LETS TALK QUILTING ... FINALLY!!!!!!!!

Awwwww, "quilting" instead of cancer ... a nice change of pace, don'tcha think. So here we go starting with the picture above. My dear friend, Janet, in PA did the lovely Hawaiian appliue and sent it to me to for some hand quilting. I washed it afterwards and was afraid it was to puffy, but Janet seemed to like it puffy ... big sigh of relief!!!

Now let's talk about "Henrietta Whiskers!!!!!" It's this year's free BOM (Block of the Month) from Bunny Hill Designs. I soooooooo wanted to make it, but didn't have the energy to start the first block, so my dear friend, Polly, from MD made my little dream come true. That dear sweet lady made the first 3 blocks, cut out all the applique pieces for the first block and mailed the whole wonderful package to my doorstep. I can't tell you how happy I was to have something so adorable to work on. She has since sent me the pieces for the February block and March is in route as we speak. Such an angel in my world :)

I haven't had any umphhhh whatsoever, so my "sewing room" hasn't been occupied for quite some time. Well, after the Gamma Knife in January, which by the way, went very well, I had to take wicked Steroids (Decadron) for 10 days and they had me running every which way including "crazy" (LOL), sooooooooo I spent one glorious day in my "sewing room" and finally finished this "Disappearing 9 patch" top :) I made the borders so big cuz I'm planning on scalloping the edges.

Lastly, but since it's probably gonna take a life time to complete certainly not the least is my "scrappy Grandmother's Flower Garden" top, which is growing slowly but surely :)

I've got the most wonderful group of on-line friends you could ever possibly meet ... I mean they are literally the angels walking amongst us and we've been chatting on-line for quite a few years now. I've also had the pleasure of meeting with quite a few of their lovely selves in person ... in fact, tomorrow, my friend Mary is driving down from Cocoa Beach to go to a Quilt Show in Ft. Lauderdale with me and my DSIL, Betsy. Anyway, one of the lovely gals, Barbara from MA, mentioned she had some scraps if anyone wanted any, so I jumped right in and grabbed 'em up to keep my "scrappy" hexies totally "scrappy." Well, before you knew it, I had scraps coming in from all over the Country and some of them were already cut into hexies thanks to my Dear friend Janet out in CA. Some of the girls sent their scraps to her and she cut them into hexies with her new toy ... that cutting thingie they've got out now. Amazing machine. Amazing women!!!!

I guess I need to talk about cancer just a little since it is essentially reality in our little world. I finished the last chemo 6 weeks ago, which was, of course, cause for celebration; but it's been so hard ever since, celebrating has yet to occur. Dr. T. said the drugs have an accumulative effect, and boy was she ever right ... that last dose just about did me in. Having an awful lot of full body pain with a big emphasis on the feet and hands due to the Neuropathy (numbness, tingling, and sharp pains). I'm also extremely tired still yet nervous at the same time ... it's a situation that drives me a bit bananas.

I did get some good news from the latest Pet Scan, which was a couple of weeks ago ... the lymph nodes and lungs were both clear ... thank you Lord :) The suspicious spots in the breast were still there, but they did shrink in size slightly. Now I'm on tap for a mamo, an ultra sound and an MRI, then it will be decision time. Oh and I did get a post 30 day Gamma Knife MRI and the brain was clear too ... another thank you Lord :)

Well, that pretty much brings us up to date. Hopefully, I won't let 2 months go by inbetween now and my next Blog. Blessings to you all :)

"Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you wth My righteous right hand ." (Isaiah 41:10)

WITH HEARTFELT THANKS TO A DEAR FRIEND!!!

I have been blessed with sooooooooo many wonderful and dear friends ... I swear their kindness has been mind boggling and continues to touch my heart on a daily basis. If you ever begin to loose faith in our fellow human beings, please get in touch with me cuz I've got a million stories that will renew that lost faith; and that's the Gospel truth :)

As many of you know, our precious Nephew, 11 year old A.J. has Austism; and it is my goal to make a quilt for their anual walk for his Mom, Betsy, to raffle off every year. Well this year it has been weighing on my mind and my heart heavily cuz I just haven't had the strength or the energy to spend time in my sewing room to make that happen. When I mentioned that to my friends, in less than a week's time, this stunning quilt landed on my doorstep!!!!


It was sent by my dear friend, Eileen, who spends the majority of her quilting time making quilts for others ... mainly QOV (Quilts of Valor) for our injured Military, together with other charities; and she just happened to have this one ready waiting for the right cause. Would you look at her beautiful quilting that shows up really well on the backing!!!!!
She also sent this wonderful case to hold the quilt ... the quilting once again is stunning!!!!

And she didn't stop with just one ... she also sent this adorable little Wall Hanging!!!!!

which Dolly Darlene is obviously quite fond of it :)

Sooooooooo, Eileen, my wish for you is .............................................

that comes from this adorable little magnet my Dear Sister's BFF, Viv, so kindly sent to me recently :) I tell ya, I'm one of the most blessed souls on the face of the Earth. I can't tell you how big of a load of worry that Eileen lifted from my shoulders and I thank her from the very bottom of my heart for her generosity :)

On the medical front, I'm a bit down right now cuz after a MRI of the brain last week, a new lesion was found ... it's not as big as the first tumor and it's in a different location, so I'm scheduled for another Gamma Knife procedure on the 18th. I wasn't really too surprised when I received the news cuz I had been having some strange headaches and didn't feel right when I looked upwards. Dr. T, my Oncologists, said that this means that there is still cancer somewhere else in my body ... that the brain tumor didn't just appear out of no where ... that it had to come from somewhere. My very smart friend, Polly, said that there could have been one loose cell from the first brain tumor that caused it and that would sure be better than more cancer elsewhere. Even tho Dr. T is worried that the Ixempra (new trial drug) may not be working, we will finish out the round w/just 2 more treatments to go and do another Pet Scan. I'm anxious for all of this to be behind me; but being Stage IV, I sometimes worry it may never reach that point. God is in control tho, and I try very, very hard to let him handle all these problems that have been lingering for 6 long months now. I'm always a work in progress when it comes to releasing it all to Him, but I shall continue to try :)

I sure hope all of you are off to a good start for this Twenty Ellevn that arrived entirely too fast and I pray that it treats you and yours with an abundance of kindness. God Bless you all :)

"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." (Mark 11:24)