Where in the world was Denise?

It has been a long time since I last posted on this blog, the first long hiatus for me! Between hand surgery and working on a quilt (detail on right – that is all I can show you as it is a commissioned memory quilt – will work on blurring the images), there was no way I could write…

As you can see, the quilt features machine applique, hand embroidery, seed beads, crystals, quilting with monofilament (when will I ever learn???)…  At every step of the way I thought of Sally Collins and her love for precision quilting. I used many of her tips and techniques. The recipient of this memory quilt is a quilter who has probably been quilting a lot longer than I have, so I am feeling a bit of pressure (understatement of the year).

I am thankful I had my Mom here from Brazil to see me through this time. She cooked, washed, played cards with me when I was about to blow a gasket, and went for walks with me when the mind wanted to keep going but the hand had had enough for the day… She deserves the Mom’s Award for the Year 2013!!!

As soon as the left hand heals I will have the right hand done. However, I will NEED to write on the blog in order to keep my sanity, as my Mom will be long gone by then… I’d better start planning what to do when the right hand is out of commission – perhaps lots of reading. My kids will likely still be on school vacation. That will be really interesting – at least they have already learned how to put my hair in a ponytail. Sort of.

Can’t wait to visit all my favorite blogs… If you have a chance, drop me a line and let me know what you have been up to!