Knee Surgery Update
Day #8.. Still progressing, and knee feels better. Swelling down, and not so stiff. Am having a little trouble with exhaustion still, but I think it's because I'm inactive. I really hate being stuck in my recliner all the time. I try to take short "strolls" on my crutches, as often as my strength allows. I spent a couple hours on the patio last evening, while Scott grilled burgers and I read several days' newspapers.
Tonight we went out for dinner and a trip to Lowe's. I had such cabin fever! Dinner at Peppers was a real treat. I tried not to mow too many people over at Lowe's. Those motorized shopping carts are tricky. LOL! Picked up a shower chair and hand rail, then stopped at a fireworks stand so Mitch could get some fireworks. I stayed in the car in the A/C and rested. By the time we got home I was so exhausted. My big night out on the town lasted about 1 1/2 hoursl
All the kids and grandgirls are coming this weekend. I plan to enjoy my forced relaxation time in my recliner and enjoy the family.
Next week..... Look out.... thread and fabric are going to fly! I'm going to try to do some piecing. I am having awful withdrawls from my sewing machine.
Knee Surgery
I had my knee surgery last Wednesday. The first few days were a blur, but I'm finally weaning myself off the pain meds, and feeling like I'm gonna live. I had arthroscopic surgery to repair an injury to my articulate cartilage on my medial femoral chondral. Near the end of April I tore a dime sized chunk of cartilage all the way to the bone. Of course, being the Klutz that I am, I had to really do it good this time. After 6 weeks of anti-inflammatories, cortisone shot, and rest the doc ordered an MRI. I was then referred to an Orthopedic surgeon. He scheduled me for surgery to clean up the area and debris, and TruFit synthetic plugs installed.
Here's some pics he took during the surgery:
#1. This is what he saw when he first went in. He trimmed up all the fraying.
#2. After trimming.
#3. Here's the problem area.
#4. After the TruFit synthetic plug(s) were installed and smoothed.
#5. He performed Microfracture on the bone by drilling holes in the bone to stimulate bleeding and marrow release to promote healing and meshing with plugs. You can see the line of holes he drilled before installing the plugs.
I am on crutches, non weight bearing for several weeks. I'll find out how long for sure when I go back for my followup appt next week. It has been a real challenge using crutches, but I'm getting the hang of them and getting around pretty good. They are literally the PITS. OUCH..the pits hurt.
I had terrible nausea the first 24 hours. Couldn't keep anything down, including the pain meds. After 20 hours of misery I called the doc. Got the nurse on call. She said she would pass on my message to the doc, and he would probably call in a prescription for nausea meds. I waited a couple hours, called again. Same response. I waited a couple more hours and called again. I believe I may have gotten her attention as she received very graphic sound effects over the phone as I was begging for help and sick at the same time. She told me she would get the doc right then. SHEESH! I felt totally abandoned by the medical world by then. I made sure the pre-op nurse and anesthesia doc noted that I have a nausea problem with anesthesia, and I told my surgical nurse, who gave me nausea meds before the procedure. I also told the recovery nurse that I would need nausea help, so she gave me one pill before sending me home. But.... no prescript to take home.
My good friend and rescuing Angel, Claudia picked up my prescription and brought it to me, along with some ginger ale and ginger cookies. Finally.... I was able to get some rest and let the pain meds do their magic.
That was Day #2. I don't remember much of it.....
Day#3... Shower time! YAY! It was a real challenge to get in the shower, as the one downstairs is not a walk-in. I was up to the challenge though, and did it feel good! Day#3 was also the day I was to start my exercises. I was feeling so good, and the ankle rolls, leg lifts, and working on the 90 degree bends seemded so easy. I was to manage a 90 degree bend by my first followup appt. I managed that on day3. I was so proud of myself... hey look everyone, watch this....This is easy stuff! WELL...... let me tell you what it felt like the next day! Serves my proud self right to go showing off how easy it was while on strong pain meds! Big mistake.
Day#4. Paying for the euphoria I had on day#3. I paced myself with my exercises and definitely did not overdo it. I managed to hobble out onto the patio twice for a little sunshine. Sure felt good. Tried weaning off the meds too fast later in the day. Had to make up for it with pain all night. (will I ever learn?)
Day#5..Claudia came by to visit and brought a Cafe Mocha. Just what I needed. Had a very nice visit. Then Mary Ellen came by bringing a casserole, cookies, and a pretty miniature rose. They sure perked me up with their visit.
