Surrounded by Color

Since my surgery on the 15th, I have been surrounded by color. It has been grey, rainy, cool, and dismal outside, but not in my house. :-) Wouldn't the soft colors in this close-up make a pretty quilt?

I am tired and sore, but I can honestly say that I am doing great. I haven't had any desire to read or do any quilting, so I have watched hours of mindless TV. I wish I had kept track of how many Hallmark holiday movies I have seen. At this point I could write the scripts for them!!!  I'm not knocking them as they are a pleasant enough diversion.

I did see a blog post at the end of last week on  "English Paper Piecing Hexagons and Grandmother 's Flower Garden Blocks" on a Quilting Life . Her white, grey, and black background is bright and modern and I was hooked. I ordered the pdf of the pattern and have begun working on the hexagons. This blogger also has a number of YouTube tutorials including one on English paper piecing. I've got six made so far. :-) I enjoy hand stitching and these are fun to work on.

Have a colorful week.

A Speed Bump on the Road of Life

The other day I was doing some errands at The Launch in the Hingham Shipyard when this scene caught my eye.

At today's meeting of the Crosstown Quilters our speaker was David Sirota from Manchester, NH, whose hilarious talk was entitled "What Makes a Quilter Tick." Laughter filled the hall as he is one very funny guy. He mentioned that besides teaching at guilds locally, he is an instructor at the Mancuso World Quilt Shows which are held around the country. If you ever get the chance, sign up for one of his classes. We hope to have him come back to our guild some time in the future to teach a class.

I was deeply touched by words of support and encouragement and by the many warm hugs I received from members. Why? Well, I had informed the members in an email last week that I have been diagnosed with breast cancer. Since I am president of this guild, I felt that the member should know why I will be missing a few meetings, and I knew that I would be added to some prayer lists. 

This is my second time dealing with breast cancer; the last time was eleven years ago.  At that time, I had a mastectomy and chemotherapy. On this Thursday morning, I will be having another mastectomy. This time, the cancer was found very early, so God willing, this surgery will preclude the need for any additional treatment. . . that is my hope.

So, may I take this opportunity to ask, are you up to date on your mammograms??? No excuses. If the answer is "no," please call and make an appointment today. Early detection can make all the difference. And one more thing, I know that I will be fine, but I sure wouldn't mind if you sent some positive energy, good wishes, and a few prayers my way. :-)

A Little Bit of Stitching Going On

I fell in love with this Autumn wall hanging kit when I saw it in the Shabby Fabrics catalogue. I could have simply purchased the pattern, but the colors were so perfect that I purchased the kit.

Here's the wool stitched pumpkin that Carole from My Carolina Home offered as a stitch along as one of her Autumn Jubilee projects.

I also managed to make two breast cancer comfort pillows. Nancy H. from our guild brings them to our local cancer center. They are used by patients having any type of chest or abdominal surgery, and they are much appreciated.

In the front are three pillowcases for Anne M.'s group which coordinates quilts for the children of service men and women who are being deployed. The older children prefer  pillowcases. You may find directions for the breast cancer pillows and pillowcases here.

Finally, last Wednesday my cousin Kristin and her girls came for Ladies Lunch. We went to the Strawberry Fair  in Norwell which was a hit with the girls. Though it was far too early for any real Christmas spirit, we made our annual visit to The Christmas Place in Abington where the penguin band was tuned up and serenading early shoppers.  The musical penguins are guaranteed to put a smile on anyone's face. We normally visit a bit closer to Christmas, but that would not be possible this year.

Gazebo in Autumn

This gazebo is not too far from my home. If you follow my blog, you have seen many images of it. I have to say that this is one of my all-time favorites. I drove by this spot the other day and though I had my iPhone with me, I went back home for my 'real' camera, and I'm so glad that I did.

After church this morning, I photographed this rose. Believe it or not, there are more buds to come unless Mother Nature has other plans for early November. :-)
 

 Then when I turned around, my neighbor's maple tree was positively aglow. Blue, green yellow and red . . . a very colorful morning. The foliage had been somewhat blah, but a few cold nights have brought forth a bit more color.

Have a colorful, joyful week.