Side Effects and Christmas

So I've started chemotherapy and it's not a real positive experience. In preparation I bought two really cute wigs because the doc said I would definitely loose my hair and it fell out by the third week. These days when you go through chemo treatments you get loaded up with steroids, anti nausea medicine and even more anti nausea medicine so you really aren't supposed to get sick. I don't get nausea, but have experienced just about everything else.

The steroids are a trip and cause me to burn on my face and hands, like a bad sunburn or a hot flash that stays for several hours. I sleep with ice packs on my face and keep lots of moisturizer on my face and hands. On the third round I experienced burns and blisters on the palms of my hands and fingers. No, quilting for this girl, I couldn't use my hands for three days. The engineer put on my shoes and tied them for me. What a great support he's been through this journey.

I'm get a treatment every three weeks and the worst side effect is that I'm so tired I don't have the energy to do much of all, including quilting!Getting ready for the holidays has proven to be a chore. This Christmas season will be very different and quite for us. I have a treatment schedule for December 23rd. Merry Christmas!

Size Trumps Everything or Welcome My Pity Party

The reason for the bilateral mastectomy was that if my lymph nodes were cancer free I would be done. No chemotherapy,  no radiation, I could proceed directly to go collect $200 and head right into reconstruction. I jumped for joy when my doctor told me my lymph nodes were free of the cancer. Then he said, the "H" word, however, your tumor was 5.5 centimeters, which is huge and size trumps everything in the cancer treatment world. He told me I would need chemotherapy and radiation after all. What! Call me stunned, the Engineer must have been too, he didn't say anything.

"Size trumps everything," was the response I heard with every objection and option I presented. I fought it,denied it, wouldn't talk about it. Then I read about the side effects of chemo, I cried, then visited denial again and crying some more. 

I was sick of hearing "that" phrase. All the doctors used it. I finally succumbed to their reasoning and counsel falling deeper into a Pity Party.

For about a week and a half, life was all about me and my poor pitiful self. I'd lost my breasts and was headed for chemo and radiation, why me? I deserved to feel sorry for myself and everyone told me that was a part of the process and I was justified. 

I ran into a friend who told me she had cancer. It was in her stomach, liver, lungs, pancreas, and headed for the vena cava. Then she said the doctors had given her a year to live. In a split second I had an attitude adjustment. She started telling me all the things she was going to miss in life while my heart grew heavy with her pain. I was so grateful that I only had to have chemo and loose my breasts, I was one of the lucky ones!

I wanted to do something to ease her pain and being a quilter you know where my thoughts went. That night I decided to make a quilt to comfort her. After finding out her favorite colors I was shopping within 3 days. I already had a pattern in mind and had the top pieced four days after I bought the fabric.

Here it is on the guest bed/ "design bed" without the borders. 

I'm including a close up of the border so you can see the main fabric that inspired the quilt. This picture was taken after the quilt was finished. I quilted it in a meandering pattern with flowers and hearts.

I wanted the quilt to be way comfy and warm so I put minky on the back. I was my first time using minky and it was easier than I thought. The Engineer gave it a test run the evening I finished it and he gave it a thumbs up declaring, "it works."

My friend isn't going to have any treatment other than medication to keep her as comfortable as possible. She wants to enjoy and be alert for the life she has left. She loves the quilt and uses it all the time, even in the hospital when she has to go.


Since the day she told me about her cancer I've had a good attitude about mine. I pray for her and her family, she's strong. I admire her and her daughter who I'm sure have shed their share of tears. The quilt brings her lots of comfort and it was therapeutic for me to be able to make it for her.
One doesn't have to look very far in life to find others who are worse off than our selves, no matter how bad a situation we are in. Life is good and quilting makes it better!
Look out chemo, here I come!

Post Surgery

I wrote this post back in September and haven't had the courage to publish it. I received an email from Lyn who told me her story. She reminded me of the power of sharing and that one sentence can make a difference for someone else who is suffering.
To Lynn: Thank you for sharing your story. My heart hurts for others who have trials like yours and those who suffer silently. Here it is...


They're gone, I'm sporting an ace wrap that you could wrap a house in and then there are the drains. I'm sure many of you have experienced the post surgery drains; they are the worst and it will be a happy day when I get them removed. I empty, measure and chart the contents 3 times a day.

I actually ended up having 2 surgeries as one side developed a hematoma and 2 days after my initial surgery the only way to relieve this was another surgery. The second one kicked my butt and I was pretty much a wasteoid. I didn't start to feel like a human again until a full week after the second surgery, not quite a full human but getting there. I wanted to wash my hair.

The hardest thing after the surgery was taking a shower. The engineer took off the ace wrap and helped me hang the drains on a ribbon around my neck then I saw myself in the mirror for the first time. I gasped then cried. I quickly turned away, it was devastating. I looked again through tears which brought more tears. He held me from the back and rubbed my back lightly while telling me how much he loved me. I sucked it up and took my shower while thinking  life could only get better from this point. It felt glorious to wash my hair.

