Christmas Gifts and Other projects

 I was asked to help with a charity sewing project and we made reading pillows. The four below are the front and backs for the pillows for 9 year old boy and girl.

I made an Easy Does It for a class sample I would like to teach at the Sewing Center. It's a free pattern from byAnnie. 

I made this Large Flipping Out from byAnnie patterns. It went together much better than I anticipated.

This year I struggled with Christmas gifts as the kids have 2 teachers who they have had in the past. So I decided the teachers would get reading pillows for their rooms. Mrs. Leite loves Owl's, so I made one for her. Then I made Mrs. Hammell a camping one. 

Mrs. Barbaruolo and Mrs. Preston received red pillows with flowers and camping. All three of these had red minkee on the back. 

My MIL found her brother after an extended period of time and I made his girlfriend this bag. 

I made the buffalo bag for him. 

I used up the last of my Case IH fabric for a few bags for my brothers, dad, and nephew. 

 I love making these little bags. They are super easy and the recipients love them. 

November & December Sewing

 November and December were pretty much a blur for me. I was sick more than I was well and I only did the bare minimum sewing. I spent one Sunday and made teacher bags for Christmas gifts. Mikaela has 3 teachers. 

Mrs. Williams, the reading teacher, got a "book" bag. 

Mrs. West, the writing teacher, got a Huskers bag. 

Mathew's teacher, Ms. Wagner, is also a Huskers fan, so she got one as well. 

Mikaela's main teacher, Mrs. Johns, likes chickens, so she got a chicken bag. 

I had a custom order for a t-shirt quilt and this "extra" t-shirt to become a pillow. 

The backing for the t-shirt quilt. 

The finished t-shirt quilt. It was made for a dad to give his daughter, with her mom's shirts. It's queen size and I quilted it the day before I got sick. 

Earlier in November, I made this Rock Candy table topper and double potholder and kitchen boa for my Secret Santa Swap partner Linda for Christmas. 

I made this pillow and Christmas ornament for a friend from her grandma's jacket. The cousins and her mom were each getting one. It was a custom order. 

I made this Rock Candy table runner out of Tula Pink scraps. I have yet to finish it. 

After being sick for all of November and December, I found out my heart isn't pumping correctly, so I am taking heart meds and wearing a LifeVest to hopefully get my heart back on track. It was so frustrating not being able to sew or breathe. 

Kids sewing

Mikaela has been doing a bit of sewing this year. She made this "purse" with no pattern. She put in the zipper and there are pockets on the inside and she added strapping to make it go over her head. 

She helped me make this Kimberbell bear. I wanted to make the pattern with the embroidery machine and I learned a ton doing it. She turned and stuffed it all and helped me sew it together. It's a free pattern and while not a quick make, it was a fun one with the embroidery machine (since I rarely use it). 

She pieced this doll quilt for her baby. It's from a bunch of fat quarters she collected and she loves it. 

This was a kit Mathew wanted for his pillow. He helped a bit, but I did most of the sewing. It's a minkee one and is for a small travel pillow. 

 The kids have really enjoyed doing more sewing this year, including making pillowcases with their 4-H club in March. 

Where have I been?

 

Wow, almost 2 years worth of a blogging break? Who knew it had been that long? I guess I spend more time posting to IG than I do writing blog posts. Probably because it's easier to post a quick photo on my phone. I honestly thought it had only been the past year and I knew the reason for that. 

One year ago, at the end of September, I was diagnosed with DCIS breast cancer. While stage 1 prognosis was good, it took over a month to get the breast MRI scheduled for October 24th to see where cancer had spread. I planned to have a right side lumpectomy on October 30th and be back in the office 2 weeks later. Since my mom had passed away from breast and brain cancer, I have been very proactive about getting my mammograms. Due to dense breast tissue, if I hadn't had those early ones, they would not have found it last year, at age 39. 

October 29th as I was clearing off my desk to leave work, the surgeon called. The cancer was no longer in the duct, but in 3-5 spots and a lumpectomy was no longer an option. I took some time to regroup, met with a plastic surgeon, medical and radiation oncologists, and formed a new plan. December 16th I underwent a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery. I was in the hospital for 3 days and then home for 3 weeks. I did really well with the surgery and recovery. 

I was able to attend our guilds annual sewing retreat in January and had port placement surgery and started chemo at the end of January. I spent 2 months doing bi-weekly chemo, then 3 months of weekly chemo. In July I started 5 weeks of daily radiation and successfully completed it on August 17th. 

Due to COVID, I worked from home from March 15-August 1st. My biggest issue was extreme fatigue. In the process, I was connected with 2 friends who also were going through BC treatment and we supported each other through the process. I am now waiting to have the final phase of my reconstruction surgery in February. 

I made pillowcases for other BC sisters in the fight for life. 

I worked on my Jewelled Hearts EPP table runner. It's still a WIP as I did very little waiting where I felt like stitching. 

I made a journal cover for my sewing journal. 

I made a bosom buddy for the car seatbelt. 

My sewing pretty much went to the wayside for the past year. I did a few things, but nothing compared to normal. I'm feeling much better. I'm back at work and doing a lot of sewing again. I have a FB group - Moneik Boots Cancer if you're interested in my journey. 

November Accomplishments

 November has been quite a productive month. I'm pleased with all the things I have accomplished. Several were samples, but having a deadline is so helpful to me. I finished the small Open Wide Tote. I'll be teaching this at The Sewing Center in December. It's a quick little bag that finishes up very nicely.

 One of the Saturday's we stayed home, so Mikaela made a bunny rabbit. She had so much fun sewing it.

 I made her a mermaid pillowcase, which is minkee and super soft.

 This is the bunny she made herself, with a bit of help with the bottom from mom.

 The Take a Stand tote is a class I'll be teaching in January. It's a great bag for sewing retreats. I made both sizes, but this is a small size.

 Our 4-H Advisor was leaving, so I made him a 4-H Clover quilt. It didn't quite turn out how I imagined, but with all the Cloverbud names, it did turn out okay.

I finished the Yellow and Blue Tudor Bag I had planned to take on my MO trip. It would have been too small, so I'm glad I didn't get it done. It is pretty awesome though. 

 My co-worker left us for a job in TX, so I made him yellow/green bags.

 My brother asked me to make his friend a quilt, so this is what I came up with.

 I finished my Sunny Lane popcorn top. It turned out okay. I wasn't crazy about the charm pack, so I'll be gifting this one. I still have to quilt it and find something to bind it with.

I made this wall hanging for my SIL for her birthday.

This is the pheasant quilt for my nephew. Each boy is getting a new "big" boy quilt.