Relief

Not blogging as much as I used to.  I feel lots of the time like I'm in a brain fog.  That would usually upset me, but I'm going with it.
I have to tell you about my "healing" experience.  I've been holding on blogging about it, didn't want to jinx myself.

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to meet with  Brant Secunda  (scroll down the page on this link)
for a healing.  Miss Skeptical here decided to throw fate to the winds.  I figured that he had as much chance of fixing my head as two neurosurgeons with hammers and a drill, who pretty much admit that they are clueless in my situation.

It was nothing like I expected.  The warmth and love and goodness in the room were palpable.
The actual process didn't take long.
My daughter and I went together, and when we walked out........there should  be a drum roll RIGHT HERE.............as I went to get in the car to drive to the main lodge, I realized that I did not have a headache.  For the first time in two years.   I tearfully turned to my daughter, and asked her what I realize now was a pretty comical question: "Where the hell did my headache go?"
Seriously.
I shook my head.  It was still gone.

Do you know, or can you imagine, what it felt like to be without my horrible companion of two years?  I have become so accustomed to it, in all of its variations, but mostly its CONSTANCY, that suddenly I felt lightheaded, and a little confused.
My headache stayed gone for an hour.  We went and had a lovely buffet lunch with the group, before we left for home.  It was heaven, I tell you.  A simple lunch with good people, and NO HEADACHE.
I can't even begin to describe how I felt.
Hopeful.  Free.  New.  A little unbalanced, in a good way.
When my headache came back, so gradually that I hardly noticed it, it was dull for the rest of the day.
I was ok with that.
It was still a relief, especially since I had driven the two hours down there with a smasher, asking myself if I was crazy or what, not staying home on the couch.

The next day, I woke to find that someone must have hit me across the face with the proverbial 2x4.
It was an awful day, and I DID stay on the couch with Roy.
Brant relayed that it would get worse before it got better, that he was still working on it for 5 days.
Be patient.  Wait.

I am not a hysterical kind of person.  My kids refer to me as Inspector Gadget, because I always get to the bottom of any mystery.
Not this time.
I don't understand it.  But more than that,  I don't care.  I'll take it.

Today has been 5 days, and for whatever crazy reason, my head is better.  Not perfect, but better.
I have had a whole day of a TWO.  And then mostly THREE.  No off the chart days since Monday.
I am tentatively impressed.
Who wouldn't be?

And I can't ignore one clear and simple fact.   FOR ONE HOUR, I did not have a headache, for the first time since October 2011.  I don't know what happened, but it is clear even to a doubter like me, that SOMETHING HAPPENED.

So today, I am going to enjoy my 8 year old granddaughter.  I don't get enough chances to do that.  Lots of times, I haven't felt good enough to do that.  She has no school, and her kitchen was accidentally destroyed by fire yesterday,  so she needs a quiet, no stress day with her Mimi.
And that's what matters.

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Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Blog Tour

Today is the day I get to share my block in Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Volume 8! It's always such a great resource for beautiful and unusual quilt blocks, from traditional to modern. My block is called Watermark.

I wanted to create a layered look - where one shape appeared to be sitting on top of another. I think the effect is truly visible when the blocks are set block to block. The corners inter-mingle creating Four-patches and you really lose sight of exactly where the block is. I love when that happens!

And I had to find out how the block would look in a completely different fabric line, so I made a four-block quilt using a layer cake of Scrumptious.

Now it's on my list of quilts to make! How about yours?

Now for the fun news! Quiltmaker is offering a giveaway of this latest issue to one of you! Leave a comment here and I'll choose a winner Friday afternoon, November 15th. Be sure I have a way to reach you!

And for more blog tour stops and more giveaways, hop on over to Quiltmaker's Quilty Pleasures blog. Hope you win!

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All the news that is news.

I think we should call this one "Black Jack".........although we don't really know if it's a Jack or a Jackie........either way, Next does NOT want this intruder near his dish.
So poor Jack has to eat out in the driveway.

