A Favorite Outing

This past week, my dear hubby was on vacation, so we took the opportunity to make another trip to the Texas Quilt Museum in La Grange, TX.  It really is a wonderful place to visit.  The weather was beautiful.  The drive down was lovely.  And the bluebonnets and Indian paint brushes were starting to make an appearance.  

The quilt museum changes their exhibits each quarter.  This time it was some of the winners from Quilt Festival in Houston--a great way to seem some truly amazing quilts without the crowds.  There was also a display of art quilts based on the seasons--another favorite theme of mine--and a few traditional quilts with a bit of a modern twist. Unfortunately they don't allow photos or I would have a whole slew of pictures to capture the details of the quilting.  I was able to take a couple of outside photos, though.

Quilt, quilts everywhere. :-)

 And a lovely garden to boot.

And on the other side of the museum is a shop called The Quilted Skein--yarn and quilting, what could be more perfect!  http://www.thequiltedskein.com

Starburst

Finally!  Finally finished and delivered!  This runner was a pleasure to make, but several weeks of no quilting time made it seem a rather drawn out project, and I am glad to be able to move onto something else.

Here are some pics:

The runner is approximately 18" x 60"

 Center star

 Center star details

My niece likes bird motifs

 A tree design for balance

More stars

Back view

Awake!

Green mist, blossoms fair

Light upon fields and branches

Awake!  Spring had come!

Fickle

I have decided that my tummy and I have reached an understanding, whether or not my tummy fully agrees or not.  It seems my tummy has a tendency to be very fickle with its preferences, and frankly it is time to lay down the line.  Here is a sense of the conversation:

Me:  Tummy, I need to talk to you.

Tummy: Hmmm, grumble, grumble.

Me:  We have been on this journey for three years now, and you can't seem to make up your mind as to what makes you happy.

Tummy:  Sniff, hmmph, grumble

Me:  Here is what we are going to do, and I want you to understand that I am telling, not asking.

Tummy:  Hmmm.  ??

Me:  We are going to start doing four smaller meals a day, so that you don't get overwhelmed with my trying to not be hungry between meals.

Tummy:  Murmur, murmur.

Me:  The first and third meals will have grains.  I am going to keep them light and simple, so as to stress you a little as possible.  We are also going to have chamomile tea in the morning to help keep things relaxed and comfortable.  

Tummy:  Hmmm.  Murmur.

Me:  I am also going to be adding some things back in small amounts that you haven't eaten in a while, but would be helpful nutritionally.

Tummy:  Grumble, grumble.

Me:  Don't worry.  I am not going to make you deal with anything that will leave you kicking and screaming, but you are going to have to learn to manage with some some dishes that we haven't eaten in a while.

Tummy:  Murmur. ??

Me:  Yes, it is what we have been doing the last few days, and it is going pretty well over all, don't you think?

Tummy:  Hmmm. Shrug.

Me:  Well, just so you know, this is how it is going to be, so I hope you will be cooperative.

Tummy:  Sigh.  Shrug.

Me:  Nice to know you are so willing (rolling eyes).

I wasn't too excited about trying to work around four meals during the day, but it has actually gone very well.  And so far, tummy and I haven't had any major arguments.  Here's to keeping the peace.

Stars in the Dark

Lessons learned are only helpful if we remember them.  And this is a lesson I know well: For quilting to show on a quilt, it needs to be done on a light or medium colored fabric, or done in a contrasting thread.  On this project, however, I totally let that knowledge escape me when I planned the quilting.

The top is an old pattern called Rail Fence, and it was pieced by one of the lovely ladies in my quilt group.  I thought she did a great job, and was happy to do the quilting on it. 

The block consists of three rectangles that are placed alternately vertically and horizontally in the quilt, forming a zig-zag similar to the old wooden rail fences.  Since the fabrics were patriotic themed, I planned to do wavy lines on the two outside "rails" and a line of stars on the inside one--a stars and stripes idea.  Once I got started with the quilting, which is the point of no return, I realized that using a navy thread on navy fabric meant the stars weren't going to show at all.  In fact, I had a hard time seeing to quilt them, making it a challenge to be sure I was in fact creating stars and not some abstract, pointy shape.  It was a relief to get to the borders where I could actually see what I was doing.  

Introducing Stars in the Dark:

\

Going with the Grain

I was sorry that I didn't have good posts to both end and begin the new year, but this past year does feel like I have started at one place, walked a giant circle, and have ended up in the general vicinity of where I began almost three years ago.  At the same time, it feels like a new and better place.  

Around November, I started having issues with my limited, but by all other accounts healthy diet.  A trip to my doctor, plus one to a gastroenterologist yielded only the suggestion of trying  some digestive enzymes.  Not a bad suggestion as it was something I wondered about trying, but was a bit wary of.  Gave that a go, but as with all other synthetic supplements and vitamins before, my body was not receptive to the idea.  

By the time we had arrived in the Northeast to celebrate our younger daughter's wedding in early January, I was so frustrated that I threw caution to the wind and joined in the feasting. No issues!  I wondered what this meant and by the time we got home felt a little lost in regards to how and what to eat.  

Thankfully, I had also made an appointment with a dietitian before the holidays, and that happened a week after our return.  While she didn't offer me anything really new, it was very helpful to have someone to talk to who understood the complexity of dealing with food issues.  I was encouraged to move forward in adding foods back into my diet.

Since then, here is what I have discovered.  Whole grains and nuts are a no, but processed grains and nuts are okay.  Examples:  brown rice, no.  brown rice crispies, yes.  Oats, no. Cherrios, yes.  Almonds, no.  Almond milk, yes.  And, as much as possible, avoiding things "enriched" with vitamins.  

I have had French toast (yum!), English muffin loaf, and biscuits successfully.  I am enjoying hot tea again.  The biscuits were made with a margarine containing palm, canola, soy, flax, and olive oils.  So far, so good.  This opens worlds of possibilities to me, and it is with some difficulty that I am making myself proceed with caution.  

For the most part, I am limiting myself to the grain and nut family for the next few months, to see how I do over time.  That will be the real test.  I am also working to keep grains to no more than half my starch intake.  Right now it is about a third, and I believe that will work well.  Fruits are still a problem based on what little I have tried there, and I am in no hurry to push that issue.  In fact, I am wondering now if they weren't more of an issue than the grains all along. 

What does this look like in the day to day?

Breakfast:

Egg
Greens (Kale or chard--they are as essential to me now as orange juice was before)
Cereal or bread

Lunch and dinner:
As I have been doing up to this point.

I continue to work with a menu plan/rotation, since I am wired that way, but can easily shift things around as needed.  

We will see where things go from here.  Bon appetit!

Merry Christmas

At last, peace on earth.
Oh!  But then again.....

Awww....all is calm, all is bright.

Merry Christmas!