Maggie's collar is made and now just waiting for some leather conditioner to be delivered on Friday.

The collar for Maggie is finished.  My husband did the coloring on Tuesday and I gum tragged it and attached the billets then today I put a couple of rivets in it.

We couldn't find the leather conditioner which is a bummer because that stuff isn't cheap.  It either meant a trip to Springfield to pick some up (a whole days outing) or order online.  Well Tandy doesn't stock it which is too bad because we get a good discount with them and our other leather shop charges a lot for mailing.

So I checked out Amazon and low and behold they had it and with free two day shipping too so it will be here on Friday.

The conditioner softens and waterproofs the leather.  We don't want it to be uncomfortable for her so I am happy to buy it.

Maggie will have her new collar by the weekend.

I can tell you that not all Tandy letter stamps are created equal!

For all the time I have been doing leatherwork, about four + years now, I have struggled to get the letters lined up straight when doing a name or initials..

I put it down to me being not careful enough when doing it.

For Christmas, my husband got me a tool that Tandy had bought out which is a stamp guide.  This means you can set the letters/stamps up and fit the guide around it and tighten it to keep them all straight.  A perfect solution......or so I hoped.

Today, I got to spend some time in the workshop working on Maggie's new collar.  Everything went wonderfully well except the lettering.

I used the stamp guide but it seems that all of the letters are not placed centrally on their individual stamps so even if you have the stamps all lined up in the guide (as I did) the letters are still not straight.......Arrgghh!!!!!

The 'A' and the 'I' are out of alignment.  At least it wasn't all my fault this time.  Had I realised this I could have at least got the 'I' more in line by turning it around. You have to get the stamps placed correctly for the letters to be correct but the 'I' is the same either way.  They are individually marked on the back so you can tell which way to put them, I will have to remember about the 'I' in future. Also I pressed too hard on the 'I' and got the shape of the stamp imprinted.  That was entirely my fault.

I am happy with the rest of the stamping especially since it has been a while since I did any.  My husband will now work his magic and stain it, then I will attach the billet set and it will be done.

A few days late for her 2nd birthday but she did also get a new throwing toy on the day so she wasn't a deprived puppy.

Yeah, I think my mojo is coming back!

It is now four and a half weeks since I had the neck surgery.  I have been off the painkillers for 11 days now and was cleared to drive by the doctor.  Did my first drive yesterday, just a 70 mile all round trip to our shopping town. I am still getting a bit of pain and will be restricted from lifting anything heavy for months but I am feeling a lot better.

My husband has been working outside and he had to fell a pretty large oak tree that had died and was close to his hunting blind.  It had already dropped a large limb that came dangerously close to the blind so there was a serious risk that the tree would fall down too onto it.

He really isn't well enough to do these things but he is a stubborn cuss at times and went ahead.  I had to be nearby just in case anything went wrong and I could call for help.  Fortunately, it all went to plan and the tree was cut down, cut up and the wood brought up to the wood pile for winter.

I don't know if it was being outside a lot or what but the desire to make something came back.

I have got some leather ready to make Maggie a new collar. I am using a belt billet set I had purchased some time ago when our local hardware had a clear out sale of leather items.  I actually bought a half dozen of these as they were on 25c each! The two top pieces are the set and you attach them each end of the collar.  The holes are pre cut and snaps are already on them so it makes it a lot easier.  The piece of leather has to be cut to size yet and the stamping of her name and some patterning and colouring done.  I will add a rivet also just in case the snaps should come undone.  Not likely but best be safe than sorry.

Also, I got my old computer set up again up in my sewing room to make a pattern on the Knitware program for a sweater for myself.  I had had to move it when I put the treadle sewing machine up in my room. This I will start on when my husband starts going up to the blind in September to hunt with his bow.

Now considering it is only Thursday and we spent all yesterday afternoon shopping and the rest of the days dealing with the tree, I think I have made some giant steps to getting my making things mojo going again.

If it is cool tomorrow morning I will work in the workshop on the collar.

Yeah for the returning mojo!

15 days past surgery

It is the 15th day since I had the neck surgery.  It has been a rocky couple of weeks for sure.  The surgery went well and the surgeon was happy with how I was afterwards.  I would say that it was probably the relief of still being alive that got me through the first day lol. The pain has been quite bad and I hate taking pain meds but I did take them religiously the first week. This past week I have been trying to cycle down.

