Has it Really Been Four Months?

My sewing mojo has not been there for awhile.  I did not realize I had not posted since July though!  I really did not do much sewing all summer and into fall.  I have mostly been solo board gaming and reading.  My health improved a titch in May (like it did last year, though it tanked again in the fall last year) so I was able to be upright more and I spent as much time outside playing games as possible.  I think the vitamin D helped too.  

Here are some of the blocks I did manage to get done for the Quilting Life BOM and Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

Hazel has started Montessori so now I only have her half days on Friday.  I get to pick her up and she flies into my arms with Lala! every week.  It is a highlight!  I do have Indie two days a week and am really enjoying my time with her.  Most of my energy goes to that but worth it.  I try to nap a bit when Indie naps, but she is a short napper!

Here they are on Halloween this year.  Spider and Elsa though for trunk or treat they were ladybug and Superwoman.

Our budget is limited these days so I came up with an inexpensive ish idea for my honorary daughter and her family in Norway.  I made each of them a print and play game that I love and will be wrapping them today to get them out. Postage is expensive so I made small games and I hope they love them.  For Rachel I made Love Letter, for her hubby Air, Land and Sea, for the teen stepdaughter Mysticana (which I LOVE), teen stepson Doom Machine which is a dice game, for Leon Aqua Rove, Lenny Rove JR, and for the two year old Bandage Match which is a KiwiCo game.  The Rove games are solos as is Doom Machine, and Mysticana has a solo, but also has group games and the others are group games.  Hoping they love them and I create a few more gamers.

I did whip up two more ghost pillows so I could give one to Indigo (since Hazel got one last year) and one to my mom who I got to visit (they bought a new house in Chippewa Falls) in October.  Mom, Aunt Nancy and I went to a craft sale together.  I brought my walker and sat a lot while they shopped.  I should have been in bed but Mom was so excited to get to craft sale with me (it has been YEARS) so I rallied.  Brought a book with me and it was fun though I was worn out the entire time I was there.  

 Not sure if I have mentioned that I go to an online Booktube Besties Reading Retreat a few times a year.  It was really the first social thing I have done since getting so sick (besides sewing online) and after a few of them I found myself in charge of creating a book club.  We call ourselves the Retreat Readers and despite lots of interest to join we wound up with only four of us becoming regulars.  Now a year later and another retreat we found a few more members (seems like maybe three more will become part of the group as the other four interested have  yet to turn up).  It is a great group and we are doing a Secret Santa exchange this year.  

Kathy and I went to Oconomowoc to play Lewis and Clark for a game night a few weeks ago.  So nice to be able to do something social (I rested ahead of time).  We also went to an LGBT game night and dressed as Boo and Piper from Orange is the New Black.  Still pacing, but not sleeping all the time anymore.  Yay.  We hope to make some gaming friends and be able to continue getting to game nights.  Of course, we still try to do a once a month game night with H and J at their house.  We have started playing a game with Hazel before she goes to bed. So fun!  Last time we brought Nana and it was a hit with all of us.  We have gotten into Machi Koro and Machi Koro 2 since both Jeremy and Kathy really like it.  We tried Fuji Flush, but did not get the rules right so it was not a hit.  We realized our error afterwards so will try it again.  

As for sewing, I am excited to get to the next Quiltville Mystery.  I picked my colors but am not super happy with my fabrics (too much distinction between them). Bonnie is starting us the week before Black Friday this year so it is coming up fast!

A Lori Holt Finish and Showing off the Granddaughters!

Barb did a great job quilting my Lori Holt quilt with I love you hands and hearts.  I love that pattern so much!  I made a matching binding and got it on a few days ago.
Here is Indie (standing so good!) on her quilt.  She loves it.

Here is she laughing on it.  My daughter can get the best pictures of these kids.

And here she is sitting.  Sweet girl!

 And her older sister had her first dance recital in June.  She did great!

                                

Catching You Up! Sewing, Health, Gaming, In Hand Games

I have not been doing much sewing lately as life has been hectic.  My fatigue had improved a bit, then got worse again and so sewing goes by the wayside as I try to get more rest.  I cannot recall if I shared these snowmen which I sewed on two different days I did get in here.  One to go before I can assemble it into a cute wall hanging. I just love snowmen!
                                        

This is Cascadia above. In this picture I am playing it solo with an AI, just as fun as having a partner.
I have been gaming (and solo gaming) more this year.  It is something I can do on the hospital table by my bed, or in some cases even lying in bed.  I recently got Harmonies (which is a super fun, easy to set up, easy to learn game in which you are building habitats for your chosen animals) but the bag that came with it had a loose weave and did not last long.  

                                        

Above is full size Azul. We love to play it outside!  We love Azul (but had not played it in forever) so I got us Mini Azul (which is a tile laying game) and though it came with a nice bag to hold all the materials, we wanted another bag for pulling the tiles.  I repaired the loose weave bag and made one extra bag which I think I put with my Cascadia game.

