Monday, March 10, 2008

More pincushions...


We had terrible wind storms and rain last night. Add that to the cats wanting to stay safely in the bed with us (storms can't get them if they are under the quilts) I didn't get much sleep so this may ramble a bit!

First, an auction find...the painting above I got last week for 3 pounds! I know it is a bit naive but I just love their dresses and the braids down her back. It will look great in my sewing room...or maybe the hallway outside my sewing room - there isn't much wall space left inside!

Yesterday I had trouble posting photos - so here are a few of the pincushions I tried to get on my blog. First is the lazy quilter's pincushion. This cup had a tiny crack at the bottom so I stuffed a ball of batting inside and covered it with a scrap of fabric. Ta-da! A pin cushion that I don't have to worry about the cat running away with....


Below is one of my favorites - and my cat's favorite too! This little rooster/chicken was given to me by one of my friends at guild. I love the sparkley glove tip that she used for the feathers on the head! Because of Brownie's fascination with this pincushion it stays in my traveling bag and goes to quilting bees and classes.
And since this is National MS Awareness Week I am going to post Funny MS story #2 (see yesterday's post for an explanation of this!) The first spring after I was diagnosed I went to see my neurologist wearing a typical Georgia spring outfit - cute little sandals and peddle pusher jeans. My doctor just shook her head and said she had bad news...those sandals had to go. She only wanted me to wear shoes that fit firmly on my feet and gave them some support. Now I never considered myself a shoe junk-y but when I went home I filled three (big) bags with flip-flop type sandals, cloth espadrilles and tiny sling-backs. I put the bags in my car to bring to Goodwill in the morning and tried to console myself with how much room I now had in my closet. My husband brought me out to dinner to show how proud he was of me. I wore some boring brown loafers.

About one o'clock in the morning there I was in the driveway rummaging through the bag to find my red leather sandals that I bought in Santa Fe...and the white silk sling-backs I wore at my wedding...and then the really cute fabric flats I got in San Francisco's china town....the pile of shoes on the driveway grew.

At this point my neighbor, who was an intern at the my hospital, came home and wandered over to see what was going on. I looked very guilty! She went into her house and came back with a couple of glasses of wine. We sat in the driveway and I talked about each pair of shoes and why it was so hard to part with them. In some ways I felt like it was giving in to having MS though the logical part of me knew that some of these shoes were just plain dangerous! (Even in college I once fell off my high-heeled clogs and broke my foot and that was when I was a jock!) Eventually all but the red Santa-Fe sandals went back into the bags. A girl had got to have some limits after all......

So I am now constantly on the look out for safe but fun shoes....those above I just got a Christmas and are my current favorites!

16 comments:

*karendianne. said...

Oh Wow! What a great MS story. I have such a shoe thing! I love shoes and I'm always on the lookout for cute shoes with the right support.

What I really love? I love the driveway love you received from your neighbor. Very neat!

Healing MS Love, *karendianne.

Andrea said...

Hi Siobhan - great posts. And yes - they did make me smile in parts - especially the rained off golf game. I just linked back to yours and Karens blog. Love the groovy shoes. I have such boring taste in shoes - my teenage daughter despairs of me - lol ! Take care x

Cathi said...

I just found your blog, thanks to Karen Dianne. Love your posts -- especially about the shoes!

Elaine Adair said...

What a dear story. (from a gal who must wear orthotics all the time, and now, only wears 'sensible' shoes)

Mary Johnson said...

I can just see you sitting in the driveway going through those shoes so trust me, your MS posts are not coming across as boring or whiny.

I hope you do manage to do the Appraisal class - who says you have to *work* at it to make it worth doing. I love learning and having skills that have nothing to do with having a *job*.

Marilyn Robertson said...

I had to change my style of shoes after I had a blood clot in my leg. My foot was a half size larger and I could no long wear high heels. I remember having brand new shoes that I loved and could no longer wear. Thanks for the MS awareness posts. Here is a virtual pat on the back for not letting MS take over your life! It may be a part of your life, but it does not define who you are.

sewkalico said...

That's a great story! And cute shoes! I don't have many shoes and now that I have to wear special inner soles (one leg shorter than another from an accident) I often wear the same shoes day in and day out.

I think that's a cute painting too!

Sweet P said...

Thank you for sharing your MS stories. I can just see you and your friend sitting on the curb at 1 am, drinking wine and talking about shoes. Your friend is one smart person. She knew what you needed to do and helped you through it.

Your red shoes are great. I think you've inspired me to find some fun shoes.

quiltmom anna said...

HI Siobhan,
I loved your cool strippy shoes- they are fun and funky-
I appreciate your openness and the hopefulness that you share with others about a disease that can be quite debilitating.
Thank you for sharing your stories-
Regards,
Anna

Purple Pam said...

Thanks for sharing your stories. As I get older, some parts do not work well some days, and once in a while there is a great day (like yesterday). Please keep sharing. It helps me know that I am not the only person in the world who is having issues with body parts not working well sometimes! And I love the pincushions. I have a small collection that I dearly love. I am always on the lookout for something unusual. Take care.

Lindah said...

Thank you for opening a window into your life with these charming stories. You are a spunky lady! Your transparency has inspired and encouraged me. What a neat neighbor you have, too. By the way, those are neat shoes. Nothing fuddy-duddy about those! :-)

Unknown said...

I could cry with you for those shoes - I could and did always wear beautiful shoes until I had my three children - arthritis and extra weight coupled with the pregnancies turned my manageably wide feet into painful gigantic boats and now if I find a pair that fit I buy them (almost) regardless of how they look just so I have something to fit. I know precious little about MS - reading your posts makes me realise a bit more just what a vile thing it is and I love it that you can smile and share in the face of such adversity

Quilts And Pieces said...

I am so loving your stories! And what a great neighbor, we all need someone like that in our lives!

Quilts And Pieces said...

Oh I will need to tell you about Esther sometime..... and her shoes.

Kim said...

Thank you for this...all of it! :)

Magpie Sue said...

I'm working my way backwards through your week's worth of posts. Now I'm in tears. Not because I'm a shoe junky empathising with you having to give up favorite shoes, but because I understand all too well what that experience was like. The hardest part of my diagnosis with MCS has been accepting the limits it imposes on my life. I do my level best to ignore as many as I can get away with but there are distinct walls we run up against from time to time ('we' being those of us with chronic and sometimes invisible illnesses). Not fun. Having said that, I also miss wearing fun shoes. Nothing to do with MCS; courtesy of an auto accident that has put me in orthotics :-P