My husband has been an absolute gem.  He has taken wonderfully good care of me.

There is considerable improvement in my arm strength and agility and I do not get the numbness any more at night which is a great blessing.  The pain in my neck is bothersome though but I am sure in good time it will fade away.

Added to the above I had a uninary tract infection and tummy upset which sent me to the doctors for antibiotics yesterday.

So other than a lot of feeling sorry for myself, which I am trying to overcome, not much else has been going on.

I certainly haven't felt like making things.  I hope that too will go away in time.

Update on things.....and only a little to do with making things!

The past few weeks have been hectic to say the least.  We got to spend three days with family last week then hospital appointments for us both and now a visit from our son from California to help do a few things we can no longer tackle ourselves.  He leaves tomorrow, sadly.

Then on Monday, I go in for the neck surgery.  The surgeon said it would be a 2-3 hour procedure as he has to take out 2 discs, replace with bone to open the vertebrae back up to relieve the compression on the nerves, take off the bone spurs that are digging into my spinal cord and put in a titanium plate. Yikes! It is essential though as my arms are pretty useless right now and this should help.  It will take a reasonable time for everything to get back to normal the surgeon said but the long term prognosis is good.

So other than a few repair jobs on my husband's shorts there has not been any making things.

Woops, I forgot, we did make a catapult (sling shot) for our grandson's birthday last month. Actually, it was mostly my husband's handiwork, I was just the assistant lol.

It hasn't been the best of times

I will be quite glad when this month is over.  I know I shouldn't be wishing time away at my age but it really has been a horrible month.

Boris, our loyal and great companion of nearly 12 years crossed over the rainbow bridge on Monday. He became really quite poorly very quickly.  A lump came up almost overnight on the back of his left back leg.  I thought it was another abscess and took him straight to the vets.  They told us it was a mast cell tumour.  We had arranged surgery for this week to have it removed but he developed some serious neurological problems over the weekend.  We took him back to the vet on Monday and he told us he was very ill and dying and to let him go would be the kindest thing to.  So we hugged and loved him and said our goodbyes and held him while he went to sleep and crossed over the rainbow Bridge.  It was one of the hardest things I have ever done.

Added to that, my dear brother Lyn who had been battling diabetes, cancer and heart problems died on Tuesday.  He fought long and hard but it was his time to go be with God. He lived 2000 miles away and so with his health issues and my husband's we hadn't seen him for a few years but always kept in touch by phone.  I spoke with him on Sunday and we had a lovely talk but I think we both knew it would be the last time we talked in this life.

As for health issues, it seems I have some severe problems in my neck causing nerve compression which is why I have been having such problems with arm weakness, pain and numbness.  I had an MRI which confirmed it and I go back to see the surgeon on Monday next.

My husband is hanging in there but is still having bad episodes at night and his BP and pulse rate keep dropping.  It does go back up though.  He sees his cardiologist again in a couple of weeks.  They did manage to get his heart out of atrial fib and back in normal rhythm by shocking it about a month ago but now his heart rate is very slow.

And if all that wasn't bad enough, on Tuesday when we were stopped for a bite to eat on the way back from his neurologist appointment at the VA, a woman reversed into our vehicle and crunched the back bumper.

So now you know why I am wishing this month away.

What a gloomy post but I am hoping my theory of getting things out of my head and into print will help.

Latest knitting project finished, some summer blooms and my next sewing project

It has been a busy couple of weeks.  It is mowing season and it seems never ending.  The rain keeps coming and the grass keeps growing......you know, like it is supposed to so I am not complaining.

some of today's mowing

more mowing

Also I have been having some health issues that finally took me to the doctors.  At night my arms and hands have been getting really weak and painful and going numb.  I ignored it as long as I could but common sense prevailed.  It seems that I have some issues in the spine in my neck which are causing it so I have an appointment next week to see an orthopedic surgeon to see if surgery is required.

I did finish the little top I was knitting and I am happy with how it turned out.  I used some more of the variegated yarn as I really think it is pretty and perfect for a two year old beautiful little girl.