Starting to wean off the meds a little more, but gradually. I desperately wanted to go down to the pond and my flowerbeds. Scott rigged up a thick cushion of poly batting for my leg to rest on, while I drove my ATV. Couldn't use the brake, as it's my right foot pedal, so I just puttered along real slow. Was so enjoying to watch Mitchell fish and look at the butterflies in my gardens. Scott was a real trooper letting me instruct him on what was a weed to pull, and what was a flower. lol!
Day#6. That's today. So far I haven't needed any pain meds. Leg is very tender, but not terribly painful. Still having muscle spasms in my sore calf, but better. Hmmm...what can I get myself into today?......
New Deck The new deck was finished just in time for our QOV sewing. Scott, Mitchell, and Mandy put in a lot of hours, and they did an outstanding job! It's going to be a nice place to take a break from longarming, and enjoy some sunshine. We will close off the underneath to make a garage for my ATV and Scott's mower, along with storage of garden tools, etc. Quilts of Valor Mary Ellen and Mary Jane came by Friday to work on QOVs. We finished 4 quilts, along with enough binding made to make many more. It was a very enjoyable day with lots of chatting and sewing. Since I will not be able to longarm for a few weeks, we still have several sandwiched quilts ready if anyone is interested in helping us out with the quilting. Email me: leann@persimmonquilts.com THANKS! Here's some pictures of some other QOV's that were shipped out this week: Sarah's Ribbons My customer, Sarah won ribbons on all three quilts she entered that were quilted by me. How exciting (for both of us!). She entered the quilts in the Central Oklahoma Quilter's Guild show this past weekend in Oklahoma City. Congrats Sarah! You go, girl!!! I don't have a picture of her 3rd quilt, but will soon. Here's the 2 ribbon winning quilts: Gardening It's a good thing my gardens are doing a good job of taking care of themselves. I have not been able to work in them, but am sure enjoying the pretties.
New Studio Steps & Deck
Those of you who have visited my studio may have found the stairs to my studio challenging. This weekend that is all changing! My guys demolished the old steps, and are building a 2 level deck with easier to navigate steps and landings. They've promised it will be completely finished in time for some of my QOV quilter friends coming by next Friday to work on quilting. This picture shows Mitchell working on ratcheting some bolts, while Scott is looking for the next board. I am taking this picture while sitting on the tractor. It was my job to use the bucket to lift the heavy beams. We had talked about putting new stairs in since moving into our house 4 years ago. Now seemed like the best time to do it, as I injured my knee in late April, and am having surgery in 2 weeks. After the surgery I won't be climbing stairs for awhile, but when I do I'm sure they'll be easier to manage than the old ones. Knee Injury Being the Klutz that I am, I stumbled on some rough sidewalk and tore a dime sized "divet" out of my articulate cartilage in my knee. This weight bearing cartilage is on the end of my femur. It is full thickness, to the bone. Needless to say, it has been painful! I never knew a knee could swell so much - and so fast! The swelling is better now, but still not able to tolerate much time on my feet. I'll have arthroscopic surgery. My surgeon has lined up 3 possible repairs, depending on what he finds when he goes in. (I had an MRI, but "having a look see" is the best way to determine the situation). He will either 1) just clean up the injury area and debris, and stop there if my arthritis is too advanced and not enough surrounding cartilage (& it may or may not help much), 2) do a microfracture procedure where he punches holes in the bone to release bone marrow that will help fill in the hole with a somewhat helpful "cartilage-like" substance, or 3) put plugs of cartilage from another area of my knee into the hole. The first option will ony have me on crutches a week or two. The 2nd and 3rd options will have me on crutches 6-8 weeks, non weight bearing. YIKES! What's on the Frame Although I haven't been able to do a lot of quilting the last 6 weeks, I have been able to get a few finished. I don't have pictures uploaded, but will soon. You can view some of the quilts I have longarmed in 2009 at: http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/slideshow/569726988nFtSCo Colonel Benson's Quilt of Valor I was asked to make another special presentation quilt by the folks at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. This time it was for a Colonel who was being sent stateside to head up a training dept. I had help with piecing the Wagon Trail blocks by my good friend, Linda R. She made the blocks, and I assembled them along with the applique and photos. It was a real honor to have been asked to make this special quilt. Thank you, Colonel Benson, and best wishes. Memorial Day Weekend All the kids and grandkids were here for Memorial Day weekend. We spent a lot of time down at our pond fishing. It was so much fun watching the little girls fish (& the big ones, too). My Gardens It seemed like the April/May rain would never end, but my flower gardens are looking great. Over the holiday weekend and following week we installed an underground irrigation system in one of my big flowerbeds. Finally.... a summer without lugging garden hoses around.
