Of All the Gall! Now Optimistically Onward :•)

Of all the gall– gall bladder that is! Distracting me from my quilting! I had surgery to remove it on Dec 20. Surgery went well but, one week later, my abdomen is still a bit too sore to drive or go back to work–  I cannot yet painlessly or quickly make the  switch from gas pedal to brake pedal in the car. However,  I just tried yesterday afternoon and I can use the foot pedal control on my sewing machine. Alleluia!

Don't you just love the euphoria of starting a new project?  You love the colors you picked. You relish the feel of that fabric you have been drooling over as it flows under your fingertips. You swoosh with ease through the multiple layers of fabric with your rotary cutter, freshly outfitted with a new blade.  This new blade does not have that repetitive glitchy hitch like its predecessor from when you ran over that pin once early on and convinced yourself then it was too new a blade to replace. You enjoy seeing how that pattern you picked really "works" as you figure it out and get into an assembly rhythm. You are convinced that at the stellar rate you are progressing you will have completed all 257 blocks of your most eye-catching creation by tomorrow morning. Aaah, the splendid departure from reality.  I love being in that zone! Here is a peek at a new quilt I have started out of batiks.

I love the color intensity. The fabrics I have shown read like a solid but some of my other selections are a bit more busy. I hope I can combine hues varied enough to contrast against the business.  We shall see. I am using fat eighths instead of fat quarters as called for on the pattern and so far, so good. I will reveal the pattern in another post but I am very pleased with its layout, illustrations, and instructional detail. And what quilt does not have just a few half square triangles sprinkled in for zest?

Since I am home recovering next week as well, I plan to sew and blog a bit several times during my recuperation.  Stay tuned. Gee, what a shame I cannot yet drive to the grocery store and lug those heavy bags into the house.  "Lift nothing over 10 lbs" per doctor's orders.  But the weight of a fat quarter? Not even close!

After my November kidney stone incident and before my December gall bladder surgery, though not fabricating any quilts, I was thinking about quilting... honest!  To speed recovery after surgery you are encouraged to think calming thoughts, recite positive affirmations, and visualize relaxing scenarios.  The night before my surgery the last thing I did before bed was walk through my sewing room, focus on my design wall (Grinch quilt still poised there), then gaze at and stroke several fabrics in my stash.  I reviewed my pattern collection. I told myself if things got dicey I would concentrate on the assembly of my next quilt to distract myself. Some people envision a sunny serene meadow or a shady forest glade to soothe.  For me, it's the beauty and intricacy of a quilt in planning. Quilting. Better than yoga meditation.

I have not yet discovered if I've cut any pieces wrong. I have not yet had to stop to discover a creative way to recover, to find a close twin fabric to substitute. I have not yet put the blocks on a design wall and, with self-doubt, chastised myself with, "What were you thinking...?". Hopefully those events will not occur.  But if they do I will rise to the challenge... and still love every minute of it.

Slight Setbacks, Not Seeing Red, Mini Xmas Gifts

My daughter just pointedly hinted to me today that I have not posted a blog entry in a while.  How does one tactfully say in a quilt blog that sometimes there are life events that take precedence over quilting? By chance, most certainly not by choice, I was indisposed one long week in November passing a kidney stone. Afterwards, I did manage to whip up some mini-projects for Christmas, but then had to undergo gall bladder surgery the third week in December. (Yuck, let's avoid details on that.)

I made some Christmas flannel burp cloths in a Grinch print, an antique toys print, and a snowman and snowflake print. I forgot to take pictures of the snowman/snowflake ones but maybe my daughter will take some being clutched tightly in my granddaughter's tiny little fist. I pre-washed the red burp cloths separately and was I glad I did.  The red Grinch flannel bled terribly.  I used the quilt detergent Synthrapol and two Shout Color Catcher cloths which came out hot pink and still, the white flannel Grich print came out muddy looking.  I repeated the wash with Synthrapol and two new Color Catchers and they again turned pink and the white flannel looked awful.   I then washed them (yes, a third time) with Era laundry detergent and two more color catcher cloths (yup, up to six) and the Era removed the muddiness from the white and transferred it to the color catchers.  It is my go-to awesome detergent and I do not understand why so few stores carry it. Note: I never dried the burp cloths in the dryer between multiple washings.  They did, however, sit out a bit air drying while I was contemplating my path forward.  Here are pix of the Grinch and toys burp cloths. Note the Grinch's recovery to sparkly white. The beige toy background started beige and remained that way despite the burgundy toy flannel.

I made up two cloth books that came out really cute.  One is Winnie the Pooh themed, just like the nursery.

The artwork by Joy Allen in the second cloth book is just precious and the colors so rich and inviting.

I made another pillowcase for my son-in-law.  He is such a trooper with Elliott and Emily, the two cats that my daughter brought into the marriage. Elliott has hero worship of my highly allergic son-in-law (must be male bonding) and will not leave him alone.  At least I can supply a steady stream of pillowcases for frequent changes to go with the allergy pills for counteracting sniffles.  The cats are curious about the baby, too. 

Hope all had a Merry Christmas. Also, here's hoping I will not wait so long to post again.