And my next project will be a sewing one.  I found this pattern and so I am going to make a long sleeveless summer dress with some black gingham fabric I bought last year on sale.

I am going to do View A but make it full length.

Finally, this is what is blooming in the yard right now:

These Tiger lilies appeared a couple of years ago from who knows where

These I believe are Adam's Needle yuccas and Boris is checking that all is well on the homestead

And to get a sense of how tall they are 

I think all that is left to bloom are the gladioli.  last year I planted a lot around the front of the shop area in the photo above. The problem I have now is that there are also a load of weeds in that patch and I can't weedwack them without damaging the gladioli so the weeds remain for now!

And finally,
sweet Maggie out enjoying herself

I made a poncho!

I have made a crochet poncho for our little grand daughter, I have never made one before so thought I would give it a try.  I had started on a little knitted top after finishing the little cardigan but I could see it was going to come out too big so I unravelled it and started on the poncho.

The aim was to use yarn from my stash which I started off doing but I couldn't find any similar sport weight yarn to go with it.  I have plenty of double knit but the pink I started with was thinner so didn't want to go to thicker yarn.  Well, darn! I had to buy some more. Just one skein, but a mighty big one! pretty pastel colours.

It is difficult to know how big to make things when you don't see the children all the time so I edged it with loops rather than a fringe and that way I can add to it easily if necessary when we see them next month.

Last Sunday was Mother's day here in the US so we went out for lunch on Saturday for a treat and to avoid the Sunday crowds. We passed by a swap meet going so on the way back we stopped and I got out for a browse.

I only spent $3 and got quite a bargain.  A sewing box with some bits and pieces in all of which are useful.

Thread, bobbins, long tweezers (for picking out fluff and cotton around the bobbin area), some sewing feet and an attachment so that you can change the sewing feet easily.  These are great, I have them on my other machines so this one can go on the treadle.  There was also some embroidery transfers.  I have been hankering to do some embroidery, don't know why as there is nothing really I want to embroider but I just want to do some.  Putting it down to old age eccentricity!  I have lots of embroidery hoops and embroidery skeins so may as well put them to use. There is also a roll and a half of iron on hem bonding tape and one of those spiky wheel things.  I have one of those already and for the life of me I have no idea what it is for. Anyone know?????

The box and contents

Bobbins will fit my Singer Sewmate and the sewing feet will fit all my machines.  The blue thing has a spiky wheel and I have no idea what it is used for.

Plenty of embroidery transfers

The sewing feet and some sewing machine oil and a screw to attach sewing machine to table, (will keep as a spare)

A full roll and a half roll of hem tape

I was well pleased with my bargain.

I also had to work a little more on my treadle cabinet as the machine started getting stuck down in the cabinet again.  It was catching again on the metal slide.  Also I needed to adjust the mechanism that raises the machine as it wasn't going up completely so wasn't sitting flush.  When I eventually found the right spanner I was able to adjust the height it came up so it is now more or less flush.  For now I am leaving it up and covering the whole machine and cabinet with a sheet when not in use. I will have to find a way I can fix the metal slide in place better but that is a job for another day.

Last week we went to the VA hospital for my husband to have cardioversion which is where they shock the heart to try and get it back into normal rhythm.  It worked after the second shock but now they are monitoring him for congestive heart failure. They sent him a machine and a set of scales and a blood pressure cup that plug into it that he has to use once a day at the same time each day to take his blood pressure/heart rate and his weight.  Then it transmits that info to the hospital, it is called Telehealth.  Pretty nifty.  It can also have other attachments too to monitor more things but that is all he has for now thankfully.  It does it through the cell phone signal as we do not have a land line anymore as we went to satellite VOIP phones. I am impressed, just hope someone at the other end is reading it!

A little more productive this past week

It stopped raining and I have been able to get out and mow quite a bit.  We mow about 5 or more acres all together so I split it up into sections.  The rain had certainly been good for the grass as it is quite lush and was very long.

Yesterday was not such a good day though, I got the mower stuck in some mud.  This is the second time this year but it was in a different place where we could get the van close to tow it out.  Well, that backfired because we got that stuck too!

