Wednesday, July 13, 2011

This is why I no longer hand quilt

Someone recently asked me if I did any hand quilting.  I told her no.  I can not remember if I every posted this but this is why I can not do hand work.

Several years ago my husband and along with good friends took an adventure vacation.  We did a bare boat rental and rented a 36ft sail boat and spent about 2 weeks sailing in the British Virgin Islands.  It was a trip of a lifetime for me.  We sailed and snorkled everyday.  On day 11 I slipped and fell and hit my right elbow.  The hospital in Tortola was an adventure in itself.  When we returned home I had surgery to fix the elbow.
This is the result of the surgery....3 plates and 17 screws hold the arm together. 


Because of this hardware,  I can hardly do any hand work at all ..sewing makes the hand turn and move up and down and it starts to hurt after a while.  Now everything is done on the machine.  As a result of the surgery, my right hand stays swollen.  I push myself to hold a rotary cutter and manage to cut out my fabric.
It's a challenge but I love to sew so I push forward and ignore the pain.  Often I get so involved in a sewing project that I actually forget I am in pain.  Sewing is great therapy.
I used to hand quilt all my quilts.  I loved the quiet time it gave me to think and pray.  I miss it but I am thankful I can use the machine to do my quilting now.

2 comments:

  1. That really must've hurt and I think Tortola is where Johnny Depp went in the Pirates of the Carribean movie...hmm..
    I'm so glad you push yourself to do what you love!! That's really fantastic!!
    Ps. My mom is thinking about me getting a blog, AND she'll be sewing this weekend, AND she says hi. :)

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  2. ow ow ow. that completely sucks - the bit about pain. good that the sewing and playing with fabric makes you forget about it.

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