this and that

just plain lovely here today...not hot, not humid, sunny, gentle breeze....it's june!  i've a few mundane things on my to-do list but plenty of unplanned hours too....the mailman brought me a lovely package yesterday....

a very nice moda door prize from sarah over at "hands 2 help" a charity sew along she chairs every year.....i've already got plans for the tote....the little stitch book has grids for squares, hexies, triangles and diamonds....a great take along!

before i got back to sewing, picked up this cross stitch to finish....was going to make it a pin cushion but rather will just stuff it and use it for fall deco....i love pumpkins!

my sewing set up is L-shaped but found that the gentle twisting from machine to iron/cutting board was problematic so retrieved this from the shelf....it's a portable ironing board given me by my dear friend marianne some time ago....i never went on retreat so it's been waiting for now obviously....it'll be a year next week she passed away....a very long year without her quips, chatter and friendship......she is missed.  

farmer's markets are in full swing but until i graduate to 4 wheels, off limits i'm afraid...maybe next week? 

halfway progress

june is half done and taking stock of my "one monthly goal" status.....not too shabby!  the guild charity top is half done...this little wall quilt is a flimsy too....

 

my little pile of dargate baskets is dwindling with only 39 to baste....then it'll get put away for a take-along project....

and since my sewing mojo has recovered somewhat, pulled out an official UFO and my box of kaffe scraps for more little houses.....

my design wall fell down again....the command hooks hate my concrete walls....so i'm making do with it hanging precariously on my shelf unit....but aren't they cute?   need to make 36 in all....and they are fun too!  

it's week 7 after surgery and progress is steady but too slow for my liking....anxious to be on two feet and driving again....been using the stationary bike more, very gingerly as PT advised...now that life is slowly returning to normal in the world, anxious to do some fun things again.....soon i hope!

long may she wave!

hope you are flying the flag today on Flag Day....despots, crooked politicians and even bad presidents have failed to destroy the democracy represented by the stars and stripes....would the founding fathers be surprised the republic has survived through all that has transpired in nearly 250 years?  for an eye-opening view into the struggles they faced, recommend reading "the federalist papers".....

and our family never forgets Flag Day for it was my Dad's birthday....

 

for a time he served in the civil air patrol and visited cape canaveral in FL......he would have been 98 today....

recovery from hip and dental surgery continues....the infirmary is just about closed and sewing mojo is returning slowly.....will have photos later this week....beach vacation just 82 days from now....now bring on monday!

two for thursday

 

more serendipity sewing and now there are two butterfly blocks!  also, the little blues and bricks is done except for its borders, a weekend task no doubt.  with june nearly half over, plan to cut up the remaining 49 background squares for the blue basket project.  am determined to get them all basted as my One Monthly Goal!  

all home care providers are done except for PT with 2 more home visits....that may extend to outpatient.  i've 3 days for strengthening the leg, some mundane home chores and a serious tidy.  the dental visit is history but more to come more when i'm fully ambulatory.  today was able to stand long enough to make a batch of turkey meatballs for the freezer and i'm hoping to make some yeast rolls this weekend.  i sure do miss being able to hop in the car and do my own errands.  the transportation and delivery expenses i've had during this injury have seriously dented my budget.  thankful our county has a free ride service for medical appointments and an all-important bookmobile that comes every two weeks. 

a notable day

it was 77 years ago that D-Day occurred....June of 1944....it was just a month later that my own dear dad arrived on Utah Beach....the war changed him forever; he never really recovered like so many who served, but at least he returned home; weary and ill but back to those he loved and who loved him.  he wasn't my dad then but nevertheless he is revered and honored....my mom's uncle was on a coast guard ship off Omaha Beach picking up the dead....a thoroughly gruesome and heart-wrenching task....

back to sewing news!  one monthly goal progress continues.....there are 49 baskets left to applique, but first background squares have to be cut....

do confess to a bit of a detour.....a friend has been on a layer cake purge, sewing like mad using one after the other on some really cute quilts....one was a butterfly pattern from Quilty Box....i caved and got the pattern before my vacation and a Tula Pink layer cake, aka really bright fabrics!  here is the first one...

still needs some applique.....all 9 that i'm making will be different but a very colorful small quilt nonetheless....

and as if a broken hip weren't enough to occupy me, a chipped tooth necessitated a dental visit and another this coming week....plus the nuisance of stopping my blood thinner, giving myself shots every day, another clinic appointment to make sure my level is back to normal....

regarding the hip, the cane is here and will be tackling ambulation sans walker with the OT this week....it still hurts but pain slowly waning....if i'm back to two legs (3 with cane) and able to drive and moderate exercise by month's end, i'll be a happy camper.  

