Still here

We were almost outa here yesterday evening. Discharge papers in hand, kid in the chair, wheeling down the hall. And as we got into the elevator he started acting funny, confused again. I turned us around and went right back to the nurses' station. They readmitted him, put him right back in the same bed. Thank God they did. He rapidly got less and less coherent and then started seizing again. About 2 hours to get it to stop, poor drug management. He even told them they weren't doing their job. Totally out of it all night and still pretty wacky. Gets TV and reality mixed up.
They're transferring him to another hospital for some additional testing as soon as a bed opens up. But his EEG wasn't encouraging. This means some real changes in all our lives, as he can no longer live alone.
Honestly, this is almost more than I can handle. 4 years ago we did this, and in the last 4 years have dug out of that pit and created a new "normal". How much more will be thrown at him? At us?
On the bright side, I'm probably 8 pounds lighter than I was Saturday morning. Bad joke, I know. And I have a box from Fabricmart that I haven't even opened. It has a sild bundle in it that is still a surprise.

Muses from a quilter.

Yeah, I'm pretty funny. One done and I'm a quilter. Even I'm rolling my eyes. BUT it is done. And I'm overall pretty happy with it. I used a red sheet from Ikea as the backing, primarily because I already owned it and have no other plans for it. I quilted it by stitching in the ditch. But I discovered that I have a hard time keeping it between the ditches. Is quilting a metaphor for live? Hmmm. If you look here, at the back, you can really see how wonky my quilting was (and a couple of bobbin jams that I didn't know about until it was done). It never occurred to me that my the weight of this would prevent the feed dogs from doing their job. So I really had to work at getting this thru the machine. It had no trouble making the stitches, just pulling it through. Perhaps there are tricks to this that I'm missing.

I didn't purchase the box of quilters' safety pins that I saw at Hancocks. I thought that was overkill and silly. Well, I was wrong. I pinned it all with my quilting straight pins (that I use for almost everything - I like the longer length). And started to quilt. Girlfriends, this was like trying to sew a porcupine. OUCH! I starting thinking in terms of the fastest way to get to pull out pins. And then they started to cooperate with me and just fell out randomly. That was just annoying.

I will say that I made this whole thing harder than it had to be. And it was still pretty easy. But it would have been easier and I would have gotten a better result if I'd used a formula for the proportions. I just started cutting, but if I'd done some research and made my blocks the right size and the right number of blocks, blah, blah, blah, then I would have gotten a quilt the "right" size instead of the snake blanket/husband shroud that it is. And I would have been able to use a binder maker for the binding, as my strips would have been a "standard" size. And, well, the whole pin thing. Repeat "OUCH!" I will use a higher loft and probably cotton batting next go-round. I just like the cotton weight. And this one is very low loft - only 1/4". (read, cheap). Color-wise - yeah, I'm kind of digging the rainbow affect the brightness of it. In fact, I would have preferred the pale orange to have been a bright yellow. I think it would have jumped more. But my next one will be a more muted palate. And likely a little more complex pattern. I'm thinking of using a jelly roll or other pre-selected option. So I can spend more time on the piecing and quilting and less on the cutting. And get a pretty color range.

Thursday was DH's birthday and our anniversary. 26 years. He got golf clothes and one of those workout watches that tracks your progress and stuff. He have me a gift certificate to the spa downstairs, so I spent yesterday morning being pampered with a massage and facial. Ahhh. But we ate far too much this weekend, I will definitely be looking to shed a couple of pounds -starting tomorrow (HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!)

As for our local bald eagle family, apparently the nest was raided by crows and the eggs destroyed. They blame the male (eagle - not crow) for not helping to guard the nest. He spent too little time with it. Guys are guys, whether they have fur or feathers, I suppose. But they haven't given up trying, yet. Mother nature hasn't flipped the mating switch for "it's too late in the season to make a baby", so they're still working on it. Maybe we'll get babies this year, afterall.

