Reflecting

The bedraggled thing in the picture below is a beloved stuffed dog that my hubby cherished when he was little. Dog (he didn't have a name) endured many hugs, with one particularly vivid memory being when hubby was hospitalized for having his tonsils removed, and his parents brought Dog to him in the hospital. I'm sharing this because wee doggy was accidentally left behind when we moved in May, 2012! The poor fellow was tucked away on the top shelf of the master bedroom closet where he wasn't seen until the new homeowners recently found him. We're grateful for their thoughtfulness in contacting us, and then going to the effort to mail him. Some lovely people are still to be found, aren't they?

Another lovely person, Cindy in our Mid-Century Modern Bee, sent me these two gifts, a scarf and trivet, along with the blocks she made during my June Queen Bee month. Cindy shared that breast cancer awareness is a very dear cause to her and her husband Keith who made the 12" ceramic trivet.

Since a few of you have inquired about the status of my health, I share that am doing extremely well, tolerating without side effects a daily dose of the keep-cancer-away drug (Arimidex) I've been on since April 18. Two weeks ago I returned to the imaging doc for a recheck and was given an "all clear" until another check in December. Before then, I'll keep regular appointments with my general practitioner, oncologist, surgeon, and radiation oncologist, so if anything untoward pops up, I'm in good hands.

If you can't remember when you had your last mammogram, it's time to have one! The ONLY way my breast cancer could have been found was through a routine, annual mammogram, and I thank God it was! I had NO - zero, zip, nada - risk factors for breast cancer, and got it anyway. Your check-ups aren't anything to pooh-pooh, ladies!

Last Thursday morning I started teaching again - First Time Quiltmaking - and boy-o, was it a nice class! Eighteen women signed up, and 18 women showed up! I think that's a first - to have every registrant attend the first class. Guess that's the different between free lessons and paid-for lessons! 

It was somewhat daunting to face this roomful of empty chairs, but shortly afterward, many smiling faces put me at ease. Students were attentive and, based on their thoughtful questions, very engaged about learning how to make a quilt. I'm looking forward to lesson two this Thursday morning.

I'll have to add that though I am thrilled to be teaching again, these different circumstances are making me miss the thoughtful and supportive Iowa women who always helped me teach. They quite spoiled me by helping unload/load my car; set up/take down my sewing machine; unpack/pack-up quilts and bins of supplies, and answering questions and generally help students. Among my most supportive friends were Norma, Michelle, Bug...

Kim 

Susan

Lola (me on the left)

Mary, Deb, Suzanne... and many others who helped with six years of Stitchin' Mission lessons... You're the best! I miss you!

At home, between activities, I'm steadily FMQing Bloom. It's coming along as I'm now filling in open spaces with feathers.

I especially like to quilt feathers. A glass of wine alongside - in the evenings only - help take the edge off, so quilted feathers are smoother. That's my story, anyway.

Linda