Cancer and Quilts

Just before Christmas 2014 one of my sisters was diagnosed with liver cancer.  On Instagram I had seen the Moda Modern Building Blocks quilt and had ordered a kit as soon as it became available.   I'd never done that before - never made a quilt from a pattern or with a specific set of fabrics, but this one appealed to me so much, just as it was and I couldn't imagine my own combination of fabrics could ever be as joyous and delightful as the ones it was designed with.
Between Christmas and early January we had some very anxious days waiting for my sister to undergo surgery.  Scans had shown a large tumour on her liver and a second smaller 'something' also on the liver.  Biopsy of the second 'something' was impossible due to its location.  So the plan was this - she wold go into surgery.  the surgeon would examine and biopsy the smaller 'something'. If it was cancer, he would close her up and proceed no further, because that would mean that the cancer had already spread.  'Treatment' at that point, would be palliative only.  If, however, the 'something' was nothing - benign, an artefact, whatever, he would remove about a third of her liver in a  very major operation and she would then commence six months of chemotherapy.
Because it was Christmas the surgeon and various members of his preferred team were on leave and we had to wait till early January for them to assemble and undertake the procedure.
Primary liver cancer is very rare, and googling 'liver cancer' is not encouraging.  The prognosis is generally poor.  A young colleague of mine, mother of two, had died the previous year from this exact same cancer.  I was not feeling optimistic.
While we waited for the surgery date to arrive, I worked on this quilt and listened to 'Serial', the podcast.  I didn't say to myself that I was making the quilt for her.  I knew that this quilt would take me a very long time and, if the first of the possible scenarios developed, she would not have a long time.  But in the back of my mind I thought to myself what a lovely life affirming quilt this was, and, if life was affirmed, what a nice gift it might make.
My sister went into hospital for the operation and we were in the bizarre position of hoping that the surgery would take a very long time and not a very short time.
And indeed, the second 'tumour' was benign and the operation was a success.
The first few blocks of this quilt are huge.  Early progress is easy - after about half a dozen blocks, the quilt, in size at least, in about half done.  Then come all the tiny fiddly blocks.
Chemo, they say, has a cumulative effect.  At first it seems not too bad, but each session takes a greater and greater toll.
As the months of chemo wore on for my sister, I worked on this quilt.  The blocks were very difficult for me - lacking the sort of precision and attention to detail necessary for such a project.  The cutting was also incredibly time consuming - lots of very odd measurements 5 and 3/8ths of an inch by 3 and 5/12ths of an inch = things like that.  I had to make cardboard templates for the pieces and none of the pieces was exactly the same as any of the other pieces.  Endlessly frustrating.
My blocks are skewiff, there is not a single perfect point in this quilt and all seams are wonky.  But I totally love it.
Mid year my sister finished chemo and I finished the quilt top.  It took another few months for her to recover her stamina and for the fatigue to lift.  It took another few months for me to get around to basting and quilting this thing.  It's the first queen sized quilt I've ever done and I wasn't sure how I'd go on my home machine, but it worked fine.  Given the complexity of the pattern and the riot of colours, I just went with straight line quilting and I think it looks right.

At Christmas my sister was pronounced 'cancer free'.  I gave her the quilt.

Tall skinny animals and other things

These were some of the things I made for the fete this year.  I probably made fewer items, but enjoyed making them more and was happier with the outcome than in past years.  Though I quite enjoy the challenge of seeing what has been donated and turning it into something, it's rather nice working with fabric that I really love.

The monkeys, rabbits and rag dolls are mostly fabrics that I bought back from Japan.  All dots and stripes are not equal.

I'm still not over tiny owls and mice in tiny beds.  When I was a kid I did a Saturday morning pottery course for years and years.  I made lots of different things, but I kept returning to dragons again and again, even though I was not otherwise interested in them.  I wasn't into fantasy novels at all (romance all the way) nor was I attracted to other representation of dragons (I had a pig collection).  I just really liked making dragons.  And it seems in my 40's I really like making owls.  And mice.  And possibly now, bats.  We shall see.  I think tiny bats in beds could be quite adorable.