Look What Hubby Built for Me!
After moving an old TV out of my studio, and doing some re-arranging, I finally had room for more than a regular ironing board. After only a little bit of pestering, I was able to talk Scott into building an ironing table - with shelves! I love it!
We also turned my longarm and table around, so it faced the opposite direction. Now I can share my no-fatigue mat with my longarm and ironing table. If I could just get the rest of my studio so organized.....
Muskogee Quilt Show
Friday I drove to Muskogee for the Muskogee Guild Quilt Show. It was a very nice show, with lots of eye candy. I saw so many friends, and made a few new ones. I had a good visit with my pal, Darcy Ashton. She was signing books, and showing a new project from a future book. It's about horses, and has some of the CUTEST horses and ponies. Check out her website and blog for details: www.darcyashton.vox.com
QUILTS OF VALOR
Last Saturday we had our monthly sewing day. A local Girl Scout troop came in to sew with us. They were beginner quilters, but by the end of the day they had conquered the 1/4" seam and pressing. They even got one top assembled. I think we have some future quilters! Thank you so much, girls for helping comfort our wounded.
My new QOV mystery will start April 25th. Hope you'll join in the fun! www.persimmonquilts.com
QUILTY STUFF....
I have been doing quite a bit of piecing lately. I have pieced 3 tops for our new book, and am starting on the 4th. It's been awhile since I've been able to spend some quality time at my machine, and I have really enjoyed it.
Don't forget to check out my Scrappy BOM. I'll be posting the 3rd block on May 1st.
WHAT'S ON THE FRAME
Not only have I been piecing, but I've also been doing a lot of longarming. Here's a few I've done in the last week, or so:
ANTIQUE LOG CABIN
This Log Cabin was pieced in the early 1900's. It was made using a muslin foundation. It was very interesting to see all the different fabrics used.
BABY GOSLINGS & DUCKLINGS
We have several new babies this spring. This is a picture of one of our new ducklings. He is my son's favorite. He is about 10 days old in this picture, and my son was carrying him around in the pocket of his hoodie. He is a crested duck. We like to call them "Poof Heads". My son named him 'Fro'. He bonded with Mitchell right away, and follows him around everywhere. Too cute!
Look Out World - He's a Teenager Now!!
Our son, Mitchell is now a teen. Hard to believe my 'baby' is growing up so fast. (He would cringe, if he knew I was writing that!). He's been keeping me busy with lots of end of school year activities. This picture was taken yesterday at the "Battle of the Brains". It was a qualifier for the state competition to be held in a few weeks. He placed 2nd in Science, thus qualifying, and had already qualified for Language Arts. Go Mitch!! WHAT'S ON THE FRAME I have been longarming a lot lately, between thunderstorms, school activities & kiddo taxi service, yardwork, and QOV projects. My customer list keeps growing faster than I can cross finished quilts off my list! I am well into June right now. I took time off last week to longarm a quilt for our new book. I can't show a picture yet, but you'll have to believe me when I tell you it has loads of detail work on it. Here's some pictures of a couple of customer quilts I've worked on this week. Mary Ellen came out this week to work on QOV kits. We will be working with a group of Girl Scouts at our next QOV Sewing Day on the 11th. We made block kits for them to sew. After a fun morning of working and chatting, we went to the Pink House for lunch. If you'd like to join us on the 11th, please stop by SewFlakes in Broken Arrow. We'll put you to work! Persimmon Quilts Block of the Month The 2nd Block of the Month is posted on my website: www.persimmonquilts.com
Happy National Quilting Day!
I hope you spent the day doing something quilty. I had a very fun day conducting a workshop with my own guild, the Pryor Patcher's Quilt Guild ladies. They made "Nickel Bricks" from my 'Loose Change' book, and hopefully learned to throw that color wheel out the window, relax, and turn those "uglies" in their stash into a beautiful scrappy quilt. Thanks to the fun gals in my guild for a great Nat'l Quilting Day!
