I stayed the night with Mom, in the hospital.  I was surprised when I got home, that I still had energy left to do a little quilting on the client quilt I loaded yesterday.  This is the first time I have quilted this panto, and I’m loving the texture, and the way the flowers seem to dance across the top.  The pattern is Lorien Flower by Lorien Quilting.  I think it is also an enjoyable pattern to stitch.  No computerized system here…my quilting is completely hand guided.  So, a nice flow to a pantograph pattern is important to me.  This one has it.

Dianne, I think it’s looking great, and I hope you like it, too! Thank you for sharing your pretty quilt with me.  I did run out of steam before I finished today, but I will do my best to have it back to you soon.  Thank you for your patience, and also for a nice generous backing to work with!

I am loving yo-yo making! I told Mom that I have found a project she can do, when she starts feeling better. 🙂  I will show her how and let her try one, and if she likes it, I will get her a set of yo-yo makers of her very own, and supply her with some of my scrap fabrics.  I think it would be something that could help her pass the time while she regains her strength.  Right now, she is so weak she can barely raise herself up out of bed.  Her fever went up to 102 degrees last night, prompting blood draws, and a chest xray, which revealed some pneumonia in the right side.  It is always so hard for me to leave her.  If I were not working, I think I would just live at the hospital with her.  I am thankful for some wonderful extended family that are pitching in, so that we can all take turns sitting and resting, and give me some peace of mind while I’m at work.  I am sooooo ready for her to turn the corner and start having better days again.  I hate seeing her so frail and weak, and suffering with pain. But, I believe that she is going to get past this, and my Mom will be coming back, and someday we will have a project with yo-yos made by mother and daughter.

I bought Clover yo-yo makers, from extra small to extra large, quite some time ago.  Today, I decided to give it a try, thinking it would be a good way to stay occupied while sitting with Mom, who is in the hospital, due to the brutal effects of the chemo she had to take for the stem cell transplant.

My opinion of these little gadgets? I like!!

 

Mom starts five straight days of chemo in the morning, then has her stem cell transplant on the 18th.  Any and all prayers are much appreciated.

I do have a little quilting to share. I finished up a cute customer top last weekend. This one is for Thelma, and it is adorable.  The bugs and flowers are chenille strips that she will “fluff up” after the quilting.

I also made a bit more progress on one of my stash tops.

I’m also shopping sewing furniture, so I can quit using my dining table for this purpose.  I’m really drooling over the Koala QuiltPro Plus IV, and am thinking that if I survive the rest of this year, that I may reward myself with one of these.  I like the Brazilian Cherry, and think I will add the optional 6″ of height, so that it is a comfortable cutting surface, as well.  If you have one, how do you like it?  It will be a couple more months before I make a final decision and purchase.  Something to look forward to, though, in the tough days ahead. I am so dreading watching my Mom go through this.  Thanks again for the prayers!

Talk to you soon…

I never met Diane Fink in person.  We “met” through online quilting forums. Through the distance between us, we shared our love of quilting, NASCAR, our boys, etc., via emails, phone calls,  squishy packages in the mail, and of course our blogs. I found out yesterday that we have lost her to a car accident.  I will miss you, Diane. 😦