#69 Sharing a Bit About Me......

I don't really share a lot about me or my private life here. I set up my blog as a way to keep track of my quilting journey! I am constantly amazed that so many nice people that I have never met are enjoying my journey with me!!
Today however I am going to share some of my personal struggles, so if you want to get to know me better read on and if not, skip to the What I've Been Up To section!! :) I won't know the difference! ;)

So quick refresher of who I am. My name is Sandy, married to my high school sweetheart Dave, for 29 yrs now. We live on a farm in a rural area of Ontario,  have 3 children Amanda, Shawn and Adam. Amanda is a Children's Minister at our church and was married last year to Ryley, Shawn is a Farrier and dating a great girl, and Adam is figuring it all out still. The youngest is still at home, but the other two are off living their lives, though they are all very close to home, which is a great blessing!!

My life is good in so many ways, but I have been sick so much over the last 5 yrs or so and not really known why. My stomach has always been my weak area, even as a kid. I have always struggled with my weight, been a junk food lover and over eater, and a healthy eater and back again. I would feel good for awhile and then start feeling bad again. I would feel fine one minute and be nausea and shaking like a leaf the next. I never knew what was going to set me off or when. I've had some medical tests, that all came back clear, thank God. I've had allergy test that were negative. Over the last year I have been  loosing weight (the silver lining in all this) but feeling worse and kinda closed off.
(I have to say that quilting has come into my life during this time and been a true blessing. All the nice people I have met and all the distracting projects I have done, have all helped me so much!!)
I have back problems from a car accident as well and it seems that it plays off the stomach and the stomach sets off the back and around we go!!!
I have regular massage appointments, chiropractic and have tried physio/homeopathic, acupuncture and never seem to get to the root of the problem. Good for a few hours or day if I am lucky, but the cycle of pain never stops.
A few weeks back a friend mentioned a Naturopathic Dr in our area, so I made an appointment. I figured I had nothing to loose but time and a few bucks, lol. We spent an hour or so together just chatting about all the issues, she was fantastic. She listened to me wanted to know everything, not just one or two things like my medical Dr allows per visit. She suggested we start with figuring out the food issues, and gave me some options, one of which was a blood test!! I had never even heard of such a thing. So instead of groping in the dark with an elimination diet, I opted for the blood test that would let me know what foods where affecting me, because I have tried taking foods out of my diet and had no success at finding what was making me feel so bad.
I found out this week and have started a specific elimination diet for the next 6 week, that all dairy, wheat, gluten, eggs, and a few other things all cause me issues. This is not fun!!! But it is no wonder I felt so bad all the time, eggs are a main staple in my diet along with wheat and diary. I had been buying some gluten free items and not noticing any improvement, which makes sense now, because I react as poorly to wheat as I do to the gluten.
I am a little overwhelmed right now trying to change my thinking and wrap my brain around what I can and can't eat over the next 6 wks. Yesterday I cleaned out the pantry of all offending items, and my son and daughter came grocery shopping at my house!! lol That was the easy part, now to fill the fridge with the right foods and find substitutes for the other items. It is going to be a challenge in some areas more than others. Breakfast cereal for one, even regular oats say may contain wheat on the package.
I am having a whole new appreciation for life threatening allergies and Celiac sufferers. My symptoms may not be as severe  but it is tricky finding the foods that won't hurt you, because the ingredients can be labelled as so many different things, here's an example: I have to go egg free which you would think would be easy, just look for egg on the label or egg whites, but no if I see any of these words Albumin, Apovitellenins 1& V1, Lysozyme, Ovalbumin....... and there are more, all represent egg.  It is crazy, and scary how easily someone could get hurt if they don't know all this, or if the labels aren't clear.
Well my journey is just beginning I know a little, but really know nothing at all at this point, lol!! I will be entering a new life's journey, and it will all be worth it if I get my energy back, start feeling like myself again and stop hurting!!

 Thanks for listening.... if you have any knowledge in this area please share it with me!! Good recipes, help!!!! Substitutions?? Would love to hear from you!!!!

What I've Been Up To:

Block for a fellow guild member

 2 Blocks for a fellow bee member:

Taking a class Sept 27 to master my fear of curves!! I hope ;)

Started a Christmas gift!!

And getting ready for the BOM hosted by Art of Home

#68 UFOs, WIPs and My Messy Space!!

So here's to full disclosure!! To keeping it real!! I have taken on a few new projects, a lot of BOM and QAL, and right now just one Bee (swap). I love fabric (a lot), am always finding more projects I want to do and adding to my ever growing list.....and  I have also started working on my family Genealogy again!! What does this all add up to......a very messy sewing space and a list that has turned from fun to...oops...what am I doing.......eek!!!!
Here's the thing, I know I work better in a tidy, organized space. I also do better when I tackle a limited number of projects, although that number is pretty high, depending on the type of projects. So why does it always seem to get out of hand?? There must be a life lesson here somewhere! I'm just not getting it, I'm a slow learner it seems.
So I am writing my plan down, and showing shameful ;) pictures (no before and after pictures today. This is live time, lol), in order to get me back on the straight and narrow.....

