An Unusual & Meaningful Sewing Project

Frequently I get asked to take on sewing projects for other people. 

Fixing Pony Pal Mila's favorite stuffie for the umpteenth time? Her smile when I am finished is always worth it!

A fitting with a bride - she wasn't happy with the closure of her dress and asked if I could fix it.

Repairing Pony Pal Kate's mermaid tail so she could wear it again. (Apparently mermaid tails keep your legs really warm while you are sleeping. Maybe I should make one for myself and see if that's true.)

A very disgruntled Pepper trying on a coat that I was making for Kathy's guide dog, Nacho. They had a holiday event to attend and she wanted him to look festive.

She is a very patient girl, but was she ever glad when I finished and took it off her!

From the "I'm in charge of costuming for a musical and I hear you sew; will you make these costumes for me?" to the "My pants need to be hemmed, will you hem them for me?" I turn most of those requests down. I simply do not have the time. (My most unusual sewing request came at an 18th century event. "Do you make loincloths?" Um, no. Just no.)

But there are times I agree to help - and recently I got a request that I really wanted to do. A very young child with cancer was losing her hair due to chemo. Her head was cold, winter is coming, and things were rather rough. Her aunt, a blog reader, reached out to me, sent some pictures of a hat she'd bought the child, and asked if there was a way to line it to make it warmer and more comfortable for her niece. She also told me she knew I was busy and would understand if I could not take the project on.

This mom of 6, grandmother of 16, and sister of a cancer survivor (Leslie) was not going to say no. I wanted to alter that hat for that little girl.

The aunt explained that she wasn't sure it could be lined and I agreed - the problem with lining the hat would be that that would take away some of the stretchiness and could affect the fit. She was willing to take the risk and I was willing to try, and the hat arrived last week.

I started by tracing both sides of the hat onto paper, adding seam allowances and a longer than needed hem length (to allow for adjustability and errors), and then cut two pieces out of white fleece. Fleece doesn't fray, it stretches, and it is soft and warm - perfect for what I hoped to do.

I pinned the two pieces together and then stitched them together up one side, over the top, and then down the other, leaving the bottom open.

Flipping the hat inside out, I slipped the lining over it, matching the side seams, and pinning the hem all around the bottom. It was a good thing I'd cut the length longer than I'd thought I needed - it was perfect as is.

Next I began hand stitching the hem of the lining securely to the hat using small stitches and hiding them within the yarn so they could not be seen.

When that was finished, I flipped the hat back to right side out, slipping my hands up into it and smoothing out any folds or wrinkles. There was still stretchability even with the lining intact and so I think the hat will fit just fine.

The hat goes out in today's mail and a little girl will have a warm and comfy hat (cute, too!) to wear while she undergoes chemo.

Thanks, Auntie A, for letting me do this project for your niece. You said prayers would be welcome so I send mine on her behalf. And blog readers, if you want to pray, think good thoughts, send karma, etc. please do. Auntie A says that would be welcome.

BreyerFest Week: Not Traveling but Still Busy

Second Post of the Day

Daughter-in-love Emily is staying with us for a week while Pony Pals Julie, Kate, and Susie attend Camp Tecumseh, a YMCA camp north of town that is celebrating its 100th year hosting campers.

People come from all over the world to attend, (those flags represent the countries that some of the equestrian campers have come from) and Emily came from Illinois as a child and then worked there as a camp counselor for several years.  Pony Pals Ian, Mila, and Lukie are also attending, so this week is one of daily family gatherings and lots of fun.

Which also makes it very busy.

Normally I begin my morning by writing, but this week my mornings have looked like this:

Visitors!

Who are perusing the collection and trying to choose one for me to save for them.

I told them they had a week to make their choices and to take their time since there were so many horses to choose from. When they do, I will write their name on the model's tag.

I strongly suspect that Susie's name will go on Gawain's tag - she was pretty enchanted by him.

I got good news yesterday morning. I had an appointment with the hematologist and she said the issues in  my blood are caused by no longer having a spleen and, despite the pathology report, I do not have cancer! 

Tim was coming home on Monday but I wasn't sure how late his flight would be, so I went out to check Hokey as I've been doing for the past week.

I was trying to get a selfie of the two of us together when suddenly he swung his head over the fence just as I snapped. He whacked me right in the side of my head!

The grands got giggly over the photo and so did I.

Susie pronounced this one, "Oh, that's much better." (I had a little editor with me as I wrote this morning. Theoretically she was looking for the model she wanted, but the reality was that she was petting Pepper and chattering at me. I didn't mind a bit.)

I zipped home and then made a dessert for the evening's family gathering.

Rice Krispie treats are easy and quick to make, and (almost) everyone loves them. 

We spent some time as a family chatting and singing along with kids' songs - everyone got to choose one and some of the "Christmas in July" grands selected holiday songs. 

Curt, Kate, Susie, Mila, Lukie, and Emily.

