Rewind to 14th March.

I'm sorry not to have posted before but the surgery on the 18th March has left me feeling like I'd been run over by several very heavy vehicles, all at once.  On the other hand it wasn't too bad. I'll tell you a little more about the experience but before that John and I went away for his birthday weekend. On Thursday evening I  completed the flowers to the right of the yellow flowers. I'm really enjoying stitching this tablecloth but since my surgery I haven't yet done any work on it.

The weekend was warm and sunny  and we had great sunsets on the Friday and Saturday.

We went bird watching on Saturday. We had two very restful days and the weather was perfect, warm and sunny. On the Sunday I visited my favourite quilt shop, Midsomer Quilting. The shop has just been voted the UK's Favourite Quilting Shop. They have a fabulous range of fabrics, and they are such a friendly and helpful crew. They always have some quilts on display. The first on was made by De Pickford, the owner. I couldn't fit the whole quilt into the photo

A few years ago the shop moved from a previous located that always had cows in the surrounding field. The staff decided to make a cow quilt with each of them completing a block. There is still some quilting to be done on the quilt but the binding has been added so it could be displayed. I love these quirky cows and they all have slightly different expressions.

On Monday 17th March I went into work to finish up some bits and so I could visit older daughter and grandson for dinner. 

On Tuesday 18th March Lucy accompanied me to the surgical lounge at 7 am and then it seemed a rush to get all the pre op bits done, but in reality no one rushed me and everything was explained in amazing detail. The team answered all my, and my daughter's questions. Once one of the surgeons realised she is training to be a nurse they were even more willing to explain everything to her. Within half an hour my abdomen was covered in black marker pen having been measured in all directions. I signed my consent, which took some time as they went through all the procedure and all the possible problems and how they would deal with them. The duty of candour legislation that came into effect a while ago now, is excellent. My daughter accompanied me to the door of the anaesthetic room, which helped both of us stay calm. The anaesthetist made sure the warming blanket was delivering air at a lovely warm temperature before he made a start on the anaesthetic drugs. The last thing I remember was him telling me he was about to start injecting the medication. The most difficult part of the day was taking deep breaths of oxygen before falling asleep.

I was physically in theatre for 11 and half hours but the operation was shorter. I am amazed at the surgeon's stitching. Oh if only I could get my hand stitching that neat and all the stitches were the same size! I stayed in the post anaesthetic care unit until late evening of the following day and then moved to a general ward. All has gone well and I came home late on Friday evening. My family have been amazing and everything is progressing well. I have an appointment with the plastic team next Monday.

As anyone who has had surgery knows your brain becomes unable to concentrate for any length of time and lengthy naps are an important requirement. I took my knitting with me and also some embroidery. The embroidered table cloth stayed in my bag but I did a little work on the fish block for the frog quilt.

I also started the left front of my knitting. Several people have said it looks too small but it is knitting up exactly as it should. It doesn't fasten but has a large fold back collar that goes from the edge of the ribbing on the left to the edge of the ribbing on the right side. When I was knitting both the blue cardigan and the green jumper I worried they would be too small but they both fit perfectly.

Last evening I got out the Japanese panel and measured each of the  individual designs. I want to enlarge this quilt and split up the areas using sashiko. I will be playing with layout later but it may just stay in the current placement with the sashiko inserted.

Post op brain is a real problem. It took me about 3 hours to measure all the parts and check I'd measured them right. On the up side it made me sleep extremely well. Unfortunately doing anything is very tiring but it is a little better each day. Today I plan on going out for a very short walk. I've stayed indoors for days now and I really need to feel the sun and the breeze on my face. I won't be quilting in the near future as both quilts that need doing are heavy but I will look on my March planner and see what I can do sitting down and that won't be too tiring. 

I need to get on with the embroidered tablecloth. This is nice an lightweight so I'll spend some time today working on it. That's all for now as I need a nap before I can get on with some embroidery. I also need to catch up reading the blogs I follow.

Take care 

Lyndsey

The joy of embroidery

The weather here in London has been beautiful for the last week. There is real warmth in the sun and there has been no rain. That doesn't mean it hasn't been cold but in the mornings I did have to defrost the car before I could drive to work. I guess the answer to that is not to leave so early, as once the sun is up, the car would quickly defrost on its own. It's also great that the sunrise is so much earlier and sunset later. This last week it was quite light as I left for work For this coming week sunrise is around 6:30, the time we leave if I'm dropping younger daughter at work and sunset is 17:55. That still means it will be dark by the time I get home.

