Coming Attractions

Well, my move from Arkansas to Washington is just 4 weeks away. Everything that can be packed is packed and what's left is stuff we need, stuff the movers will pack or stuff that we're packing in Elsie (who is getting treated like the classy lady she is and is being taken in a trailer to Washington so as not to stress out her 22 year old 148,324 mile engine). So, of course I'm just sitting, resting and twiddling my thumbs. Oh, and watching the soaps!

Now, for those of you who know me, you can stop laughing now. You're right, I'm busy and actually pulled out my sewing box and the few supplies that I had in my 'working on it' project box. Which I was conviently using as an end table---sneaky, huh? And began a project that began with the Santa Ana fires in the San Diego area in 2007.

Inspired by one of my bestest friends and the one and only 'Mom-In-Law' to my Cleo, I created what was originally designed to be used as a first aid kit for birds. A bag to keep all you need in an emergency for birdie in one place, ready to grab at a seconds notice. Someone, I can't remember who at the moment, but I think it was another of my bestest friends Dawn who commented that the bag would make a great purse. To which got my mind working (yeah, terrifying, huh?), and I made two more of these bags. One for me to use on my wheelchair as a 'purse', one for Cecils Mom to test out as a bird first aid kit (bestest friends are always great for testing ideas on! -thanks Donna). Then, I made yet one more for a fellow Etsian, Mommyknowsbest (or her medic alert tags), to test out, too. It's her fabulous zipper pulls I'd been attaching to each of the aformentioned bags. The one I made her was and is used as a school backpack for her 6 year old daughter and last I heard it was surviving school, a tug of war with one of her other daughters, AND the 6 year old. So, with one surviving a 6 year old and one surviving me and 5 cockatiels, I feel they're pretty well tested and ready for market!

So, once this move is over I plan on slowly listing 2 or three of these bags for sale and seeing what happens:

Each 12 inch wide, 14 inch tall, 5 inch deep bag features:

-1 elastic topped wallet pocket

-2 cell phone size pockets--will also hold a small day planner

-1 jumbo pocket 12x14 (inches) in size which can hold a note book, important papers, etc

-1 key ring to hang keys or cell phone off of so it doesn't end up at the bottom, never to be seen again

-2 elastic topped pockets that can hold a 16 ounce bottle of water each or pens or umbrella or etc

-each bag is lined with insulation and will actually keep warm stuff warm or cold stuff cold for 3 to 8 hours depending on outside air temps

-each comes with 3 different lengths of straps and 2 shoulder pads to protect your shoulders from the clamp/hooks used to connect the straps to the bag

-The straps can be used as either a back pack or moved to the top loops and used as a purse with either a long strap or a short one.

These bags don't have a name yet and I'd love suggestions! So suggest away!

How to PROPERLY recover from major surgery

As any of you who read my blog know, I had major surgery on March 11 of this year. Major enough that I was supposed to be doing a lot of sitting and resting. Which I did religiously......sort of. Under the very strict supervision of my nurses (see 'The Nurses' article in the second post below this one to refresh your memory) I managed to work on a couple of nice slow and very easy, nothing stressing, projects.

The first project was a thinking challenge from my good friend and fellow AREtsy Denise Felton . She sent me three really beautiful 18 inch by 22 inch fabric squares with a fabulous get well card she'd made herself. The challenge she'd penned upon the interior of the card was for me, while recovering, to figure out what the three little squares could possibly be used for. Her suggestion was that the fabric would look pretty good as one of my scrap aprons. I thought for a rather brief period of time and just couldn't part with all the love and healing vibes she'd packed into each beautiful square. Whatever these little squares were to become, it had to be a 'selfish me' project. Two of the squares immediately looked like outfits to me, and thus they became:
I even managed to chance upon a headband from Beckababe on Etsy that is a larger green and while polka-dot version of the fabric square Denise sent me! I also found a reversable headband from MindyKuen on Etsy which, of course, I didn't get a picture of due to not wanting to be a model anymore than I had to, that goes with the other three tops I hand stitched. Go to Mindy's shop and be prepared to be amazed! Actually, go to Becka's shop too, and prepare to be amazed! Both Etsians do beautiful work! The third square, as I type, is still sitting in my sewing box in a state of zen. It's trying to decide what it wants to be when it grows up---probably another top....