even though challenges seem to keep coming, am very blessed and grateful....my thoughts and prayers are with those with no voice and no choice....my daughter and i researched the rehab facility where i stayed and found they are chronic offenders of HIPAA regulations....nasty business indeed!

and so it begins!

starting June with ONE MONTHLY GOAL, actually 3 of them....not to be an over-achiever but to make up for the past weeks when sewing and even fabric were far from my mind.   my official OMG is this aged UFO.  about 20+ years ago, bought an entire FQ bundle of margo krager's dargate indigo fabrics.  i used some here and there but settled on a massive basket project.  a small quilt was given to my daughter and SIL, leaving me with a gazillion baskets all cut and ready to applique.  June is going to be the month all the baskets get basted onto background squares in readiness for take-along sewing days to come and my fall vacation.  

another June goal is to get this little quilt top finished....bricks and blues.  The blue is leftover from the scrappy DWR partnered with other leftover solid scraps. getting this to the flimsy stage shouldn't be difficult...

lastly, i've a kit from the guild for another charity top.  this will definitely get done as well.  i'll continue to quilt on the New England Sampler but doubt it'll be done by month's end....no problem.  

now that summer temps have arrived, the summer clothes have to be unpacked and the apartment needs a thorough go-thru, being neglected now since late April.  my OT has declared me fit for advancing to the cane at next week's visit.....and finally, back to driving before month's end....hopefully not too ambitious goals!

new carrot

 

have decided to participate with this online sewing monthly goal group.....though not quite ready to start sewing again, shouldn't be long at all....a few good nights of sleep would help immensely but more difficult to achieve than i'd wish....once i get back to sewing, will have to get organized and get some things done, hence the accountability!  ***  dear daughter called today to say she had unearthed her cane, so i am guessing that is the next milestone.  the home care RN says another two weeks will probably be a huge step forward....on two solid feet!  yesterday did manage to hobble up to laundry room and wash a load, dry on racks and fold.   *** still managing to quilt some altho my shoulders are beginning to balk a bit from the walker....i've been watching old series of SNL on peacock and as roseanne rosannadana says...."it's always something!"

back at it....

that would be quilting!  a few days ago finally had enough energy to pick up this hand quilting project again and am trying to spend time each day with it...

hand quilting the cross hatching now and when done, will go back and outline the applique work....

recovery continues at a very slow pace, but progress is made every day.  today had to venture out first time alone with the walker to medical appointments.  dismayed at how tiring it was so no quilting until rested.  good reports but of course i am impatient for getting completely back independently mobile.  another morning appointment tomorrow.  am itching to get back at the machine but simply no oomph at all.  it is four weeks today since the injury, so enough of this nonsense now!!

hanging in...

with inch-like progress but progress nonetheless.....home therapies in place and a real shower/shampoo rounded out the week.  no sewing yet but have been working away on a small cross-stitch piece...

a little pattern called "quaker pumpkin" that'll make a nifty pin cushion when done....and this chuckle was in my mailbox earlier this week....

dear daughter and son-in-law arrived today for much needed support and brought back my new stash, all washed, dried and folded, patiently waiting for some fun....had forgotten what i had bought!

have just about regained lost ground from rehab, but with situation now stable can hopefully advance a bit faster....thinking another two weeks will make a big difference.  hoping sewing muse returns sooner rather than later....

homecoming stash

whew.....been a very long time (april 18th) since i've slept in my own bed but a 2-hour nap was the perfect way to begin...on my arrival from maine fell in the driveway and fractured left hip, bruised left knee.  off to hospital for open reduction and fixation then a brief but ghoulish stint in rehab.  tops on my prayer list from now on are those in places without any voice or choice of their own.   it is the 21st century version of a vile prison i do believe.  thankfully my regular exercise served me well and due to my cardiac situation that was completely ignored, got sprung quickly with home care and assorted adaptive doo-dads.  in my huge pile of waiting mail was this...

a bright layer cake by tula pink....i seldom buy precuts but a friend made a butterfly quilt with one and it caught my eye and of course, these fabrics will make it wow!  thanks joe....LOL!

while in maine some sewing was done and happy to report that four of my jan patek nativity sections are now done....i didn't have the lamb legs with me or they would have been completed as well...but close enough and good progress.

lastly, dedicate this brief post to all my family....being a single without a close faith community and during the pandemic, they held me up, kept me going and in their prayers....it's been an awful 18 days recovering.  they sent these to me ahead of mother's day...dear daughter and son-in-law were and are my local angels....again and again God blesses me with His favor....