Tuesday, November 18, 2025

Just like the Last Rose of Summer

 



    Believe or not, there are a few roses, mostly bedraggled, blooming here in Buffalo, NY  even after a wintry blast a week ago. Today, I finished clipping all stalks and remnants as well as emptying out all the pots and containers even though I think some could still produce a bloom or two. 
    I think that is the perfect metaphor for where I have been.  I continued on sewing and quilting and cutting fabric, but went through a lot of physical pain, weariness and just unable to get photos and writing on the computer here. Just could not get it done. I followed all of you with blogs feeling like I could not make it to the party. No fairy godmother showed up with a pumpkin coach.
    No way I can make up for lost time here, so I will just intersperse what I have been doing. I continue to make comfort quilts and give them away, thank God. I went to an intense workshop with David Taylor at Quilting by the Lake, curated our every third year quilt show, and tried to figure out how to keep quilting on the longarm and get reorganized. 
     I did make some progress on getting help walking better and straighter, but no clear picture overall despite lots of tests and appointments. I still suffer from vaxx injury. Thank God I am walking straight again thanks to a new exercise physiologist (told by PTs they could do nothing else for me) and new program at a new place as the old cardiac rehab was shut down by the health system running it.  I am really trying every day.
    Our guild retreat was the first week of Nov. and I finished a bunch of quilts that I had set aside for webbing (thanks again Wanda for teaching me). One quilt I sewed together there after a hard time laying it out, was Good Vibrations 2 by Patti's Patchwork. The directions were not the greatest and it sat for 2 years because I couldn't figure it out. I just buckled down and kept trying. The fabric is Vicki Welsh's gradations that she no longer makes (sob). It was awesome fabric and I used every bit. I marked everything and measured repeatedly. I have to trim off the bottom and decide whether to add more gray (Kona Ash) around. It is about 60 x 80.

Laid out and marked


9 comments:

Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson said...

The gradations are beautiful in that quilt top.

Cherie Moore said...

The quilt pattern is so striking and Vicki’s fabrics are amazing.

Gene Black said...

Vicki’s fabric really shines in that quilt top. I have a collection of those gradient fabrics. I may have to attempt making a similar pattern.

Jeanna said...

Love the colors in the gradations quilt. Those are pretty fabrics!

Quiltdivajulie said...

Very glad you have two new places to get help with walking straighter and getting stronger. Health issues can wreak SO much havoc. Good for you for finding ways to adjust and adapt. The gradations quilt top is gorgeous!

Kathy S. said...

I am soooooo happy to "see" you!!!!! I'm glad you got some relief. Just like the roses, God is not done with you yet. I am thankful that you are walking straighter and feeling up to posting. No pressure, we're still here cheering you on. Your quilt looks challenging but stunning. Love Vicki's fabrics.

Quilting Babcia said...

Wonderful to see that you're back at it, doing some of the things that bring you joy, despite a level of pain that persists. All of the quilters in our group are reporting a level of fatigue that just doesn't seem to leave, though our median age is near 80 so that might have something to do with it. I wonder if it is a form of post-covid syndrome. At any rate you've created a beautiful top with those gorgeous fabrics, a challenge that you met beautifully. So nice to see a post from you.

Vicki W said...

I am so sorry to hear about your health issues and I'm so glad that you are coming out the other end. The Gradient quilt is just fantastic! Oasis and Sundance work so well together!

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

Oh Great big hugs!!! I have been thinking of you, and now I will add more to my prayers for you. I am glad you are getting some help , keep on quilting ;-)