Nostalgic for Fall

I don't think I could ever live in a place where the seasons didn't change - I get so nostalgic for Fall every year and usually can't wait for the crisp, cool air. It's my favorite season. Being basically homebound this past month has made me feel like I missed it altogether. No trips to the forest preserve or Botanic Garden to see the beautiful leaves, too much walking for me for now. No visits to the park, also too far to walk. No outdoor flea markets or visits to pumpkin patches or apple orchards. Heck, no more "walks" period for a few more weeks at least. Methinks there won't be any signs of Fall left by then, sigh.

When I went to the doctor last week, I showed him my little list with some of the things I wanted to be able to do again (simple things like laundry, grocery shopping and lightly mopping the kitchen floor). He took one look at it and said: "Nope, nope, nope, and nope." He said I need to wait a few more weeks. I asked for a written note exempting me from housework to show my husband, who I can tell is getting tired of carrying the whole load, even though he doesn't mention it.

Every day I do a set of gentle stretches the Physical Therapist showed me, but I'm getting antsy about exercising, just a little, please, but he said all I should do for now is take slow and easy little walks. So I took the little dog for a little walk today - up and down and halfway around the block, YAY! At least I'm able to get out.

As we were walking, I noticed that I must have missed a lot of the trees changing color in my neighborhood in the past few weeks. There are a few leaves in our yard but that's it. What's Fall without a lot of colorful leaves? There weren't many at all and that made me sad because I always loved tromping with the dogs (or kids at one time) through whatever leaves we could find.

How beautiful are fallen leaves?

(Last year's leaves, blown off our lawn.)

Around here, the neighbors' landscapers scoop up the leaves faster than you can sneeze, as if they're somehow unsightly. So there are never any crunchy leaf piles to run through or dive into except in our yard. I love seeing leaves piled on the lawn, and watching them blow and swirl  into the street on a windy day. My husband enjoys raking leaves and even though it is still a chore, he says at least it's a little exercise he might not have gotten otherwise. Whatta great guy with an even greater attitude, huh? Looks like he's got his work cut out for him this weekend . . . Oh yeah, there's laundry and mopping and grocery shopping too, don't forget, Hon.

It was a perfectly beautiful day for a dog walk -

A few pretty trees, but see, no leaves to stomp through. Picture perfect.

There's one . . .

Ooohhh, wait, I think we spotted some more!

One more good sniff and then it's time to head for home. Too soon, I know, puppy. But there's always the backyard to play in - where Mom can sit and relax.

Isn't This the Cutest Little Thing?

I opened my mail yesterday and, oh my! Isn't this the cutest little thing you've ever seen? Karan from Iowa sent it to me to cheer me up. I will be traveling to Iowa in November for a lecture/workshop and will get to meet her in person to thank her properly!

And my wonderful, thoughtful, husband never fails to come through for me too. One of his clients is Kraft Foods, which owns Oscar Mayer.

Yes, people, he brought me home an Oscar Mayer Weiner Whistle! When was the last time you saw one of these? I had one when I was 10 and over the last 40-odd years, it somehow got lost, can't imagine. Thank goodness now I finally have a replacement and I can whistle the song. That will thrill the dogs . . . Thanks a bunch, Honey! I remember seeing the Weinermobile cruising through our neighborhood in the '60s. Reconnect with your childhood and buy one of your own here on eBay  (Chicken not included). You're welcome.

I know it's sort of late notice, but I also wanted to let you know that I am getting back into the swing of things a little by presenting a lecture to the Itasca Quilters Guild in Itasca, Illinois, tomorrow, Wednesday, Oct 20. If I had gotten my act together I would have announced it a little sooner in case any of you wanted to stop by. If you find you are in the area, stop by the Itasca library or e-mail me for more info. Consider stopping by even if you're not really in the area. Listen to this - last year a fan from Minnesota drove the 9 hours to come to the Chicago area to see me and my quilts and when the lecture was over, promptly turned around and drove back. Now that's a FAN, LOL. Hope I didn't disapppoint.

Nervously waiting to be introduced . . .

Hmmm, they don't look so scary . . . Everybody looks alert, nobody's sleeping yet,  so far so good.

Yes, I make BIG quilts too!

Tomorrow's lecture was scheduled over a year ago and the doctor said it was ok to do it if my husband drove and I made a point of sitting for part of the presentation and did not stand the whole time. So if you don't see me at first, look up front for someone sitting on a pillow, waving a microphone around with head to the floor, looking for her notes that likely dropped on the floor. Wringing my hands too, because I get really nervous speaking in public. I'm much more comfortable talking to fans one by one after the "show."