As you can imagine I'm not doing any quilting but thinking about it a lot which makes me happy!

Cancer Is Consuming, Quilting is the Best Distraction

     I don't want to be a downer but when you have a cancer diagnoses it is all consuming. The engineer and I held the news in because we thought we didn't want to talk about it. Looking back I think we were still in shock at the news and there were so many unanswered questions.
     The only thing that made me forget about my cancer was quilting, and I did. I'd helped two young teens in the past with a fun pattern called "Disappearing Nine Patch" which turned out so cute. I wanted to do one for myself. I had four Timeless Treasures Tonga Treats Charm Packs, two of Coffee Cake and two of Champagne in my stash for some time and decided to use those. I loved the light and dark values of the Treats.

The Champagne treats are values of creams...hang on you'll see them in the next few pictures. 

     While I don't have a picture of the actual nine patch from my quilt here's one I found on the web. It helps you to see the concept.

     Being in my sewing room brings me peace and the time flies so quickly. Before I knew it I had my four charm packs sewn into nine patch's, next step cut them down the center horizontally and perpendicular then I squared them up keeping them in batches of four of the same block. I had no instructions, just thought I was supposed to do it this way. 

     Layout! I love laying out a quilt and since I don't have a layout wall I use the guest bed. I tried several designs over two days, giving me plenty of time to look and think then look again. On the second morning I decided to scrap the idea of keeping the four same blocks together and arranged them by color and value, Eureka! This was it! I sewed it together in rows and got this. 

Both the Engineer and I like the gradient look with the darks being in one corner and the lights in another. What do you think?  I used all the darkest blocks for the center of the nine patch, which is the patch that gets cut into 4 small blocks. You are also seeing the border for the first time. I got this batik backing and border piece for 50% off! What girl doesn't love a sale?!?! I had some champagne squares left over and put one in each corner of the border. I was so excited to get this one done and still hadn't had surgery yet, bilateral mastectomy, so I quickly scheduled some long arm time. I used a sort of detailed pantograph and King Tut variegated thread called Caravan. This picture is a close up of the quilting plus you can see some of the Champagne Tonga Treats a little better. (look for the rectangles)

Surgery is coming up, it's schedule for September 9th. Not sure how I'll feel for a while. Glad I have some quilts to snuggle up in. 

   

Zig Alley, the Man's Quilt

My nephew asked if I would make him a quilt when he graduates from high school.
"Sure," I said, "What do you like?" I asked.
"One just like this, it's a mans quilt!" He said as he wrapped my Zig Ally Quilt around his shoulders.

I'd never thought it as "Mans Quilt" But I can tell you that is is a favorite of the engineers. I know I had fun designing and making the kit, this was one of my first kits. I had my friend Alice, who is an incredibly good quilter piece it and another friend, Diane did the long arm work on it.

If you would like this quilt for the man, or anyone else,  in your life I sell the kit which includes the tool to make a perfect square triangle, fabric for the top and binding and complete instructions on my website for $65.

Sister Chicks Quilt Kits

When the Tough Get Cancer the Tough Quilt!

I sat in the parking lot stunned. Really? I kept saying "really" over and over thinking what I heard wasn't really what I'd heard. But it was so, I had a large tumor in my breast and the doctor said it had to come out within a month.

I called the engineer he immediately started coming up with solutions while I hadn't even thought of the problems that he was coming up with solutions for! I know that's what engineers do best so I let him call the kids while I drove home in silence.

A few days later, I was still saying "really" and still didn't want to talk about it. I needed a distraction so I did what any quilter would do, QUILT! I turned off my cell phone, turned up my music and I put together two quilts in two days! 

This is a picture of Robert Kaufman's Best Dressed, Sweet Pea which I used for the main block of the quilt. I chose this print for my niece Becky who loves to design and draw dresses. 

  

                                  

I used a kaleidoscope ruler to cut the eight pieces of the main block and added the pink corners to end up with a square block.

 It was early evening, I was on a roll and wasn't thinking about the cancer news, I couldn't stop sewing and decided to finish this top before I went to bed. You can see I did, about 11:30 pm I dropped exhausted into bed with a great feeling of accomplishment. Here's the top on the guest bed.

A corner close up of the pink and black fabric that blended so well with Dress Up. 

I wasn't planning on quilting the next day, however I woke up feeling so invigorated and the sewing room was calling me. I started a quilt back in March and put it away when I didn't have the patience to square up the 9 patches. Do you ever get stuck on a step then end up shelving the project for a while?  I pulled out the pieces thinking it would take all day to square them up and within an hour I was adding the black and pink borders. Time was flying! Off to the guest bed for the layout which bent my mind a bit, its so easy to make a mistake. I recommend a layout wall or bed, if you don't have those available a big floor is the next best thing.

In this picture you can see the nine squares with the black and pink borders, they make up the center of the quilt.

The original directions didn't include the black border but the engineer suggested it and I'm glad he did, I think it enhances the orange and outside border.

