Fiber and Pulp

Projecting

Today is a lovely summer day - warm but not blazing hot, humid enough for comfort but not breathless, nice. Birds singing, breeze blowing. :) Mind you, I observe this via my windows as I have not yet been outside today. Skip is on his way home from work to take me to my fourth physical therapy session so I soon will be. :)

My knee continues to progress - the therapist said I could cut back to three exercise sessions a day which has freed up a little time for other chores. I am at the point now that I only need the cane to go up and down stairs (and mostly for safety then:). My knee still aches and the cold water pump is still very much my friend (my treat after my exercises:) ... but, for three weeks after surgery, I think I am doing pretty well!

Yesterday was the monthly session of Sew & Tell (meeting at Normandy Sew and Vac in Ellicotty City) and it was wonderful to see my friends there. I gave out the Christmas gifts I got for members (might be the latest I've ever delivered holiday gifts:) ... and had a great time catching up with everyone and their sewing/quilting projects. :) 

I bought a new book while I was in the store - I am eager to make several of the projects in this:

I have been tidying places I can get to in a chair - which means that my computer/desk is finally usable again. YEAH! :) I managed to find all my current in-progress journals so I can keep notes, sketch, ephemera, etc. Very much stream-of-consciousness productions. I would not call any of what I do 'art' journaling ... but the pretty project on the cover of my new book wants to be made for a watercolor-worthy sketch book that I can carry around for en-plein-air adventures. :)

The socks are an assortment of mateless pretties that I've uncovered during the bedroom tidy (which is still only about half finished). I've been trolling through my saved files, looking for patterns to create stuffies with those socks. So far, I've found three that I want to try: a dragon, a bunny, and a monkey. Oh, and a kitty:

that I like but will have to figure out for myself as I only have a photo. Good thing I have lots of fiberfill stuffing on hand, eh? :)

I am still restricted to hand sewing - still (sloooowly) cleaning up for my sewing room. I have managed to make some progress on my EPP projects - I finished a small pincushion using hexies:

I need to find my silk thread so I can sew them together a little more invisibly - you can clearly see the beige Aurifil 50 wt. thread I used for construction. :) I decided to make boxed corners - I like that the pinnie stands nicely on the table - instead of a 'pillow' shape.

I'm working on embroidering the candle mat with hexies still - and having fun with it. Can't share that, yet, as it is a gift. :)

My physical therapist is fussing at me to wear shorts to sessions (I didn't own any:) -  luckily the order I put in for shorts and tops was delivered this morning so I can dress appropriately. :) I still don't have any sneakers, though (they want me to wear closed-toe/heel shoes and I only have sandals). I will not order shoes via mail - I'm too picky about fit. I haven't been able to get Skip to take me shopping for them (I hate to interrupt his weekend relaxation).

I am soooo looking forward to my four week appointment with the knee surgeon on Friday - I desperately want to be able to drive for myself again! :P

:) Linda

PS The end of the six month period for probating my Mom's estate is soon. I spent a chunk of time this morning sorting through my receipts and making a list of monies I have spent - shocking how much it takes for these purposes. Gotta call the real estate agent later, too. :)

Many Happies

As usual, my life is crazy busy when it isn't quiet and boring. :) The past two days have been busy - happy busy for the most part.

Yesterday morning was the second monthly meeting of the English Paper Piecing Club at Springwater quilt shop, led by Patti Rusk. My friend Barbara took me to the meeting and picked me up after (she is not doing club - went grocery shopping while I sewed:).

What a pleasure it was to relax and be a 'civilian!' :) This month we worked on a Dresden Plate candle mat with a larger-than-usual circle in the center for the candle. I am using Kona solids for my project and purposely picked out eight 5" squares in what I think of as a 'Patty' palette (purple, blue, green) because those are the favorite colors of my buddy Patty S. :). Each square makes two Dresden wedges for a total of 16. I will share a photo soon (the pretty bits are downstairs as I type this and I am up; I plead bum knee:).

It was great to see the show & tell that folks brought to club - including, besides EPP finishes, some hand embroideries and some wool appliqué. I also got some visceral happiness out of browsing through the shop after club, petting the pretty fabrics. :). I quite like the row project and license plate Dawn chose for the summer hop. I am looking forward to visiting area shops during July and August to collect patterns. If I get to go to GenCon with Hugh in August, I will have a great excuse for visiting Ohio and Indiana shops. :)

In the afternoon after club, the home Physical Therapist came for my last visit. Yesterday was the 14th day after my knee surgery and she took put the suture staples. Truthfully, that was a somewhat unpleasant process - 35 staples too a while to pluck out and some of them stung, despite her best efforts to be gentle. However, it was no worse than getting the blood thinner shots (every night for 19 days after surgery - that's almost done, too!).

The very BEST part about staple pulling is that now I can take showers again!! YEAH! :) Hot running water is soooo wonderful compared to a sponge bird bath from the sink. Heavenly! :)

Thursday mornings my 'traditional' guild meets. My friend Barbara, newly retired, picked me up and we went to guild together. It was so good to see friends - some of whom I have not seen for a couple of years, others who were regular visitors to the shop. Today was Love Quilt day - they were putting together packets of 9" squares to make kits for sewing over the summer. I gave my knee a break and set out working this time. I got up to visit with folks then sat to rest for a while by turns. I had taken my Dresden project along to sew but I don't think I took a single stitch in it - too busy visiting and chatting. :)

Tomorrow will be a quiet, routine day at home. I have to spend some time researching Physical Therapists for my out-patient visits. Other than that, I think I will try to accomplish some light housework mixed with some reading. After two days out, I know I will need to rest.

:) Linda

Progress

I think the iPad interface (which I am using for this post) appends photos at the end of my post? You can see a picture of the small (2"x2"?) strawberry that I created there. Yes, that means my desktop computer is still down.

