Stitching and Health Update

So after 2 weeks wearing a heart monitor the update from my cardiologist is I am constantly in Atrial Fibrillation (aka A-fib). For now I am just taking an additional blood thinner to prevent the possibility of a Stroke. I can continue my exercise and daily walks. Since I only drink one cup of coffee in the morning so I will go to decaf and eventually go back to just drinking tea, usually decaf and herbal. I just have to get used to the rapid heart beat, shortness of breath and being tired most of the time. I can do this. I better because the alternative doesn't appeal to me.

On the Crafty side of things, I have stitched up a few blocks of the Kathy Schidtz Woven Wreaths SAL, these are June through September 

These are May through January, some how they loaded in reverse order.

I just ordered this wonderful table topper Fright Night by Kathy Schmidtz, I love the vintage Halloween images they remind me of the old Beistle cardboard cutouts and other Halloween decorations I used to hang up when my son was a child.

The table topper comes with the backing fabric pieces as well and is available on Spoonflower, just need a 1 yard cut.

I am trying to decide whether I want to stitch them in just the 1 color recommended or do them in colorful Halloween colors.  

A few months ago I started the Roxy Journal of Stitchery Vol.6 SAL, we started with Spring and are now in the 3rd prompt for summer which is Lazy Days of Summer where anything that reminds you of a lazy summer day would be your thing to stitch.  The first Summer prompt was, Wildflower and the 2nd prompt was butterfly or insect.  The Spring prompts were Bulb, Nest and Blossom or Bloom.  

The K3nclothtales SAL we are up to week 38 Nature's Textures.  I am still working on week 37 Home.

Anyway with Autumn only a few days away I need to begin my autumn goddess so I will be pulling the fabrics for her later this week. 

Thats about all that has been going on.

Ending August with a few Health Concerns.

 It’s been a rather crazy week for me, on Monday I had 2 biopsies performed by the gynecologist and then the following day, Tuesday I go to see my Cardiologist for what I thought was a routine checkup and the EKG revealed I have Atrial Fibrillation or Afib for short. When I left the doctors office I was attached to a heart monitor. I had every symptom all spring and summer thinking it was a long bout of bronchitis for which my GP prescribed antibiotics for. As a Cardiac patient when the symptoms still bothered me weeks after the antibiotics were finished I should have called my cardiologist to check things out. Funny thing is today I was going to ask him about all those symptoms to see if they may be heart related. He already had the answer. I'm going to be attached to the little device below for 2 weeks. The good thing about the heart monitor and the Afib diagnosis, it has kept my mind off waiting for those biopsy results. You know it's always something.

It's been a very long summer dealing with what I believed to be a long bout of bronchitis, the shortness of breath started to get real bad a week before I saw the cardiologist and had I not seen the appointment on my calendar I was planning to call the office to make an appointment because things just didn't feel right.

The biopsies performed at the GYN office came about when the pap and the ultra sound revealed a few concerning things.  I had waited 10 weeks to see this doctor, my gyn retired and the office never notified anyone, so when I started having post menopausal bleeding again I thought I had another fibroid which would need to be removed.  When I passed through these doors for the first time it's what I expected to hear. Unfortunately a phone call a few days later I was in another room waiting for the magic to happen.

Now I wait for the results of the 2 biopsies, I see the GYN on the 4th of September and I am hoping to have some news by then.  Strangely enough I am not stressing about it, somehow I knew all those years of suffering and battling with endometriosis would come back and bite me in the butt someday.

Welcome August the Turn of the Wheel to Lughnasadh Lammas Time and the 1st Harvest!

August 1 is the cross-quarter day between Summer Solstice and Fall Equinox, and it has always seemed to me that the cross-quarter days are the times when the light changes. At Lughnasadh/Lammas, I usually notice a change in the length of daylight hours and a slight change in the quality of light from the high Sun of Summer Solstice. Do you notice these changes too? Paying attention to such changes is part of my Walking the Wheel of the Year journey and somehow makes me feel closer to Mother Earth.

Demeter, Lady of Fruit and Grains,

of ripening suns and harvest rains

I call to you, Mother, hear my plea,

Bestow your Blessing here on me.

Lammas Ritual For Gathering In Abundance.

Perform this ritual anytime over the next few days.

You will need:

A Broom or Besom

Don’t worry if it isn’t a traditional besom, any broom will do as it is always intent that is important. The besom/broom is a potent symbol of hearth and home. It is a traditional magical tool useful for everyday charms as it has the imprint of its owner firmly on it. Sweeping is a natural gathering gesture.

Ribbons

A piece of green ribbon (for abundance), a piece of gold ribbon (for prosperity and gathering)’

A Sprig of Mint.