The lecture/workshop in Cedar Falls, Iowa, will be on November 15. Let's hope the Midwest doesn't get an early snow. I'll be looking for some of you!

Nice Little Surprises

There's one up side to being sick and that's hearing from thoughtful friends and fans. So many of you have been so generous with your cards, comments, thoughts and prayers. A few of you made your own cards or sent one that you knew was sure to make me smile. I hope you all know I appreciate it so much.

My husband went to the Post Office after work yesterday and brought home a package from Australia. Merilyn made me this gorgeous pincushion as a get well gift! Isn't it the loveliest thing you've ever seen?? I hope I have the heart to use it - it's so pretty I'm afraid of ruining it. Maybe I'll just display it . . .

My daughter bought me a book - 

Julia gave me the mason jar full of snippets of indigo fabric!

My husband bought me these much-desired silver Brighton earrings. Yes, I know, hearts.

I still can't drive, but I've had time to browse the internet and do some shopping online. I bought myself this new book by the Country Threads ladies to go with  all the charm squares I've been collecting lately -

If you like small quilts you HAVE to get this book - so many cute quilts you will want to stop everything and make one or two.

I loved looking at the author photo of Connie and Mary. They probably aren't aware that I am a fan of their patterns and quilts and used to faithfully stop by their booth at The International Quilt Fest in Chicago every year. I'm sure no one else even noticed or paid attention to this, but in the background of the authors' picture, hanging on the wall of their shop, are 7 of MY quilts from American Doll Quilts! What fun for me to spot them as I flipped through the book - another nice little surprise I wasn't even looking for. Have a good weekend everyone!

Maybe Just a Small Outing

With the Dr's okay, we drove up to Wisconsin on Saturday to attend a special concert at my son's university. It was Parent Weekend and quite a few of his good friends who are Music majors were performing. The Art Department asked my son to display some of his photos at an art show in the lobby of the Fine Arts Center so we were very proud and I didn't want to miss either the concert or the art show. 

I was very sick this past summer and so there was really no time to travel or take a vacation, so it was a pleasure to be able to get to Wisconsin even. Anything to get off the couch and out of the house, LOL. Pretty pathetic, huh? Next year HAS to be better! At least I got to see a few colorful trees on the drive up . . . . 

 

I intended to take my daughter on a trip to visit some colleges in October, but that plan backfired for me as well and my husband will now take over and I will play it safe and stay home, nursing myself. So disappointing, but I did visit a few of the schools with my son 4 years ago so perhaps I won't miss too much. The original plan was to drive out east and possibly, possibly, make a side trip to Vermont, to the Bennington Museum, where the Dear Jane quilt resides and is publicly displayed for a very short time every year. Darn, darn, darn.  I'm sure there will be another chance to see it some other year, but still . . . . Maybe I can talk her into going to school somewhere near Vermont?? Pretty sure I can't talk her into anything these days . . . much less where she'll spend the next four years, LOL.

There was a little more leaf color in Wisconsin than here in Illinois and I know, I know,  it isn't New England, but hey, I'll take what I can get. Better than just watching the leaves turn in my backyard, right? The campus was lively with color, the overall trip good and while I pretty much took it easy, I was still able to walk around a little without feeling too bad. Maybe I AM getting better, ya think?

I made my husband take a little detour and stop at Primitive Gatherings Quilt Shop on the way up. I wanted to show you how cute the the inside of the shop was but was totally disappointed that they would NOT let me take any photos, not a one, except outside. Oh well, you'll just have to stop in there yourself.

 I couldn't resist this chocolatey brown stars print and it's always hard to find a good muted purple I like, but OMG, look - they had HEXAGON pre-cuts! What the heck am I going to do with these? And did I really need four packs, LOL??

So now I'm back and envious that my family gets to travel even just a little bit. If it sounds like I'm feeling sorry for myself, don't worry, I'm not. I have plenty to do to keep me busy here and I sure won't be lonely, if you know what I mean.

Antique Hexagon Crib Quilt

More about Hexagons! After I wrote the last blog post, I looked and looked and then finally found this photo of  a crib quilt that was made in 1850 in one of my antique quilt books. I was really inspired by it when I made my own little hexagon quilt with the dark background that will be in The Civil War Sewing Circle. Unfortunately, while I was making the 16 quilts/projects for the book, not to mention writing all of the delightful text, I did NOT have time to piece this one all by hand - no, sorry, I do not have a staff to make my quilts or write my books for me - and so took the shortcut and appliqued the "flowers" onto background squares to make it go a little faster and still make my deadline (see my quilt on the cover of the book in the post below). Now I wish I had had the time to make it this way.

