Pinktober hit home this year....

 

It's been a crazy year 2022 here at Lizard Creek Quilting...I hadn't had a mammogram in a few years and my dear husband was on my case to schedule one. I finally listened and had one the beginning of April. Four days later on our 36th wedding anniversary the clinic called there was an area in my right breast that needed a closer look. 

So another 4 days later we went to the breast center for an ultrasound that showed a biopsy was needed to confirm the suspicion of C.A.N.C.E.R. Yes, those are all caps--because when that word is said in the small dark ultrasound room it is like a piercing arrow right into your soul. The breast center wanted us to come back another day for the biospy but we persisted the clinic had told us we could have it done the same day if needed. They looked again and were able to do the needle biopsy that afternoon. We learned right away to be our own advocates and politely but vigorously ask for what we wanted. 

Another four days later the results came back as positive. Next appointment would not be for another 2 weeks. We also learned that there is a lot of hurry up and wait in this process. 

What a whirlwind of emotions happened in those 2 weeks. Not knowing anything--the kind of cancer--the extent of the tumor--how will our kids and family handle this--what does the future hold!! Just waiting....with the mind going to all the dark places the devil takes it to. Lots of crying. Lots of hugs.  Not much eating. Lots and lots of prayers. Assembling an army of prayer warriors was one of the first things we did after hearing the biopsy results. Through group texts we asked them to pray for wisdom to the medical personel and peace of mind for us. These were the longest 2 weeks we have ever done, but we also felt the strong arm of the Lord holding us up.

An MRI of both breasts was done the day before meeting with the breast care team. These results came back the same day--the left breast was clear and only the one tumor in the right. What an answer to prayer that was. 

Meeting with the breast surgeon was terrifing and peaceful all at the same time. Scarey for what was to come--but peaceful because it was time to know. We were told the tumor was small and if it had to be cancer it was the "good" kind. Not agressive and very treatable. The wonderful surgeon left the room for a few minutes to give us some time alone to absorb that information so we would have a clear mind to hear the rest of the treatment plan.

ER+ PR+ HER2-  are new words that would now be part of my medical history. The tumor was estrogen based so a daily estrogren inhibitor pill would be part of the treatment plan. 

Next appointment of the day was meeting with the plastic surgeon to figure if a lumpectomy or mastectomy would be needed. We went into the meeting thinking--just take them off so the cancer can't come back. But did you know that 10% of breast tissue is left with a mastectomy--and well I was very well endowed in the breast department--so 10% of my leftover would be about 85% of someone elses' whole breast--LOL. Also we did not know that breast implants have to be replaced every 8-10 years or that they can rupture on impact. I lead a quite active lifestyle of riding motorcycle and working hogs on the farm with my husband so the surgeon strongly advised us to go the lumpectomy with bilateral reduction route. 

Surgery was scheduled about four weeks later on May 26. If you were paying attention--we are farmers--so this was spring planting and also hog work season!! I took this time to help my husband on the farm, deep clean my house with my mom, prepare some freezer meals with my daughter, cut out some quilt kits in case I could sit at the machine after surgery, walked many miles to strengthen my body and spent time in Gods' Word to calm my mind. I found a verse I had never read before and it became what I would and still do say to myself whenever I get scared.

"Go in peace, for the Lord is watching over your journey." Judges 18 : 6

May 26 arrived--the day the cancer would be removed from my body!! Right before surgery, Nuclear Medicine injected a dye into the nipple area of my right breast to check for lymph node involvment--the procedure is called Sentinel Node mapping. Two nodes were taken out during surgery--both came back clear and the removal of the tumor proceeded. Because the lymph nodes were clear I could have my radiation done right DURING surgery. The radiologist came into the surgical room, set up the radiation machine right over the spot in my open breast where the tumor had just been removed and zapped the area for 1 minute 23 seconds. It's called Intra Operative Electron Radiation Therapy-- IOeRT. This was such an answer to prayer!!! The plastic surgeon and breast surgeon worked on me both at the same time--one worked on getting the tumor out of the right breast while the other worked on reducing the left one and finished reducing the right one. Surgery was about 4 hours. Then 1-1/2 hours of recovery. THEN THEY SEND YOU HOME!!! Yeah that was something!!! 

Healing went well. Lots of patience, lots and lots of walking and lots of return appointments. An ONCO score test was done on the tumor to determine if chemotherapy would be needed. My score was well below the number where chemo would be helpful. Many many prayers of thanksgiving for that. We took the motorcycle to the Praire Center for our last plastic surgeon appointment as my way to "ring the bell".

 

The first photo in this post is the arrangement we brought to the plastic surgeon on our last visit. The zinnias I planted this spring were just a regular mix--but somehow the Lord decided that I needed a whole mix of pink zinnias this year!!! The jar is the acutal one I used the oil from to massage into the surgical scars--she thought that was pretty cool. 

