A Very Short Update on Abigail

Abby gets operated on in the morning. Not 100% sure what is going to be done - he (the surgeon) will drain off some of the eye fluid/matter to relieve pressure, he may remove the lens, may also remove some scarring but will all depend on a) what the eye looks like when he gets in and b) how much it bleeds.

Will post an update when we know more.

Devastating News

We had some terrible news last week - when my little angel was born my son noticed that she had a gold line in one eye. He mentioned it to the midwife who thought it was probably birth trauma. As it didn't go away my son asked the pediatrician about it when he was checking her and his response was that he had never seen it before and it did not look good.

Fortunately he was able to pull strings and got an emergency appointment with an ophthalmologist who gave the same reply. We were all starting to get seriously worried at this point. The ophthalmologist pulled strings of his own and the next day the kids saw a genetic congenital eye specialist.

The news was devastating - it was most likely retinoblastoma; a rare tumour that often means cancer throughout areas of the body. The other news was that she was blind in that eye and the eye would most likely have to be removed. The specialist set up an optical CT scan for Monday (yesterday) and we would know if it was cancer and blood tests would tell us how far it had spread.

She was so good for her scan; slept through the whole thing with her mummy holding her and her daddy holding her head still.

Funny how things get put into perspective - we are all overjoyed. She does not have retinoblastoma instead she has Persistent Hyperplastic Primary Vitreous (PHPV) - we have no idea what is in store for her as we now await another doctors appointment but the fact that she has no cancer is cause for celebration.

She is blind in the right eye; the eye is much smaller than the other eye; the retina is detached and cannot be fixed; she will need an operation within a month or so - just exactly what is to be done is unknown at this stage and so is the prognosis for the eye. But our darling does not have cancer and we are all thrilled and so so thankful.

Only a week old and already a veteran of doctor's visits and CT scans .... lol.... and blissfully unaware of the despair and agony her parents and grandparents have gone through in the week since she was born.



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Isn't She Pretty! Isn't She Wonderful!

I am a grandma again!

I have the handsome Nathan (almost 7) from my older son and I now have a beautiful granddaughter.

Younger son and his lovely wife gave birth to a lovely girl at 1.02pm Sat (5th Sept) morning. 54cm long and a very healthy 9lb. These photos were taken off her at three (3) that afternoon as she lay contented in my arms.

In all the excitement I forgot to take my camera into the delivery room but son has his and his other grandparents had one so we have lots - will probably send all my blog friends away with the amount I post ....rotfl!

Her name is Abigail Jane and, yes I am biased, I think she is the most beautiful girl in the world ...lol.
























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Bits and Pieces

Still working on my latest man .... rotfl. The eye is still causing problems but I think it is a bit better than when I first started. I know I can't fix it completely because of the amount of paint and the shape already committed on the paper, but I have to fiddled a bit more to get the right eye more elongated along the shape of the left.

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My new grandchild is so close to arriving. My DIL saw her gyno last Weds and the head is now engaged. The gyno thought she would go into labour in the few days after but here it is Monday afternoon and the little blighter still won't come out...rotfl.

DIL is due on the 10th but the gyno will not let her go past this week and if she hasn't gone into labour by Thursday she will admit her Thursday night and plan to have the baby on Friday.

So hopefully the next time I get around to posting it is to tell you all that the baby has finally arrived!!

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The last thing is a question - I have lots and lots of brushes (100s) and have folder/pockets that I keep them in except the ones I am using; those I stand in an old coffee cup. The folder/s is full to overflowing and it is annoying me. There has to be a better way to store the brushes. The picture is of one of the folders/rolls I use. I actually put rows of stitches on the front clear plastic bits so I could push more brushes in.

I have a couple for my watercolour brushes and another couple for my oil/acrylics brushes. Much to the annoyance of B11 I cannot pass an art shop without investigating and invariably I come out with a few more brushes ....lol.

I have tried using a little tool box container but then you have to rummage through it to get the brushes you need and it is hard on the bristles.

