Happy Leap Year and Giveaways

Yes it is leap year day.....so happy birthday to all of you leap year day babies.  and let's celebrate with some giveaways.

Now here is the prize package I am drawing for:

• A pair of hemostats- to help get stuff out of your machine or turning pieces.
• 2 rolls of Quilt Time Savers Seamless Quilt Binding.  Each one will do a Queen or King size quilt 2 1/2" x 12 yards.  One blue roll and one green roll.
• 15 zippers in various colors and lengths.  Remember that awesome drawer of zippers I bought a while back on ebay.  I love being able to go into the draw and pull out great zippers to make handibags out of.
• And last a travel sewing kit.  It has prethreaded needles for that emergency fixes.  An awesome little tin when you are done also.

Here's how to enter my giveaway drawing. 

• Follow my blog
• Leave a comment about Leap Year Day
• If you have a blog link back to this giveaway on your blog.

I'll draw for the winner on March 1st and post the winner.  Good luck.

Several other ladies are having giveaways.  Bonnie Hunter on her blog Quiltville Blogspot is having a giveaway to celebrate Leap Year Day also.  So run on over to her site and leave a comment,  you'll be entered into the drawing for prizes.

Pat Sloan is also holding a giveaway on her blog Pat Sloan's Blog.  Take a stroll over there and also leave a comment to register for her wonderful prizes.

Best of luck today in all of the drawings.  You can link this to all of your sites and encourage everyone you know to take advantage of this giveaway.

Happy Quilting,
Shelia

Update on dad:  Had him back in the ER last night for urniary retention, had to change out his catheter again.  He was totally blocked and had no urine output all day!  Think someone would have noticed that!  O.K. that is the nurse manager coming out in me and I was pissed.  But things are better right now and I will move on to the next battle......trying to take one day at a time and that is hard for us type A personalities. 

Don't forget to enter the drawings.

Thread, Thread, Thread

 Fabric and thread are one of the quilter's most favorite things.  And since receiving my Connecting Threads catalog I have been drooling over some of the newest thread colors.  They even put them into groups.  I am contemplating ordering some of them for my birthday....hehe.

I have the Pat Sloan classes coming up in a couple of weeks and we will be doing applique......so of course I need to add to my thread collection. (sounds like a good enough excuse to me to order some more thread).  Now  NO laughing allowed from my bee girls who have seen my thread collection already.  I know I don't "Need" any new thread, but just like that special piece of fabric we all want, how can you turn down these lucious colors of thread?

Update on Dad:
We got dad moved to NHC for rehab late yesterday evening.  Hopefully with 1-2 weeks of rehab we can get him back on his feet and moving again.  Pray that we keep him drinking enough fluid to keep that kidney functioning.  Mom and I are both exhausted and hoping that the physicial therapists can get him rocking.  Still some confusion at times but with all he has been through it is no wonder.  Heck I am confused at times right now just from exhaustion.  As a nurse it is so frustrating for me to be waiting for others to get things done.  I just want to do it myself and get it done.......very hard for me.  I've aggrivated my neck again this week pulling and lifting with dad, but I can't let him be dirty and wait for someone else to take care of it, so I do it myself.  Mom is not able to move him by herself so we really need to get some strength back for him.  His room mate at the center is 98 years old and a sweet little fellow. 

Back to work today in the ER.  Hope you can get some quilting in sometime today.
Shelia

Out With The Old And In With The New

See this ruler........I bought this ruler when I first started quilting in 1992.  Love this 12 1/2 inch ruler for squaring up blocks.  

 Well I dropped the ruler and other day and broke two corners and cracked it across the middle.  I was able to get the crack back in line, but it still has two corners missing.  My dear husband tried for over an hour to convince me to just go get another ruler.  He kept reminding me that this poor ruler was 20 years old and I had used the heck out of it in those 20 years.  He's right but he just doesn't understand how special your rulers are to you as a quilter.  But after I messed with it for a while I finally gave in and admitted that my long time friend would have to be replaced.  I am so used to using this ruler and haven't really liked any of the newer ones that are on the market, but guess I will have to try some of them out.

I had to take some things over to my grand daughter the other side of Spartanburg so we made a buzz by Joann's.  This was my first time in this store.  Toooooo much stuff to look at...hehe.
I looked over all of their rulers and finally settled on this set of two.  Fiskars 6 1/2 and 12 1/2 inch square rulers. 

 Hopefully they will be my new best friends.

Update on Dad:
We are attempting to get him moved from the hospital to NHC for rehab today.  I've been to the center and gotten him signed up and his room is waiting on the hospital side to finish their stuff up.  Hopefully a week or two there will get him up and about again.  I've been making him exercise his legs in the bed inbetween his PT treatments at the hospital.  Now to get him up and moving again.

Happy Quilting,
Shelia

Article About Bonnie Hunter

This week I received my Winter 2012 issue of On Track! magazine from IMQA, the International Machine Quilters Association.  I have been reading it while at the hospital with dad.

This issue has a wonderful article by Linda Hamson, the editor of the magazine and Vice President of IMQA, about Using Up Your Stash. In the article she visits Quiltville and Bonnie Hunter's free patterns for using your scraps. 