I have been taking the medication Anastrazole for about 3-1/2 months now and will take it for 5 years. The medication comes with it's own share of ups and downs. Ups--it keeps the estrogen from attaching to fat cells and making new cancer cells in my body. Downs--it messes with my balance, sleep, emotions, causes a constant ringing in my ears and can eventually cause osteoporisis. 

But through it all the Lord, my family and friends have been with me!! Faith over Fear is the only way I have gotten through the last 6 months and the only way I can look to the future!! 

If anyone has questions about this--please don't hesitate to ask me!!! And schedule your mammogram!!!

A big thank you to our sponsors-- Island Batik for the fabrics, Aurifil for the pink thread and Klipit for the great clips. 

Quietness is the pattern of mine I chose to work with for this project. The pattern and 10" stackers are available in my shop. 

I am a huge basket quilt lover and a straight set quilt is even better!! The pink clips kept each set together.

Blanket stitching the handles. Made prettier with the Aurifil thread.

Love me some Island Batik fabrics!!!

Quietness with Hope and Heart!! It's not quilted yet as the balance issues from the Anastrozole caused me to tip over and break a bone in my foot 2 weeks ago!! Yeah so there's that!! Anyway I love the finished project and can't wait to get back on my feet so I can quilt it.

"But the Lord stood with her and gave her strength." 2 Timothy 4 : 17

Thank you again to all the sponsors and those who shared their stories on this blog hop. Please check out the others below!!

Jennifer Thomas-Monday, October 3rd https://curlicuecreations.blogspot.com/

Lisa Pickering -Tuesday, October 4thlisascompassion.wordpress.com

Maryellen McAuliffe -Thursday, October 6th https://www.marymackmademine.com

Emily Leachman - Monday, October 10th http://thedarlingdogwood.blogspot.com/

Jane Hauprich -Tuesday, October 11th www.stitchbystitchcustomquilting.com

Marlene Oddie - Wednesday, October 12th www.kissedquilts.com

Gail Sheppard - Thursday, October 13th https://quiltinggail.com

Jerry Stube - Friday, October 14th https://quiltersqtrs.com

Brianna Roberts- Monday, October 17th https://www.quirkyb.com/blog

Terri Vanden-Bosch - Tuesday, October 18th https://lizardcreekquilting.com/

Mania Hatziioannidi - Wednesday, October 19th www.maniaforquilts.com

Laura Piland -Thursday, October 20th https://www.sliceofpiquilts.com/

Vintage Reimagined.....Island Batik Ambassdor Assignment....

....Vintage Reimagined...."Take something from the past and give it a personal touch that is yours. Inspiration can come from anywhere!" A quote from our assignment the month of March.

My Mom gave me this scrapbook that was found in my paternal Grandmother's things after she passed away. Inside are Kansas City Star newspaper clippings that my paternal Great Grandmother cut out and pasted in the book. Every page has 2 clippings. The page edges are getting brittle, but the binding is still intact. The scrap book lives on a book shelf in my long arm studio. How cool is that--it now lives in a studio with a quilting machine that wasn't even invented when these clippings where so lovingly cut out and saved.

To my knowledge my Grandmother did not quilt---but she could do amazing mending on Grandpa's bib overalls!!! I also don't know of any surviving quilts from my Great Grandmother. I don't even know where my Great Grandmother lived---oh if I didn't have a quilting addiction I would so enjoy doing geneology!!

The clipping dated February 10, 1937 from the scrapbook caught my eye for this month's challenge. Here is what The Kansas City Star says about The Nosegays, "This is an excellent design to try when you desire to make use of odds and ends in your scrap bag. All diamonds and squares may be made of prints. The pattern was contributed by Mrs. Anna A. Threlkeld, Waynesville, Mo." Copywrite 1937.  There are no further instructions than what you see here. The templates do not include a seam allowance--I read that on another clipping. So I guess you just dive in and do it!!

I can say that this Nosegay block has always intriqued me. So much so, that when I designed 72 blocks for the AccuQuilt Angles Qubes in 2017 I had to include an easier but similar looking block. 

The block is called Splendor. 

Squares, half square triangles, kite shape and side triangles all cut with the 10" AccuQuilt Mix & Match Qube and Angles Qube.

Here is an Electric Quilt drawing of the two blocks side by side. The same, but different. Simplified.

A tip when pressing the kite shapes. I like to first set the seam by pressing the unit before opening the seam. Finger press the seam open. Then I lay the unit straight horizontally on the pressing mat so the iron can just simply set down on the seam to press open. 

Long wavy quilting lines seem to be my go-to lately!!

Aurifil Light Orchid #2515 was the perfect blend of pinky purple color!!

The snow has all melted!! Can't wait for the world to start greening up again!!!