On a side note when I finished this quilt the engineer said in his most polite tone.
"Will you feel bad if I don't snuggle under this quilt with you?"
"What? You don't like this quilt?? I asked.
"I like your work but I have a problem with pink and orange together." He said.
"I just don't think pink and orange go together."
Our nieces came by and I'd been worrying that I made a quilt for one and not the other so I asked Hannah what her favorite colors were,
She replied, "red, orange, pink, black and gold."
The engineer and I gave each other knowing smiles, we knew where this quilt was going. It was bittersweet gift as this fabric made me sing. I makes Hannah sing too.


Here it is quilted, finished and washed.

May The Force Be With You When You Quilt

Boy 1, who is my oldest son, was 7 months in the belly we went to see Star Wars. There wasn't anything like it and the sound was so loud. He was active and kicking the entire movie. The Engineer and I became instant Star Wars fans. It was natural evolution that our children all became fans and still are to this day. 
I bought  this Star Wars panel 10 years ago and had good intentions of putting it in a quilt for Boy 1. When Boy 2's wife said she would like to put it together I sent her the panel along with the Yoda & Darth panels (not pictured) on the back so she could select the rest of the fabric. Well, she got busy - three kids will do that to a person. She got as far as purchasing the rest of the fabric for the quilt and I then told her I could find the time to put it together. Back it came in the mail and below you will see the results of shopping and shipping. Boy 1 loved his quilt and sent me these pictures of it. 

I quilted the borders in what I call circuit board. I practiced drawing this first on paper. It's just like stippling where you don't want to work yourself into a corner. Then in the panel flames seemed appropriate  I used King Tut variegated thread in  red, yellow and green. I wasn't very excited about this project until I quilted it and then it came alive. 
Although these photos do it little justice, any Rebel on Hoth would have rather wrapped up in this quilt than a gutted Wampa. May the force be with all your quilting adventures. 

Quilting addict, I am. 

No Waste Windmill

The first time I looked through a book of quilt patterns, I fell in love with "No Waste Windmill." Quilters might think I used the 'Twister Tool' to make this quilt, but instead I used the pattern from "Rotary Cutting Revolution." I love batik fabric and quickly started collecting batik pre-cuts when I caught the quilting bug. I had a Bali Cracker (10” squares), called Pomegranate.  The pattern called for 8 inch squares so I figured that using 10 inch squares would increase my quilt size, pretty good figuring . 

Hoffman Bali Cracker, Pomegranate

Like my first quilt, I wasn't sure I understood the instructions but was anxious to get going, so after reading them several times I began cutting. When I had everything cut I laid the cut blocks out in a windmill pattern putting darks next to lights. And wow! I loved it! It was the perfect size for my guest bed. But the joke was on me as I would later find out just how much a quilt can shrink when you have a ¼” seam on the side of each piece.

Since I don't have a layout wall I use the "Layout Guest Bed!"

  It ended up being perfect size for the back of our couch and The Engineer loves using it when he's up late reading.

A note about the 1" wide binding: I needed a border and fell in love with the pink & green I've used as binding but there wasn't enough so I bought my #2 pick for the green border. I wanted to show the pink & green off so I added the extra thick binding. 

No, you're not seeing double! The quilt below, ended up being shipped off to my ailing step mother, once an avid quilter herself, who says she loves having something beautiful on her bed. The Engineer was not about to part with his when I suggested sending her ours his, so my option was to make a look alike. I chose like fabrics instead of using the Pomegranate collection.

The long arm quilting is much cooler on the "look alike" quilt. I designed and made a pantograph with tropical leaves and Hibiscus flowers. 

Everyone Starts Somewhere...

When I saw "French Braid Quilts," by Jane H Miller & Arlene Netten, I was instantly hooked. I decided a while earlier that I was going to make a quilt for my Mom since she had never received a quilt but had them made for each of her grandchildren. I took the book to the fabric store and started picking out batiks. It took me several trips to different stores to find all the batik fabrics that would blend to make the braids.

Some of the 14 braid fabrics, before cutting.

Love the end one, it looks like clouds.

What was the most difficult part? First, selecting the fabrics. Then re-reading and understanding the instructions; this was my first quilt! Cutting took me several evenings as I laid out my piles for each braid in order. Then I started piecing my first braid, instant addiction! As the braid grew The Engineer liked it more and more, encouraging me in my new found hobby. I couldn't put it down, 2 hours later I finished the first braid.

Wow! I surprised myself.

I painstakingly planned this quilt with 5 braids instead of four and added two strips to each braid so the quilt would be long enough to have a nice hang on my Mom’s bed.

 Two Chicks, two Ladders and a cold windy day. 

Thanks Heather & Brianna for braving the ladders & wind to hold up a quilt.
The patchwork back, glad I over bought fabric this time. 

But that's not the whole story. The quilt has never made it to her bed, rather it 's on the back of her couch so she can show it off to all of her visitors. If I'd known she wasn't going to put it on  her bed I would have made a smaller quilt and and changed the colors to match her living room!