April quilt progress

I've finally got back from holiday. This time it was a week long narrowboat trip between Alvechurch and Stratford on Avon up in the midlands. We had a fab time, very relaxing, and even managed to get through the locks without too much trouble. By day 3 we'd realised that if you wait a bit longer than you think you really need to, anyone can open the gates.



I even managed to get a few snaps of some paintwork that will go into my inspirations file for possible trapunto or applique designs:





Once we got back, I knew I had to put a lot of work in on the outstanding projects so I can have time to do some paid sewing work. On Sunday I pieced the Jacob's Ladder blocks. Originally I was going to make them into a baby quilt but not for anyone in particular, so they've been made into a table runner instead. There's a couple of spare blocks that I'll make into pot stands.



I did some work on the Plympiecemakers Round Robin. Not too much detail in case the person I'm making for reads this:



Finally, I went round to a friend's house last night, and accidentally came home with 5 metres of fabric OOOPS!!!! I've not started stealing people's stashes, she sells it. Her workroom/stockroom was amazing, lined on one wall with bolts of fabric sorted by colour, then boxes under counters with pre cut FQs, more with threads, but these could have been her own, and rolls of wadding hanging on wooden poles from the ceiling. Talk about envious!! Here's my haul:



The cream is just for stash enhancement, you can never have enough light neutrals. The pink stripe is for the binding on the raffle quilt for Hannah's ballet group and the hand dye look alike is for the stash.

Why I've not blogged recently

I've been getting the bathroom and kitchen refitted and it's all just been too, too traumatic!



Bathroom before



Bathroom after



Kitchen before



Kitchen after.

The sharper eyed amongst you may have spotted the floor in the kitchen isn't down yet and there's no oven. Despite ordering it in January, it's still not arrived. Guess how thrilled I am about that? Should be here tomorrow, but I'm not holding my breath. We're off on holiday soon, so no floor until we're back.

I've also done a race. Teignbridge 10 (miles) which even though I've not been training fully, I managed to take 6 minutes off my previous best time for the distance. Luckily no photographic evidence of this as I went up with a workmate. No medal but a handy T shirt which will double as a tent should we decide to camp while we're away!

Thyroid update

Sorry no nice photos for this one. I really should get some done of my neck scars to illustrate these posts!

It was my first three monthly check up on Thursday. My bloods have come back well within expected limits, although she didn't explain how they'd fallen from what they were a month ago. I'm guessing it's because I've increased my activity levels, but I've not found anything scientific to support this. Anyway, she poked my neck - they all do, but at least she didn't get me to repeatedly dry swallow which I hate - and pronounced it fine.

I asked her about my lack of taste (not my clothes or husband!) and it seems there's no clear cut answer, I'll start getting taste back slowly. I knew this as I can taste things like blue cheese and other strongly flavoured foods.

Bit of a bombshell that the nuclear medicine consultant wants me to have a repeat scan. Mike insists I was told this in January, but I really don't remember it. I asked about coming off thyroxine and she said something about injections but they'd have to be at Derriford. I was getting confused, and she was making moves that she needed to go, so we left to come home.

Big session of googling later and I was more confused than ever. Thank goodness for nuclear medicine! Mike phoned as I had to get to work, and once the consultant was free, he phoned back and spent quite some time discussing everything with Mike. How cool is that?? We've now got a much clearer picture of what needs to happen, and why.

Regime is Day 1: injection at Derriford, bring ampoule of stuff home & keep in fridge. D2: injection at GP to save me having to get back to Derriford. D3: RAI injection at nuclear medicine. D4: scan. D5: Back to GP for blood test. I'll need to be on the low iodine diet for a month. No fish enriched olive oil this time, honest!! I'll also need to stop my thyroxine tablets for the week, but the injections will counter the effect of that.

I'm waiting for a letter from nuclear med with all the info and dates in. He said he's happy for us to change dates if they clash with "important family things". I've checked with work, and the very end of June is looking good for staffing levels, and by amazing coincidence it also fits in well with Half marathons (June 21st) and starting training for the full one I'm planning in October. I just want to clarify how long the hypo effdects will last afterwards, as obviously I don't want to be sleepy for the Boston trip.

I'm planning a buying trip to La Senza for new scanties ready for the injections! ;¬)

Back racing!