If you've never visited Bonnie's website you will be thrilled when you do.  Run on over now to Quiltville and spend some time with Bonnie's scrap user's sytem and all of the beautiful patterns she has for your enjoyment.

Thanks Bonnie for all of your inspiration.

Happy Quilting,
Shelia

Update on Dad:  Taking a few steps forward and some backwards.  We had gotten the catheter out and were hoping to go to rehab this weekend.  But found that he was not emptying his bladder and had to reinsert the catheter.  Started also with a cough so CXR is pending on that.  Hopefully no pneumonia setting up.  Trying to keep him moving those legs and taking those deep breaths.  Prayers keep going up for his speedy recovery.  Thanks for all the love coming our way.

Quilter's Are Very Resourceful

This is an update on everything.

I don't know about you but one thing that always drives me crazy when you are at a hospital where people are trying to rest is a squeaky door. 

Every time someone tried to just open the door and check on dad this crazy hospital door squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeked, cracked and squalled.  Driving me nuts!  So what does a quilter do?

Monday I brought my sewing machine oil to the hospital and oiled every single part of the hinge.  Problem solved!  Now the staff can open the door and it doesn't wake dad up everytime they check. 

Tuesday was my friend Kim's birthday.  Hard to believe that last year on this day we were in Cosumel Mexico swimming with the dolphins and stingrays for her birthday.  Boy how time flies.  Roger stopped by the gift shop and found this pillow which is so fitting for Kim.

The back is fur covered the color of our cat "sissy" and the one on the front looks like her too.  It says "No outfit is complete without CAT HAIR"

Kim loved the pillow.

The PT girl and I were able to get dad up into the chair for about 25 minutes yesterday.  Jello legs for sure.  But he is up out of the bed.  Another miracle.  His appetite is slowly coming back and we are trying to get him to eat to build his strength.  Nothing makes you weaker than jello for five days and being sedated, especially at his age.  He was asking lots of questions yesterday about what happened and why he was in the hospital.  His short term memory is working as he can remember what he did a few hours before you ask.  Another great milestone in his recovery.  One week ago today we didn't think he was going to pull through this........amazing.......and I am so blessed and happy for his continued recovery. 

Now for UFO update.  Remember all of those cathedral window blocks I got made and in my ready bag?  Well I have gotten 2 panels of 14 blocks each completed while at the hospital with dad. I wasn't able to work on any of the panels pieces until Wednesday when dad's condition improved.  He was way too roudy before that to do any sewing.  We spent most of the time trying to keep him from hurting himself and in the bed during his confusion.  Amazing how strong they are when they are confused.  Now this picture was taken when I took them out of being rolled up in my ready bag so they are a little wrinkled but will flatten out.   These two are ready to sew together and add to to additional panels getting ready to be added to the "mother ship".  Mother ship is the term I use for the larger completed portion of the quilt.

Now I need to refill my ready bag and take with me today.  I love Pat Sloan's idea of having this "ready bag" in your car.  Don't know why I haven't done this before.  I always waited until we were going on a trip and got a bunch of blocks ready to take with me.  Oh well, now I am really concentrating on getting this quilt done and this UFO option is certainly helping.  I have a doctor's appointment myself today and will not get to the hospital until later today.  Mom is with dad there now.

I cooked chicken in the crockpot while I was at the hospital yesterday and made chicken and dumplings last night when I got home.  I'll take some to the hospital today for dad.  God's penicillin is what I have always called chicken and dumplings.  Nothing, in my book, gets you better quicker than chicken and dumplings!

Hope that you can work some quilting into your day today.  I have the list of my UFO's that I picked during the 12 tips printed and with me in my "ready bag" to keep me reminded of what I am working on getting completed.  Never hurts to remind yourself of your goals.  I have the material pressed and ready to cut for the borders of the patriotic quilt.  Another one of my UFO's are getting close to completion.  YIPPIE!

Happy quilting,
Shelia

Update On Dad

We have the full gammit of doctors consulting and hope they are all communicating together so here is their take:
Urologist....the plumbing is working. Meaning that there is a stent in place and a catheter in place to keep the kidney working and hopefully and urine draining.
Nephrologist-kidney specialist. His BUN and Creatinine are slowly improving. Still remain elevated but coming down slowly. Dr. Yu now does not think that all of the confusion is due to his kidney function. Going to consult neurology.
Hospitalist-medical management. Sodium up today so changed IV fluids, keeping antibiotics going due to spiked a fever last night. Continues clear liquid diet due to confusion...we've had every flavor and color of jello so far. INR 2.3 today which means blood is back to a normal thinned level with his coumadin. CT scan on Friday night was negative for stroke but concerned also about continued confusion.
Cardiologist-heart is still in sinus rhythm, no problems with atrial fib at this time. Continues on remote telementry to monitor that.
Pulmonologist-lung specialist. Dad started last night with wheezing. Started on breathing treatments, which really haven't changed the wheezing very much. He only starts wheezing when he gets aggitated and trying to get out of bed.
Dad still doesn't recognize mom or me today. Maybe neuro can shed some light....or not, we'll continue to take one hour at a time.
Thanks to everyone for all of the continued prayers and calls. Shelia


Happy Quilting,
Shelia