Summer Sewathon

It's the worse reason for having a summer sewathon.  My boy Seamus is still unwell and nothing has made him better so far. He has had an ultrasound, a liver biopsy, and a variety of blood work.  Each time he has bloodwork done, the tests show that his ALT liver enzyme has elevated more.  Doctors from two different practices are working together but the diagnosis has remained elusive.  Seamus is now on two antibiotics, in addition to the rest of the medication he is on.  In fact, some of his medication no longer fits into his pill organizer.

He spends most of days sleeping in front of his fans.

I don't go out much because of his medication schedule.  I'm just hoping something will soon work and I will have a recovering baby soon.  But with each option not working, it is hard to keep a postive spirit.  The truth is no one knows what will work for him.  So we medicate and wait and hope the sleep helps him.

And I sew to abate the anxiety.

I just make tops.  Some will go to my friend Terri to be quilted, others I will quilt later when it is cooler. I've hit the UFO boxes pretty hard and done some samples for upcoming programs that I am working on.  Here are a few I've done:

The last top is a lap quilt for our groomer.  Seamus isn't well enough to be groomed but there is some maintenance that poodles always need (because they don't shed).  Jessa came to our house last week and groomed while he layed down.  It was no easy task for her but she did a beautiful job and he is more comfortable now.  Yes, we even took the fan outside to keep him comfortable while she worked on him.

I know this is a long post but I don't often feel like posting these days.  Hopefully, I'll have better news about Seamus soon.  Hugs, Mickie

The Hippy Hippy Shake Quilt

My neighbor Carol and I found a photo of a quilt online that we fell in love with but can't seem to find anymore.  All I can tell you is that the quilter said she used 2.5 inch strips and thin border of 1.5 inches.   We call it the Hippy Hippy Shake Quilts because every time I see Amy Butler fabrics I hear the old "hippy hippy shake" song from the 1960s.   The kids today call these kinds of fabric "boho chic."  So I did the one above and decided to do a thicker border between the blocks.  

Carol did two of them:

1. 

And the log cabin version which is already completed:

We are both working on different projects now.  I am completing some UFOs and Carol is making two quilts for a gift.  But we really had fun doing the same pattern with our own tastes in fabric.  We've already picked out the next pattern we will tackle when we are done with the current projects.

Keep you posted on the next quilts!

News from the Home Front.....

A lady from my quilt guild was given a bag of old quilt pieces and blocks.  She passed them on to me because she didn't want them.  I found this top in the bag!  Isn't it a delight?  My daughter-in-law has fallen in love with it too, she thinks it is "bright and cheerful!" I'm going to have it quilted for her and my son and hope to give it to them at Christmas.  It will look really nice in their bedroom and give the boring apartment beige walls a real, POP!

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Seamus likes it too!

This was also in the bag.  I'm not sure what I will do with it, the yoyos are appliqued on a light gauzy type of fabric.  I might cut apart the blocks, baste the blocks onto a plain piece of fabric (to strenthen it) and do some kind of alternating block.  For now, it is just going into the UFO bin.  Here are the yo-yos up close:

Seamus is holding his own.  I had to take him to the vet last Saturday because he was having a really bad day.  He is stable now and we hope that the medication is finally working.  He still sleeps a lot and my whole day is structured around his medication times.  

While at the vet, he was diagnosed with entropion in his left eye; the eyelid is curling inwards and now he is also on medication for that.  Normally this would be corrected with surgery but until he is stable, the ointment will have to suffice.

The garden is the usual mess that it is in August.  I never garden during heatwaves and we had many during the last few weeks.  This past week we had two good days and I filled 4 garbage cans with yard waste.  I expect to do even more after this weekend when the cooler temperatures arrive.

I hope you and yours are all doing well!  Take care and stay cool!