And we're guessing that, while not exactly feral, he has reason to be afraid of people in general, cause he runs if it even appears that you are coming outside.

But Black Jack has ideas of his own, and we've seen this before.  It was exactly how Nuff started out.  They did the posturing, they fought, they tolerated, and then they became buddies.

I hope that it happens this way again, so Next won't be alone outside.  I have tried to bring him in, and he really doesn't want to be there.  

Next just really wants to make it clear......I AM the boss, this is MY place.
If you agree, then there's food and water, and a couple nice places to sleep.
A solar house, too.

 I had a BAD week last week, right through yesterday.

 But I am doing a Scarlett O'Hara impression, refusing to think about it.

On the studio front, Crazy as a Loom is still in business, in spite of my dual role as a SLUG.

 
The fall delivery of socks and loopers is all packed away in the barn.  The yard is cleaned and looking GOOD.  (thanks, Claire)

I am keeping a schedule that should embarrass me, but doesn't, not really.
I get there, I do some stuff, just nothing like I used to.
Times have changed.
Trying to find my new normal.
Still.
And occasionally, I weave.
Have mercy.

Thank goodness for 75 yards of warp that will keep me busy for quite a while. 
And tomorrow,  time for a visit to that sweet girl, and her Mommy, who is also a sweet girl.

Here she is in a sweater that her Mimi (that's me) made her.
Heart be still.

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TGIF

How times change. It used to be that I would pop up every morning, take Roy for a walk, and head to the studio.....and that was just the beginning of my day.
NOW, if I can do those two things, I feel that I have climbed a small mountain.  Anything after that is all good.
 It's ok.  I'm adjusting.   I really am.  I am a little shocked that I am, but I am.

Here's a ray of light.   Baby Dale, our little princess.

 Talk about perspective.

I have spent more time on my couch in the last two years, than I ever have in my entire life.
While it may sound strange, it has taught me more about myself than I would ever have imagined.
Roy, however, had it down from the get go.

Vicky over at WestraWorld has "choose joy" on her sidebar.  She talks about that decision a lot, as she walks the path she's on, and it's often a tough one.
I admire her more than I can say.  She inspires me.

I choose JOY, too.

And btw, TOMORROW is Lois' birthday........I'm not saying how old she is, but I know she'd love to hear from you all.

Happy Birthday, L!!!

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Bangles...

When I flipped through Sarah Fielke's book,  Hand Quilted With Love, the first time, the gorgeous "Bangles" quilt caught my eye immediately. Oh no, Y-seams. Yes, every seam is a Y-seam. I decided I'd just enjoy the picture in her book. No curling up with this quilt on the sofa. But then I saw this one and this one. Armed with some encouragement and inspiration, I set out to make my own Bangles quilt!

I started with the beautiful prints from Blythe, some coordinating stash fabrics, and the pattern. The quilt uses templates and I decided it could be rotary cut with my hexagon ruler {I added painter's tape to mark the exact lines I needed} and a freezer paper template.

And to my surprise, I found that I rather enjoyed all those Y-seams. It was a slow process, but not a difficult one. Actually a rather relaxing one.

And I so love the result. The colors, the intricate-looking design, the play of pattern...

Love it all...

I'm always a bit afraid to start quilting on a quilt that I love so much. I ended up doing a back and forth wave on the print fabrics using a yellow Aurifil thread which seemed to blend nicely with all of the colors. I was able to stitch from edge to edge across the quilt by quilting half a "bangle" and moving on to the next one. Starting again on the edge, the second halves were quilted.

In the white hexagons, I quilted a flower motif. I drew this freehand with a disappearing marker. You could easily do this without marking, but I like having a line to follow.

The back is several pieces from the inspiration line. I hadn't planned on using the darker floral piece, but found it on my recent trip to Virginia and couldn't resist adding a bit. It's so beautiful...

