For the Interventional Radiology Surgical Team

 While my doctors are of course important to what I had done, so is their support team in the Operating Room.  Before my five-hour Angiovac, Nurse Eileen was particularly comforting and reassuring, telling me how fabulous this surgical team is and how they work together like family.  I remember smiling as the anesthesiologist gave me his magic drugs.  From the leftovers of the Alison Glass fabrics I used in my swap quilt (see next post which hasn't yet been written), I made this quilted Mors Bag for Eileen. 

 Inside Eileen's bag are 10 more bags, not quilted but absolutely functional.  This morning at my one-month checkup, I asked nurse Ben (this place - Vascular/Interventional Radiology of Hinsdale - hires the nicest people) to make sure Eileen and the surgical team got this package.  I also have another 10 bags in process and asked for a call if these bags are a hit and more of the team or spouses want more.  I dont want to be overly dramatic, but this team saved my life and I would do anything for them.

more bags in process, including some manly ones

 Finally, one of John's beautiful jazz t-shirts got kind of creepy looking in the armpits and neck.  But it's a beautiful shirt.  So we salvaged the good part and turned it into a Mors bag.  I think John will use it as a door prize at the Brookfield Jazz Society.

                                        I am happy to be sewing and to be alive! 

Getting My Head Out Of My Medical Butt

Regaining my sewing mojo?  Easier said than done.  So I revert to an old favorite - Mors Bags.  They are pretty simple to do.  They are great at stash busting.  They provide a great sense of accomplishment.  And now I have a lot of bags all ready to give away.  To be able to focus on someone other than myself is important to me at this point.  I am going to start with the Surgical Team of the Interventional Radiologists - what a fabulous group.  Without being overly dramatic, they saved my life. 

You can see that I am trying to rid my stash of all these batiks, some of which are over 10 years old.  There's a pile in the bottom left that are all part of a demo I am doing at my Chicago Modern Quilt Guild next week.  I still have several more I want to do, especially of bags that are a bit more manly.  (I have run into my knee surgeon a couple of times at the grocery store, sporting one of the Mors bags I gave him).  Since batiks are so tightly woven, I don't line them.  The next batch will all be ones that must be lined.  But whether the bags are lined or unlined, the technique is the same.  The very bottom bag is one that I made months ago, and we truly use it on an almost daily basis. 

Reduce (my fabric stash), reuse (these cloth bags and wash them when necessary) , recycle (by saying no to plastic bags). 

Bit by Bit, Putting It Together...

 

Sondheim, right?  When stuck for words, I go to Sondheim.  This particular song is from "Sunday in the Park with George" and refers to mounting an artist's exhibition.  In my case, the "bit by bit" is getting my life under control after a 13-day hospitalization involving a brutal but successful cardiovac (google only if you have a strong constitution) to get rid of systemic blood clots.  One bit is gaining stamina.  Today I am doing some driveway walking and marching.  Tomorrow I will do more than today, and  I may even drive!  

A second bit is what's on the design wall.  My Chicago Modern Quilt Guild is doing  a swap of mini quilts with the Ann Arbor Modern Quilt Guild.  The Chicago minis were collected at the August meeting and sent to the Ann Arbor girls.    I want to get this mini-quilt finished in time for their September meeting.  All parts are ready for assembly.  I'm calling this "Woven Glass" because all the fabrics are by designer Alison Glass.  And tomorrow I will start to actually sew and begin quilting it.

The third bit is just regaining some normalcy despite a glut of tests and doctor appointments all through September.  I've been home from the hospital for three days and am just delighting in being in my house with John without an IV and without 8-hour blood draws.  Blood thinning medication is an absolute necessity, and I will keep it monitored closely.  Meanwhile John is still recuperating from his second vitrectomy on his left eye. 

Daily I will find joy, and daily I will do something purposeful.  And I am smiling.  A lot.  I'm a lucky girl with fabulous support from family, friends, and a great team of doctors. 

Out of all the patients at LaGrange and Hinsdale Hospitals, I know that I had the prettiest quilted bags.

This quilt was delivered in early August.  Mom Joan Walsh commissioned this for her daughter Caroline, a recent graduate of Lyons Township, and gave it to her for her late August birthday.  

It's August for August!

Here's the back of the baby quilt for August, grandson of favorite client Roberta.  She buys the fabric, designs the layout, does the cutting, and then brings me the "kit."  She waits until her grandchildren are 2 or 3, which I think is pretty wise.  I love working with her.  Here's another quilt she designed.  There's another one, which I can't find right now.  I must get better at labelling.

I love how Roberta finds fabrics for what her grandchildren's parents want.  Waiting until the kids are a bit older makes these quilts special since they go with the child and the bedroom.  These quilts, including this one, are "draggers".  They are meant to be used and dragged around and washed a lot.

This lovely batik on the quilt back enhances the sea theme on the front of the quilt.