 My UFO List:(Anything started but not touched in more than a couple of months)

1. Sampler Quilt
2. Hidden Stars Paper Pieced blocks
3. Flower Garden Quilt
4. Fusion Quilt
5. Craftsy BOM 2013
6. Sugar Block Club 2013 (blocks are done)
7. Block Rock'n (2 more blocks to do)
8. Layer Cake Challenge BOM

My WIPs List:

1. Sugar Block Club 2014
2. Classic Meets Modern BOM
3. Aurifil Designer of the Month BOM
4. Globe Trotting BOM
5. Sew Retro Kitchen Paper Pieced BOM (one more block)
6. Scrappy Trip Around the World (Red and White Blocks)
7. Diamond Hexie EPP Quilt (this could take years, lol)
8. Modern InstaBee Come Together Quilt (one more block and this one goes together)
9. Bow Tie Quilt
10. Wedding Quilt
11. Christmas Quilt
12. 3 Quilts to bind
13. Table Runner to bind
14. Sew Together Bags
15. Coaster Sets

My Projects:

1. RJR What's your Shade Blog Hop- Ready for quilting!!
2. Participating in a BOM/Blog Hop starting in October, I'm one of the blogs, should be great fun!!
3. Modern InstaBee for the rest of this year! This bee has been a learning experience and a lot of fun!!

My Goals:

1. To stay on a new project fast (other than commitments) till my UFO list is 0 and my WIPs is 1 or 2
2. To quilt all the tops I have waiting: I think there are 11 if I am counting right and haven't lost any in this mess!
3. Learn EQ 7
4. Master Long Arm Quilting (Basically,  just feel confident!! and not scared, will always be learning)
5. Take better pictures
6. Stay organized 
7. Learn something new, 
8. and share the joy of quilting with someone else!!

Can you see what I mean? This is a lot, and the scary thing is I will probably come across more stuff I missed when I organize and clean, Oh Boy!! 

Do you work well in clutter? How do you stay organized? Multiple projects, or one project at a time?

Have a great week everyone!!

What I've Been Up To:

Globe Trotting with Pat Sloan

 Sugar Block Club with Amy Gibson

Classic Meets Modern with Erin Davis

Aurifil Designer of the Month

 Sew Retro Kitchen with Kristy 

And I made a Passport Wallet featured on SewMamaSew by Frocks and Frolics 

I tweaked it a bit: I added an extra row of pockets, the family I was gifting it to has 3 kids. I also lined the zippered pocket so it would be more finished on the inside. I used normal cotton fabric it called for oil cloth that I didn't have. I should have added interfacing. I also added round elastic for the loop instead of making the fabric loop. I think for the next one I will use 1/4" flat elastic and a loop big enough to go around the wallet for more security. Great gift idea!!

And don't forget about the free Block of the Month starting in October. Still lots of time to sign up!!

#67 Summer Winding Down (Part 2)

So last time I was catching up on all my summertime sewing activities that I just did't get around to blogging about, so today is part 2, but read or skim ;) right to the end because I have new news too!!

What I've Been Up To:

I made a Noodlehead Divided Basket pattern!! Loved it! You can find it here . I have also made her Pool Side Tote and loved it as well. See post here

 If you follow me at all you will know that I love to make things smaller or larger than original patterns, just for fun!! because I can!!!! This time is no different, I used my printer and printed the pattern at 75% and another one at 150%  The following pictures show the results of that!! (insert big smiley face here!!!)

 The middle basket is the original size pattern

I also made a couple of cute pouches with the leftover fabric from my RJR Batiks project. Love how this turned out!! I am trying to get a tutorial ready for my Oct 10 post for the RJR Fabrics What's your Shade Blog Hop. So don't forget to come back, or better yet sign up to follow my posts so you never miss anything!! :)

Click on IkaPrint picture in sidebar if your are interested in your own labels!! Don't forget to use "upstairshobbyroom" in the coupon code area before you finish your order to save 5%. (I love my labels!)

 And lastly I've been tweaking a great pattern I found online here to make it just the way I want. Will be posting my tweaks and measurements soon!!

 And here is the new News!!!!

My friend Jacquelynne Steves, from the Art of Home, is hosting a Free Block of the Month (BOM)/Blog Hop  starting October 1st!! I am so excited to be a part of this! I will be making my blocks and posting at the beginning of the month along with some other bloggers to help show different fabric options and finished project ideas and hopefully to just to inspire, along with surprises and prizes!!! If you are interested follow this link to all the information!! Hope you join the fun!!