Saturday, February 15, 2014

What a week!

This past week was just miserable for me. Why? Because I got SICK, really sick, sicker than I had been in 20 years. The flu, a sinus infection, bronchitis and a kidney infection all at the same time attacked me. UGGG! It was not pretty. Thankfully hubby stepped up to the plate and really was a gem taking care of the kids and the house while I was down for the count.

It all began last weekend, which started innocently enough. On Saturday I took Sunshine to an ice skating birthday party and she not only did good for her 1st time on skates, she did really well and about 1/2 way through the session, she didn't want me holding her hand any longer. You go girl!
Now she keeps asking when we can go back and skate more. On Friday I had finished up piecing the top of my Sew Creative wall hanging. This isn't the layout that I originally envisioned but I like it so much better.  My original plan entailed just cutting the 3 rows apart, adding a couple of rows of coordinates between and be done lickety split. Since this is for me, I didn't feel the need for tons of piecing, wanted to keep it simple and for the ladies to be the focus.
 But here is where the snag came into my plan. See that intersection of blocks there? I hadn't realized before that they aren't printed all lined up nicely. There were a couple of these askew intersections so this called for a rethink and a new game plan.
 So I cut them all apart, arranged them in different ways a few times and here is what I ended up with.
 I've been debating whether or not to add another thin Red border to each side only, not the top or bottom, and have gotten 3 different opinions from my sister and a couple of friends so at this point I haven't decided but I'm leaning towards leaving it as is. The binding will be the same Red with the Black swirl. When I cut the blocks themselves apart, they weren't square either but I think the Red sashing I used and the layout disguises that problem pretty well.
I'm not sure how I want to quilt it up yet so I'll keep it hanging on the door until inspiration strikes.

After the ice skating party on Saturday, I was able to start and almost finish the table runner made from the kit I bought during the NJ Shop Hop almost 2 years ago.
It took longer to decide on the layout for the pieces than it took to actually sew this together. All that is left to do is to fuse on the included batting, add some quilting and it will be done. I'll have pictures to share then.

I'm really enjoying the feeling I'm getting finishing these smaller projects and I'll likely choose to make 1 or 2 more before I go back and tackle another big one. I need to finish my mom's quilt, it just needs the borders added, but since I can't quilt her yet because of the issues with Penelope, there isn't a rush to get that done.

The kids are out of school next week for Winter break so in between that and trying to get caught up at work after being home all this week, I should be plenty busy. Hopefully I'll be able to squeak in some sewing time too.

Oh and to top it all off, not only are we totally buried in snow, but on Friday my 4 1/2 month old Keurig brewer decided to die on me so no coffee for this Momma until the replacement arrives. Not good, not good at all.

16 of you added your own colorful comments:

Vroomans' Quilts said...

Oh my, your were sick!!! Small projects do make for quick finishes and satisfication. NO COFFEE - now that I could not handle.

Diane-crewe said...

glad you are bouncing back and feeling better x good job you had help xx You could have a future olympic star there if she took to the ice so well... and quickly xx Dont spoil the recovery by jumping into work too soon xx

Needled Mom said...

What a week....sick and no coffee!!! How bad can it get???? ;-) I hope you are feeling better and ready to tackle the new week feeling great.

Has Sunshine been watching the ice skating on the Olympics? She will be wanting to attempt those jumps soon.

Sandra said...

I feel for you. On a positive note though you should have all of this sickness out of your system for another 20 years.

HeatherK @ A Reformed Heath'n said...

I'm glad you're feeling better! I love the quick satisfaction of small projects, too. Have a wonderful week!

Anonymous said...

So sorry you were sick, and glad it's gone away. That was a LOT to have at once. A good husband makes all the difference in life. =) I like your lady piece just as it is.

Kathy said...

Hope you're feeling much better soon! I think those ladies won't mind being a little wonky...in fact they look like they could prefer it that way. I hope you having a cuppa joe soon...that is a rough one.

Linda said...

Sorry to hear you were so sick. That's awful. Your wonky ladies turned out just wonderful. You certainly found your way around that problem with such great result.
Take it easy and I hope this coming week is better for you.

Julianne said...

Wow you were sick Michelle, I am so happy that you are better!

StitchinByTheLake said...

Michelle you have had a rough time ... but you have overcome! Love the ladies - what a fun quilt. :) blessings, marlene

Rachell said...

Oh dear. Definitely know what it's like to be lots of different sick at once!
Hugs and get well soon

DeAnna said...

I love the fabric for your Sew Creative wall hanging. Those ladies really make me laugh. Hope you are back to normal with your health.

Heidi said...

Hi Michelle!
Hope you are feeling better and ready to conquer the weekend!

Barbara said...

I love what you did with this.

Kate said...

It sounds like you got your year's worth of illness done in one week. Hope you are starting to feel back to normal.

Very fun wall hanging! You did a great job hiding all the issues.

Brown Family said...

I think I would leave your ladies alone and not at the borders. Your table runner looks like Spring.