Playing a round of musical chairs. Boompa hung in there with the grands but I went out early when Pony Pal Kate slipped underneath me and and got a grandma in her lap. She was the eventual champion.

Curt is an amazing chef and he made a delicious shepherd's pie along with some fruit and veggies for our dinner. More, please!!

With another busy day of camp ahead of the kiddos the next day, we didn't stay late and play games. I was kind of glad about that - I've been up late the last couple of nights and needed an early night, too.

Don't forget the Give Away! Comment on any blog post from today through Friday morning at 9:00 AM Eastern time to enter a guess as to who you thing the Mystery Surprise Horse is this year. The prize will be announced soon!

Stay 'tooned!

Good News in a Scary Place

Check out Breyer's updated website! It went live yesterday, and while there are differences and obvious changes, it is still Breyer at its core.  

I find the new font they are using a bit easier to read and I had no problems logging in. I was disappointed to see that my history of club memberships had disappeared, though. I've only ever had one membership (the Vintage Club) so I did not have the long lists many folks do, but still, I enjoyed seeing that history of my membership. (No surprise considering that I love history, right?)

I thought I'd share an update about this current health journey I am on. 

Yesterday I walked through these scary doors.

I went as a patient, not as a supportive friend for someone. This was the appointment that I had been dreading out of all the tests and doctors' visits I've had since a simple annual check up showed some concerning issues. (And I have lost count of all of those, there have been so many.)

This was my third cancer scare. Surgery took care of the precancerous mass on my pancreas and the breast cancer scare turned out to be just that - a scare. This time I was seeing a hematologist oncologist for possible blood cancer. 

My name was called and Craig and I headed back. Long story short, I got pretty good news. I really liked my hematologist and I felt she was thorough and caring. She pulled up all my past blood tests and listed them chronologically for me from two years before the pancreatectomy to the five years post. 

And there it was. You could see an immediate change in my blood values after that surgery. The pancreatic mass had also attached itself to the spleen and the surgeon had had to remove my spleen in order to remove the mass. And while you can live without a spleen, it is an important organ involved with your blood and immunity.

While the current values in my blood are indicators of a blood cancer of some sort, they are also not unusual when you have had a splenectomy. Dr. Narayan told me she was going to do some more testing, but that she felt the issues with my blood were caused by a lack of a spleen and not by cancer.

She sent me over to the Infusion Lab where I had more blood drawn and now we wait for the results from that. I go back to the Cancer Center in two weeks to discuss them.

Dodging cancer again is a relief. But I still do not have a diagnosis - what is causing this difficulty in breathing when I bend over or walk upstairs, play with Pepper, and more? And my blood pressure is still way too high despite quadrupling my meds. 

I have another heart test coming up and another visit with the cardiologist. I also need to get some vaccines that the hematologist wants me to have to boost my immune system. I'll make an appointment with my primary care physician for those.

The next time I walk through those scary Cancer Center doors, I won't be as apprehensive. While clearly there are still issues to be treated and dealt with, knowing that they aren't caused by cancer is quite a relief.

It Isn't

Well. 

Despite all the health issues my body has been throwing at me, this one was unexpected.

Despite the fact that my sister Leslie is a breast cancer survivor, this was not even on my radar. 

I did not anticipate the phone calls and appointments, or the trepidation at finding myself sitting in a room full of pink, listening to soothing pan pipe music as I waited to speak to the oncologist about what my mammogram and other tests had shown.

Earlier in May, during a routine exam, I about came off the table when my doctor touched my side under my arm. She frowned, touched me there again, with the same result. No lump, no bump, no pucker or pain when I moved. But touch that spot... ow, ow, ow, OW!

She asked me when I'd first noticed that that spot hurt, and I responded never, that I had been completely unaware that it was painful. Nothing hurt, but when I touched that place myself, I got the same reaction. OUCH.

The good news? The oncologist doesn't think it's cancer. The bad news? The oncologist doesn't know what is there causing that unexpected pain. She advised me to not touch it, do monthly self exams, to remain in contact with my doctor and let her know if things change, and to continue to have my annual mammograms.

I left happy at the initial diagnosis, but uncomfortable, too, because  there is still a big unknown - what is there and causing me to hurt? I'm grateful that things are okay at this point in time, but I am going to follow those directions.

All the more sobering because my brother is having cancer surgery later this week. He and Leslie have had cancer, and I had half my pancreas and my spleen removed in 2019 due to a precancerous mass. (Another very unexpected surprise.)

I'm grateful that, like my pancreatic cancer scare, we caught whatever this is early. And most definitely, now that I am aware of it, I will monitor that spot.

Done, but Not Done

Now that the riding habits are finished (happy dance!!) it is time to return all the habits I borrowed from my sister to help me understand how they were to be constructed. Leslie stopped by on her way into town to pick them up the other day.

The various pieces of some of her habits draped over my living room couch and ready to be returned.

She asked me to put my habit on so that she could see how it had turned out. Putting one on can be a bit of an undertaking, so I told her I'd just do the jacket and waistcoat. (Fabric clips are still on the collar but I'll remove them for the real deal.)

