What a Week

This week was... what's the word? Interesting? Maybe. Eventful? It was definitely full of good and bad moments.

How about the good news first?! On Monday morning, as scheduled, we were happy to hear of the birth of another grandson, in Texas. He's our fourth baby boy - all of them are four years old and under.

Luke John arrived at 9:26 am weighing 7 pounds 11 ounces. We've seen him only on FaceTime thus far, but I'll be visiting to help take care of both boys. Luke - though he's already been called LJ by his mom - is 3-1/2 year-old Austin's little brother.

As for bad moments, those came Monday afternoon when I had my second (right) leg catheterization. As expected, the femoral artery was 75 percent blocked. It's now opened up with a six inch-long stent. That's the good part! The procedure didn't happen without complications. Unfortunately, the cath balloon nicked the arterial membrane, causing blood to flow into the tissue of my upper thigh... and swell. While in the recovery area I started to pass out and was quickly reconnected to oxygen, an IV with meds, and a blood pressure monitor. The swelling was pretty painful, especially when they put a pressure cuff around my thigh and pumped it up to force the blood out of the tissue. Yeow! I was sent home scripts for pain med and steroids, both of which we filled. The next evening I saw the doc again for a follow-up. Happily, all is improving, and it seems that the right leg will be a less painful recovery than the left leg, which still has soreness in my calf since my December 13 stent insertion.

In consulting with the doc it turns out that the plaque build-up has been going on for "at least two decades." Wow! Years of routine cholesterol tests that showed all as "normal," were completely deceptive. I do have bad cholesterol. A more intense look at my LDL (bad cholesterol) found a couple of nasty, hereditary genes that have been causing all this. We're now insisting that our two children be checked for this hidden menace.

For the first time in my life, I'm on Lipitor so plaque won't build up. I am so fortunate that my oncologist recognized this as a real concern, and referred me to a cardio-vascular doc!  Otherwise, I would likely still be undiagnosed, and would be facing an eventual amputation - so the doc said! I shudder to think of it.

To give me some thoughts to noodle on, my daughter pointed out that if I hadn't had breast cancer, and needed to see an oncologist, this wouldn't have been diagnosed. Blessed to have had breast cancer? Hmm.

But I am... Blessed. Blessed. Blessed!

While I've been taking it easy this week - not permitted to use the foot control of my sewing machine - I hand sewed binding to my Riley Blake Challenge quilt.

The big reveal is at Monday evening's Central Florida MQG meeting. At the meeting everyone gets to vote to select a Viewer's Choice award-winner. A Best Design award-winner will also be chosen by the talented team of Jill and Marny of Modern Quilt Relish.

The other project I've begun - and I know I shouldn't be starting anything new! - is another EPP hand project. I so enjoyed hand piecing hexagons recently (for the pillow top that has yet to be sewn into a pillow!) that another EPP project was in order. I'm tackling the "Flower Ball" wall hanging designed by the uber-talented Geta Grama. Have you seen all her designs? They're exceptional! I managed to pick up a couple patterns, as PDF downloads, during a recent $5/pattern sale. That's a bargain price for the excellent instructions she offers. My friend, Cindy, recently won a bunch of Geta's patterns... the lucky girl!


Flower Ball is only as far along as these piles of cut out card stock pieces.

It took 15 printed pages, taped together, and cut out, to come up with these 199 pieces. Next is cutting fabric for each piece. These are my fabric choices. No surprise here. I'm sticking with my favorite color combo since I'll be working on it for so long.

Yep, this EPP project needs lots of prep work, but it's one of those #savoreachstitch projects that Carolyn Friedlander is such a proponent of.

So much sewing I want to do! Can't wait for health to return to 100 percent! Then watch me take off!

I'll be doing as Big Sam says in Gone With the Wind, "Horse make tracks!" Linda