Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Painful season

  Returning after my leave of absence......While I have been reading some blogs, not much else has been done.   It has been a painful 2 weeks, as nerves seems to be healing/reawakening in my feet and back.  On the one hand I celebrate that I can feel anything including pain, and on the other hand it makes me irritable and cranky.   Changes in weather seems to stir things up even more, and this is the seasonal time for weather patterns to shift and storms to appear.

   Yesterday was a bit better, and I kept looking at the wall hanging project I took on for the quilt guild's boutique.   Happy face pumpkin---a Daisy Kingdom printed panel-- needed binding.   I had appliqued it to a large hunk of dark green polished cotton that I found lurking in the stash closet.   I decided not to add the dimensional parts after I did the applique.   I used a thin batting  to stabilize the whole piece.  For the quilting I added the puffy polyester batting....ugh to work with.  But it gives a lot of relief to the quilting stitches......and it was fun to do some playing on the machine.



  With lack of sensation in my fingers it is difficult to hold a needle and stitch....like would be needed to add a hanging sleeve.  I opted to add huge, big diagonal corners to hold a dowel or stick.

He should be cute on a covered porch  or front door for the fall season.





  Other than a few sting blocks, I managed to make a few mug rugs. These will also go into the guild boutique at the show.  Using printed panels again, I kept them quite simple with minimal stitching.

  I finished one book, started another, made a few loaves of bread, pulled a few weeds, enjoyed the back porch, and annoyed Sir Old Man to no end.  This painful season is making him crazy, but gives him incentive to work on the pullout shelves for the kitchen.

  Truthfully, I am improving, only much slower than I like.  Energy level is up a notch, stamina has come up a tiny bit, and the biggest gain is in my cognitive functioning.  Read that as brain/mind/understanding, etc.  That alone is happiness, as it has been a long road to get here.   The brain fog moves in occasionally, but I am able to overcome it by focusing on one thing.  I still "lose" words in mid-sentence, but I cope better with that too.

   I have to do the necessary things before the pain creeps in.  That does not always leave much time for things I want to work on.  Instead I grab those few minutes when I can for all the projects I want to do.  I only take the nerve pain pill at night because I can not function during the day with them.  Tylenol can keep the pain at bay some days.  Pernicious Anemia has not won yet:)

  So for June, I will once again keep a simple list.  The only thing I am putting on it is to quilt the nine patch top that is pinned and ready to go.  Anything else I  begin, plan, or work on is gravy.....something extra.
Happy stitching.

21 comments:

QuiltShopGal said...

I hope you soon feel 100%. Your body is healing and may need some alternative to quilting pampering time. How about a mani/pedi, or maybe a good massage? Or a nice cup of tea, put your feet up and watch some quilting videos?

QuiltShopGal
www.quiltshopgal.com

Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting said...

What a cute pumpkin quilt. I hadn't thought of appliqueing parts of a panel. Hope things get better soon.

Janet O. said...

Oh, Debbie, I am so concerned for your well being, and am glad to hear that you see improvement, however slowly. Painful seasons are no fun, for sure, but if it means improved feeling and cognition, it is a price I'm sure you are willing to pay to get to a new season!
You are a wise woman, pacing your expectations, and limiting your goals. Working with panels is smart--giving you very cute finishes without all the fussiness of piecing.
Love the pumpkin banner--really fun quilting!
Keeping you in my prayers, as always!

---"Love" said...

Keep on hangin' in there; that's what I've been having to do, and it isn't easy! Your pumpkin is so cute! Thanks for the idea of corner triangles for hangers; I'll have to try that. I really like the idea of feet up and watching quilting videos; let's both try that this week! ---"Love"

Carole @ From My Carolina Home said...

Wonderful projects when you are not feeling well. Hang in there, hoping your energy and stamina return soon.

Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson said...

It's a tough road recovering but I'm glad you are making progress. That is better than going the other way. I'm glad your Tylenol is working in the daytime so you don't have to do the meds all the time. Little by little small projects will get you back to the big ones soon.

Linda Swanekamp said...

Debbie, so sorry for all your pain. I know what you mean about weather changes. It changes every 15 minutes here for the last 2 weeks and makes my neck, jaw and shoulder spasm- but thank God- NO migraines! After 5-8 per month for decades, I have had only 5 since Thanksgiving- all due my TMJ doctor. I thought all the other chronic pain would clear up, but it is still disabling at times. My cognitive function is much better due to less migraines and less neurological drugs. I am proud you that you keep nibbling away at things- the FMQ around the pumpkin is fabulous!

Quilting Tangent said...

Cute Jack O'Lantern. Feel better.

Ray and Jeanne said...

Thinking of you and knowing how rotten nerve pain is. Hang in there and enjoy the good days. ~Jeanne

Mary said...

You've been on my mind and I'm so relieved to see the good news in this post and the progress you continue to make. Don't get discouraged.

Mystic Quilter said...

So sorry to hear that you have had a difficult two weeks - and understatement!! I can sympathise with the issue to taking a nerve pill during the day, if I take mine in the morning then I dare not use a rotary cutter! In fact I couldn't use anything - full stop.
Debbie, I hope there is continued improvement for you on all the issues you are dealing with. God Bless.

Dana Gaffney said...

There you are! I've been watching for you and starting to worry. Sorry about the pain, but everything else I just read is really good news! You have had a long, hard fight and finally there's improvement, you made me laugh when you said it wasn't happening as fast as you wanted, if that happened you would have been better the next day. Do you need to be reminded how bad all of this was and how far you've come? Keep fighting and when you're having a good moment do a happy dance :)

Gene Black said...

I agree that the puffy polyester batting is "ugh" to work with. But you did a great job on the pumpkin piece.

Louise said...

Hang in there, Debbie! I'm holding you in my thoughts for continued recovery, hopefully faster all the time. I'm so glad you're seeing decreased brain fog.

Nicki said...

So glad to see your post again but sorry that the pain issues are still there. I continue to pray for your recovery & Sir Old Man's patience. Most recoveries take longer than we want. Your pumpkin wall hanging is precious. Just keep doing what you like best...a little at a time. Baking bread, sewing, weeding, etc. sounds like you've done a lot lately. Hang in there!

Barbara said...

It's so frustrating not to be able to do the things you want to do, especially for a busy person like yourself. Having experienced an unexplained 5-year period of chronic pain, I am sympathetic to what you're going through. Patience and time can work wonders, but the waiting is not easy.

Auntiepatch said...

Blessings on you and Sir Old Man! It will get better.

Lindafromnm said...

Oh, Debbie, I'm so sorry to hear that you are continuing to have the problems you do. I really admire you for the beautiful works of art that are being done in spite of the pain and neuropathy. What an inspiration you are to me.

Lynette said...

UGh!! So aggravating to have to deal with this! I'm glad the medicine helps, but what a bummer that it messes up the day. The pumpkin hanging turned out super fun.

Lindah said...

So good to catch up. I've been concerned. How frustrating it must be to make forward progress, but with the pain so persistent. I'm joining Auntiepatch in praying blessings heaped on you and Sir Old Man and believing that it WILL get better.

Cheree @ The Morning Latte said...

Bittersweet to regain feeling only to feel pain, I'm sure! Sadly the weather gets my foot and leg nerve pain as well but I know it's nothing like you are going through. Yes we find positive things to focus on to keep our chins up. I'm sure Sir Old Man has been a help and a comfort--I know he's a keeper like mine. :)

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