Getting back to normal

Sometimes it doesn't take much to throw me off the track when it comes to my stitching.  It's been a crazy month with having to deal with Tom's burns and getting ready for Thanksgiving and having family members visiting.  I usually just put my stitching aside, rather than get frustrated with not having the time. I also think it is important to take time to visit family when they are in town.  Tom is doing much better. All the bandages have released themselves and he is finally able to take showers. I hope that his visit to the burn clinic on Tuesday is good and we are on track.  It is amazing how fast our skin repairs itself.  The redness will be there for up to a year but all in all we are thankful things were not any worse.

Family members left Friday and I thought I would put in a few stitches, but my swing arm lamp wouldn't turn on.  So this morning Tom looked at it and found the culprit, the switch. Now, a trip to the hardware store should get it working again.  So this afternoon I hope to be able to stitch again. Looking at my current panel, I must say I've done well as three branches are completed.  I really need to decide if I want to stop at 5 panels or make the quilt wider and do another, or consider doing some kind of appliqued border.  I have plenty of time to think about it as I stitch the rest of this panel.

Hanging them on my sewing room closet door has been very inspirational. I have decided to go with green for my alternate panels and I really need to start keeping my eye out for the right fabric.

Tranquility

It was a rough week here at our house!  Tuesday night my husband got a call in from work, it was around midnight and I had gone to bed but was restless so I heard him get up and I got up to say goodbye.  I went back to bed but just couldn't sleep.  Around 230am, I got up to get my phone as Tom said he didn't think he would be very long and I was beginning to worry. My phone goes into do not disturb mode at night I had missed a text from him. As I opened it it said "This is a nurse at Baylor Medical Center you need to come here immediately as your husband was injured at work.  So I called the number they left and they said the injury was serious enough they were going to have to move him to another facility.  Yes, you know the dreaded call. So I got dressed and off I went, he had not been transfered yet so I was able to see him for a few minutes before he was sent off to  the burn hospital in Dallas.  He had 2nd degree burns on both hands and arms, his neck and chest. So when the transport team arrived I followed them into Dallas.  He was sent to  Parkland the very hospital JFK was taken too. Going thru the emergency room was terrifying as you have to go thru  a metal dectector and the waiting room is filled with homeless and drug addicted patients.  I wanted to start balling as I was waiting for a pass to go back to the er, but I know I needed to be strong.  Tom was admitted and the staff was wonderful. He ended up staying two nights and was able to come home Friday. He has a long road to recovery but things are looking up.  Friday night I picked up the new panel I prepped and starting stitching down leaves. Oh how tranquil, oh how wonderful to be doing something normal.

So although my week was helter skelter, I was able to make some good progress by getting panel five prepped and one branch's leaves appliqued.  This morning I am prepping two more branches and then I can stitch down the vine on branch one and have plenty of leaves to applique as we watch the Cowboys game.  I am so thankful that things are calming down and even though his burns are very serious it could have been so much worse. The nurse was telling me pain is good when it comes to burns, as the damage is minimal.  Two nights in the hospital is minor compared to some patients that spend a year or two in the burn unit.  So, this is a reminder to love each day as if there is no tomorrow and to be thankful for the little joys in life.  I am so glad I have my slow stitching to turn to!

Trailing Vines Progress

 In my last post, I talked about how the prep work seems to bog me down.  I thought about it a lot this week and it's really not so much the actual prepping.  Once I get the iron hot, it doesn't take long at all to prep a branch of leaves.  What really seems to bother me is that I run out of leaves sometimes in the evening when I do my stitching.  I find as I do when I hand quilt, that I don't like to be interrupted during the process. So when I hand quilt I thread about a dozen needles so I can keep going.  So I thought of a solution,  I made another file folder lined with wool batting so that I can prep two branches ahead of where I am stitching.  As soon as one branch is stitched, I can take some time to prep the next one, and I still can stitch since I have that second folder. It seems to keep me going at a better pace.

I was half finished with this panel when I pulled it out of the closet last week.  I have almost finished four branches since than.  I guess I should think about getting the next panel prepped before I loose my rhythm.  This UFO is really a fun project to stitch.  It's quite amazing what Susan McCord did with her bits and pieces.  It seems a bit overboard to save bits and pieces and even sew those bits and pieces together to make a single leaf.  But, there is something very comforting, very organic about the process. When you lay out your stitching at the end of the day the results just make you smile.

My efforts are paying off, two more branches and this panel will be complete!