Sewing update

Time to update the sewing venture, inclusive of the skirt saga.
First, let me ammend my prior statement concerning the workability of the houndstooth fabric. It turned out to be a PITA! I didn't know anything could unravel that fast without the assistance of a kitten! Geez Louise. And I had to handle it so much that I have strings everywhere and am having a hard time matching seams because they've frayed beyound recongnition. And the zipper. JCSS, now in for the 4th time and will stay. Whatever. Done. I did have an "AH HA" moment the other day that should prevent the same problem again (not to say I won't develop new problems, but I dislike redundancy) I was using my regular zipper foot on an invisible zipper, so I wasn't getting in close enough to the coils. And yes, the SOB pulled apart when worn. I ended up stitching it down as a topstitch. Not perfect, but ok. It did alright since the fabric has such a small, busy print. Wouldn't have worked on another fabric. I'm going to insist that finish this one this weekend. I think, for the flaws in the fabric, I'm going to do a Decorative stitch over them. I'll need 2 rows to cover, but I may do 4-5 for interest. And I need to hem it.
On other sewing news, I've been hitting the local Hancock's. Once I got in there and took some time, I found some nice stuff. So I have fabric for 2 cami's using B4736, view C. I have 2 fabrics: a deep blue and a lighter more purbly blue that's very silky. I'm going to make the darker one this weekend as I think the fabric will be easier to work with and I want to get the fit right. I also still need trim for the lighter one.
I went back again last night to get patterns and a couple of other fabrics I wanted, with partial success. They had none of the patterns in my size, so I ended up joining BMV and ordering on line. Don't know how long that takes for delivery. And a couple of the fabrics I thought were on sale were not, so I didn't purchase. BUT I did buy the wool Red/Black/White plaid for a skirt, I want to use the pattern I just used, with mods. And a deep brown stretch velvet to make out of V8390. I have some cheep knit to make the first out of as a trial and (hopefully) wearable muslin. But that pattern is one I had to order, so it isn't ready to start, yet. That's okay, I have enough to keep me busy.
My BFF, is coming up to see me in February and we're going sewing-shopping. Hitting G-Street and Michaels. Have a couple nice dinners, hang out a bit. I need a friend fix and am looking forward to seeing her and having a sewing inspiration.
In other news... Kevin's ankle seems to be getting better (according to him, I'm still very concerned), I'm going home in a couple of weeks and will judge for myself. W's going to CA & ID next week, so I'll have some sewing alone time and can catch up on my TV DVR. I've lost 3 pounds, not monumental, but my clothes already fit better. Collegue at work quit, he's over there now packing up his office. 27 years collects a lot of stuff. I put in for his job, but that will go to Wm, so I guess I'm in for Wm's job instead. I also need to call MR and talk about Houstan.

Day two and counting

Ok, two days in a row. On a roll here.
I don't really feel well today. My stomach's kind of upset and I didn't sleep well. Actually I haven't been sleeping well a lot lately. I think it's some meds I'm taking, but not sure. Not sure why I feel yucky today, though. Hope it goes away soon, it's Margarita Wednesday.
Today I need to finish my account recs. Every one has chores they do that they hate more than others. Well, Accn't Recs are on my "I hate this stuff" list. Right there with unloading the dishwasher and folding shirts. Bleck.
I have a couple of phone calls to make and some forecasts to do (now where did I leave my crystal ball? I had it just a second ago...) Maybe I'll even clean up my office. Hey, it could happen.
I think I need to throw out my bug infested plant, too. I tried putting some DW soap in the watering water, but the leaves continue to turn yellow. Think its on its last legs (so to speak) and just needs to go. Oh well, I liked having a plant in here, it seems less lonely, but having a dying one isn't very inspiring.
Don't forget to check up on TG, the trial's getting interesting. And who knows, I may check back in later today.
The pic is of me skinny. I'm hoping that by looking at it regularly it will help me not scarf down the junk food. Ummmm, Taco Bell.