Still MIA For A Bit

 Well, I've been MIA for a bit and I apologize for that. My husband had his total knee replacement surgery on the 14th of this month. It went really well, took a bit longer than expected and when the surgeon came to see me right after, his comment was, "A bit more than I anticipated from the x-rays. His knee was...a mess." When I asked if that was his medical technical term, he just repeated, A Mess.

He's doing his PT Monday, Wednesday, Thursday on site and every other day at home and is coming along really well and I'm very proud of him. Having been through all of that many years ago, long before they were doing replacements, I can verify that it's extremely painful but so worth it to fight through it all. He'll make it through the other end and be more the better for it. 

Having said this, I am his chauffer, therapy coach, chief cook and bottle washer, laundress, fetch and carrier and pretty much anything else he just can't do though if I think he can, I'm pushing him to. I'm behind on the quilt and am going to try and get to the store now that I can leave him unattended and not worry about him doing something stupid. I've really got to get my batting so I can get it to the machine quilter or I'm going to run out of time for anything. I'm hoping I can get it to the store on Monday for her to pick up on her regular day which is Tuesday. Fingers crossed.

If anyone is squeamish, don't look, but this is one of the best knees I've seen after surgery. It's so much more colorful now though. The bruising will keep changing for another week or so as the scar tissue tears and heals. Can't help that. This was eight days out and it looks fabulous! I am so impressed with this surgeon.

The Top Is Done!

 Well, I managed to get the top finished yesterday, thanks to Thing 1 for the use of her machine after mine died. My new machine came today and it's the BOMB! (I know, showing my age, I don't care!) I'm hoping I get a few years out of it at least.

This was very much a lesson in mixed media use and what not to do. I used a kit purchased from Colorado Creations Quilting called Genna and Gerry which you can also buy as just the pattern. The woman does a wonderful job putting the batiks together in the kit. Everything blended together, no jarring out of place colors, the instructions are clear though I must admit, I much prefer doing 9 patch in a strip rather than actual patches, but it worked. This was my first time using batik however and the jury is out on whether to wash them first or not. I opted not to. I rather wish I would have prior to starting, but I'm not sure how much of a difference it would have made.

Batik by nature is rather stiff and feels thicker to hand than the panel that it surrounds. The panel also has quite a bit of give because it's lightweight and the batik is not. The dye and wax used in the color process for the batik makes it...less than giving. I don't know if that would change had I washed it first, but I have another kit I'll be working on later in the year so I might try washing that to see if it makes a difference. 

I'm also hoping to get just the plain part of the border machine quilted which will cut down a bit on time for me, but I'm waiting for the woman who does the long arm to call me back. I don't know if she'll just do the border and if so, if I'll need to quilt the panel first or not. So, Monday, it's off to buy the cotton batting and my Gutermann thread along with some other threads I'm thinking will work. In the meantime, here's the top, finished and waiting for the next step. I think I like it.

And Once Again...

 I cut out my nine patch pieces. I'm not happy with sewing nine patch like this. I prefer the strip method by far to piecing them individually but this is the way the kit came. The fabric for the patches were all cut in large squares rather than strips so I had no choice. It's very tedious though and time consuming and makes it harder to match up and consequently square up the blocks, but I digress. I managed to get through eight of the nine blocks and once again, my Singer machine broke. 

This is my third Singer. I will never buy another. They all, at least for me, have the same inherent problem. The bobbin jams. Badly. And usually when I'm either at the end of what I'm sewing or when I'm in the middle of something delicate. I'd had the machine repaired and cleaned just prior to the pandemic and then had done several small hand pieces so hadn't used it. This is the first time I pulled it out since having it serviced. This time, it lasted about two hours. I have one block left.

The only Singer I have ever had that worked flawlessly is the treadle machine I learned to sew on that was my mother's machine. All it did was sew. I did one thing. It sewed in a straight line. It didn't go backward, didn't do buttons, it sewed only as fast as I worked the treadle. It was the very best machine I've ever used. I still have it. I'm half tempted to get it cleaned and gone through. Maybe I'd have better luck with it. In the meantime, I'm off to borrow my daughter's Brother. Maybe I can get the top pieced and ready before I run out of time.

It's Been Awhile...

 It's been a long while really, since I've had much impetus to blog at all. It's been a long while that I've had much ambition for anything. My depressive side has won out a lot this past year or two and I'm tired of letting it control me, so I'm going to make an effort to stifle that and move along.

Thing 2 is expecting in July and I have had a somewhat contentious relationship with her since her teen years, but she's my daughter and I love her and I want to do something nice for her and the new baby, so I'm doing something new for me. I usually do patchwork quilting or crazy quilts but this is for a baby and has to be something that can go in the mouth, so I decided to try a kit for a change. Since giraffe are my daughter's 'spirit animal', I thought I'd make a quilt that has something giraffe and was fortunate enough to find one from Colorado Creations Quilting. 

Today I got everything opened and sorted. The picture shows the pieces laid out and some of the other flotsam. Tomorrow morning, I'll press everything and start cutting. By the weekend, I should be ready to start my quilting though I'll have to get my batting. I'm fortunate to have a few family owned quilt stores near me so finding a cotton batting should be no problem.

This is going to be my catch-all blog so for now, I'll post updates on the quilt. As time goes on, you'll see pictures of my flowerbeds and my canning and maybe what I make for dinner or what I'm reading or even my pets. You might even get the occasional earful since my husband is getting a new knee in a few weeks and this ought to be interesting! Who knows. I just know I need to do something to get out of my funk and start living again.

So here we go, my first project. I have until sometime in June when the shower is. I hope I get it finished by then and if not, she'll get it at the shower, but I'll take it back to finish it up.