BLOG 541

 

Blog 541

 

Over the last couple of weeks, I have been driving a lot. My husband has had facial surgery to remove a cancerous sore just below his eye and this has necessitated numerous journeys to a specialist unit in St Helen’s, about 35 miles from home. I was quite fascinated by the MOHS technique which took 3 surgeries and 3 lab tests (to make sure all the affected tissue had been removed) and an 11 ½ hour day in outpatients. With all the dressings on his face he looked like he was auditioning for the Phantom of the Opera! A few days of convalescing was followed by a 3 day stay in the plastic surgery unit in Whiston hospital to make good the damaged area. Instead of a reconstruction using a skin graft, the surgeons utilised his loose skin and wrinkles (we could all do with a bit of this!) and that will result I him eventually looking ten years younger on that side of his face! The scar, starting at his collar line, goes up his neck, round his ear, up the side of his face and under his eye. There are masses of tiny regular stitches along the length and I would have been very proud to have done them myself!! He’s still very battered and bloodied but in no immediate pain or discomfort and thankfully the process of recovery has started.

Now that the weather is warming up, I have noticed that the long tailed tits are still coming mob-handed to the garden feeders. These pictures show the contrast in seasons and it reminds me that we all need a bit of colour in our lives!

 

Winter feeder

 

Spring feeder

 

As far as sewing is concerned, I have continued to make progress on Linus quilt #4. Using the prepared blocks, I have added a 1 ½” strip of calico, rotating half the blocks. A string piecing technique was used and the design wall helped to show progress.

 

Building blocks

 

Conveyor belt

 

Design wall

 

Blocks and lattice (in progress)

 

Lattice strips

 

Design wall

 

Constructing the lines

 

Final seam

 

Finished top (without borders)