She decided to put her favorite jacket on, too. (Leslie is a cancer survivor and her face and hands are puffy from the meds she is on.)

Les helped me straighten my peplum so that I could press it so the folds fall correctly. (Pepper is photo bombing...)

I asked to look at how her jacket skirts fell for reference, and as I looked at them, I saw a problem.

The threads had given way at the top of one of the folds and needed to be repaired.

The gold braid on her jacket is very heavy and its weight has pulled the seam apart. It needed to be fixed, and fixed soon before the fabric ripped along with the stitching.

Since she will have to come back to get the jacket after I've repaired it, we decided to leave all the other pieces of her habits here until that's done. I moved them into the dining room to get them off the couch.

I'm not done yet- haha!

Pancreatic Cancer - The Loss of Pat Coulter

 The passing of family, friends, and acquaintances never fails to sadden me. But Pat Coulter's passing hit me harder than most.

Pat, a long time hobbyist, passed away from pancreatic cancer. She was diagnosed in June and lived just two months after her diagnosis.  That short rate of survival post-diagnosis is pretty typical as pancreatic cancer is generally asymptomatic until the end stages and has a very low survival rate. 

Like Pat, I had my own brush with pancreatic cancer. The difference was that my tumor was found very early during the precancerous stage. It was removed and I am alive and cancer free.

A year ago, I wrote about getting the post-op report where I received the joyful news that I did not have cancer. The full blog entry can be found here, but the following paragraph made me think of Pat and her pancreatic cancer journey:

It's hard to describe how I feel - relieved, grateful, humbled, blessed, teary, and very, very empathetic to those who have been on this journey or are just beginning it as well as for those whose pathology reports came back with different news than mine.

Sadly, Pat was one whose pathology report had different, much harder, news.

Daughter-in-love Vanessa and me yesterday, at my family birthday gathering.

I am grateful that I am alive and was able to celebrate another birthday yesterday. But as I thank God for my life, I also mourn for Pat and others whose pancreatic cancer journey had a very different outcome.

Rest in peace, Pat.

No Cancer

I spent much of the day in Indianapolis yesterday at my post op appointment and after what seemed like interminable waiting, got my pathology report.

I do not have cancer.

The tumor was completely removed with wide margins as were eight lymph nodes and my spleen. In fact, I was told that since they got everything and there is no evidence of cancer, then I do not even need to do follow ups. I am done traveling down to Indianapolis for check ups!

Since half my pancreas is gone I do have to watch my blood sugar, and I have to be cautious with fried foods as the pancreas helps digest those, too. I am also at a higher risk for pneumonia and several other illnesses that the spleen helps to fight, and so I have to get periodic injections to boost my immunity. I can do all that.

It's hard to describe how I feel - relieved, grateful, humbled, blessed, teary, and very, very empathetic to those who have been on this journey or are just beginning it as well as for those whose pathology reports came back with different news than mine.

I do not have cancer. Delicious words!

My Pen Pal of 47 Years

In 1970, I was an avid reader of Horse and Rider magazine. That was where the first-ever article about the hobby was published. It was about the IMPHSA (International Model Photo Horse Show Association) run by Ellen Hitchins and Simi Smiljanic, and where I joined the very beginnings of the model horse hobby.

The magazine also had a pen pal section - you could send in your name and address, and they would print it so that you could correspond with other horse-loving people. I got around forty pen pals through sending in my name, and forty-seven years later I am still in touch with two of them: Sue Seese Brewster and Beth Dickinson.

Like me, both joined the model horse hobby in 1971. Beth is still very active in it (go here to see a picture of us at this year's BreyerFest) but Sue dropped out after about ten years because she owned and showed two world-class horses at the big AQHA shows.

Both women became dear lifelong friends and we share a long history together. As such, we have been through each other's ups and downs of life.

Sue was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. 

Sue in her mother's home, July, 2017.  

See the horsey artwork on the wall behind her? Her mother painted all those. She also did three paintings of my horses, Amy and Cee, that are hanging in my office and are treasures to me. (Go here to see those.)

Sue lives in a remote area of the west, and so she is traveling back and forth to her mother's home in town for her cancer treatments. She is also the caretaker (along with her husband) of her elderly mother-in-law and has much on her plate. I can only imagine how she is juggling her schedule so that she can care for herself as well as her family.

I mailed Sue a package full of little gifts Saturday that are all connected to our long history of friendship. Each is wrapped and represents something that we have shared. I included a note that explained that she could open them all at once or that she could save them and open each one at a time, perhaps when treatment was rough or she was feeling blue.

Aside from keeping her in my prayers, there is not a whole lot more I can do for my longtime friend. I am hopeful that we will have many years ahead of us in which to correspond.

Shark Bait

My sister, Leslie, had a mastectomy last week, and says she looks like she was bitten by a shark. So, when I found this picture of a cross country jump, I had to share!

Ironically, the event was a fund raiser for breast cancer!