Ring, ring, "Er hello Cynthia, I know this probably isn't a good time as you are going in to the hospital for knee replacement surgery tomorrow but do you think you could ask your son if he could come with his pick up truck and tow us out the mud again please?"

"He will be right down" she replied laughing.

Have I ever mentioned we have the best neighbours ever?

Well he came on down and towed out the van and then the mower.  Needless to say I was done mowing for the day.  I did get out this morning and got some done, though giving wide berth to that particular area!

My favourite iris bloomed. It is obviously not in a good place soil wise as it doesn't produce many blooms a year but the colour is very delicate.

Our light purple ones also bloomed in abundance this year as did the yellow in a bed further up the lane.

But aside from the mowing and all the usual household chores I finished the little shrug cardigan I was making for our grand daughter.

I didn't follow the pattern exactly as when I did the front bands as per the pattern it seemed way too bulky so I undid them and improvised by crocheting the front bands instead. Also, I decided to put buttons all the way down the front rather than just one at the top.  I had found some lovely multi coloured glass buttons when sorting out some of my sewing stuff, they must have been from my MIL's things as they are quite old. The packaging was very dated and I don't recall buying them. They are delightful. It looks a bit squat but it is only meant to be a short bolero style cardigan for a 2-3 year old.

I have started on another little knitted summer top while I am in the knitting frame of mind.

On a different note, this coming Friday we have to go to the VA in Columbia for my husband to have cardioversion, where they knock him out and shock his heart in a bid to get it into normal rhythm, he has been in persistent atrial fib since February and it is taking it's toll on him.  I thought he was going to peg out on me yesterday when we were trying to get the mower out of the mud.  Hoping for a big improvement after this procedure.  Fingers crossed!

What a lotta rain!

We have had a lot of rain here this few days, more than usual for this time of year but needed to fill up the aquifers so no complaints.  It did put the kibosh on the mowing and it is really quite muddy outside. The dogs, no matter how many times I tell them, do NOT wipe their paws when they come in lol. So, an ongoing battle with dirty paw prints but what the heck, I love my dogs.

Maggie, doesn't much like the heavy rain, it is a job to get her off the front porch to go do her business.  She holds it in rather than get wet but eventually, when she can't wait any longer, she finds the driest way through the bushes to the grass then hi-tails it right back back in.  Boris doesn't care, he doesn't mind the rain at all.

We got a few hours of no rain yesterday so I took them for their walk. For a doggie who doesn't like the rain she doesn't care how wet she gets running through the wet grass and came back soaked through!

I had a chance last week to spend a few hours on the treadle machine, getting used to using the treadle and trying different sewing feet from an old machine.  Some worked and some didn't.  The walking foot actually does work on it so I really have no excuse not to start on the quilt.  The rolled hem foot worked great too but the gathering foot didn't. That may have been user error though.  I have to look up a youtube video to make sure I was doing it right.

I have also picked up the knitting needles again and am making a little bolero jacket for our youngest grand baby who turns 2 tomorrow.  We will see them at the end of June so will save it for then. The back and fronts are knitted in one and I have done up the the splitting for the sleeves and one side so far.

I am trying use up some of my stash of wool rather than buy more.  I also found a pattern for a crochet poncho so I might make that too from the stash.  I can do that at night when watching TV.

A couple of simple projects which suits me perfectly these days.

I found the patterns on this blog:-

https://mariannaslazydaisydays.blogspot.com/

This lady has a lot of patterns, mainly for babies but some toddler patterns too.

This is the poncho pattern:-

poncho pattern

and the bolero (she calls it a shrug) pattern:-

bolero (shrug) pattern

Addendum

Yep!, user error for sure on the gathering foot.  Watched the video, I was putting the fabric through the foot instead of under.  The slot in the foot is for when you want to attach another piece of fabric on top when gathering the bottom piece. Will give it another try.......

No progress to report but I am thinking about it a lot....

It has been a funny old week, kind of blah and indifferent.  We had a hospital trip which was neither good nor bad, good thing is my husband's immune system might be coming back up, the bad thing if it does then the antibodies start attacking his central nervous system again.  Another upcoming this week which might shed some light on what is happening with his heart issues. Time will tell.

It has turned really nice here, not too hot and we are getting some much needed rain.

Love the colour of these iris and thought they looked lovely with the raindrops on.

