New purpose to my blog!

Hi everyone...or anyone...just wanted open up and say that I'm currently undergoing the pre-op portion of my upcoming Lap Band surgery.  I am just 6 days away from changing my life forever.  Now...this doesn't mean that I've stopped sewing...but I've decided to put my health first for now.  My youngest child just graduated from high school in May...so I feel like I'm finally able to put myself a little higher on the priority list for now!! Yea!! 
My decision to band came about 6 weeks ago...it was a funny thing...i just decided one weekend, after reading and researching...that it would be the answer for me.  I've dieted my entire life...and the result of that is sitting here...at an uncomfortable weight with bad knees, terrible feet, three bulging disks in my lumbar spine, sleep apnea so severe I can't go without my CPAP for even one night, and more hope than I've had in years and years!
I've been on a liquid/protein shake diet for seven days, and will be on it thru my surgery date of July 7th.  Not much longer now!! YEA!!
I'm getting so much inspiration and motivation from all of the blogs of my fellow bandsters!!!  I can't wait to just read through everyone's journey!!! 
That's about it...I'll keep posting!
Numbers:
Highest weight: 267
Current weight: 237
Goal weight:  170
Surgery Date:  7/7/11

Iced In

Doin a little work on the quilt this weekend while iced/snowed in...

Notice my cup of coffee close at hand...i started early in the morning...

I loved cutting the squares in half and getting to open up the new square and see how the fabrics look sewn together! 

cutting and sewing...um...or just cutting....

Well...i've finally found a minute or two of precious time.  I was wanting to get the squares ready for assembly this weekend, but then I realized that there were still many math equations yet to tackle with this job.  I know how large I want the finished blanket, so i am going to attempt to have it come together symmetrically!  Let's keep our fingers crossed!  My sweet hubbie was more than willing to help me out with the math that was involved in prepping the material...so here are some photos of the two of us trying to figure things out one Saturday morning.  I use scrap material for trial and error.

I love how artistic my husband is.  He is such a gift!  An amazing writer, reader, director, actor, singer, listener...you name...he pretty well masters it.  Uhmmm...i did say pretty well.  There are a couple of things that kick his butt...one, for example...is any game that requires a "fastest finger answer"...as in...speedy, quick, agile hand movements.  Another is holding this thing still, while using your other hand to do this other thing, but don't move it or get it off of the line, because then it will mess up both of them...unfortunately...that's exactly what we were doing....

So after i laughed at him for several minutes...i tried it...Okay, i have this handy dandy cutting form, with straight edge...both of them marked with all of the measurements a person could ever need...so you just need to hold this side against here, then cut it on the other side up to there...yea right...i couldn't do it either!!!

So...i ended up making a pattern for the squares i needed...old fashioned, but at least it was done!!

Here is the square that I came up with for using Fiona and Fergus' shirts.  I wanted them to have a "weaved" look...to weave them together in foreverness...to permanently bond them together...

i like it, and think it serves the purpose quite well!!!

All in all i have nearly all of the large size square i will need...now to start sewing and cutting!!!