March 2018 - Fireplace Removal Plus

Going to try to post at the end of each month.  

Our T-shirt

Don't think I finished up February. 

Pat(r) received my Quilt

I belong to the Ventura Modern Quilt Guild.  We're heading up the Thomas Fire Quilt Project.  Between January and February I made 2 Quilt tops, a dozen or so blocks and quilted 8 quilts for them.  The purple quilt is one I pieced over 20 years ago but never quilted.  I quilted feathers all over it and turned it in at the March meeting.  Later in this post you'll see I have to give myself a rest from using the longarm machine so have focused on making tops instead.  I know they need quilters more than piecers so am hoping to get back to quilting soon.  I put together blocks that one of my friends from DVQ (in Danville) had made.  Stephanie was fighting cancer the entire time that I knew her.  Each of us got a few of her UFO (UnFinished Objects) when she passed away.  Needed to make one more block to finish off this top.  Have another project that she only had pieces parts made.  Hoping to have it done by the April 9th meeting.   

Stephanie's Top

Selma came down for a week's visit.  She rode down on the Megabus which stops in Burbank.  Worked out great.  We spent the week doing hand sewing and going to quilt stores.  Took her to my small group on Thursday morning.  On Friday we drove to Pasadena to go to Quiltcon.  It was the farthest I've driven south since we moved here.  I have no problem making the trip up north but venturing down towards LA really bothers me.

Anyway we saw a great quilt show and had dinner with a lot of our DVQ friends from the bay area that had also come for the show.  Spent the night and came home Saturday morning.  

Unfortunately the week before my hands had swollen up.  Good news is that they were taking turns, left then right then left again.  The doctor had upped my inflammation meds but they weren't doing the job.

After Selma left I went to see the doctor who did blood work that indicated I had Rheumatoid arthritis.  (RA)  The Rheumatoid Factor is normally 14 or below, mine was 355.   By the time I saw the specialist both hands were swollen and painful to the point I was in tears. She ordered 21 x-rays taken. She also put me on Prednisone and in 2 days the swelling and  most of the pain was gone.  Went back for a followup on the 26th and got some good news.  Seems that so far there's been little damage done to my joints.  Deformation of the joints of my left foot and my left wrist only.  Tomorrow (3/27) I'll start the medicine which is a chemo-therapy pill.  May lose some of my hair.  Go back in April for follow-up.  Staying off the longarm for awhile; seems to aggravate my shoulders and hands (gripping the handles).

Bruce has put up a temporary wall between the living room and the dining room to keep the dust contained.  He tore out of the fireplace.  Then he took down the 3 exterior walls (one of those is the wall to the garage).  He's made 4 trips to the dump with all the rumble.  Molly got to go on the first trip.  Don't think she liked it much.   It's easier to do the wiring without the walls, besides we want to insulate them.  Older homes down here don't have insulation.  But with the weather getting colder each year, we're trying to get the exterior walls fixed.  

March 30th -  The 6 LED ceiling lights he had put in when we first moved down have now been separated into two switches.  4 on one switch and 2 on another.  That way we can just turn on the two right near the garage door when we go out in the evening.  It will shine enough into the kitchen that it will look like we're home.  Though most nights all lights are off except the one bedroom that we use as a TV room and it can't be seen from the front. 

The hardest part of this project is going to be selecting a tile or stone for the fireplace.  Thinking I'll let him decide since I got the say in the kitchen.

March 31st -   Happy almost Easter!  Well it was for us.  Had a brunch and Easter egg hunt at Alissa and Nick's.  So much fun watching the little ones having a great time.  Made this cute little bear for Alissa.  I know it should have gone to one of the grandchildren, but I bought the fur in 1990 to make it for her and never did.  In my cleaning out of my sewing room I came across it and instead of throwing it away, decided to make it.  

Ending the post with a picture of my penguin quilt.   Selma gave me the kit years ago.  When I joined a hand applique group down here I started working on it.  Just this past December I  finally quilted it.  It will be in the Camarillo Quilt show in April.