Been thinking about the quilt, it will definitely be a go, just have to make a start.  Once I do I know I will keep at it.

I had a dream a couple of night's ago.......

Back in January 2015 I posted about some quilt squares my MIL had made and the night before last I dreamed that I made a quilt using them.

I hadn't been thinking about making a quilt so why that popped into my dreams I have no idea but hey ho, maybe now is the time eh?

I could make it using my treadle machine, that would certainly give it a good trial. I dreamed about how to join them all together and put strips in between so as to make it bigger so now I have to go dig in my stash to see what I can find to make strips.  I have some ideas to make them using different fabrics joined together as I know I don't have any long lengths of fabric and I don't want to buy any more.  Time to utilise the stash!  I do also have some fabric on rolls about 4" wide so they will be perfect but the colour is a bland off white so I think I need to break it up a bit, plus, I have no idea how many yards are in the rolls.

Here is a link to that post and a picture of some of the squares.

http://ilikeknittingandsewing.blogspot.in/2015/01/look-at-treasures-i-found.html

This morning I was out with the dogs and realised that Spring trees are somewhat similar to Autumn trees in colour.

Reds and different shades of green in the new leaves

The iris are budding

 

as are the peonies

Oh yeah, Oh yeah, Oh yeah!

The treadle sewing machine is up and running.  I am so excited, it sews like a charm. Getting the belt right was a bit of a challenge but now I know how it should be, next time I won't be cutting it off a half inch at a time to get it right.  I know how taut it should be now.

It stitches just fine, the stitch length adjustment works just fine.  It has been a gazillion years since I used a treadle machine so I was a bit iffy at first. I can go very fast but going slow I am not so good at.  All in good time.

For now, I am just so happy it all works after all the work I did to bring it back into working order.

I did make a video but some buxom grey haired old biddy highjacked it, have no idea who she is! She sounds just like me though......weird eh?

The white stitching was done on the treadle machine

I bought the original manual on ebay but it is very frail so I copied it to use. Check out the lady, shows how old the machine is

In it's spot

This same old biddy is behind my mirrors too!

The manual is so helpful

The best laid plans 'o mice and men.....and all that

Yesterday, I made it up to the sewing room to start on getting the treadle sewing machine set up.  I was taking stuff off of the table top that I had spanning two short filing cabinets to make a desk.  The plan being to remove the top and put the treadle machine in between the two said cabinets.

Honk, honk, I hear and look out the window to see the Fed ex truck outside.

I went to get the parcel which I expected was the protein powder and vitamins I had ordered from Sam's Club.  It was indeed a parcel from Sam's Club.

You have to remember that we are pretty housebound right now with my husband's compromised immune system and current heart problems so it seemed like the easiest thing would be to order the powder.  We usually pick it up when we go to the VA hospital but I forgot last week.

So Sunday night I ordered it online.  Chocolate protein powder.  We always buy chocolate because that's the flavour we like.  We do not like vanilla.  Protein powder isn't the nicest tasting thing anyway but my husband believes the protein helps with his nerve and muscle disease and at least the chocolate flavour is drinkable.

What showed up? Why, vanilla of course! I checked the order again and it was for chocolate so genuine mistake by them I think, they will put it right I think.  Well yes, I can return it, by Fed Ex at their expense but I have to deliver it to a Fed ex depot. Hrrmm!  The nearest one is 45 miles away!

So I tried calling them and got left on hold for 34 mins, and I have the photo to prove it! They never picked up and I eventually just hung up.  I emailed them twice and have not had a reply.

So now there is steam coming out of my ears and battle will commence!

UPDATE:

When I checked my blog I saw that I hadn't actually posted this so I can report that indeed battle ensued and Sam's Club have arranged for pickup of the parcel tomorrow.

Not sure whether they are replacing with correct item or refunding, have sent email #4 to ascertain that.  Will report back in due course.

And needless to say, nothing done on the sewing machine again today!

Compared to my blogging friends I am just a pretender

I haven't been posting much at all lately but I read all the blogs I follow every day faithfully.  I feel like such a pretender because I hardly make anything these days.  A lot of it is circumstance but have to admit that some of it is lack of mojo.

