Sunday, September 16, 2012

Should be a fun week

A new week with a new adventure!  The Springfield MO quilt show is this week and we are going up to vend.  I love vending at shows for several reasons:  I get to see beautiful quilts, and I get to visit with the nicest people.   

I stitched this little piece this week.  Very quick, fun, and small enough to quilt on my Bernina. 


Got over the blahs from last week.  Decided #1 - age is just a number so get over it, #2 - floaters aren't really so bad after all (I learned if you try to focus on one that it scurries away so when there's a particularly annoying one, I look at it and wha-la, it goes into hiding LOL), #3 - although my husband's vision continues to decline in his left eye, his right eye is still good and we are thankful for that.

If you're in the area and planning to go to the show in Springfield, stop by the Sew Graceful booth and say hi!

Monday, September 10, 2012

A lot happened

It's been a busy few weeks.  First, my husband had another stroke in his eye.  He had one in his left eye about 4 years ago which caused blindness in the left eye.  Fortunately (and surprisingly), he regained sight.  This stroke was in the same eye but wasn't as severe.  His vision is very blurry but we are hopeful full sight will return.  The perplexing thing is what caused this stroke.  We've done lots of reading and found they are caused by high blood pressure, low blood pressure, rheumatoid arthritis, or diabetes -- none of which pertain to him.  He had a carotid artery ultrasound to rule out blockage or placque.  So, we are kind of in limbo.

I had a birthday.....ever have one of those birthdays where you just feel old?  Well, if so, you know what I'm saying.  I felt old.  A few days later, I experienced very quick flashes of light followed by black dots and squiggles in front of my left eye.  Yep, I have floaters to contend with now. 

A friend appliqued the center portion of this top and I added the half square triangles.  Wish I could say it was lots of fun but that would be a lie.  The pattern was very poorly written (no measurements given for the center pieced part) so I referred to the pattern that was recently published in Quiltmania.  Those measurements were incorrect but I didn't know that until the center had been appliqued.  Consequently, my sashing strip had to be cut larger so the triangles would fit. As a designer, I realize errors happen that's not what really disappointed me.....the disappointment was that the designer wouldn't even have the courtesy to answer my e-mail asking for a corrected version.  Oh well, it's over.  If you're planning to make this and would like corrected measurements, I'll be happy to share. 

 
 
This cool weather is making me itch to hand applique.  How about you?  Do you find yourself wanting to applique in cooler weather?