On My Sewing Table and Health Update...

 Just want to be clear...no affiliate links in my post...just stuff I want to share and make it easier for you to find.....

Also if you are wanting to read the latest health update, I made a page to keep them out of the blog posts. No-one has said anything but I just wanted to keep this part of my blog just for the sewing and card making fun. If you look along the top just below my log you will see a tab that is labeled My Health Journey, all future updates will be posted there. I will try always to let you know if there is an update, but you can just check every so often. The latest update will always be the top. The page is just continuous, so the division will be the dates. Thanks all for the continued prayers and support! 

Now on to the fun sewing and crafting projects......

When my daughter was expecting I wanted to make a toy for the baby and found the Funky Friends Factory. Needless to say if you have ever looked at her patterns, they are all adorable, so I purchased 3. An elephant, Ellie; a lamb, Lamkins; and a horse, Horsey. I made Ellie for Ava and now that my son and daughter in law are expecting their first in Oct. Horsey has made his debut. Seriously how cute is this pattern....I used a brushed cotton and a flannel for the hooves and ears. I didn't have any fun fur so I improvised with cream yarn for the mane and tail. 

 I found a number of tutorial on YouTube for making a cute little onesie card (here's a link to the one I used to make a template)...so this happened! Just adorable and by changing up the colours and extras can be made to go with any theme or gender....there will be more made of this....

I finally finished this what should have been my son and daughter in laws wedding quilt (2yrs late) as a baby quilt for the little one coming! Have you ever started something and then just lost the mojo to finish it as intended? I know I have some good reasons (stopped during my first cancer battle) and just couldn't get the mojo back to finish it as a queen sized quilt....I'm happy to see it finished and Briana loves it, so win, win!

Here's a sneak peak or look at something I haven't even posted to IG yet! My daughter in law follows my account and the shower (drive thru, socially distance) is happening this weekend...

I made this card following along with a Laura Bassen tutorial with dies and stamps that I have in my stash...love how this turned out. (For anyone interested I used the MFT Impact Alphabet dies and Hello Little One stamp and die set; Your Next Stamp Welcome Baby for the sentiment)

One of the 7 crazy quilt tops I made using the Accuquilt Crazy Quilt die...I finished this one using the Churndash block die for the backing! Had to be a farm themed quilt for this little blessing!

John Deere and farm animals and wheat fields...perfect little quilt for the next generation of potential farmers. 

Have a great weekend everyone

Sewing and Health UpDate....

 

Those of you who follow me on IG will know I have been having a great deal of fun with a new die for my AccuQuilt GoBig cutting machine. The dies aren't cheap so it felt good to whip up 7 baby quilt tops over about 5-6 days. The die is called Crazy Quilt and it was a great way to use up a bunch of FQ pieces. You could lay scraps on the different cutting sections if you really want to use up some of you smaller pieces, but it would take a lot longer in the cutting process, so I just cut the recommended size of fabric.

The die creates a 10" finished block so all the quilt tops are 40" square. 

I also had pieced 3 quilts the traditional way, so I have 10 baby quilts waiting to be quilted.

Unfortunatley I haven't been on my machine for awhile and it and I seem to be out of sync. 

Software issues and operator issues I am sure and thought I would be able to get to the heart of the problem with a phone call to the company today, but life took me in a different direction.....

I received the call from my Oncologist while I was waiting for the technician to call back to help me with the long arm....

While the news was not what I was praying to hear, there was good aspects to it (if you can call it that) I am out of remission, the lymphoma is back, but the biopsy shows that it is the same low grade, slow moving kind that I was diagnosed with Dec. 10, 2018. It's not good that it has returned so quickly after I had such a good reaction to the treatment. (It was quite advanced at the time of the first treatment...) so my oncologist is referring me to a sister hospital in Hamilton for a second opinion on how to proceed and with which treatment. So now I wait again. Trusting in my great big God, who can do exceeding abundantly beyond all I can ask or think (Eph. 3:20) And ask that you all keep praying for me. 

I'm leaning in...holding on in faith...waiting on the Lord... in prayer for strength and peace...believing 

Knowing there is nothing too difficult for God!

More Words of Inspiration and a Health Update

So I thought I would put more of the words of inspiration through out this post to help brighten it up...if you follow me on IG you will already have seen these, but I didn't think you would mind a second look.

As some of you will know I was diagnosed with Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma in 2018 and went through 6 rounds of Chemo Jan-Jun of 2019. I had been in remission but found some lumps again back in Nov of 2019. My oncologist thought it was something else and wasn't worried, but the lumps where still there so by February I was asking my family Dr. for an ultrasound. Then the Virus hit and my ultrasound was cancelled the day before I was to go in. There have been a lot of balls dropped and delays, which lead to today...I received a phone call from my oncologist and the surgeon. 