I did manage to sequester our neighbour's son and two of his friends to bring my treadle machine cabinet over from the workshop and upstairs into my sewing room on Monday. It got wet from the rain in the process so I have left it until today so it thoroughly dries out.

Today, hopefully, is the day I get it all set up.  First I have to give the rest of it a good polish and oil the machine again.  I am hoping all the repairs I did to the cabinet hold up and it will be a go.

I am excited to do this and this has been the first time lately I have felt motivated.  I love making things so much that I feel guilty for feeling happy when everything around us is not going so well.

I think this is why I haven't been making things and I have to work to get over this silliness.

I was somewhat inspired also by a video I saw this morning of Josh Turner's 90 something year old grandma playing her piano at the Grand Ole Oprey.  I am sure she has faced a lot in her life but she was up there playing like a champ.  God bless her.

If she can pursue her love of the piano then I am sure I can pursue my love of making things.

The last coat of varnish is on

It has been pretty gloomy here the past few days which is actually a good thing because we have had some much needed rain.

Yesterday I put the second and final coat of varnish on the sewing machine lid.  Because of the dampness and a hospital trip tomorrow all day I am not going to try and move it.
It needs some dry air to dry it out properly.  It does look nice though even though the colour does not match exactly.  I am happy with it. You can see that it is not properly dry yet.

When it is fully dry I have to get someone to help me carry it up to my sewing room then I will be able to put it all together and give it a try. I will try and do a quick video of me using it.  The excitement of it all has been dulled with recent events but I know I will be happy to have it all working.

I took some photos on my walk out with the dogs today.  The trees are not flowering so gloriously as they usually do because of the weird weather patterns we are experiencing.  The rain has greened up the grass a lot which is good but the oak trees have not started to bud yet so it is a mixture of Spring and Winter out there.

My husband is not improving any at all, in fact, he seems to be getting worse.  The appointment tomorrow is with the neurologist who has ascertained that his B cells have been totally depleted and he has no immunity at all.  His heart is also a big concern as he has not come out of atrial fib.  We have transmitted four times already and each transmission had 10 events recorded.  There could have been a lot more but he doesn't press the button all the time, only for the really bad events.  They have put up three out of four reports so far where we can look at them online and they all show atrial fib with erratic heart rates both high and low, pvc's and other things which I have no idea what they are. We will take the monitor in tomorrow and get them to unload it while we are there to save bothering our neighbour to have to transmit over her landline.  The VA does not do very well at making sure these reports are seen by the doctors.  His electrophysiologist doctor is only in the VA once a week as is his cardiologist so we don't know if they have even seen the reports.  His neurologist is the only one who keeps on top of things. He has been a godsend to us, we are pretty sure without him my husband would not be here now.

The new normal

Things have quietened down a little here.  Our son Andrew was buried in NJ where his wife and two children live, we were not able to attend because my husband is not well enough to travel.

We organised a Memorial Service here in MO as there are a lot of family here who wanted to pay their respects.  I had a lot of help from neigbours and family to do this and it was a lovely tribute to him.

Our other son and daughter came to attend and spend some time with us but they have both gone back to their lives.  One lives on the east coast and one on the west and we are smack dead centre of the US.

My husband's health is getting worse.  The doctor has told us that he shouldn't be out in public and even in small groups he should wear a mask as his immune system is so compromised now.  Added to that he has heart issues that seem to be getting worse.  He soldiers on though and thinks he is immortal which I am sure is what is keeping him going. He is always sure the miracle cure is just around the corner.  There is power in positive thinking.

So, many changes to come I think, probably have to move to a place where there is minimal maintenance and no land to tend to.

My husband is fighting this because he doesn't want to give up his workshop and tools and the eternal optimist in him believes he will get back out there to work one day. I hope he is right.

The last few days I have been able to get out to the workshop myself and put some coats of stain on the treadle sewing machine cabinet.  Just one more coat I think will do it. Golden Oak to try and get some yellowness into it.  I had to use dark stain to get the depth of colour but it was more red than I hoped.  Hoping the oak will help but whatever the outcome it will have to do.  Finally, a coat of varnish and it will be ready to come back to the house and have the machine put back in it.

It is weird, a few weeks ago this was my primary focus.

How things change so quickly.........................