Still Kickin' -- just not too high!

I'm still kicking, just aching and sore, wondering when my chiropractic adjustments are going to make me feel better, instead of 'run over by a sugar beet truck!" This project below is almost the sum total of 2 weeks of non-sewing. My daily naps, normally power naps of 5-10 minutes have extended to 2-3 hours!, then early to bed. Even if I have a spurt of energy, that long nap doesn't leave much time for pleasure sewing, does it? I'm working in the morning, which gives this sore body something productive to think about.

This piece of fabric ended in my stash, but was difficult to use. However, at last Guild, there was a 'call' for pretty cloth bags to hold papers, pamphlets, and information given to women patients visiting the Cancer Center, to help keep it all together, and so they know someone cares.

Look at the poor overworked, bent-over guy! "Tote that barge - lift that bale!" I don't know why he insists on snow-blowing every space possible! -- Even the alley, as well as the whole block, and then comes in the house, complaining like a XXXXX, and conking out for the rest of the day. This was last Sunday - a beautiful snow and not too cold.

And the last photo is my once-pleasant deck, complete with the Welcome Sign. Funny! Look how deep the path is. Overall, we had about 12 inches.

A Book, and a Quilt in Process

I am shocked at the obesity we are seeing - on the playground, in the shops, at the grocery store. This book explains one major reason why the obesity rate is shooting up. In addition to life changes, FAT, SUGAR, and SALT are commonly added to our foods by the food industry, and they affect our brains/body to want MORE of everything! Some of us have been thinking this might be a contributer to obesity, but lack the background to investigate. The author is an MD, former Dean of Harvard Medical School, and also of Yale. The first half explains what is happening to our brains/body, how the manufacturers are taking advantage of body reactions to FAT, SUGAR, SALT, and huge proportions. He describes how these items are slid/sneaked into our foods under various names, hiding their presence. I would suggest this book to anyone who is struggling with guilt for overeating, or who is responsible for feeding families. The second part of the book gives suggestions for combatting this overpowering industry that wants us to eat MORE, MORE, MORE, affecting out brains to demand MORE, MORE, MORE!

... and I admit, I was drawn to the book because of the photo of the Carrot Cake! I weighed 10 1/2 lbs. at birth and have been struggling since childhood to keep my appetite in check, and feeling guilty most of that time. It is a new book and on the New York's Best Seller list.


Now, for something quilty, FINALLY... a Pineapple Blossoms in progress. The colors are a bit brighter in person, and I've used almost all stash. It was looking a bit 'blah' so I added the fushia, and bright blue here and there. There will be horizontal sashing yet to make, with light cornerstones. And YES, I saved the cut-off triangles, trimmed them to 2 1/2 inches - a perfect border! This is from Bonnie Hunter's Quiltville.com Quiltville.com which she taught last month in Casper, Wyoming, and where I finally had the pleasure of meeting her. I'm only allowed to sew (and blog) for short periods of time due to this pesky pinched nerve thing which is taking waaaaaay too much time and energy for my liking!

Ardis Wannabe Project for this Month

Our Ardis Wannabe (artist want-to-be) item pulled from the bag at last Guild Meeting was a little brass bell. For those who choose to participate, we can create anything, using that item as inspiration to make something - no rules except it has to be DONE, and we suggest Keep It Simple. mmmm, well, there is the old farm dinnerbell on my back porch, and that's as far as my pea brain would go, and THAT was no-where. But, I've wanted to try Tonya's LazyGal Free Form letters for a long time, and this is what came out of it tonight during a sewing frenzy - strips everywhere, threads, cut-offs etc. (I did not include a photo of the floor!) LOL I only thought of using 2 highly contrasting fabrics. Thanks Tonya for the idea! Words look so cool in a quilt border and this was my trial run. This took me about 2 hours with some short breaks to stretch. Wonky was what I wanted! I won't be hesitant to try them again on a REAL quilt.

Moving Slowly and Carefully

This is the backing for my recent QOV quilt. I feel so thrifty and frugal, using up over 4 yards of decent fabric that did not have a home. These are 10 1/2 in squares. If one wanted to start with FQs, I suppose 8 1/2 inch squares would work better. I skimmed through a LOT of fabric, and ended up with 100 squares in all, so have a start on another backing the next time. This cutting of squares was "a good thing."

I'm still here, moving slowly and carefully - NOT sewing for more than 30 minutes at a time due to pinched nerves, crooked neck, painful shoulder and arm.

But over the weekend, I noticed I actually felt GOOD, a wonderful change to feeling crummy, depressed, 'poor me', wiped out, etc. Dr. says I'm making progress, but if careless, I still have trouble getting dressed without electrifying pain zingers down my arm, or fixing the top of my hair if it takes more than one hand, applying deodorant! LOLOL! And trying to put on a snug winter hat is a joke -- instead of putting a hat on my head, I kinda hold the hat in front of me with my good arm, and DIVE into the hat! LOL This one arm is NOT going over my head, at least not yet, so I leave my elbow tucked snugly into my side.

I also managed to finish a Round Robin block that I cannot show since it's a mystery but my-oh-my - the gals before me really did stunning work! My job was to add a curve.

So gals, if you have a neck ache following any kind of injury, especially for those of us over ??? years, you may want to check it out with an x-ray. I have no idea when this happened to me - probably just a bit every year, over time, but even I, with no medical training, recognized that my neck X-ray indicated something seriously amiss.

Short Post

My, My - what a horrid post that came through! DH raised his eyebrows, I hollered at him for 'clicking' to see what it was about. I'm sorry if anyone read it - definitely not for the faint of heart, and I was able to delete it quickly. It started with a lot of question marks, so if you see it, don't open it! 8-(