A finish and an update

Oh my - I haven't posted in a month! Well, to begin with, I have a finish -  Paint Splash. I shared some pictures of it in progress last time.

This donation quilt is 59" by 66". 

I used Finesse #3285 Light Wool 40-weight thread for the quilting.

The motif is a free-motion horizontal stipple and I added stars, swirls, hearts, and leaves for interest.

The backing is from my stash.

Ray is doing well and has learned to not be an over-achiever; he had a little set-back from too much exercising. He is walking better and doing more each day. We've also learned that he shouldn't expect his new normal for 6-12 months.

Ray was with me when I saw my Bone Health doctor. They had quite the conversation since the doctor had his knee replaced 3 months prior to Ray! 

I'm doing well. My daily shots for bone health are done and I will have an infusion in the near future that should stabilize my bone density for a year or longer. That will be ongoing for a few years. My bone density increased more than 6% during the last year giving me some really strong, dense bones. 

I am gaining strength and walk a few thousand steps each day. It's hard to believe that last fall I averaged less than100 steps a day one week. Last week I averaged over 7,000 steps a day. Every week gets better and I'm beginning to add more exercises. My stamina is still a work in progress but getting better. One day last week I cleaned my closet - that's the first extra thing I have done and I'm working my way through a list of things I want to do. (Quilting is NOT an extra thing; it is a necessary thing!)

We've enjoyed watching some of our grandsons participating in ballgames, soccer matches, and a track meet recently. We also took a 'hike' a few days ago at Blackhawk Springs Forest Preserve. We stayed on the paved path which made it easier for Ray. We enjoyed being outside in some open spaces and also enjoyed a picnic. It was a gorgeous day although a bit windy.

Next time we'll try some of the off-pavement trails.

Another day we met Ray's brother and his special friend at Grace's Place in Cascade, Iowa. We enjoyed a good lunch, some delicious pie, and a great visit. It is wonderful to finally be getting out and doing some things.

These blocks are currently on the design board. I still need to decide the actual layout.

I'm very grateful to feel well enough to quilt and/or sew almost every day. 

A real outing...

Today was a beautiful day and we decided to have a real outing.

We went to Lake Le-Aqua-Na State Park. After driving through the park - we stopped for a LITTLE walk and a picnic. Here is Ray with his camera.

We were standing on a small bridge over this stream.

The sky was beautiful and the temps were in the 60s. 

For our picnic, I heated some potato soup before we left home and put it into a thermos. I also grabbed cornbread muffins and some veggie sticks. 

It was so nice to have a somewhat 'normal' day. 

The secret project is finished and I will share when it is gifted. I've been working on the quilt below. The top will probably be together by the end of the weekend. 

Ray is doing quite well with his new knee. Of course, his recovery is not going as fast as he'd like but he is progressing. He's been released from care by the gallbladder doctor so that is behind us. Ray is able to do more and I'm thrilled that he is doing some chores, especially ones that are hard for me. He still has Physical Therapy twice a week and I'm still his chauffeur.

The last appointment (I hope) related to my back is next week. I'm doing well although my progress got slowed a bit while Ray was out of commission. My stamina is slowly coming back but it is coming. My step count is growing every week and I'm stronger. 

It is so nice to be on the recovery side of the surgeries.

Goodbye March!

It's almost April! There isn't a lot of quilting going on here but hopefully there will be soon.

Ray has a new knee. The MAKO robotic surgery went well and Ray is recovering nicely. Let's back up a little. He had surgery three weeks ago on Thursday, 3-10-22 and came home on Friday, 3-11-22. On Saturday night, 3-12-22, he began having stomach pains. They were so bad that he finally went to the hospital by ambulance at 1:30 AM. The hospital is about 30 miles away. I made it to the ER at 3:10AM (time change happened). It took the rest of the night, many tests and finally a scan to figure out the problem. He was having a gallbladder attack! He's never had a problem with his gallbladder and it was full of stones!

Okay, fast forward to the knee recovery. This past week, he progressed from the little walker (the kind people put tennis balls on the legs) to the super duper walker that seems to be all-terrain. He became even more mobile then and within 24 hours he began using just a cane! He is regaining good mobility and his prognosis is great. He got the staples out yesterday, 3-30-22 and also got to stop wearing those darn TED stocks.

Today, Thursday, 3-31-22, he had Da Vinci robotic gallbladder surgery. The surgeon told us a couple of days after the ER visit that it should be removed. After the surgery, the surgeon told me the gallbladder was in really bad shape and needed to come out. Wow! The doctors all think this surgery won't slow down his knee recovery. We arrived home mid-afternoon and he is doing well with pain.

It has been quite a March. Did I mention that I had a bone density on 3/1 as a follow up to my spine surgery and on 3/8 I had a colonoscopy?! And this morning our VERY EARLY trip to the hospital for surgery was in snow, slush, and wind before the snow plows got to work. We made it on time but not one minute early! I'm thankful that I drive a Jeep. 

We both look forward to April! And I really hope to be quilting soon...

First projects of 2022 and more

My first projects of 2022 are my first projects using the longarm.

The first one was actually my second practice piece which I decided to finish and use. I took some leftover Christmas jelly roll strips and sewed them end to end. Then I cut 8 - 49" strips. 

I made this 16" X 49" table runner as a QAYG (quilt as you go). Everything except the binding was done on the longarm. Each time I added a strip (after the first), I quilted the previous strip. It was good practice, educational, and I ended up with a Christmas table runner. Not bad! The back is some Christmas fabric from my stash. I used Finesse #3285 Light Wool (light gray) thread.

I made the second quilt at least a year ago. I used scraps from my orphan and scrap bins and added the green because I thought the colors popped with it. I call it the Bright Green Quilt.

I quilted this with a free-hand double loop. The larger loops are probably 4 - 5" in diameter. I couldn't quilt large motifs on my domestic machine so I just had to try something a little bigger. It was fun and so fast! The stitches are beautiful - my stitch regulator is wonderful.

This quilt is about 50" x 57". The back is a bright green that I found at Quilting in the Valley in LaSalle, IL. 

There is a very good chance that I will get caught up quilting my finished tops this year!

Health update:

I was released from my spine surgery care yesterday, 1-18-22! Today I began weaning off of the last pain medicine. That will take 2.5 months.  

My scans show that my hardware hasn't moved since surgery which is great. And they show that bone is forming next to the screws and rods which delights me. I take daily shots for my bone health and this is proof they are working.

I was told 3 - 6 month recovery and I was released from care 3 days prior to 3 months. My surgeon's PA was amazed at my scans and said no PT! I will now work to get back strength and stamina. I need to go slow. I can do that - I have experience, having worked my way back from my first spine surgery in 2011.