Don't you just love the scrappy look of this quilt (taken from the book America's Glorious Quilts) and love love love how they're all put together with the little black hexagon spacers? You and I can do this too - I know we can! Remember, just take it ONE hexagon at a time, LOL. Another future project I'm absolutely dying to try. Hey, at least I have lots of leftover scrappy hexagon flowers so I'm sort of on my way already! Told you, once I started I couldn't stop . . . 

 

Today I Feel Like Whining

My good friend Ingrid is a nurse and she told me that while recovering from several major surgeries I would have good days and bad days and oh she was so right. I had a string of good days last week because I was finally out of the hospital and so glad to be home, eager to lounge on the couch and be taken care of. But then I noticed that the euphoria started to fade as the week wore on - and then maybe  because I was doing a little too much or thought I was recovering too nicely -WHAM! Suddenly I'm exhausted and feel like I've taken a couple of steps backwards. Simple things like washing a few dishes make me fatigued. All I want to do is sleep.

I'm counting my blessings every day and trying to be patient but there's so much to do around here that hasn't been done yet and all of that still hangs over my head. I'm not supposed to bend or stretch so I am dependent on others for simple things for awhile longer, like cleaning up spills, making a cup of tea or running upstairs for a box of tissue. I feel guilty sitting around reading or watching TV on the couch while everyone else is running around like chickens with you-know-what. My sweet husband has been working so hard to help -  he cooks and cleans and "fetches" for me when he can, and even watches my website for orders. On Saturday he went to the Post Office and mailed out some book and  pattern orders for me because I still can't drive for a couple of weeks. Funny how much time I used to spend out running errands. Don't forget, pattern #4 of  the American Schoolgirl Club will be mailed out later in Oct - probably very late, the way I'm feeling right now.

I am feeling a little depressed over what I CANNOT do for myself, even though I know I get a LITTLE better every day and I've only been home for a week. I become impatient easily and would like a  fast recovery NOW, please. Will I ever get back to feeling the way I did before?

The visiting Physical Therapist told me that spending 2 weeks in the hospital causes you to lose 30% of your muscles so we're slowly working on doing tiny leg lifts and stretches. Ouch, that hurts - in more ways than one. I was trying to get into decent shape and walked a lot before I got sick but now I have to start all over and then some and who knows when I'll get the ok to walk briskly again. 

Didn't guess I could be such a whiner when I was sick, did you? I'm afraid I do not make a very good patient, LOL.

Yesterday, however, I actually finished a novel and cooked a pot of spaghetti and meatballs in two sittings so I didn't have to stand for too long. Little accomplishments, but they matter a lot. Hand piecing the little pink and blue scrappy doll quilt got me through all last week. I pieced the blocks together on the machine and now have to choose a border. 

I have a few blue Jo Morton fat quarters I'm itching to use and for some reason I want to use this one, the busiest one, instead of  the ones that are more subtle. I'm usually more conservative with my borders for scrappy quilts but really love this print. What do you think? Too busy?

Last weekend I bid on and won (!) an antique doll quilt, a coming home present to myself. It arrived on Saturday and is so cute I decided to reproduce it with more pre-cut squares I had lying around.

I just love doll quilts made from squares - the simplicity speaks to me. That's good because simple is best for me right now - I don't think I can handle anything complicated.

This one will keep me busy this week, I think. I'm not a great hand piecer, but I'm getting some good practice. It's coming along nicely and is so much fun really. Maybe I'll even quilt it if I don't fall asleep first.

Keeping Busy

Look what came in the mail last week -

This new book by Tricia Maloney is full of great ideas for using those vintage blocks you see at antique shows and flea markets. I've always been tempted to buy some but wasn't sure what to do with them when I got home. Now I know! What a great idea.

Thanks, Tricia, and good luck!

Ingrid came over to visit on Friday and brought me a birthday present - the new book by Blackbird Designs. I'm not sure how she knew I secretly craved it, but that must be exactly why we call them good friends, you know? 

Don't know if I'm up for making an appliqued bed quilt just yet, but this block looks doable or maybe a cross-stitch sachet or pincushion is something I can work on while resting on the sofa?? In addition to lovely quilts, it's also got some lucious recipes I'm anxious to try when I get back to cooking.

The Dr said I can sit at the sewing machine for 15 minutes a day, no more for now, so this weekend I'm going to take him up on that and use my machine to stitch the doll quilt with the pink and blue blocks I hand pieced from last week. The only trouble is, every time I get up from the couch, someone steals my spot! Sweetie that he is, I'm guessing he's just keeping it warm for me . . . .