Yesterday (Sunday) Skip and I took my comp to the Apple store in Columbia Mall to be fiddled with. They got it to work fine for them (after reinstalling the system). I used it for about an hour when we got home and it began doing nasty tricks again. Sigh. Skip is going to have to do some more diagnostics before we try taking it back (he is convinced that somewhere I visit online is infecting the machine with a virus).

We went walking while we were at the mall (a place I have clearly not been for many months - there is an entire new townhouse/apartment complex being built on the approaching road that I don't remember ever seeing). Maybe I pushed myself a teeny bit too hard - we walked about 1/2 mile - but it felt good to get out. I had been thinking on Saturday about how stir crazy I was getting. :)

I am still doing the daily eat - exercise - rest ... Repeat. I am using the cane entirely now instead of a walker and am down to taking the pain pills three times a day instead of every four hours. Progress is slow but steady. :)

I decided not to go to my quilt guild meeting tonight so my knee can rest ... But I am planning to go to my day guild meeting in Thursday morning. I have a meeting on Wednesday morning of the EPP Club at Springwater Designs shop. Not sure how I will get there, yet (still can't drive). Guess I will call Dawn to see if anyone else in the group is near me.

Hope to get outside for a little while tomorrow. The weather is the most perfect June sort and I am missing it all!

:) Linda

PS Before this surgery, I spent months chatting with customers and friends about their experiences with knee replacement recovery. I am going to try to make a list here in my next post of the good ideas people shared with me - I do have to go through this at least once more and I'd like to remember the useful items. :)

Goodie Share, Part 2

Looks like this is going to come out to be two posts only. Yeah! :)

You may recognize the set of four prints in my haul - the newest edition in the Ghastlies series by Alexander Henry. I giggle when I see these characters. Such interesting ... people. :) I have a random assortment from past collections of these folks. Again, I am in the Gathering phase of a Halloween quilt with these guys.

The most important, most exciting news in my life right now - in our family life - is that my daughter (my oldest) is pregnant with our first grandchild!! I am thrilled beyond telling and so is my husband (you have to be a good observer to find him out, of course). Due date is sometime in early December.

:) Linda (on cloud nine, as they say:)

Goodie Share, Part 1

I have taken my morning meds, changed my bandages, eaten breakfast and done my first round of exercises. It is taking me about twice as long to do things. The up side is that I feel less stressed, more 'in the moment.'. Everything has its pros and cons. Grin!

The iPad interface to Typepad appears to limit the number (or maybe the total amount of storage space?) of photos I can post in one go ... so I will have to share my goodies over three posts (I think.).

There is a new collection from Timeless Treasures that includes this nice linen-look background and an antique-looking map (of England?). I am always drawn to map prints in any color way. I think this one might work for the Sand Castles pattern I downloaded several years ago. :)

Michael Miller has a new collection of game themed prints that I HAD to have. :) I don't know what I will make with them - I have several other fabrics in my stash to go with (am in the 'gathering' phase of this project. I am a pretty good Gatherer. :)

Linda (continued in next post)

Cool Tools

I noticed this morning at my doctor's office that the Yucca flowers are about to bloom. Definitely early June weather. :)

You just never know where you will find inspiration for quilting. :). This is the front door mat going into Dr. Silverstein's office. Would make a pretty banner (yes,yes, I know that sometime, somewhere, a real graphic artist probably developed that design and, most likely, some floor mat manufacturing company owns the copyrights to the design .. This does not prevent me from being inspired by the mat!)

I went to see my doctor because my Physical Therapist thought I should. I had a small (3" square?) area of skin infection on my shin, below the incision. My doctor was not concerned about it (he told me to buy some chlorohexadane detergent to use until the area heals and to go back to wearing the compression stockings).

He also told me that I am doing "exceptionally well" since I am getting around by cane in only one week after surgery. He said that lots of patients say they have a high pain tolerance but I am one of the few he has worked with that actually do. I don't know about that. :) I am just happy to be doing well - I honestly did not expect to be making such good progress so soon! (fingers crossed)

If you have never had major surgery (or don't spend time around a profoundly handicapped person) you may not know about the various specialized tools available to ease daily life chores. I have been getting an education!

The cute white bucket-like item in the photo that I have my foot pushed into is for putting on socks. :) I cannot bend my knee to get to my foot in the usual way, so you stretch the sock over this form and use it to pull over the foot. The tool even has a long leash so you can pull it. So useful! :)

Another cool appliance is a really nifty cold water pump combined with recirculating water pad. I can cover my sore swollen knee with the blue pad, plug in the pump, and enjoy blessedly cool water on my knee for quite a while. Ahhhhh! :)

Of course I have two excellent assistants (besides my wonderful husband and patient son) who are always happy to supervise my progress. :) The one I caught in the act most recently is our Grande Dame, Bright Eyes - who at 20+ years of age has great nurturing skills. :) She is monitoring my exercise progress and purring like a motor to be sure my healing is rapid (did you know that we think that is why cats purr?:).

I think I mentioned that I ordered some fabric online (from Hawthorn Threads? Studio?). The goods came today and I got to photograph and pet them. Now I get to enjoy thinking about how to use them.

I guess I have exceeded my iOS allotment of photos. Will share the goodies next time.

:) Linda

Brief Technical Break

My iMac is having i/o issues. I have a lot to tell but can't get the machine to listen. Sigh! Mobile platforms are aggravating to use so might wait for repairs.

Saw my knee surgeon this morning. He was surprised to see me moving with only cane (surgery was a week ago yesterday). He says most people can't manage it until a month of healing (shrug). I am recovering well enough to light house cleaning. (Sitting down - dusting, pick up messes, vacuum).

Back as soon as technology permits.

:) Linda