UT Quilt Finish

 Last year our girl asked if I would make our SIL a football quilt. Well of course! We love Kenny! And this quilt is proof of that! There's a little story behind the quilt I'll share with you. DH and I are Texas A&M graduates. And Kenny is a diehard Longhorn fan. Anyone that keeps up with college football know that there is a legendary rivalry between the two schools. They took a 13 year hiatus as they were in different conferences, but UT is leaving the Big 12 Conference and will join the SEC, resuming the rivalry. 

I told our girl that I was hesitant to sew a Longhorn quilt. Would my diploma be revoked if word got out? Would I have to return my ring? We would be a house divided. Alas, this is all in fun and I bought the forbidden fabric:

I settled on the Scrappy Summer Pattern from Alison at Cluck Cluck Sew and paired the collegiate fabrics with a gray and white from my stash as well as this orange that paired well

                                            

I made a quilt using this same pattern 7 years ago for a college friend of our girl's. You can see that one 

                                                                           HERE.

I really did love making this for Kenny - our girl found a keeper. 

Jackie and Sandy quilted a design called Modernish #4 across it in a gray thread called Oyster Shell

 and I backed it with this print at the request of our girl

And pulled this grunge from my stash for the binding

It finishes at 72 x 80 and I hope Kenny and Baby Lucas will enjoy cheering on the Longhorns while snuggling under it.

 I've been planning to make an Aggie quilt for years - I have all the fabric - so I had better get that one stitched up to redeem myself. I'll lay it across the guest bed when they come for a visit. 😂 If I make Cowboy Cookies and Buckaroo Bundles for him, I think he'll forgive me. 😉

The Road Ahead ...

Is paved with patience, sprinkled in with a little spunky restlessness. 

                   

 I'm sorry I've been MIA these past few weeks, but I've just been in a holding pattern as far as my knee goes. 

I was so thankful when the hospital called and said they had a MRI cancellation and offered me the spot on the 3rd. Yes, please! Of course, we never make a trip to town for just one reason so we dropped off the flatbed trailer at a friend's fabrication shop before heading to the hospital.

My MRI lasted just 30 minutes. They ask if you would like music and what genre you prefer so it was a very relaxing and calming experience...well, until I have to pay the bill.😂If DH ever needs an MRI, he'll end up falling asleep.

Still, I needed to know what was going on. The earliest appointment I could get with my orthopedic doctor was the 17th. 🤨. However, I received a notification that my results were ready not too long after we were home. I was thrilled about that.

Turns out I just have a complete medial meniscal tear and some cartilage bits floating around.. Of course, I wanted to wait until I could visit with my doctor, but I've been doing a lot of reading and I've found some very helpful videos that led me to a knee brace that I purchased. That, along with my trusty crutches have helped although I plan on throwing a party when they can be retired.

I feel good about the fact that I've been doing daily activities interspersed with resting as one of the  therapists on a video I watched says that 'movement feeds the joint' and that rings true to me. I'm not advocating videos over medical professional advice, but I felt comfortable moving forward until my appointment. And I feel like I'm doing something to help heal the injury. I just tend to get into trouble when I overdo it. I'm not very good at paying attention to that until my knee says, "I quit!"

Yesterday the doctor confirmed my suspicions and told me that he could schedule me for surgery, however, he said he likes to wait until the Cortisone is no longer in my system...ie: 3 months. So, the waiting continues. There are things behind the scenes that are making that more challenging, but I'm grateful that God's in control and that I'm in good hands.

In the evenings I've been working on a binding and should have a finish soon.

And I rolled $159.50 worth of change

I'm always surprised, and delighted, at how that adds up. As a child, I remember being so excited when my Daddy would take me to the recycle truck and turn in stomped aluminum cans in exchange for $ and then swing by the bank to deposit it into my savings account. I deposited all of it unless there was a new Trixie Beldon book on the bookshelf at the BX on the Air Force base. It still makes my heart happy to add to the savings balance.

And as much as I fuss about technology, today I am grateful for it because without it, I would not have had the MRI, or received the report so quickly, or had access to information, nor would a knee brace have been winging its way to the end of the dirt road.

I'm incredibly grateful the ligaments were not compromised and a meniscal tear is minor in comparison to what it could have been.

I think I got a little panic-y because this is NOT a good time for this, but is there ever a good time for an injury? Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10

Knee Saga

 About 2 weeks ago(6/18), I put in a pretty good day of mowing and that evening my leg was pretty sore, but I just chalked it up to wearing my chore shoes which are not very supportive. I use these and I love them for trotting outside to chore. Not an affiliate link - just sharing something I love and use.

