Saturday, June 9, 2012

Rose colored glasses

As my friend Robin says, I tend to look at the world through rose colored glasses.  I must have had them on when I thought I'd be able to sew one-eyed, what a joke on me!  I can't really judge depth without two eyes.  So, all my hopes of sewing are shelved until after surgery on July 5th.  Yes, I was referred to a retina specialist as he operates behind the lens and that's what is needed to get this bit of fluff out of my eye.  Actually, the visit was pretty cool because of all the stuff they have there-who knew you could do sonograms of the eyeball with a little wand the size of a permanent marker?


So, with my sewing back-burnered for a month or so, I will concentrate on "binning" everything I keep turning up around the house.  I had to go back to Target and buy a half dozen more bins to hold fabric, yarn, books, linens and all sorts of things I'm finding.  At least the nice clear plastic ones will make it easyto find things!


I am doing well with Weight Watchers, too  I think this time I've finally decided to do it for myself, not some event in the future or because someone else thinks I should.  I've met my first goal, 10% of my starting weight, and now I will will set another short term goal.  I'm feeling so much better because I'm eating so much better!


I continue to read blogs that keep me excited about sewing and quilting.  There is so much out there I don't know and yet I want to really jump in and start something BIG.  I know I should start with something small, and I hopefully will, but BIG sounds like so much more fun.  Beebee is hoping to start another round of the online quilting bee this fall, and I'm hoping to be a part of it.  Last year was kind of a mess because of all the eldercare stuff we were dealing with.  It continues to be draining emotionally, but we are trying to be as supportive as we can.


Well, I'm off to drool over patterns I cannot sew at the moment, and fabric I cannot cut at the moment......

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Back to Basics

It's been a while since I posted because I've been so upset dealing with my eye.  My first cataract surgery (yes, old eyes surgery) went without a problem.  I'm seeing almost 20/20 out of my right eye.  The left....let's just say things always have a way to surprise.  The short story is that even having to put two lens in as the first didn't "seat", a small piece hid behind the iris of my eye and is now a fluffy bit of debris located behind the lens.  I feel like I'm looking through a translucent bathroom window at shapes.  I will need another surgery.


Ah, but why stress, right?  Well, two weeks from yesterday I will be standing on the beach enjoying the ocean.  Florida, here we come!  One week over two weekends will feel like heaven on earth!


But this post is really about all the things I've been finding as we reorganize the storage in this house.  I have found skeins of yarn, bags of stuffing, and I can't even calculate the amount of fabric that has been hiding in the most unusual places!  So, back to basics:  I will be spending a few days organizing color families and deciding what to sew now that I have figured out how to do it one-eyed.  I have my Lillies miniquilt to finish up for V, hers is gorgeous (of course) and I want to take it in to work to have in my cube.


I would like to try some of the bag patterns in some of the books I've bought over the last year, and I'd like to read with understanding the book on fitting I have.  I need to be able to adjust patterns so I can sew for Lilli and Sarah without their physical bodies being here. I have some beautiful lengths of suiting fabric and washable suede for blazers for them, but I don't want to cut into it until I know the garments will fit.  


I'm hoping to make some very cute pin cushions with scrapes that haven't gone into made fabric, and I have a sewing room accessory set due to a swapper who has patiently waited for me to finish it.


It will be nice to get back to basics and see some of my stash go down and my WIPs get finished!