Sunday, April 08, 2012

Where do I begin?

Well, Happy Easter to one & all, hope you were spoilt with lots of chocolate goodies :)

2011 was not a great year to start with. Early January a large shadow appeared on a chest xray which was eventually, after numerous scans & biopsies diagnosed as lung cancer which led to major surgery in Southampton removing 2 lobes of my right lung. I am very fortunate in that they were able to remove all the tumour & have not had to follow up surgery with radiotherapy or chemotherapy & am pleased to say that all has gone well. May I also take this opportunity to thank you all for your best wishes & prayers of support which were very much appreciated during this difficult time :) Now back to quilting!


Knowing how boring hospital stays can be, I prepped a whole load of patches to take with me should I feel the need to stitch, and thus began the start of a thimble quilt, inspired by this amazing red one by Ingrid at Supergoof and this beauty created by Katrien of Scrappatch . For this one I have taken all the repros I have collected over the last few years & added them with shirtings & lights to make up this scrappy top.

This was a great little hand piecing project to work on whilst convalescing post op & I decided to make 12 & 12 blocks to join together in rows.
Of course Lucy kept me company whilst stitching & had to try out the patchwork for comfort!
Progress so far

Imperial Blooms

Another project which was great to work on whilst on the road to recovery was the Imperial Blooms BOM by Sue Spargo. I had decided to join this one as I loved the design & had for while wanted to have a go at wool applique..........another technique now ticked off the list!



I am really enjoying working on this. As well as the wool applique I'm also brushing up on my rusty embroidery skills. Currently working on block no 7 which is nearly done, then just 2 more to go before attacking the borders.


Kaffee Fassett

Remember this? It had been on my design wall since July 2010!
Well last Sept/Oct I decided it was time to tackle this quilt designed in the Kaffe workshops I was lucky enough to attend. So here we have a tada moment with a top quilted, bound & studied by my 4 legged quilt inspector!
Boy, does she manage to get into every shot somehow!

This blue diamond quilt was intended for my bed but isn't quite wide enough & with winter on it's way the colours felt too cold, so inspired by a quilt on the cover of Kaffe's book Caravan of Quilts & one that Cathy of Cabbage Quilts was making, I decided to also use the EPP (English paper piecing) method to make my own in warm reds, purple and gold using Kaffe Fassett & Philip Jacob fabrics.


As each round was completed I laid it out on the floor to choose the next round of fabrics to use & once again, it had to be checked for comfort by Lucy!
Finally, by Christmas Eve, this top was completed, not bad going for EPP started mid October! Unfortunately it is still just a top which I hope to have quilted & bound ready for my bed next winter.

So, all in all, being absent from blogger has given me more sewing time & as you can see I have not been completely idle during my time off :)
More to follow.........

7 comments:

Oops-Lah said...

Not completely idle!!!! You must be kidding ;). I am dumbstruck with all you've accomplished in spite of your health crisis. I'm so glad to hear that this crisis is all behind you and that you are doing so well. Welcome back to blogland; you've been thoroughly missed. xx

bockel24 said...

I can´t express how happy I am to see you posting here again - and to see you making wonderful art again! Love your quilt and admire your patience, Gisele. Take care.

Sandra Henderson said...

Oh Gisele, What an Easter gift you have given to me. I am sitting here with tears in my eyes, as I look at your gorgeous quilts and read your worlds. I am pinching myself. I have thought of you and prayed for you and missed you and am SO , SO thankful that you are doing so well. God is good! HAPPY EASTER and welcome back. Missed you. XO

Cathi said...

Gisele, I'm so happy to see you posting again and so glad you've come through the health situation so well!
You have certainly been busy making some glorious quilts for Lucy to inspect!

Shirley said...

Woohoo! So glad to see you back in action. Have missed your beautiful work and your emails. We have a lot of catching up to do. You have certainly been keeping busy.

Valentina said...

My dearest Gisele, I cannot tell you how happy I am right this moment! It was a year ago ( Holy week) that we received the dreadful news, and you have been in my heart ever since. The best Christmas gift was hearing from Sandra that you we alright, so it only seems appropriate that one year on, we are here celebrating you again!
I have missed you, my friend, really really missed you. Your projects just have that special "Gisele- spark" and it makes me so happy to see and know that you are really back, and actually never left!
:)

Judy Martin said...

I too am in awe of what you have been able to accomplish with the needle while in a crises.

A needle and thread are such healing tools, aren't they?

Amazing work, and all beautiful.

The wool applique is gorgeous.