Below is Mini Azul which we have already been making good use of since Kathy has been in the hospital again.  She had surgery a few months ago on her neck and got sick a month ago with a UTI (we thought) and took antibiotics.  Then two weeks ago she got worse, and thought it was the flu.  I dragged her in to the ER and they determined she had a kidney infection (and likely had it from the catheter from her neck surgery) and sepsis.  It is the third time she has had sepsis.  So back into the hospital she went last week Sunday.  For a hot minute they thought she had C Diff, but thank goodness no.  They let her out after four days or so with a PICC line and we had to do antibiotics each morning.  That was fun.  So, Monday she went in for bloodwork and since her knee was swollen and she was having trouble walking they admitted her again.  Infection in knee hardware.  So, they had to open her knee and exchange the disc and do a wash.  Hopefully she will come home (again on iv antibiotics) today.  So anyhow, we have played Mini Azul at the hospital.  We also played our travel Sequence which we have not played in more than a decade.

I did manage to sew my Rainbow Scrap Challenge from A Quilting Life's BOM at some point. I always convert the cuts to Bonnie's ruler as it saves fabric and I have strips in the sizes needed.  However, this day I did the math wrong (for the larger size) and had to cut down all of them so I did not save fabric.  I was over it by then.

I am loving how each pair of blocks comes out each month.  I need to take a picture of all the blocks so far since we are halfway through the year.  Really happy I decided to do double duty on the BOM and the RSC since my sewing time is limited.  

I posted to my ME/CFS Facebook group a picture (in which I forgot Numbsters) and a post about card games you can play in bed.  Some are quite easy and others use more spoons.  It got a really good response, and I was asked to write an article for an online publication for those with ME/CFS.  After it goes live I will link to it and/or post it here.   I had also posted the same picture on a solo gaming group and asked if people knew of other in hand games.  I was shocked to find out that there are over fifty of them!  That led me into a deep dive to research them all and make a few and learn a few.  So, I spent several days last week writing the article as it made my brain more tired than it should have.  I enjoyed it though! 

I took a new picture for the article and included Numbsters and a few of the new ones I just discovered, and managed to forget Maiden's Quest in this picture though I talked about it in the article.  If you are interested in games that can be played in hand or in bed (in case you or someone you love is chronically ill) you can find the lists on Board Game Geek titled "Solo In-Hand Games: A Not Anymore Comprehensive List ;)" and "Solo Card Games that Can Be Played in the Hand."

 

May is Pink!

I finished my blocks for Princess Crown #2 and was so excited I started sewing them together.  About three fourths of the way through I realized I had forgotten to add the already cut sashing and cornerstones!  I decided to just keep on keeping on and cut another whole quilt to use the sashing and cornerstones in.

I am loving my Clearly Perfect Slotted Trimmers for trimming up all the hst's for the A Quilting Life BOM/Rainbow Scrap Challenge block.  Here are my pink blocks for May.  Linking up with Angela .

 

A Few Finishes, Finally!

My second Moth in the Window quilt is a flimsy.  I love it!

Winter Blues aka Packer Bliss is also finally a flimsy!  So happy to have that border done and added on.  

I started working on my second Princess Crown quilt last week since it is cut and waiting.  Got about a quarter of the blocks made.  

 

Moth in the Window Blocks are Complete!

I have eighty-one Moth in the Window blocks made this time around.  I laid them out and then took pictures, stared, changed things around, and repeat several times.  The final layout-ish is this first picture.  Not perfect, but I am happy with it.

Last night we had a game night at Hannah and Jeremy's house.  We played Cascadia!  Kathy suprised me with it yesterday so I watched some videos and played it solo twice so I could teach it.  It is easy to teach and learn and we all liked it.  I won!

 Update on the grandkids:  Lily is growing up fast and went to a father/daughter dance with her Dad (pic below) recently.  Saxon is growing fast and still trailing Coleman around.   Indie is army crawling and sitting up so well and has signed MILK, BYE and DOG.  Hazel is recognizing numbers and letters and sounds.

Hodpodge!

On Easter we went to Hannah and Jeremy's.  I got a semi good picture of Hazel and I...she tends to not want to pose when I have makeup on!  We played Doomlings while the kids napped which was fun.

I got a picture of my Friends All Around quilt outside finally.

I sewed with Becky and Barb last Thursday and Becky was working on her Merry Mayhem mystery from NYD #148 so Barb and I were trying to find ours on the blog and I realized neither made it there.  So here is my finished (back in January) mystery!  I do like how it came out.

Kathy had surgery on her neck last week Wednesday.  She had to be opened on both sides.  Her sister came out from New York for five days to help us out and cheer Kathy.  Her granddaughter Ayla is having a baby in July, they plan to name her Luna Mae.  So I sent some books and toys that Indie is too old for now (or that we did not need) since Indie is sitting up for Luna.  I also managed to tie and bind this eye spy quilt in one evening when we realized she was leaving the next day!  

I also let Kelly (Kathy's sister) pick out a baby quilt from the three I had done and she chose this one.  So Luna has two quilts coming her way.

My new favorite solo game (which can be played with up to four people) is Regicide!  It can be played with a regular deck of cards and the directions are free online on BGG.  I love it so much I bought the deck as I love the art.  I have played this game 38 times in the past two weeks.  Not bored yet!

Yesterday I sewed up my A Quilting Life BOM in yellow for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. Loving this double check off each month.  I took me til the 11th to sew them since I have been more fatigued than usual and doing more as Kathy is not able to do all she usually does.  

I am doing the bonus HST's on these each month.  I always iron them as I go (learned from having a huge basket of them unironed at one point) though I do not trim them as I go.  They do wind up getting used.