your week is a good one and not annoying....LOL

happy stitching-

carol fun 

Trying not to be annoyed on a Slow Sunday...

 Hello - as I write this on Saturday, and look back, it has been a bit of a pain in the butt of a week... if I had to pick one word to describe the last 6 days it would be annoying... I'll put my griping at the end of the post if you want to skip it ...but my attitude needs an adjustment... I'm trying not to be annoyed...but it ain't easy...

So, I still have my patriotic decor up... my plan is to change things out later this week... going to get out my chickens and my Summer stuff. I have my fingers crossed that I will be fairly mobile by mid to late August and will be able to get out my Fall stuff by the beginning of September. 

And to that end I worked on the Bent Creek Autumn Soapbox... here's where I was last week...

and here is where I am now... I went and filled in ALL of the BIG pumpkin... that was A LOT of stitches...I should get this one finished this week.

The color of the linen is off in this pic,  it is truer in the first pic, but I moved it to 4 other places in the house it it didn't get any better...sigh...

I also looked ahead to some Fall  stitching... I found these two cuties I'd like to add to my Thanksgiving display.... they are from Notforgotten Farm ... here's a link... 

first is John...

and Priscilla... I think I'll change the turnip she's holding to a pumpkin...

And I want to do this piece from Bent Creek...Let Us Be Thankful...

I want to finish this piece by Pineberry Lane... looking at this now I might  stitch a couple of those pinwheels things up top and just call this done and make it into a little pillow...hmmm...

and I want to stitch this little Frankenstein from Stitching with the Housewives...

because I think he'd be a great companion to this Frankenstein cookie jar that I got on eBay...

he is from Debbie Mumm and I don't ever remember seeing him before an evening one nighit, mindlessly scrolling on eBay... but I think he is adorable!!   Just like the Debbie Mumm Frankenstein fabric I used to make a Halloween Stack N Whack quilt...here's Frank...

and here's Frank...

and here he is again...

I cut all the blocks out of this striped fabric...

And here's a pic of the whole quilt...

This quilt is at least 15 years old... back when I used polyester batting and did my own quilting... sigh... a long long time ago...

I do love Stack N Whack quilts.. if my memory serves me correctly I've made 7 Stack N Whack quilts,  and if you click on these titles it will take you to a picture of the quilt...

Debbie Mumm Christmas...

Quiltmaker's Gift...

Phillip Jacobs Petunias...

Phillip Jacobs Brassica (that's cabbage in French)...

Phillip Jacobs Spiral Stars...

Mary Engelbreit Stars...

As you can tell from my list, Phillip Jacobs does GREAT fabrics for SNW... I have another one all cut out just waiting to be assembled... here's my blocks... and I've got a Momo one partially cut out and partially assembled... here's where that is, but I'm going with a more spaced out arrangement... and there are these Tula Pink blocks.... not sure what I'm going to do with these... need to look for some nice fabric for the corners and some sashing... and I swear there is a box with the start of an American Jane SNW...wait I found it... 

 I have lots of triangles cut, but only 4 blocks assembled ...sheesh... perhaps I should buckle down and complete one of these projects ...perhaps... but as you can tell I am a WORLD CLASS starter... finishing is an entirely different category... LOL..and when I started to write this post I had NO idea this is where it was going... anyway...

I'm hoping the week ahead is better than the one I just left behind... here's when you can exit if you don't need to hear me bemoaning my week ... it started last Sunday when Nick and I tried to go out to the grocery store... and the garage door would only open about 1 ft... grrrr... one of the springs on the door broke and there was no way to get it open. I went online and booked an appointment for Monday morning for a repair... and the young man, came early and quickly knocked the job out so I was able to go and work out with Anna... and for that I am grateful... however it was a pricey repair and in retrospect I might have been able to get it done cheaper... sigh... what is done, is done... but I'm annoyed at myself... should have done more research. 

Tuesday with Elliott was lovely... we watched math videos... something about the Golden Ratio and Rao's theorem... huh??? I'm totally clueless but he seems to understand it... he does LOVE math... as I've said before, he's waaaaaaayyy smarter than I am. 

Wednesday  got frustrating.  I need a new phone... mine doesn't have enough memory to be updated and it doesn't hold a charge worth a darn. So I broke down and went to T-Mobile to get a new phone... but they didn't have any in stock... grrrr... so they shipped it to me...  delivery window was between 6:30 -8:00 pm Friday...and I had to be available to sign for it...which I did... and now I have to go back for them to activate it... annoying. Also tried to figure out and book some physical therapy for before and after my surgery. I've already been there once and had an assessment and filled out a bunch of paperwork....however I got an email saying please fill out these forms... there were 24 separate screens to fill out... and I swear these are the same questions I was asked less than a month ago... nothing has changed... needless to say I was annoyed. 

Thursday I dealt with a certain family member... stressful and annoying.

And  Friday  turned out to be the most trying day of the week... I had a pre-op appointment for my upcoming knee surgery... it was at 1:00 pm... at 11:00 am I get a call (from a number I don't recognize so I don't answer it) ... it is the doctor's office saying I need an EKG (which I knew about, but they hadn't given me a time or date)...well, they wanted me to come in and do it before the scheduled appointment... I wasn't home when I got the call, I was about 20 minutes away. The  doctor's office is close to my house and everything is in one building BUT... that is short notice and it meant I needed to be there right at lunch time ...when several departments are closed or short staffed. Anyway I get there and the phone message said to go to the 4th floor... so I did... and as I get to the door of the cardiac lab it says "You need to register downstairs before we can do your procedure"... arghh... so I go back to the 1st floor, but that's not where you register... you have to go the the lower level... sigh... which I do... and as I'm registering the nice lady says "let me call upstairs, I think they're at lunch"...well they said I could come back up and a very nice nurse did my EKG. Then I went down to the 3rd floor where my doctor is. I was about 30 minutes early for that appointment but they took me in quickly... and then the wheels fell off again... I had done blood work a week or so ago in anticipation of this appointment, but it turns out they hadn't put in orders for everything that was needed... and I needed a nasal swab and a urine test...arrrrgh... which meant I had to go to the 2nd floor to get that done... sooooo I rode the elevators up and down and up and down and down and down... it took till 2:00 pm to get all this accomplished... and I'm still a bit apprehensive that I got everything taken care of... I'm going to send the doctor a message and confirm on Monday.

I have to admit that lately my knee has been feeling pretty good... and I've seriously thought about pushing back the surgery... but Friday was one of those days... I took a naproxen at 11:00 but my knee was throbbing all day... I ended up sitting in my recliner with an ice pack for most of the afternoon after I got back from the doctor... I'm assuming this is God telling me to get the knee replaced...NOW... so I will... 

Saturday was peaceful... thank you Lord... I sat out on the porch with an ice pack and knitted a bit and cross stitched... a good day. 

Today I'm going to help a certain family member with groceries and Nick is making dinner for us... some garlic butter shrimp dish from Costco ...he's adding  grilled asparagus and putting it over angel hair pasta... I'm looking forward to that.  Next week has the usual stuff in it... workout with Anna, spend time with Elliott ... on Wednesday,  I have a hair cut appointment and I need to change a family member's glucose monitor... Thursday looks quiet...shush, don't tell anybody  and  on Friday I have to take that same family member  to the dentist.  So yeah... it looks busy... we will see what I get done that is crafty... 

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts today... I hope your week ahead turns out exactly as you want it!

happy stitching-

carol fun