things were going along well for me.
i was making progress on getting my 10 quilt tops quilted. 2 finished and working on the quilting for top number 3 and thinking about the quilting for number 4 so i would be ready when its turn under the needle came. i wasn't feeling the greatest but i pushed through like we all do.
i did a little custom quilting on this mini sewing machine quilt on the spools and the machines themselves. i used some of my Tula Pink Neptune fabric for this quilt.
i quilted an over all stipple in the background on it and i added needles to each machine.
the back is fun to look at too. makes me smile. plus this was a quick one to get finished.
i was determined to get the 4th quilt top quilted by the start of the big football game a couple of Sundays ago. despite how i was feeling i pulled the fabric for the backing of quilt top number 4 and went to work.
i like how it turned out. kind of it's own quilt. i love making pieced backs because not only do you get to use up the fabric from that collection but it is also fun.
i quilted this quilt with double and single loops allover it. more of a big open design so the quilt is nice to cuddle with. i finished the quilting on this right before kick-off. so 4 out of my 10 quilt tops are quilted. yeah!
then the Monday after the big game it hit me.
i had some extreme pain on my right back flank and it was swollen and a rash was forming. i was scanning my memory to try and figure out what i had done to myself. my mind was going crazy with what might be wrong with me. since i was at work i had a co-worker look at it and she uttered the one word i never thought of 'shingles'. denial was my first reaction. there is no way i have that. but i quick trip to the minor care clinic at the hospital confirmed it. OMG let me just say that shingles are horrible. when the minor care doc told me that i would get worse before i got better she was right. i got started on an anti-viral medication which helped prevent the blisters and they say reduce the pain but i am not sure about that. i was home for 4 days straight and dang near went crazy. i was in pain. couldn't sleep much. and i don't do well sitting still. the one thing that helped me the most was ice because it would numb the area.
while home i would spend some time in my sewing area. moving stuff around. organizing. trying to feel like i accomplished something. i came across the boxcar tote pattern by Green Bee and decided that i could make that. so i pulled the fabric and interfacing one time. then another i cut everything. then another i fused it all together. little by little the tote came together.
i finished it over the weekend and i really like it. its a great size and very rigid.
i decided to use it to hold all of my hand sewing stuff. i have several zip pouches that hold the stuff now. i just put them all in the tote with plans to go back and organize it better.
i also got the binding for the 4 quilts cut and ready to be put on the quilts. i use my other sewing machine for that so i think a marathon binding session will be in my future.
in other sewing related news i will be going to quilt camp the first week of March for 5 days. i am really looking forward to this. i need to make a list of projects i want to work on and start prepping them for camp.
happy sewing
&
i hope you never get shingles