I don't know how Roberta found me, and she doesn't remember either.  All I know is that it's a good fit and I enjoy working with her! 

Here's a link to the first baby quilt I did for Roberta.  

A Working Inspiration Board

Without saying too much about what I'm working on, here's my palette.  The bottom left is the look I'm going for.  We'll see...  Meanwhile I'm working with one of my favorite clients - the grandmother who likes to buy fabric and create quilts for her grandchildren.  Except she doesn't want to sew.  She gives me a kit she's created.  And each time she's given me one of her kits, I bump her to the top of my queue because I like what she does.  And I love doing baby quilts.  Stay tuned for this quilt! 

"But but but but but but but..."

"But what if I love this quilt and don't want to give it away?"  And that's when they whipped out this second quilt made for me to keep.  I was stunned - in the best possible way.  This quit - it is possible that it is prettier than the first one?  I see so many favorite fabrics.  Each block is beautiful.  Together they create a quilt that so appeals to my color and design anesthetic.  Melissa Bogusch, Debbie Bookman, Emily Bruzzini, Jennifer Benoit-Bryan, Mimi Djenno, Sarah Evans, Holly Harper, Beth Kovacic, Jennifer Lowe, Eileen O'Regan, Debbie Pine, Rachel Rivera, Tricia Royal, Wayne Rhodes, and Sarah Shulman are the makers of both of these quilts.  Frank Karls of T and F Studios did the quilting on both, and his quilting is flawless.

 My quilt has 12 blocks on the front and 3 blocks on the back.  And like with my mom's quilt, I am determined to figure out who did which ones.  Some I know because they are signed.  And some I know because of fabrics.  Emily B gave me some of the wonderful black-white leafish fabric to the left.  I know that is her block.  The coolest moment was receiving this second quilt - I didn't ugly cry but I was teary and stunned.  But the second best moment?  Looking around and seeing the grinning, delighted faces of those makers who were present that night.  The looks on their faces of love and pride and obviously happiness at pulling off this surprise (although I am pretty oblivious and they really can't take too much credit for that) is a tableau that will stay in my heart forever.

Each maker deserves a paragraph on their importance in my life.  I have sewn, retreated, travelled, and shared special meals with them.  Our discussions range from the cosmic with life and death issues to the mundane of purse strap lengths and the use of invisible magnets and various interfacings and battings.   They are a community of great importance, and their spirit of generosity is enormous.
 Most special is my friend Wayne's participation in these - we have been QuiltFriendsForever ever since we picked each other up at a Fiber Arts Show at the Botannical Gardens in November 2007.

I love these quilts.  I love those who participated in them.  And I am so lucky and blessed to be a part of this community.  Appreciative?  Thankful?  Both don't seem strong enough.  Thrilled, pleased beyond pleased.  These quilts are indeed the most generous, nicest, and most beautiful gifts I have received.  Ever.

I wish it were cold so I could use mine.  Now.

Karma and My Mother's Altruism

My mother lived to serve others.  Not just family and friends but often strangers.  She once took in a woman who badly burned her hands and arms and was all bandaged from fingers to elbows.  Not only did my mom do all the personal care for this young woman, this woman had an infant who also needed tending to.  She did this for over 4 weeks. 

Have you heard of those long-married couples who die just days apart?  After my dad died last July, I kept looking at my mom.  Her Alzheimer's robbed her of all memories, and she was just mostly pleasantly blank.  When she died in December, we all felt a wonderful sense of relief.

My quilty friends have been with me for the past five years and through this journey with my folks.  After my mom died, I shared with them the family's request:  that acts of charity be done in my mom's honor.  I also apparently said (and I don't remember this but I'm sure it's true) to not make me a quilt.

This weekend I was with some of my quilty besties, and at dinner Friday night they presented me with this quilt.  And the proviso attached is that this quilt be given to someone or some organization in honor of my mom Joanne Marie Long White.  I am eager to talk with my sister and brothers and see what thoughts they have about to how best to gift this quilt. 

I think this quilt is beauitiful.  It is 12 blocks of 20" modern log cabins.  There is one red that contributors each used, which gives the quilt a wonderful unity.  Some signed their blocks, and some didn't.  I am determined to find out who made each block.  "I spy with my little eye" some of my favorite fabrics.  To see them in combination makes my heart smile.  I love this quilt.

When the girls told me I must give this away, I said, "But but but but but what if I love this and can't give it away?" They laughed - heartily, I might add - and said they knew I would say this.  And that's when they....

Stay tuned for tomorrow's blog post.  My heart is too full to tell the rest of this story today.

Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?

Disclaimer:  The following post is not about quilting and it's not about my health.  

Christmas 2008 John and I,  unbeknownst to one another, gave each other the same present:  a copy of Roz Chast's Theories of Everything, a collections of her cartoons.  Throughout our marriage we have always had a subscription to The New Yorker.  While John actually reads it, I skim for cartoons, and Roz Chast is simply brilliant.