                                                                              Sloggers

The next day I helped DH pull out all that fence around the old trailer house here at headquarters. And yes, I wore my good supportive work shoes. We worked hard for about 3 or 4 hours and I was smoked. Then I made a trip to town to run errands.

The next morning, Thursday,  I could hardly walk. That's when DH brought me the crutches from the bunkhouse.

So I hobbled around and tried to rest it over the weekend. DH wisely advised I not go into work on Monday so I called my boss so that she could make other arrangements.

I called the orthopedic clinic and was grateful to get in on Tuesday (6/25). The PA said she was very pleased with the X-rays and that I had beautiful knees (on the X-rays) 😉. I said, "That's great news, but I can't walk." She gave me the option of a cortisone shot or an MRI. DH said he wanted me to have both. 😂 He felt like she didn't realize how much I was really hurting. So DH tried to tell her, but I got the feeling she just thought I was a whiner. DH said, "She wouldn't think that if she knew you." 

I was told the MRI would be scheduled and they needed to get approval from insurance.

Insert rant: I love this country, but the health care and insurance system is royally messed up. End of rant.

The next morning (Wed 6/26), my knee felt a little less painful, but I didn't feel much of an improvement. DH went out to ride a colt and then he had an appointment and things to do in town.

So after making the bed, I figured I'd boil some eggs since they were piling up. Doing things on crutches when you're 60 is a challenge, but I couldn't just sit around all day. 

I was gently spooning eggs into the boiling water and when I turned to the side to pick up a couple more eggs, one of the eggs in the pot must have had a crack in it because it popped and that startled me so I involuntarily did a little hop and immediately felt something tear or pop in my leg. It instantly brought tears to my eyes. 

I just worked through it and waited for the eggs to finish boiling, put them in ice water for a few minutes and stuck them in the fridge. I didn't go sit down right away because I didn't want to waste the eggs.

But, BOY HOWDY! My leg did NOT feel good. I thought I was going to pass out. So Once I caught my breath, and made my way to the living room, I called the clinic and talked to the receptionist. She put me through to the PA's voicemail and I asked if she could please fast track that MRI.

That evening I got an email that insurance had approved it and that it had been ordered, but it's now the 2nd and I'm still waiting to hear from radiology about an appointment. Sigh. 

I can't just sit around so I'm piling laundry on my shoulders and crutching my way to the laundry room,  cooking some and keeping up with the dishes. DH still needs to eat and since I'm not doing a whole lot, I'm just eating once a day. We live too far from town to eat out and I don't buy frozen dinners so I made Barbecue Swiss Steak in the Instant Pot one day 

and Barbacoa in the Crockpot the next day

I'm still cleaning out the pantry so I made a batch of Dirt Road Granola Bars that used up the rest of the Chocolate Chips, Rice Krispies, and Quick Oats.

There's enough leftovers for a few more days while I wait for that phone call. I'm just ready to find out what needs to done next. Hopefully, it's an easy fix because we've got a pretty big project ahead of us (I'll share more in a few weeks) and 2 healthy knees would be beneficial. 

Under the Needle: June

 Some unexpected time to sew yielded a new quilt top early this month using an older line called Animal Crackers.  I cut it out last month and with DH leaving before 4 so many mornings to help brand on the other ranches, I've found time to sew some.

I liked this design (Deep Dive by Moonkin Stitchery) so much that I pulled another Layer Cake and a Fat Quarter bundle (Love You S'more) and cut out a larger quilt. This will be one of the camping quilts I'm making that was on my list at the first of the year. I thought the little hsts pieced to look like flying geese, looked like little tents

And I pressed and cut up another Fat Quarter bundle for a Christmas quilt - another project on my list

I needed a few more squares so I pulled a few plaids from my stash and then found time to begin stitching blocks

I finished this Pink Gingham Quilt

And I also finished this All in Good Time Baby Quilt that I started back in 2018.

I picked up 2 more quilts from Jackie so there are more finishes on the way. 

I was hoping to get the binding stitched to the front so I'd have some hand binding to do, but my knee injury has escalated so no sewing for a while. I'll post an update when I have more information.

I really like having quilts in all stages of construction. I feel like it keeps me engaged and that even when sewing time is scarce, I'm always moving something forward toward a finish.