In a nut shell the biopsy that was done but was deemed  inconclusive was positive for lymphoma but not enough tissue to determine if the lymphoma has changed into a more aggressive kind, thus the surgery to remove a lymph node and test. Once the surgery happens it takes 10 days for the full results to come back. I will be seeing my Oncologist and surgeon this week and the surgery will more than likely happen next week. 

I'm choosing to stay positive because I know God has this and goes ahead of me and will be with me for this whole journey, I am never alone. 

I also can't express strongly enough to you how much all your prayers and good wishes have meant to me!!! To know that so many of you are lifting me up in your prayers, it's such a comfort and gives me such peace and hope. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

I'll post again soon with more words and another update when I know the full picture, but until then...enjoy these words and please keep me in your prayers. 

God is bigger than my fears and He's bigger than Cancer!!

I'm Back....Week 1-5 of Words of Inspiration....

I'm back posting here on my old blog site...

If you have been following along you'll know why...

I was hoping to export my blog posts and have them imported here, but I have tried and failed multiple times so I am giving up and will just start here with the picture posts of the Words of Inspiration blocks I have been posting during the Covid Virus lock down.

Don't forget, if you have a word of inspiration you want to see sewn in fabric, just let me know in the comments below. If you want to see the words daily as I post them you can follow me on IG @upstairshobbyroom

Have a great week everyone and stay safe!

P.S. I will be trying to work on and update my blog over the next little while so there may not be much posting other than more weekly updates on the new words! Oh and I will be working on a pattern for the alphabet too. So watch out for that too.

New Website......I Moved

 

Well I think I have finally figured out all the links and tools so that all of you lovely people who have chosen to follow along on my journey will be transferred to my new website location with me! 

But......on the off chance that I missed something or messed up, this post is to let you know that I have moved and then I will go over to the new website and post a very brief post welcoming you!!

If you don't receive the welcome post by tomorrow....you will all know that I messed up....

So here's what I need you to do for me, if you could take a minute....

If you receive the welcome post, can you leave a comment...just say hello, or have a look around the new site and let me know what you think!!

If you don't receive the welcome post, in 2 days, can you leave a comment here on the sign off post...and I will try and figure out what I did wrong and fix it, or if you would rather...the sign up options are in the sidebar near the top on the new site....but I am hoping that won't be necessary and we will transition seamlessly!!

Fingers Crossed....see you at my new website....

www.upstairshobbyroom.com

GiveAways: We Have The Winner...Eddycrest Naming Contest

So the good news....

The Eddycrest team has chosen the winning name for their newest sewing desk design......

The not so good news.....

We did not reach our goal of 1000 names....

We fell short of the 500 names mark....making the Prize Level 1

I want to say thank you to all of you who shared and added names...

And there were a few of you, you know who you are, who went above and beyond....

Trying to help reach that ultimate goal of Level 3!!!

But...

Stay tuned and stay connected....

I heard a rumour that the Eddycrest Team may try another contest at some point......

I also want to say a big thank you to the other Sponsors who stepped up and offered amazing prizes for you all to win!!! 

BeBe from 

Rita from

 And Pam from

One more little TidBit of info for you all.....

I've been working on a new website....not me really, but a friend.....lol

And it is almost ready to launch....just tweaking some last minute issues.....

Like you being able to continue to follow my blog by email, etc....

and a few other, oops forgot about that, things. 

So keep a look out for my last post here, coming soon....which will direct you to the new sight...

I'm super excited to switch...but be patient when it does happen there will be some tweaking that will still need to be done..and a learning curve for me on the new interface....

But, I'm hoping for a very smooth transition!

Also, I will not be shutting this sight down, as the last post will help direct anyone who misses the announcement the first time or just happens to land on my home page from old links....

but when all is said and done all the content from will have moved and will be available in a much more user friendly format!!

Now on let's announce the Winners.....

The winning Desk Name is......

Submitted by:

Tamara Isaac-Smith

Tamara will receive the Quilt Hanger for her name submission.

Runner Up

Compact Starter 

Submitted by: Sharon Tucker

And Honourable Mention

Just A Table

Submitted by: @friedatong

The winner of the Random prizes:

Gwen Brewer

Monique Atkinson

Shared on Social Media Prize Winner

Kholoud Abdulaziz

All winners will be contacted shortly by the prize sponsors! Thanks so much everyone for participating and a special congrats to all the winners!!

Have a great rest of your week!!