Last year, as both of my parents were dying, this memoir of Roz Chast came out to great acclaim.  Best review? 
An achievement of dark humor that rings utterly true. (Washington Post)

So I bought copies for my sister, my brothers, and me.  And then I coudn't read it.  Until yesterday.  I needed a book for the train and for waiting in medical offices.  Something interesting which required little concentration.  And I grabbed this book.

It is the brutally honest memoir of her parents' decline and deaths.  And so much of what Chast writes about is exactly the path we too walked.  The big difference?  She is an only child, and my siblings and I had one another to bounce off of.  There's that golden age where all is well with both of them.  Then one incident happens.  Which triggers another incident.  The end of their independence signals the beginning of the loss of yours.  Here's one of my favorite pages:

I was the Gallant daughter trying very hard to keep the Goofus daughter hidden.  Usually I succeeded.  My siblings might disagree with this.

My parents were wonderful people.  But my parents were both quirky.  This sort of wonderful quirkiness is something Chast captures in both of her parents as well.  I promise you that the following is actually a conversation my mom and I had when we were downsizing from their house in Chicago to "active senior living."

My parents were born in the 20's and lived through the Depression and World War II.  These events shaped them.  And Chast's parents too were a part of this generation.

It is no surprise that this book ends with the deaths of her parents. Chast is a sketcher, and she included sketches of her parents as they were actively dying.  Grief counselor buddy Cecilia, who is only too familiar with death, commented that actively dying people get a "pointy" look.  I was clueless until I saw this in my dad and then a few months later in my mom.  Chast's sketches capture this "pointiness."

Reading this book made me relive in a good way the path my siblings and I walked with my parents.  Like Chast, we are all so at peace with our parents' deaths.  And now I realize the responsibility we have to our own children.  We need to have these discussions about death and arrangements and finances and living wills and medical directives.

I think I am now ready to focus on sewing.  And maybe a batch of poppy seed fig jam thumbprint cookies.  

'Roid Rage

A tote bag with a vinyl bottom for my dear physical terrorist's daughter

Steroids.  Oy.  Up since two.  One more day.  Began to clean out my parents' papers and made small progress but progress.  And then, after starting a lovely book, "At The Water's Edge" by Sara Gruen, then ants in the pants happened and I had to head to the studio.  I need to made a med file for all the appointments coming up, and I have a slew of thank-you notes.  But just to keep me focused a bit here's a picture-heavy post of things on my immediate radar.  However, my definition of "immediate radar" seems to be changing. 

A Molly Market Tote Bag because I sold my last one but not without making sure I could duplicate it

Maybe something with these fabrics - a Hazel Hipster? 

A Trapezoid Tote all ready to assemble - I'm determined to make this one neater.  Current one to go the the wife of the fabulous Dr. Mike Dupont at the Family Medical Center of LaGrange.  I'd show you the invisible magnets that hold the bag together, but they are - well, difficult to see. 

Figuring out what to do with these Alison Glass fat quarters - something for the current swap project with the Ann Arbor Modern Quilt Guild that is due in August

Moving these to my too ugly to live pile or swapping them for something.  What on earth was I thinking?

Putting these away - I don't know how this pile got started.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Doing a bag or purse for my buddy Wayne's wife Wendy.  This black-and white comma fabric by Zen Chic in one of my favorites, and I know she will like this, too.  

Ok, ok.  Rage is too strong.  Let's just call this 'roid creativity...  Maybe I'll just sing "Back in the Saddle Again," which I think I actually have a recording of!

Another Blip in the Ryhthm of the Studio

All I have wanted to do is finish this purse - the Noodlehead Trail Tote in Carolyn Friedlander's Doe fabrics.  You can see that I changed the light piping and strap to black.  It is finally finished, and I am test driving it to the Goodman Theatre today.

But I have been in the hospital again.  Last month is was to go on blood thinners.  This month it was to stop the subdural hematomas and go off the blood thinners.  I have a huge list of specialists to see, and my brother-in-law the ENT surgeon gave me this wisdom:  See the specialists in the order of what you think is gonna kill you first.   So, neurosurgeon, hematologist, gastroenterologist, pulmonologist, and finally the interventional radiologists who put a little umbrella in my vena dava designed to catch any DVT's.   If necessary, I urge you to use this same advice

I feel great. I am under orders to walk but not lift weights.   And get this:  I can sew all I want to!  This second stay at LaGrange Hospital was another most positive experience.  I am feeling very lucky for the care I received from the medical community, my family, and my friends!

interior pockets

I don't know if this is fortunate or not.  The drug I'm taking to stop the brain bleeds is a steroid.  And I think I'm wired.  Tomorrow's post may be one of those listings of all the projects I have rolling around in my brain.  However, the steroids end Tuesday morning.  We'll see...

Good to be alive and walking and looking for daily joy!