Clue #3 is posted on my QOV Mystery:
It's been awhile since I've posted. Besides being super busy this last month, I've had a bit of a setback healthwise when I had an allergic reaction to some medication. Whew! Spent some time in the ER two weeks ago, but I think I'm finally feeling almost back to 'normal' (LOL!, whatever that is!!).
I am so glad spring is finally here! I've spent a couple evening hours this week cleaning out my flowerbeds. So nice to see little green shoots coming up. My daffodils, hyacinths, and early spring shrubs are in full bloom.
KAITLYN'S 5TH BIRTHDAY
Last month we traveled to Lawton to help our middle granddaughter celebrate her 5th birthday. She is such a cutie! She loves dress up, and is modeling her Princess costume.
We stopped in OKC at Oklahoma Quiltworks, and I found several good fat quarters for new quilt projects I'm working on.
Persimmon Quilts 2009 BOM
Here is the first block of the Block of the Month I am hosting on my website.
Check it out at: www.persimmonquilts.com
QUILTS OF VALOR
Another couple of shipments have gone out this month. Although I didn't make it to the QOV sewing day at SewFlakes last week, the gals who were there made many block kits and sandwiched several quilts.
Be sure to stop in and pick up a kit if you're in Broken Arrow.
This quilt was made by Mrs. Pope's Kindegarten/1st grade class at Riverside Day School. Isn't it fantastic?!!
For more pics of QOV's we've sent out this month go to: http://community.webshots.com/user/PersimmonQuilts
WHAT'S ON THE FRAME?
This is a beautiful applique'd wallhanging I really enjoyed quilting. Carolyn's work is exquisite!
This week I have spent several days working on the Pryor Patcher's Quilt Guild raffle quilt. I do not have pictures to show, but should have some very soon. This raffle quilt is our Guild's main fundraiser, and the lucky winner will be drawn at our quilt show in November.
I have uploaded several more 2009 customer quilts to my Webshots album.
http://community.webshots.com/user/PersimmonQuilts
LOOSE CHANGE NEWS
Claudia and I have been giving several guild programs and workshops lately. This Saturday we will be at our guild in Pryor. Our workshop is called, "What to do with the Uglies". We will be featuring the "Nickel Bricks" quilt from our book.
We received word from our publisher, Martingale & Co (That Patchwork Place) that this quilt will be in their new book, "That Patchwork Place Quilt Collection!" The book will be available on their website and in stores next month. Along with this honor, the quilt will be in a 1-2 year long traveling trunkshow. Look for this trunkshow at a quiltshop near you.
QUILTER'S HOME
What a pleasant surprise to check out Mark Lipinski's blog, http://www.pickleroad.com/ this morning, and see a plug for our book, "Loose Change".
If you haven't checked out Mark's magazine, Quilter's Home, please drop everything and rush to the newstand. Not only is there great quilting info in the magazine, but it's a laugh-out-loud read.
Mark also has a new fabric line out, and another one coming soon. Check out his FUN fabrics on his website, then look for them in your local Quilt Shops.
Scrappy Block of the Month
Is your fabric stash taking over your sewing room and your life? Do you feel guilty purchasing new fabric?
Are you looking for a way to help use up that stash, so you can buy more yummy fabrics?
I have a new Free BOM on my website that starts March 1st. It's a 12 month, very scrappy project perfect for all skill levels. It is Nickel, Dime, & 2 1/2" strip friendly. For more info go to: www.persimmonquilts.com
Quilts of Valor
We had our QOV Sewing Day last Saturday, with a good sized group attending. We made lots of block kits, and a few top kits. We also sandwiched A LOT of tops. My car was completely filled with tops ready to be longarmed. If there's any longarmers in the Tulsa area who would like to help me out, PLEASE contact me. I could sure use your help, and it's for a wonderful cause.
I am shipping out 3 more boxes of quilts. I will try to post pictures of the quilts this weekend. I was ready to take pictures today, but... my batteries were dead... sigh....
"Loose Change"
Claudia and I will present a program and trunkshow at our guild, Pryor Patchers, on Tuesday, February 24th.
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Recent Comments
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Lynn said:
You sure can't beat that kind of a deal. Enjoy it. A whole lot. read more
on Ironing table -
Persimmon Quilts said:
Thanks Lynn. Best part is we used a gift card and a coupon, so the whole thing only cost $13.... read more
on Ironing table -
"Can I touch the fish?" read more
on Audrey May 2009