This week I have been having fun working on the embroidered tablecloth. This is my Chookshed challenge for March. At the beginning of the month this is how far I had got with the stitching.

Over the week I have been stitching in the evening. By evening my eyes are a little tired and so I can't do a lot of stitching but some is better than none. Some of the flowers and leaves are stitched using satin stitch. I've done this before but I'm not great at it. I'm enjoying improving my skills. I wish I'd paid more attention when my mom was teaching me to embroider.

I'd like to finish two sides of the cloth this month but I've realised I'm a very slow stitcher and I won't get that far. I'm planning on finishing the equivalent of one side. If I manage more then I'll be very happy.

Last week I showed you some blocks that I'd found in my sewing cupboard. These were my starting point for my Saturday sewathon.

The muddled of pieces to be sewn together made another 5 blocks.

I had some bright yellow fabric and decided to use this for the sashing. I also decided to use it for the borders so I had to buy some more. This is such a sunny, happy quilt top

I have to finish quilting the Churn dash quilt and then the dinosaur quilt before I can complete this one. It exciting finding unfinished projects from years ago and I know there are more to find in my sewing cupboard.

Tomorrow I will cast on the left front of my pink cardigan. I've had a week off knitting as it can make my right arm quite numb (which is good) or very painful (which is very bad). 

On Friday I had my pre surgery assessment which found I am fit and healthy. I wasn't happy to be told I was 5 foot 4 inches tall. I've always been 5 feet 6. I know everyone shrinks as they get older  but no. I'm not playing. No wonder I find it a stretch to reach things on the top shelves of cupboards.

Tomorrow is a work day so I need to go and get some sleep. 

Take care

Lyndsey

March, lamb or lion?

This year, March here in London UK, has started like a lamb. The weather is warm and sunny, with real heat in the sun. The spring bulbs are up and starting to flower. Soon the trees will have their new leaves. Birds are making their nests in preparation for their brood and singing their little hearts out. What could go wrong? Have you heard the other half of the saying? If March comes in like a lamb, it leaves like a lion. As with any saying, it isn't rocket science and certainly isn't always right but be aware of potential high winds later in the month. Meanwhile I'm enjoying the sun and making the most of these tranquil early spring days.

March 1st marks the start of a new challenge. This month the number picked was 2. My project number 2 is the embroidered table cloth. This was a Christmas present in 2023 and I would like to get it finished this year. I have almost reached the half way mark on the bottom of the cloth (marked by tall flower and butterfly. I am currently working on the area in the hoop. The half way mark here is the fold. So in over a year i haven't even completed the equivalent of one side. 

My aim for the month is to complete both of these sides which would mean it is half complete. I should be able to achieve this in March , maybe, possibly.

In February I continued my search for forgotten projects. I found the Churn dash blocks and sewed them into a quilt top. I'm still working on the quilting but this should be finished this month. Yesterday, I once again pulled out the bags with forgotten projects in them. This time I found these blocks.

I have a feeling that I once started these as part of the Rainbow scrap challenge, but I may be wrong. I have 25 blocks sewn together and the little pile below will probably be the makings of 2 or 3 more blocks.

I need to press these blocks, make up the last few and see what I want to do with them. With 25 blocks I could make a large quilt but I think it would be better to make two smaller quilts as donation quilts. Of course there is the decision about whether to put sashing between the blocks and will they need a border. Basically as always with the quilting process there is lots to think about. If I make two smaller quilts I'm not sure I can do both over the month but I like a challenge. Another foray into my yardage stash will be needed for sashing, borders and backing. Since I'm trying to use what I have rather than buy more fabric I will need to think carefully as I have some new projects planned for this year.

This afternoon I'm going to do some cutting up of old T shirts as I need more strips for my rag rug. It has grown a little since I last took a photo but not much. I'm taking a few days off knitting before I start the first side of the cardigan and at some point this month I must start the quilting on the dinosaur quilt.

The weather is so good that John and I are going to head out for a walk in a little while. It will be lovely to have a walk without any rain!

Take care

Lyndsey