Friday, November 9, 2007

Checking in . . .

Sorry for the lack of posts. There isn't a whole lot to tell when I'm not allowed to do much!

I have done a bunch of reading ever since I hurt my arm, as I'm not restricted from turning pages. I finished reading all the way through the Tony Hillerman "Jim Chee" and "Joe Leaphorn" mystery novels. If you like mysteries and have never read Hillerman I suggest you run right out to the store or library and find one or two. The main characters are two Navajo tribal policemen. Many of the stories weave Navajo folklore and religion throughout the plot - a fascinating view into a culture and society that most of us know little or nothing about. Hillerman is not a Navajo, but has received awards from the Navajo nation for his portrayals in his novels.

Once I finished those books I started the J.P Beaumont mystery novels by J.A. Jance. I've read the first three so far - what a huge contrast to the Hillerman books! J.P. Beaumont is a police detective in Seattle, and it's been a lot of fun following the action through many familiar places, as I lived in Seattle the first 22 years of my life.

I've also done a small amount of stitching. The doctor said I could start very gradually after I'd totally rested my shoulder for a week or so. Good thing, since I'm heading out to a quilt retreat in a little over an hour! I'm going to be sewing the binding and label on the Fireworks quilt - I finished the hand quilting just before I was put back on "restriction". After that I'll have the following choices - hand quilting on another quilt that I started quilting on between 5-10 years ago and never went back to it, embroidering some dish towels, hand piecing some UFO blocks, or working on various appliqué blocks for my mid-nineteenth century album quilt. As this retreat has been scheduled for months and months, I whined enough to the doctor so she'd give me permission to stitch this weekend - as long as I stopped and rested if I felt pain. It's going to be so good to stitch again!

I did a bit of machine work yesterday while I was puttering around packing - I put the borders on the third string quilt. I like how this turned out, but I'm going to go back to the square diagonal blocks for the next string quilt because I like it better. This one is a perfect size for a Hotel Hope quilt. As soon as I get the go ahead I must get back to machine quilting. I have four Hotel Hope quilts that need quilting, binding, and labeling before the December guild meeting. That's when we are presenting the quilts to the representative from Hotel Hope.

Our excitement at having a new grandson her for Christmas was short lived. The kids got a message yesterday telling them that the holidays would delay the paperwork so they won't be able to go to Guatemala for Joseph until January. When in January we don't know - and we don't know whether there will be extra problems due to the Guatemalan government adoption of the Hague adoption treaty. We are all praying very hard that there won't be complications, and that we can have our little guy here early in January.

************
Gratitudes:
1. Quilt retreats
2. Starbucks Christmas blend has returned.
3. Books to read
4. The gentle mist in the air today
5. Breakfast with a friend

19 comments:

*karendianne. said...

Enjoyed your post. Lost of good things to share (mostly - you'll have your little guy here sooner than you think! ;) and I really like the Fireworks quilt.

Enjoy the retreat.

Joyce said...

Did you know that several of the Hillerman mysteries have been made into movies starring Adam Beach as Jim Chee. I have seen some of them and thought they did a very good job. I'm not sure if they are Canadian movies. Possibly they are because Adam Beach is a Canadian actor of native descent.

sewprimitive karen said...

Best of luck for the swift arrival of your grandson. And have a wonderful time on your retreat!!

Sweet P said...

Have fun on your retreat and enjoy your chair there. I don't read much, but I hope you enjoy your books. Bad news about your new grandson. I hope everything works out OK for them.

Lily Mulholland said...

Baby steps for your recovery Patti! Enjoy the retreat and BE GOOD!

I hope Joseph is in your family's arms in Jan. :)

julieQ said...

Love a good book, I can totally immersed in one. Your string quilt is awesome!! Lots of little pieces. I enjoy your blog so much.

JulieQ

sewkalico said...

As you know, I'd love to see what you get up to with your dishclothes so I hope you get a chance to do them before I go away.

I'll be holding thumbs that your grandson will be will you asap! Enjoy your retreat and your Starbucks Christmas blend - sounds yummy - no Strabucks near me :-(

Quilts And Pieces said...

Oh take care of that shoulder. THe string quilt is very fun looking though isn't it. Sorry to hear about Joseph, I"ll keep him in my prayers. That has got to be so hard on you all.

The Chicken Lady said...

Take good care of that arm. I know it's hard when all your talent wants to come out! :) Hope you had a great time at the retreat.

Prayers are going up for Little Joseph to come HOME soon. :)

Frederique said...

Sorry about your arm, stay still and keep reading! Your quilt is beautiful.

Jenni said...

Love both those quilts - the string quilt turned out well. Hope your arm holds up, I laughed when after reading how you weren't allowed to sew, you were off to a retreat! Hard to keep a quilter down, isn't it?

Marilyn Robertson said...

Love your quilts! Have a great time at your retreat! I will have to check out those authors. I love a good mystery.

Tracey @ozcountryquiltingmum said...

Praying with you that the baby arrives safely...from the Guatemalan stork!
Look after that arm this wekend, maybe you will just have to concentrate on eating and talking! Tracey

Anonymous said...

I really like your Fireworks quilt, I have a thing for stars in quilts. Your little guy will be here before you know it, but I imagine the waiting is agonizing!

Laura said...

I hope you had a great time at your retreat! Sending good wishes your way for a smooth adoption!

Susan said...

Hillerman is a favorite of mine. I will have to look for J A Jance.

Shelina said...

I hope your arm heals quickly. Both the quilts look great - I especially like the string quilt as I haven't seen that setting before.

Desi said...

You rock, Sister. I love reading your posts. You can see my Mile-a-Minute quilt top on my blog.

http://gotoyourstudio.blogspot.com/

antique quilter said...

looking forward to your post about the retreat and some pictures of the wonderful projects being worked on!
hope all is well....
Kathie