“Give of your splendor to everyone.
Like the sun.” 
― Emmanuelle Soni-Dessaigne

Thank you to Island Batik for the fabrics, Aurifil for the piecing and quilting threads, and Hobbs for the batting in this project.

Adventure Dash with London Calling...Great Outdoors Island Batik Blog Hop

Welcome to my stop on the Island Batik Great Outdoors Blog Hop. Coming to you right now as I sit on the shore of Elbow Lake in Northern Minnesota at The Jolly Fisherman Resort. The day is drizzily and cold--seems quite fitting for the London Calling line of batik fabrics!!!

They can be found here on the Island Batik website. Look for them in your local quilt shop!!

London Calling is a collection of blues--from dusty light to deep dark navy including multiple steps of blue inbetween. The collection of 20 half yard cuts along with 2 yards each of a light and dark were supplied to me by Island Batik as part of their Ambassador program.

I have been in need of a new quilt for our little pickup camper--this was the perfect line of fabric to design a new quilt for that purpose. I envisioned a giant churn dash type block using all the fabrics of the collection.

I just love pretty stacks of fabric all cut with the GO! 12" Mix & Match Qube. I have  a written up a small tutorial sheet for cutting instructions with the Accuquilt Qube system along with a coloring page to make your own Adventure Dash quilt. You can find that here on my Craftsy site as a free download.

Chain piecing....and piecing.....and piecing!

Loaded on the longarm...ready to quilt...

...while the butterflys enjoyed the zinnias in front of the studio window.

Adventure Dash...72" sqaure...on the dock outside the cabin!! There was a very small break in clouds yesterday to let sunshine through. Creating the perfect opportunity to catch all the great colors in the London Calling collection from Island Batik. I also used the Hobbs 80/20 batting and Aurifil thread to do the quilting that were provided to me in the Ambassdor box earlier this year.

A couple of cute grandchildren creating a path of leaves for catepillars to eat--so it can make a cacoon in the house they made for it, to eventually become a butterfly. Oh the joy of creating in the Great Outdoors!!!

Enjoy my view as I write this post!!!

I do all of my quilting freehand on an APQS Millie. The design I used for Adventure Dash I call Wind Map. I love the great background texture it gives to an outdoors type quilt. If you have ever seen a topographical map of lakes, it will look kind of like this quilting design. Each line representing different depths of the lakes' water so that fishermen who know what they are doing can find the fish.

Benches on the end of the dock make for a great place to watch and listen to the loons. Such an erie yet beautiful sound!!!

Love me a reversible quilt!! I had planned to use the flying geese rows on top and bottom of Adventure Dash--but it felt too big. And after cutting, sewing and pressing all of the blocks--there was no way that they weren't going to be used!! So perfect on the back with the 2 yard cuts of light and dark!!!

Thanks for coming along with me on The Great Outdoors Blog Hop from Island Batik. The photo above shows all the fabrics I have left of London Calling. Please like my Lizard Creek Quilting Facebook page and leave me a comment there telling me your favorite place to vacation with your family and I will randomly choose a winner!!

Make sure you check out all the other Ambassador posts!! There may be more giveaways on them!!
You can find the list of blogs here on Island Batik's blog. Along with a great giveaway from Island Batik!!

It is good to realize that if love and peace can prevail on earth, and if we can teach our children to honor nature's gifts, the joys and beauties of the outdoors will be here forever. --Jimmy Carter

The Quilter's Planner.....block 6....

....what a fun and easy block this was!!! Only 2 shapes needed...sqaure and half sqaure triangle.

The 12" GO! Mix & Match Qube will have the right dies for block #6.

Die #2 is the square--will use 6 background
Die #5 is the HST--will use 2 HST of 5 colors and 10 HST of background

If I don't use the seam guide that came with the 97D Bernina foot--I will washi tape an angle guide to the sewing table and then can just chain piece those HST in no time!!

Oh so pretty....those fabrics from the City Culture 2 line of Island Batik!!!

Have you heard all the hype about the wool pressing mats?? Well, I caved in to buying one....and guess what--they do really work nice. The wool retains heat from the iron so I will arrange the pressed pieces and leave them on the mat until it is full. The residual heat does it's job in giving a nice crisp press!!

The great slatey blue colors in this block have a galvanized steel look to me...

...so off to the farm I went. These are the big gray grain bins that are seen all around the Midwest farming country. Grain is stored in the bins until it is sold by the farmer.

Wow!! How different it looks set on point!! Still in the thinking stage for how to set all these blocks--but on point is really starting to look like a winner here!!

My dear farmer husband is taking a well deserved couple of days off. Fishing in northern South Dakota with our son. That walleye should make for some good eating!!

While he is gone...that leaves me in charge of the chores. Here are the building on the farm. Isn't that sky just gorgeous?!? Actual color--no photoshopping here!!

And the other set buildings were we raise hogs.

Thanks for stopping in and can't wait for the next Quilter's Planner block in this sew along!!