A VIRUS invaded the meadow! There is something respiratory thing going around New England that features coughing fits for weeks. I have so far escaped all but some minor symptoms, but after missing Mr. SFO all last week, we have resigned ourselves to separate rooms. He’s been chef for the past few weeks and I have to admit I’ve been enjoying it and acting like the helpless invalid more than I should. When he asked me to make him eggs one desperate morning last week, I was stunned and my face blanched enough for him to say, “Are you alright?” I was able to jin up an omelette and now the jig is up—I can make meals again.

Attempts to return to the land of the living this week have again failed. I’m six weeks post surgery and not wearing my sling 24/7 like I’m supposed to, scrolling at 3am, and wondering if good sleep habits will ever return.

Sometimes, it comes down to FORCING yourself to sew. Which I am able to do pain free, with sling. When the physical therapist said my shoulder was loosening up quicker than expected, I smirked. I added the white borders to my nine patches last week and snailed my way along through 9 of 15 star blocks.

There wasn’t enough fabric to starch the charm packs provided for this project. In my experience, you cannot then steam your unit either or risk shrinking. So my only option has been dry pressing with a mini iron. (My iron died and while I have previously been able to coax it back to the land of the living with various combinations of plugging , unplugging, jiggling, and tapping buttons, it appears to have flatlined and is now on our shelf of broken appliances that someone will fix someday.) I usually press between every single unit, but since nothing is staying flat anyway, I’ve only pressed the flying geese and then just assembled the entire block without pressing. Here’s the final product, shown on an angle so you can see it in 3D.

Its been a good experiment in getting things done more quickly– what’s more, I’m not having to get up and down as much. I think my stars are coming out fine, so maybe for some of these smaller projects in the future I should just let the fanatical pressing go a bit.

Purchasing dollars are finally down, but not because of willpower! I found this strawberry quilt kit I’ve had my eyes on for an incredible price on Etsy. It features the new Bloomsberry line by Camille Roskelley and I couldn’t believe it– it’s going for about $140 elsewhere? Was it a scam? I clicked the BUY button– let’s find out!

The next thing I knew, my money was refunded—apparently Moda sent them pre-printed panels instead of kits. The fabric manufacturers are doing this for store displays– I saw a Lori Holts Farm Girl 2 quilt hanging up at my LQS and it fooled me! I’m so glad it was their mistake and not me mis-reading because my face would’ve been four shades whiter than even when asked to cook, if I pulled it out and realized I spent $75 on a panel.

So that purchase was foiled– I mentioned I was scrapbooking again— I’ve been watching too many “junk journal” videos on YouTube at 3am and fell in love with this beauty.

I immediately acquired the paper and tutorial— it’s by Graphic 45. Can we please have the fabric now? If ya know, ya know– Basic Grey, Doodlebug Designs, and Echo Park all started as scrapbook paper companies.

Look at all the farm-y goodness– no goat, though?

So I’ve acquired another project to sit around my dusty studio, until full mobility returns. If I can cook, I should probably just dive into light housework now, right?

The circus cross stitch is coming along slower than my shoulder. I had to redo the entire blue area because I was off by one stitch– I couldn’t leave it, because it’s supposed to be symmetrical.

I used scissors to cut the floss out, and had thoughts of “accidentally” cutting the fabric so I can stop working on it. 😊 This is Aida, but it’s hand-dyed which made it super soft and made the holes close up– so, so hard to stitch on.

This week, I have two appointments on Wednesday and Thursday. The first is with the surgeon– should I admit I’m not wearing my sling 24/7?– and the second is PT– shall I ask if I can start doing some light sewing? It will nice to get out and maybe treat myself to lunch somewhere.

So that’s the update from Sugar Meadow, where the weather always reflects the mood.

xox
Carol