Color is Back!

My friend Carla's blog post about making her Suzy's Sack, prompted me to get mine sewn too.  I love it!

Though we're both experienced sewists, each of us had problems understanding the pattern instructions. It was especially difficult to follow how to sew the handle to the bag. I first sewed it on incorrectly.

While I understand how easy it is for a designer to know what she means, and not necessarily be adept at expressing it, it's critical to have someone else review instructions. Even better, have pattern testers.

Next time I make a Suzy's Sack, I'll follow my own written notes for putting it together more quickly.

Still, Suzy's Sack is a great design, and it turned out cute. Of course, I had to change mine up a bit and use a third fabric for the lining. This "blah" fabric is one of my favorites for bag lining because it's a light color - critical for finding stuff inside a bag - and it just makes me smile!

My Suzy's Sack will hold my ID, cell phone, and camera - perfect for taking to various recreational activities.

Last Friday I had an arterial procedure that has me on restricted activities. In advance I'd prepped a couple projects to do from the recliner.

This one-inch English paper-pieced (EPP) project has been in the works for several months. It's 14" X 14" now, and ready to be made into a pillow for gifting. I like EPP because it's portable. This particular piece has actually flown with me twice to Kansas City. On one flight, I used it to teach EPP to the quilter in the seat next to me!

Another very fun project was this ticker tape canvas, a tutorial by Amanda Jean of CrazyMomQuilts.

From Michael's I bought a sale-priced seven pack of 12" X 12" canvases. Then, armed with Mod Podge and a stiff bristle brush, I applied fabric scraps to canvas.

These two were so fun to make, taking about an hour each. As much as I'd like to gift them, I'm not sure the colors suit the homes of those to whom I'd like to give them. 

So, for the time being, they're mine. We don't have anything hanging in our master water closet, so these will likely be the perk of color those white walls need. Maybe even hanging like this.

As for the cath lab procedure last Friday, it was a big success. Who can't like a doc with a great bedside manner, who always greets me, "Hello young lady!" (He told me I'm his youngest patient with this condition.) Hubby got to watch from behind a plate of glass, where he received a play-by-play of what was happening.

What was thought to have been a 90 percent blockage of the femoral artery in my thigh turned out to be a 100 percent blockage! It frightens me to think of how much worse this might have been.

Can you tell from this photo of my ugly feet which thigh had an eight inch-long stent put in? And which leg remains to be done?

If you guessed that my left leg has a stent (7mm in diameter and 200mm long) and that blood is flowing through the arteries again, you're right! 

Not only does the left leg look rosy and full, but my foot is warm! My right foot, ankle, and calf remain cool, which an odd sensation when the warm leg touches the cool one.

My condition is called peripheral artery disease (PAD), so if you ever notice a burning sensation in your leg, don't make light of it. My left calf began burning, only when exercising, last May! It took until August to be referred to a cardio-vascular physician to begin the series of (five) tests to define the problem. My only risk factor for PAD is presumed to be genetic.

On January 6 I'll have the right leg "done." The doc says it's 70 percent blocked. I'm not looking forward to again spending eight hours at the cath lab, nor the deep leg aches that follow the procedure - all due to the unaccustomed flow of blood - but gosh, it will be wonderful to have a regular blood flow again. And I am exceptionally grateful that my heart is fine.

This post is titled "Color is Back!" because of the colorful EPP and ticker tape canvases. But it's definitely good to again have healthy color in one leg. Linda