A finish for September!

Well, I missed August, but here I am, back in the swing of things for September! If this quilt looks somewhat familiar, it's probably because this is the second quilt I have made with the same fabrics. It is the Sunshine line from Moda by April Cornell. When did this line come out? Maybe 2 years ago or was it 3? Whenever it was, that's when I started it.  Finally it is quilted and bound and thus is my finish for September. I'm already working on the next one. I suppose there is a small chance of it getting done this month too, but it is a small chance! Here's a peak at it....

Have a great weekend. I just had my head shaved, so I've got to go get used to that! I'll post photos on my other blog....

Hugs,

Melanie

Small Accomplishments!

I have been able to get a few things done, believe it or not! Chemo was not too bad. I layed low for a couple of days, but overall, I'd certainly have to say the Lord blessed me with very minor side effects. Consequently, I've been able to finish a couple of the Gail Pan blocks in the last week or so. Here they are...

Coming soon is my finished project for the month of September. Actually, I'm really hoping to finish 2 projects in September to make up for the miss in August. August ended up being a crappy month!

Also, in an effort to keep those of you who would rather not be bored with my cancer experience free of that thread here, I've opted to start a new blog, "The Unexpected Detour."  In that blog I will chronicle my experiences, past and future, as I go through my treatments. Personally, I have seen the hand of God at work during this time and it's exciting for me to share. Also, this will double as my journal for this time in my life. I have made a link to it on the right side of this blog.

Stay happy and healthy and keep on stitching!

Melanie

One down, five to go!

My first round of chemo is DONE! It was the longest one and lasted 7.5 hours. Glad to have it over with and feel just fine so far. One of the drugs, Rituxan, can cause some reactions and of course I reacted. So they had to stop the IV and get control of things before I could get started again. But once they started it again, I was fine. And it shouldn't happen again the next time.

I'm told days 2 and 3 are the hardest, so I probably won't be back until Sunday or Monday. Hope you all have a fantastic weekend. Do some stitching for me!

Melanie

Health Update

Forgive me for not talking about quilting at the moment. It's been hard to focus on being creative for the past few weeks, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel!

We saw the oncologist on Tuesday and got the word that my lymphoma is stage 3. I believe it is curable at any stage. It is stage 3 because I have a few small tumors in my abdomen. The football-sized tumor they took out when they did the hysterectomy was the greatest part of the disease, so that is very good news. I was happy to hear that it had not gone to the bone. The site where they did the bone marrow test still hurts over a week later, so I'm glad they won't have to periodically check that too!

Because there are such small tumors, the chemo does not need to be broken into 2 sessions. The doc thought I probably had more large tumors that once the chemo meds hit them, it would release too many toxins into my system. Tomorrow will be one long day starting at 8:30 and going until they are done (6 hours at the most). I have plenty of things ready to go: lap quilt for snuggling, pillow, hand held Tetris and Yhatsee games, Sudoku book, reading book, glasses and stitchery! What more could I need????

For those of you who have been so kind to send cards and well wishes, I do so appreciate them! I will be missing quilt group for a while as I'm not supposed to be in large groups, but the good news is that this will probably only last until December. It would be so nice to be able to make it to the Christmas celebration, but I think it will have to wait until next year. That's okay. God is good and in control. I am doing my best to lean on Him!

I'll leave you with a picture of another of my first quilts. I got the fabrics on a trip my mom and sister's and I took in 2000. We went back east for fall colors and to visit family and had such a fun time! Oh the stories I could tell you from that trip! I'm actually pretty proud of the hand quilting I did on this, but you can't see it in this photo.

Hope you are all well and being creative in some way!
Melanie

Wow, what a week!

Tuesday we started with an echo cardiogram (not sure of the spelling). Wednesday I had a bone marrow biopsy and they took a piece of bone while they were at it! The doctor told me it shouldn't hurt, but still does. Thursday I had a PET/CT scan and for some reason, that just wore me out. Yesterday I had my port for chemo installed. This was about a 4 hour process from the time we were to arrive at the hospital to when they let me go. I had a really sweet nurse who was determined for me to be sedated to the point where it wouldn't bother me and she did a fantastic job. I have really come to love and appreciate nurses. What wonderful people they are to take care of others with such dedication! I'm wishing I had gone that route right as a career....

Oh, I have so many thank you notes to write. My 50th birthday landed right here in the midst of cancer diagnosis and surgery recovery, so I have thank yous to write for both events. At least I have plenty of time and my energy is not bad. I need to get things ready for chemo though as that starts on Wednesday.

Here are a couple of little things I've done over the last couple of weeks. It's not much, but they have certainly been enjoyable. In case you don't already know, you can get the patterns here.

Thanks for stopping by....

Melanie