November! And the October Round-Up

 Knee surgery has had a way of taking me out of circulation for awhile, but I am finally able to welcome a new month (a full week of which has passed) and put together a collage for October.

My right knee was a total replacement on October 23. I spent one night in the hospital and went the next evening to in-patient rehab for three nights. I got some good rehab while there, and have been doing my PT exercises as faithfully as I can. I have begun twice weekly out-patient rehab, so I feel like I am doing all I possibly can to recover fully. The motivation is being ready for the holidays, granddaughters, and a January 1st departure for Florida.

So, that is a brief review of the surgery; let's review October, shall we?

TOP ROW: This is a bell that was recently removed from the Hillsboro (OH) United Methodist Church. It had been in place atop the church for over 100 years, and in an effort to protect and safeguard the bell for another hundred-plus years, some repairs are taking place. We had a chance to see the bell in it's safe storage space and admire its incredible beauty. I should know a lot more details about the bell, but I will need to refresh my memory from other sources. Next, meet my great-uncle John who is 96 years young. After seeing the bell, we took a drive down to Peebles for a short visit with him. And we went to the local Mexican restaurant on Mom's 89th birthday. She had a grand time, as you can see as we were singing to her in the restaurant! 

MIDDLE ROW: Knowing that the pending knee surgery would limit my quilting time, I put this small-ish layer cake quilt on and cranked it out in short order. My thinking was that I'd get the binding attached, then handstitch it down while I recovered. More on that idea in a bit. Next we have granddaughter Cate in the center photo, then granddaughter Reagan in the third photo alongside Pappaw Kevin. We were all together to celebrate Reagan's first birthday. 

BOTTOM ROW: Both granddaughters were again together with us at our annual Hocking Hills weekend. They were such fun, and we loved having them all with us for a getaway weekend. Nothing as blissful as time spent with special little people like these two. I did get one more quilt cranked on and off the long arm machine before surgery. And no, I did not get the bindings stitched on. So this quilt and the one above are both awaiting binding. I've prepped the two bindings, and I do think I am sufficiently recovered to tackle this job in the coming week. Last pic is off the knee as it appeared a week or so post-surgery. This is the original bandage. Swelling and discoloring aside, experts who've inspected it tell me it looks good.

Current projects and plans:

1. Since being home, and now feeling somewhat bored, I've had a few sessions upstairs in the sewing room. I've got a project underway - not yet shared here - that involves making about 40 6.5-inch pinwheels. I'm churning those out slowly. Finishing will go quickly once those pinwheels are made. I have about 22 done at present. I'll be sharing more on this fun kid's quilt soon.

2. I will also do those bindings mentioned above.

3. I've been appliqueing those Tilda hexie-flowers to a pretty neutral. When I have 12-15 done, I will stitch up a sweet little 9-patch quilt with these hexie blocks as setting squares. I showed a sample layout in this post.

Beyond these immediate plans, Sharon and I are chomping at the bit to make an around-the-world quilt using Kaffe Fasset fabrics. These are simple, easy quilts to do, and one doesn't really need a pattern, as all the different surrounds can vary in width. The most challenging part is deciding on the combinations of fabrics. I think I want mine to be predominantly pink, and beyond that I want to lean to pastels. Now, I am forcing myself to use the existing stash, so I may have to rethink things, but this is my starting point. Adaptations will likely have to be considered.

Hope y'all are having a great November! I hope to be back to more regular blogging now that I've returned to some sewing and quilting activities.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne