Mother’s Day already in 2021! I am hoping that all have the opportunity (freedom) to visit your Mother, Grandmother, God Mother, or just a woman who you have adopted as a 2nd Mother. I had a 2nd Mother that when I met her in 2000 she was the spitting image of my Mother but a total opposite personality and I loved her and still miss her. Her name was Mary Etta Peters from Caddo Oklahoma and a 4th cousin to Clay through his Choctaw linage. She and I bonded immediately. I made a lot of quilts and wall hangings for her and she was so appreciative and she truly loved me. We had her in our lives for 6 years or so before she passed. My parents were in their mid and late 30’s when I was born and they passed away in 1996 and 1997. It is hard to believe that it has been 25 years since my Mother passed. We were not close, but she was my Mother and I loved her. I was blessed to have found Mary Etta after Clay and I retired and started looking for his relatives. She loved me for me!! Just as Clay loves me for me! That type of love is so very hard to find and if you have some one who loves you for you – then you are Blessed! We lost Mary Etta close to 2008. Still miss her so much. Can you see the resemblance between them?
A brilliant woman ahead of her time.
On the health side of life…..I am having issues with controlling my diabetes. I had the brainy idea to quit potatoes in early February because I thought they was attributing to the 6 pounds I had gained (although I had been eating them for years and even lost the original 26 pounds doing that and lowering my A1C). That along with stop eating my eggs (4 each morning) has really hurt me because it is through those 2 foods which provide me with the vitamins I need. I was really struggling to do my 20 minute mile and the total of 1.5 miles in 30 minutes.
About 3 weeks ago I re-introduced eggs and added 2 small tortillas with my eggs for my carbs! This was the worst thing I could have done CORN! My Glucose readings were really getting higher and when I decided to add 1/2 cup of orange juice each day it just about killed me! My energy level has gone down since stopping potatoes and I could not figure why. Then when I added the corn and juice that got me with my IBS. Now that I have just done my research on IBS and Corn I will never eat corn tortillas again! Because I am Celiac (nothing with flour) or for that matter no fiber and especially no fruit juices or fruit or vegetables! (I have 3 different diets to follow and the only things that I can eat are potatoes, eggs, chicken, and Lay’s Lightly Salted potato chips).
The good news is that the RF treatment worked like a charm, and the new mattress topper we purchased has eased the Fibro trigger points, and now that I have figured out the corn issue and today started eating potatoes and my eggs for breakfast again, I believe will begin to feel 100% better. Control of “stupid” health issues means more happiness!
BABY ALERT! You may remember in February I made a quilt for Julie (worked at HEB Curbside) whose baby was due in April. Friday I received pictures of Scarlett Avery Henson! She was born on 1 April! What a precious baby! Welcome Scarlett!
Now on to Quilting UFOs! I have completed 8 of the 105 Dresden Plates. OH BOY – only 97 more to go. Then I will have to do 105 very small circles – Whoopie! I was using YLI silk thread to sew them onto the background which is 100 wt – I hate that thread! I thought I did not have any of the Tire Number 401 White 50wt Silk Thread – well I will have an abundance of white 50 wt because I ordered 6 and found 5 more! Guess I need to have a sale!
Next, I am working on preparing the 6 blocks for A Bountiful Life! Even using 8 1/2″ x 11″ cut freezer paper sheets it still takes time to prepare the blocks and that is without selecting the fabrics. I have completed 4 blocks so far.
I have 1 more block to prepare for fabric selection.
This block is one that I am totally changing. The block is supposed to represent Oranges, Lemons, and apples. I did not like the birds so I changed them and not using the “feet” that the pattern has. The apples are fine, but the others look like circles and do not do the block justice. I am going to make it a bowl with 2 oranges and full of apples with the birds and the butterflies. I will be adding stems to the apples and not the leaves. When these blocks are ready for fabric selection I will have 6 more blocks to applique. Last night I started on a block that had been sitting around for a couple of years. (Number 7 to have a total of 16 blocks when finished)
I have finished all of the hand work for Sweet Stitches and it is now hanging in the “long arm” rack! Just waiting, waiting, waiting. The list to quilt is quietly growing!!!!
I do hope that all of you are enjoying your families and that you received many cards and flowers and other goodies for Mother’s Day! Have a blessed one!
Have a wonderful week!
Hugs, Nanette
Linking To: My Quilt Infatuation; Confessions of a Fabric Addict; Finished or Not Friday ; Em’s Scrap Bag; BOM’s Away; Sew Fresh Quilts; Crazy Mom Quilts; Oh Scrap; Scrap Happy Saturday; Slow Sunday Stitching Quilt Fabrication Mid Week Makers; Peacock Party; Design Wall Monday, Scrap Happy Days, Quilting Patch Linky Party To-Do-Tuesdays;PHD in 2021;
Chopin - A Passionate Quilter From Texas 
Nanette, are you controlling your diabetes with diet only? I have been declared a type 2 diabetic for about a year. I do not have the other dietary challenges that you have, but controlling blood sugar has been hard. I am taking Metformin, but lately my stomach has bothered me quite a lot and I wake up shaky in the a.m. It gets better through the day, but I really have to watch out for my stomach.
LikeLike
Yes, I have been, but changing my food around and that has me messed up .Along with all the other things, I have Meniere’s (inner ear) and Gastroparesis (delayed stomach emptying. For Meniere’s I have to stay off salt and sugar. The gastro stuff keeps me from eating a lot of fiber. It really can mess me up with glucose because it takes so long for my system to digest food.
Evidently in 2015 my A1c was at 6.8 but they did not say “You are a diabetic” until 2018. I was able to get the A1C down to 6.1 in 3 months and it has held steady, lost the weight but have now gained 6 pounds playing around with foods. Changing from the eggs/potatoes in the morning and chicken at night was working, but I got the brainy idea about the corn tortillas because there were only 22 carbs for 2 and drank 1/2 cup of orange juice for potassium!
Well, my system does not like corn or any fruits or fruit juices. I need more potassium which the potatoes give me. I am hoping that when I get all the “sugar” out of my system that the levels will go down. It will take a week though for my system to settle down.
Quiting sugar can cause withdrawals, so if you are a sweet eater like candy, cakes, cookies, dairy, you will really notice if you quit those things abruptly. We do not eat out so my food has limited sodium and no preservatives. It is not fun to not be able to eat desserts (gluten) or regular food, but my goal is to feel better. I will be glad when I get over this spell! I have heard about the Metformin and the side effects – do not want them. So am hoping that I can get mine settled down again.
I also walk 1.5 miles each morning. This is the way I can stay off medication. In the evening I will vacuum the house after supper – this also helps keep the sugar under control. I do not sit all day in a chair. I am up and down and do about 9,000 steps each day. Even though I have all of these issues, I am very active for 76.
I do hope that you can look at your diet and if you do not exercise daily, try to work some time for that – it really does help with Diabetes. Now if I could just settle down and get me back on track, I just might get more done with my quilting.
Have a blessed day! Hope this helps you and maybe others who are Diabetic.
LikeLike
Happy Mother’s day! In France it will be May 30th, still time to prepare 😉 Sweet baby girl!
Your Dresden Plates blocks are lovely, and I like your new future projects!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Frederique. Happy Mother’s Day on the 30th! She is a pretty baby. I am hoping to select some fabrics today and maybe by tomorrow I will have all 6 blocks ready to start work on! Hugs
LikeLike
The colors of the Dresden Plates are very pretty. I haven’t made many Dresden Plate blocks, but those I’ve made had the circles appliqued to the center before placing the plates on the backing fabric. Do you put the circles on when you are quilting?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I cut out pieces of the background fabric and drew a grid – easier than working with 5″ squares. I will leave them as they are in the picture and then do the circles before I cut them out. I thought about using buttons to keep from having to do 105 circles, but will do the circles. Hugs
LikeLike
Happy Mother Day, Nanette! That is such a lovely tribute to Mary Etta Peters! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Laura! I really miss her along with my Cousin Kay. Hugs
LikeLike
Loved hearing about your second mom, and yes, your two moms do resemble one another! You have been busy working on lots of hand quilting goodies! Those birds did have ugly feet, I wonder why they chose those?
LikeLiked by 1 person
She was a sweetie. I tell you the process is so slow on the Bountiful Life. No wonder I did not want to continue on. guess I got tired of the process, or interested in other quilts. It is a Reproduction Quilt. The 4 version on the pattern has all different ways, so I think that the quilt was made in the 1800’s and that is how they did it. Anyway, I won’t use them. Hugs
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m so happy you found your second Mom! She looks like a dear person. Good luck with your eating changes, sounds like it’s complicated. Wow on the quilts waiting to be quilted – that is an accomplishment! Those birds do have the oddest feet – lol!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I was blessed on that one. She was such a wonderful woman! We were so much alike. Eating is a challenge if we travel. I really need to get back to quilting those puppies. Fat Feet! LOL. Have a great week – how are you doing?
Hugs
LikeLiked by 1 person
Loved that you shared your moms in this update post! You are so organized with all your projects… a talent I sadly lack in..
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Deb. Well, it is a struggle now to just focus on the UFOs. I miss starting out on a new one, but determined to catch up! Hugs!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh yes… that baby is adorable!🥰
LikeLike
She is a pretty one. – her Mother is very tiny and a pretty young woman. Hugs
LikeLiked by 1 person
Love to have her for a Grand baby!
LikeLiked by 1 person
No doubt!☺️
LikeLike
Hi Nanette! Oh my, Scarlett is so darn cute! She’s such an alert and happy looking baby – I just want to scoop her up. I really see a resemblance with you and your mom, and what a blessing Mary Etta was for you. The simple acceptance of you is priceless. {{Hugs}} ~smile~ Roseanne
LikeLike
Isn’t she a sweetie? Very alert and happy! Yes Mary Etta was the Mother I always wanted – We enjoyed her for 8 years. Hugs
LikeLike
Wonderful Mom tribute to both and yes they look quite alike. The baby is so beautiful 🙂 Sounds like you may have the food issue under control again – I wish you continued better health..and wow – I had know idea you had so many projects on the rack 🙂
LikeLike
I have an aunt who is both diabetic and celiac — definitely a challenge figuring out what is safe to eat. I’m glad you’ve found your food equilibrium again. I agree with you about those goofy bird feet and I cannot wait to see your new, improved Nanette Version of that appliqué design! Finally, OH MY GOODNESS, your To-Be-Quilted rack is a treasure trove!! It is amazing that you complete as many quilts as you do, considering the complexity and quality of each one of them! Happy belated Mother’s Day to you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, let’s now add the inactive ingredient Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) to really make me ill. (That INGREDIENT is what is in that Chinese Vaccine!) I will NEVER take any vaccine that the Govt puts out – now they are paying people in NJ to take it! – that tells the story).
The Manufacturer put PEG in Senokot without telling anyone and I did not realize that they changed in the inactive ingredients – Adverse reactions for me – migraine headache, stomach ache, weakness in arms and legs, lasts for 15 hours and then it is out of my system. I have been sick for the last 5 days until this morning I realized that the PEG which they put in the Senokot was also in the fluid pills I took 6 weeks ago for 3 days that caused my eye problem and migraine!
I need a long arm quilt who loves to do Pantograms. If I were still doing Show Quilts I would have 4 of them done Custom and enter them in a Show, but do not want to show anymore, so someone who does great with pantograms would be a find for me.
Yes and my show quilts are complex. I guess I could have a sale on quilt tops, but I want to keep them for now. Hoping I can get the rest either hand quilted or done on the long arm.
This is probably just too much information for all, but I have now wasted another day dealing with reactions, being sick thinking I was having a stroke, reporting the reactions to the Manufacturer, and finding a replacement for the Brand Name! Sickening. Think I am in a bad mood now. LOL. Hugs
PS I did find a generic that is made in the USA! Yea for me!
LikeLike
Hi There! Oh, how I can empathize with you regarding the fibromyalgia! I’m sorry to hear about your diabetes issues, but hope that by now you’re feeling better! Your applique project looks like it’ll be a beauty!
LikeLike
pretty baby. I love babies. I need to organize my tops like you have. I also have a ton that needs quilted. I will get to it eventually.
LikeLike