Take your broom and tie your ribbon around the top. Tie in your sprig of mint. Take your broom outside, place both hands on the stave and focus on your intention – gathering in your harvest for winter. Turn slowly three times in a clockwise direction then start to sweep towards your door saying:

“By one, two, three and four, sweep Lammas gifts to my door. May abundance be a constant friend, by my hearth till Winter’s end.”

Repeat this three times, then take your besom/broom back into your house and put it in its usual place. You can leave the ribbon on for as long as want to, for a lunar month, or until winter is done. The mint can be returned to the earth with thanks.

If you do not have an outside space you can sweep from your front door inwards to either your kitchen or hearth using the same ritual.

Happy Summer Solstice and Litha Blessing

 

Beltane Blessings and a Happy May Day!

 

This artwork below by Moon & Furrow for Beltane is inspired by the tale of nine Welsh woodsmen entering the woodland to gather sticks and branches from nine different trees to burn on a sacred fire. The trees included are Oak, Ash, Willow, Alder, Hawthorn, Birch, Blackthorn, Holly and Hazel.

There are also plants to forage for at this time of year: Ox-eye daisies, Jack in the Hedge, Violets, Dandelions, Fumitory, Ground Ivy, Gorse, White Deadnettle and Comfrey.

Stitching the Goddess

 I have been working on and off on the Summer goddess piece adding bits and pieces here and there while working one other projects as well.

I added some of the bottom pieces last night and this morning shown below. 

For Week 17 of the K3n.clothtales SAL the prompt was Back Story, where the back of the work would be the showcase of the piece.  My Back Story piece is from a well worn favorite hankie of mine. A few days before the prompt while folding laundry I noticed a few places were worn through I thought to myself why wouldn't it be? this hankie served me well for over 40 years mostly in the last 15 when the season of my life changed once again, this hankie wiped away the daily sweat of my brow during my change of season, in earlier years it wiped the grimy sweat while gardening here in Florida, during daily walks and mopped up falling tears after several tragic events over all the seasons of my life so far. I have other hankies I use, some nearly as worn as this one but for now this special treasure will be honored as part of my year of stitching. The back of my piece, the Back Story, looks pretty much like all of my pieces. Though I didn't take out any of the missed tangles or knots

Walking the Wheel of the Year observations in my yard this week is more Lantana has sprung up in the back yard I think with the tree that was removed allowing it to grow or it's self sown thanks to the birds, either way the bees and butterflies love it and the Plumbago is beginning to bloom.

I am also stitching a Moon Gazing Hare piece, I used DMC Etoile for the Moon just to give it a little sparkle. I used a back stitch on the hare and a stem stitch for the foreground.

 

Than I whipped stitched the Hare and added a little spiral, I am still not sure if I like the use of the variegated floss for the hill but I'm leaving it.

I was reading The Echo of Old Books by Barbara Davis, trying to read it quickly because I can't renew it at the library because someone has requested it. So I returned it because I hate to rush when I read a book. I will have to request it again because lately the urge to stitch has really come over me.

Every few days my fingers need a rest from the stitching so I pick up and book, settle down with a cup of tea and some days when I'm not stitching I'm reading about stitching.

 

A Little Bit of Garden, Some Stitching and a Wonderful Book

 The flowers on the Milkweed are nearly devoured by very hungry caterpillars. I was hoping to get caterpillars this year and I was not disappointed. 

 I finally have the name for the little purple wildflower its a lyre leaf sage.

 The Lantana along the driveway is doing quite well after the rains we had this week. It sprouted out a few weeks ago where the Holly tree used to be. I'm going to cut a piece to see if I can root it and plant some in another area. I would love to have some along the fence. 

I finished week 13 piece for the K3n.clothtales SAL it is a Friendship Star. I was reminded how much I love hand piecing.

I am working on another slow stitched Goddess this one in shades of purple fabrics

She is almost ready to be cut out along her template lines so I can put her on a backing fabric to continue working.

The Spring goddess is waiting for me to decide how I want to continue with the piece.  I'm so glad I ventured into slow stitching in this way. I feel more creative with each piece I make.

The Untamed Thread by Fleur Woods arrived a few days ago while I only had time to browse through the pages I will be taking the time to read over the weekend.  

The full color photos are breathtaking to say the least, the fiber art among the pages are so beautiful I ache to run my hands over them.

If you were thinking of buying a copy and haven't taken the plunge yet do it you will be so glad you did. It's a great addition to your fiber art and needlework library.

If you aren't familiar with Fleur Woods her Instagram and Website links are below

https://www.instagram.com/fleurwoodsart/?hl=en

https://www.fleurwoodsart.com/