Sunday was my first race since having my thyroidectomy. I've been training half heartedly throughout all the treatment, but was finding it really difficult to be enthusiastic about it. I'd booked in for two other races before now, the first one should have been on January 4th, but this was the day before I had the radio iodine, so I'd been off all medication for 2 weeks, and was sleeping for nearly 18 hours every day. Not the best conditions for running a 10K race! The second was even worse timing...the morning after the Christmas party from work. I still maintain I wasn't hungover, I was just tired, but either way, we didn't make it to the race.

No excuses for this time however, it started less than 3 miles from home. I'd planned to jog round and just enjoy being racing again. It was a glorious spring morning so I was more enthusiastic than I'd expected, and I trotted round in 1:12. Not my fastest time, but not my slowest either.



I've got a 10 miler in 2 weeks!

Baby quilt news...I've finished one and only have hand sewing left to do on the other one. I'm thrilled with how they're looking. I've enjoyed doing the prairie point finish on the border. I think this is one I'll be using again.

sample quilting

This is what I've decided on for both baby quilts. It's based on Patsy Thompson's innnies and outies, and the sample is my first attempt at it. I can see every mistake, but I can explain them too! I'd set the machine up properly, but because I was onlt making a small sample, I'd not bothered with the extension table, so each time I got to the edges, you can see where I've either wiggled it round or stalled totally. Should be a lot easier with the extension on.

And here's the first preview of the second baby quilt. Look at those gorgeous colours! That's the Fig and Plum from Moda that I bought on Saturday.



And this is the original version, still looking good.



I layered the both last night, I was able to get the backing out of one width of backing fabric, so plenty left over to go in the stash!

Quilt group tonight, so lots of new ideas after I'm back from that!

Exeter Spring Quilt Festival

We got there way too early after a clear journey up. I think we were the 5th car in the car park! I'd taken a list to remind me what to buy, but forgot to take my camera so couldn't get any shots of the exhibition. This turned out to be a big shame as there were some great quilts on show. I particularly liked a 3-D poppy on a bed sized quilt, the collection of women's suffrage quilts in green white and violet, and the collection made by a group on the theme of "book titles". I've stored that idea away for a possible group challenge next year. They were 12" square, so not too big for even a beginner. I liked the entry for Moby Dick, a 3-D whale fluke with beads strung off it to look like water.

I needed to pick up a pre-ordered bolt of wadding from Lady Sew & Sew, and also bought a mini bolt of jade marble and a roll of pink and chocolate swirl from them. The jade thread is for a quilt I'm planning with the fabric from the BQL Secret Santa swap. I was given 10 pieces. I thought they were FQs but they seem bigger, possibly quarter metres? Anyway they're chocolate and pink, so the jade will give a nice vibrant contrast.



The creamy batik is for the backing of the two baby quilts. I've forgotten which stall I bought it from though.

Also for the baby quilts is this Moda Layer Cake and Jelly Roll. The range is called "Fig and Plum", and I've used 12 pieces from each of them, so plenty left for stashing and other projects. The other things in the photo are a pack of 99 4" squares from Susan Briscoe. All of them are different, and I'm thinking of doing a hand pieced Japanese folded patchwork piece with them. I'm pondering between all muslin backgrounds or varying between white and red.



The final pic is a metre of so of a lime green and chocolate piece. It was an impulse buy from the batik stall, and I've no idea why I bought it! I'm thinking of including it in my bag for the {top secret} with my quilt group on Tuesday.



Finally, but not photographed I bought Valori Wells' Vibrant New York Beauty book. This is to give me more practice in making curved paper pieced blocks ready for making a proper start on the mariner's compass quilt.

Off now to carry on with the Carol Doak March BOM and the baby quilt for Mrs M at school.

Another top pieced!

This is the baby quilt I made from the fat quarters I bought in Bath. I'm really pleased with the colours in this one, and the way the prairie points have turned out.

Just as well really, as Hannah's other teacher is also pregnant and I'll be making a quilt for her!

Off to Exeter on Saturday with P. She's giving me a lift up as Mike's having to sit of lie on his right side for 50 minutes every hour for the next two weeks. Makes my instructions to take it easy and not overdo things look a bit tricky! While we're at Exeter, I need to pick up the roll of wadding I've pre-ordered with Lady Sew & Sew, plus get enough FQs for the baby quilt. After that I need some more threads, and rotary blades and just a general browse.

Less than 3 months till the Plymouth Half marathon now!!