Frida Kahlo Doll

Isn't this cool?  I can take credit only for putting her together which honestly was easy as pie.  This Frida Kahlo, from Miko Designs was such a fun sew.  I added the ribbon round the bottom of the skirt and cut out the extra Frida head and bird from the printed sheet of fabric, that was decorated with a few extra bits and pieces to get creative with.  There was lovely script on the fabric too, which I cut out and  used to decorate a bag for Frida to go in. (she was a gift).  I also made a rabbit from this same designer, with a gorgeous Parisian skirt and other bits and pieces for Grace, which I'll maybe get around to photographing one day.  

The Nativity - A Miniature Christmas Scene

I had such fun making this tiny nativity scene.  I painted all the little wooden people and then made clothing for them, the animals are all miniaturised versions of the animals in Karin Neuschutz's 'Sew Soft Toys'.  I can't find an internet link but I know that l'uccello stock this book.  I just photocopied the patterns at 25% and cut them without a seam allowance as I stitched by hand in blanket stitch rather than sewing right sides together and bagging out.  They were too tiny for that.  The only things I didn't make were the gifts from the wise men, though the gold is not right and I'll have to see if I can find something better next year.  I put these in our nativity calendar and the girls took it in turns opening a drawer each day.  Luckily four goes evenly into 24 or there would be fights.  I snuck a mouse in - not traditional I know, but Nina adores mice and I reckon there would be one near a stable.  I was so pleased with how it turned out  - exactly as I had hoped, which is a very rare thing. 

Drunkard's Path

In our revamped dining/sewing room I finally found the time and space to finish this drunkard's path quilt. I made the blocks back in June, and did nothing with them for the next six months. As is the way with these things, it all came together pretty quickly once I finally took them out again. I'm happy but not thrilled with this one. The blocks were time consuming to make, mostly because I am no great shakes at sewing curves, and they were more complicated than the blocks in any other quilt I'd made (Which isn't saying a lot, my quilts are generally very simple). I love the fabrics in this, but I'm not sure I really showcased them well. I was very unsure of what to use for sashing. I nearly went with something much brighter - even orange - which made it a more arresting quilt, but eventually decided on this rather reserved grey. I had in mind a charcoally binding and indeed the fabric I bought was called 'Coal' but when I got it home it turned out to be a bluey-black, more than a grey, and I'm not entirely convinced. In addition to which I made a complete hash of 3 out of 4 of the mitred corners. I'm not exactly sure what went wrong. I can't even bear to show a picture. I'm sounding much less happy and more critical than I feel, it's just that, considering the effort that went in to it, I hoped to really really love it and I'm not sure that I do. It's the way of things though, isn't it? It's very unpredictable what will work and what won't. At least for me.

A Difficult Quilt

Oh this quilt gave me trouble.  I started it on Craft Camp as a quick bit of quilting gratification so that I could take at least one finished item home. I had the top done and it all basted up but when I looked at it afterwards it seemed all wrong.  It wasn't at all what I had in mind which was something simple and fresh and modern, and instead looked old fashioned and way too 'crafty'. So I unbasted it and cut the quilt into two pieces, inserted a stripe in the middle, took it out, tried a different colour, mucked around a bit more, sought advice via Instagram and eventually put it away for quite a while. I took it out again in the recent school holidays and decided that the marinating time had worked wonders.  I was able to finish the top and took it away to Little Sheoak for my first ever attempt at handquilting.  How fortunate that the little japanese plastic bowls we use every day were just the right template for the circular design I wanted to quilt.  I loved the process of handquilting, though of course my stitches are not even and the circles don't line up perfectly and there are myriad other faults.  But doesn't handquilting give such a lovely texture?  The backing is from Lotta Jansdotter's 'Glimma' range which was everywhere last year, and which I bought thinking I'd make a skirt.  Haven't made much progress on the seamstressy front but very very happy with it in this quilt.  It's just a small thing, this quilt, barely a lap quilt really, more like a cot quilt size.  But, after its difficult start, it's one I'm quite pleased with, which is lucky because it's not going anywhere.  Even Craig approves.