With those project underway I was happy, contented and relaxed until it dawned on me that we had just over two and a half months left before our move!

PANIC TIME!!!!

Ok, not really. But I did, out of total boredom and not really being able to sew as much as before the surgery, went fabric shopping to complete a project I'd set out to do several months earlier: make wheelchair covers. Why? Well, aside from the fact I'm just not a 'basic black' kinda person, they actually serve a very valuable purpose. Did you know that one ultralight wheelchair can cost $3000+ and medicare puts up one heck of a stink to cover 80% of the cost? Did you know that the cushion on my wheelchair cost $400? It did. So, the practicality of the wheelchair covers was two fold; protect the back of the wheelchair from the inevidable bird poop since you can toss a slip cover into the wash, but not the wheelchair. And two, protect the cushion from Hubby tossing it into the greasy back section of his truck. Slip covers are easy to replace, cushions aren't. I've also got two wheelchairs, the one I use and a possessed electric one that works fine for Hubby, but refuses to cooperate with me. I set out to make 4 covers, two per chair, one to keep on and one to change out when the first needs a bath. This is what I ended up with:

While fabric shopping for wheelchair fabric, another good friend stopped by and gifted me 4 yards of fabric. My friends know me well! Nothing soothes the soul and heals the body like beautiful fabrics! Well, two yards of the four total was a pretty burgundy polka-dot that I decided had to become a top. "OOOOOH! Better yet", I thought to myself, a top cool and comfortable enough to wear after surgery during our 8 to 10 day car ride up to Washington! "OOOOOOH!" I thought to myself again (actually, it was out loud to Double Trouble, who were perched on my knees and refusing to let me move at that moment) I can wear them when I go visiting relatives I haven't seen in 15 years and I won't look like a bag lady! So, out came the sewing box again (ok, honesty, I never put it away), and away I stitched on two travel tops:

Ok, that's it, gotta get packing and ready to move 2890 miles north west. I'm gonna put my sewing away. Yup, all done sewing till I get to Washington.....

BUT WAIT!!!!!

I needed new travel cages for Tyson Parker, and Double Trouble (Worthington and AsaMina are good at sharing, so they get to share a travel cage---shhhhhh! They don't know this as I type!). Well, the new cages came in and, of course, Murphy of Murphy Law fame, had to make an appearance! The new cages were a whole quarter inch larger than the ones they replaced (which had unsafe bar spacing and were dangerous for my angels). So,needless to say and of course, the travel cage covers that I'd made for the old cages didn't fit the new ones. It took Tyson Parker and Double Trouble a good hour of going through ALL the fabric I had before they decided every single bit of fabric in my craft closet was terrifying and they wanted the expensive fancy fabric I'd just bought for the above projects as their cage covers. You and I both know Murphy must have had quite the talk with the threesome, huh? Well, Double Trouble insisted that all Paisley Jam (the name of the fabric) was what they wanted. Tyson Parker, was quite happy with a bit of this and a bit of that. Those who've read my blog before know Tyson Parker needs a bit of therapy for his fabric fetish---which also explains the 'unique' picture I got of him on his new travel cage and cover. Have you ever tried to photograph a flirting tiel? No camera speed is fast enough for that, trust me! Double Trouble, of course, tried to convince me that their cover was terrifying, but I looked them in the little bitty eyes and told them to go sit on an ice cube. They opted to sit on the travel cage and cover instead.

What? You really think I've done all this sewing all by myself?! Of course I didn't do all this sewing by myself! I'm recovering from major surgery, remember? Lots of rest to recouperate, like a good girl! So, who was helping me? Worthington Israel Wentworth, of course. I haven't a clue why he picked this up, or what went through is mind the first time he gave it a try, but the little guy LOVES to sew! Ok, he can't work a needle, no hands, remember? But, what he does do is grab the thread as I pull it through the fabric past him. He helps me pull the thread snug so each and every stitch I do, is 'just so'. Now, he knows he's not allowed to help with store stock projects because some people are actually allergic to 1 year olds with feathers (much to Worthington's dismay). But, if it's a 'selfish me' or 'fellow bird person' project, he's right in the middle of it. This series of pictures is of him helping with all of the above projects. I held the thread in the air with one hand and the little camera in the other and just snapped away. His head is rarely in focus due to him 'bobbing for thread' in the air like a child bobs for apples on Halloween. That last picture is him glaring at me for one too many pictures. I only took 20, honest!