We're enjoying an amazingly colorful Fall this year. I couldn't resist sharing how nicely the berries on my Beautyberry bush compliment my quilt. Every Fall I'm in awe of them. Living proof that we can make beautiful quilts, but only God can make the beauty found in nature.

Enjoy the season!

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Checking in.

Just a few photos and a hello.  I know you've all been wondering where I've been.

Whoever said recovery from surgery on your head was easy?
Ack.
The Alleve that the doctors put me on twice a day, to inhibit bone growth, started to have some nasty side effects.  So I emailed my doctor, and he told me to stop it.  So I did.
About a day and a half later, I felt like someone had hit me in the forehead with a baseball bat, complete with nausea.  
At first, of course, I thought the worst.  I worried. Here we go again.

Then my daughter suggested that maybe I was having a 'rebound' headache from taking the Alleve twice a day for 3 and a half weeks.

The overuse or misuse of pain relievers -- exceeding labeling instructions (such as taking the drug three or more days per week) or not following your doctor's advice -- can cause you to "rebound" into another headache.

When the pain medication wears off, you may experience a withdrawal reaction, prompting you to take more medication, which only leads to another headache and the desire to take more medication. And so the cycle continues until you start to suffer from chronic daily headaches with more severe headache pain and more frequent headaches.

Pain reliever overuse appears to interfere with the brain centers that regulate the flow of pain messages to the nerves, worsening headache pain.

The next 48 hours were horrific.  Not just a headache, but a sick headache.  Oh, joy.

But I think it is letting up at last, and I think she was spot on.  Just what I needed, right?

I feel pretty much like a slug.....getting just about nothing done.   I have managed to keep Roy walking though.

The weather has been crazy, cold then wet, then warm, then windy.
With occasional sunshine.

 

 Poor Lois has been holding the fort.  
With not much help from me.

I am hoping this passes quickly, and I can get back to my "old" headache.
There's nothing like the devil you know.

 I read a story today about a young man who fell out of a tree stand, while he was hunting.
He crushed C3,4,5, and was paralyzed from the neck down, on a ventilator.
They extubated him so he could answer their question:  do you want to be on life support, or not.
He didn't.
They left him off the machine, and he died several hours later, with 75 family members and friends in the room, singing to him.

One thing that I have always been terrified of, is being paralyzed.  I would also choose the alternative.

I am glad they gave him the choice, and didn't try to make it for him.
I'm done letting people "inside my head", for real.

This is going to be a table runner, it is much thicker than the towels.

 Here are four more towels off the AVL.  Red.

 Rust.

 Gold.

 Blue.

  Still doing a day at a time.
Dreaming of better days to come.  

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WIP Wednesday...

It's been over a week since my last blog post! Doesn't mean I haven't been busy! It's Wednesday - the perfect day for catching up and linking up to Lee at Freshly Pieced!

The Weekender Travel Bag... I've had the pattern and fabric for over 6 months. My plan was to find a chunk of time and power through it. Obviously that's not working, so I've come up with a new plan. Do a few steps each week with the goal of completing it by Christmas. Hold me to it - please! So this week, I'm cutting it out and making the piping.

Camille started a quilt along on Instagram of her Round and Round pattern. It's one I've had on my list, so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to get started. I'm doing something a little different from my typical white background ~ Moda Bella solid in Breeze. It's kind of a minty, green/blue, aqua-y color. One block down...

I'm on a Thimble Blossoms roll and also started Starlight. I thought it would be a nice stash quilt...

and I'm enjoying the scrappiness of it!

And I finally finished my Bangles quilt. This one deserves it's own post and I'll share more when our weather improves so I can get some better shots. I'm so happy with how it turned out ~ the fabrics, the Y-seam piecing, the backing and the quilting. More details to come!

Be sure to check out all the other WIPs over at Freshly Pieced!

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