And that, for those of you wishing to know, is how you properly recover from major surgery! Any questions?

Sewing Withdrawl!!!

Well, as most of my faithful readers know, March 11, 2008 I had a radical double mastectomy. You name it, they removed it except the lymph nodes under my arms. I got the pathology report back on March 14 and if I was allowed to do a happy dance, I would. Not one single cancer cell!!! There was calcification and fibrocystic changes, which for me considering a previous surgery in 1991 removed 11 lumps and all but tissue and lymph nodes, finding such things wasn't a good sign. Basically what it came down to was that I'm pre-cancer bordering on cancer, but haven't produced tumors yet. My calcification and fibrocystic change was cells that hadn't decided what they wanted to be when they grew up yet. My surgery was well timed, a huge relief and a major blessing.


Currently I've got no bandages on, but am still stapled literally from arm pit to arm pit. My staples come out on March 26. Until then I'm to be resting and not doing too much moving around. For someone stuck in the house as much as I am, you'd assume I was a certifiable perch potato who watched the soaps and talk shows. Personally I hate both, leave on PBS during the day for my tiels (AsaMina watches Super Why, Word World, and Between the Lions with her little eyeballs glued to the screen as they are her favorites), and watch the news from 5 to 6 in the evening. Beyond that I have to find something to do to keep busy. Needless to say, these past two weeks have tried my imagination quite a bit.


Right after surgery my Flocktalk friends had a virtual bird party, which kept me quite occupied for two days. Then I became involved in a 'Where's Waldo' version of a game on Bird Channel.com with a couple of more friends. In between that I went fabric shopping on the computer and was also blessed with three fat quarters from Denise and a couple of yards of fabric from another friend. Today I went pattern shopping on the internet (I'm still trapped in the house for another week or two!).


Tomorrow I begin a little sewing for myself, as I'm no where healed enough to make stuff I'd sell. I want to be 100% for that. Besides, two of the fat quarters Denise sent me found a project to belong to. This first one will be

a dress with the little top part out of the light green fat quarter and the sleeves and skirt part out of a deep forrest green cotton. I just couldn't see making something out of the fat quarters that I was to give away or sell. There is so many healing hugs and healing vibes loaded and woven into each little piece Denise gave me, I had to be selfish and keep it for myself. Plus, due to the surgery and Worthington telling me I have terrible fashion sense, I've cleaned out three quarters of the clothes in my closet and, of course, must replace them....or some of them! This is the second fat quarter from Denise.The black and gold fat quarter will be the little top part of this shirt with the solid black cotton as the bottom of the top, sleeves and insert in the front. The third fat quarter is currently meditating and trying to find it's destiny. Thank you again Denise!

My original purpose for fabric hunting, aside from boredom, was to complete what I'd begun for my wheelchair. Originally I'd planned to make a couple of covers for the seat and back so they could be removed and changed due to mood or laundry. These two fabrics are future wheelchair covers.

And, lastly is a fabric that I like....I don't like.....I like.....I don't like.....I like.....you get the point. I thought it'd be more red and less orange, but it's more orange than red and doesn't go with my red wheelchair frame. BUT, all is not lost as hubby likes the fabric and it does go nicely with the electric wheelchair with the cockatiel grey frame (the orange in the fabric is 'ear patch' orange, the color of a cockatiels ear patches), so it'll be the cover for that wheelchair.
Hubby did say this looked like brothel fabric. I didn't bother to ask how he knew that and just went with it. But, tomorrow I'll begin the process with the pink and red paisley fabric and work on my first of two wheelchair covers. I promise to work slowly and carefully and not stress myself. But, if I don't get creating soon........