So if you have any ideas I would love to hear them.



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A UFO Very Close to Completion! SEE UPDATE AT END OF THIS ENTRY!!!

Just to show that I really am attempting to get some of my UFOs done while I spend most of my time painting here is an update on my log cabin quilt.

If you look closely in this picture you will see the fabric used in this pile of UFOs - and of more importance, most of the UFOs in this picture are now completed.


This log cabin has 'hidden' stars in it. By adding half square triangles and squares in a plain colour to some of the outer logs you end up with stars in the corners that is provided you put the right shapes in the right places...lol.

My quilt top has 16 x 12 1/2" squares so I needed to make 4 x 4 of each star block so that it would go together the correct way.

After a shaky star (I put the first one in on the wrong corner) I go into the swing and at long last have now finished all of the different blocks.


I have even now joined up two rows so things are really looking good. Hopefully tomorrow or early next week I will have all four rows joined and then joined together.


The hardest part (after making sure I did the starry bits in the right places) is making sure all the points of my stars join where they are supposed to, so far they haven't been too bad; fingers crossed the rest go okay as well.

I am thinking of doing the outer border in some of the aubergine coloured fabric - I have enough left but it will have to be different patterns on each side. I will do a trial run to see if it looks okay.

Hopefully it will and that will mean I won't have to go to the local patchwork shop to buy fabric. Lets face it we all know what happens as soon as we walk inside a fabric shop - there is just no way on earth you can walk out with just the fabric you went into the shop for ..... rotfl!



UPDATE: - Finished it!




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Eye Say ......

When I started this portrait kick I honestly thought I would do one and realise that portrait painting was something I just could not do; instead I find myself drawn to it and have been relatively pleased with the results of my first 3. I am now embarking on number 4.

While doing these I have learnt that if the eyes don't work then the painting won't. You can get the nose and the mouth off, even the wrinkles and hair but if you get the eyes wrong then the whole painting is off.

My fourth attempt is of a Sri Lankan chap in a turban; as usual I was drawn to him because of 1) his eyes and 2) his age and wrinkles ...lol...seems that is what attracts me in this portrait kick.

Here is a shot of where it is at the moment. I have only roughed in the beard and the mouth area; the nose is about 3/4 done and the eyes .... can't seem to get the shading I want, I would like the left area more shaded without losing definition - a difficult task for me. I am also trying to get the eye more lifelike.

The first painting I did was much easier - his eyes were closed and hidden .... rotfl. I am now stepping out of my comfort zone and painting eyes. The whole life a person seems to be reflected in them and so they really are the windows of the soul.

I have zoomed in on the eyes in the last 2 works and in this one so I could compare how I am interpreting them and if I am improving with each painting. It is probably too hard to tell because each one's expression (in their eyes) and the direction of the painting are different.

Still, it is giving me a better grasp on this 'eye' business. I will probably do some studies that just concentrate on the eyes so I can get a better of idea of the shape, 'movement', light points, etc and then hopefully (lol) the eyes in my painting will become a bit more life like.

Bear in mind too that I am still not sure if the paintings are finished yet .... I think the first one is because it is more of a study on the eye nose area; the second one - well, I just don't know yet. Don't want to touch it for a while, nothing worse that fiddling with a work and then ruining by over painting it.

Of course all this painting means that my UFO pile is untouched. I could be nasty as blame B11 for buying me my lovely easel ... rotfl.

Although I have been good and managed to finish three tasks (check them out on theGIDy girls website) so I haven't been completely neglectful in trying to get the UFO pile down.

Plus I have a quilt that I am working on (well several including a UFO) that is all machine embroidered and each block has four hoopings, each of which take at least 4 hours to stitch out; so I can have that burbling away in the background while I paint.


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Monkeys and Men continued ..............

Yeah!

I finished the monkey quilt. I am so happy with the result; I think it looks great. (Click on the picture for a bigger view)

I chose colours for the patchwork blocks that match the colour scheme my son and DIL have chosen for the nursery; it is soft green with a Noah's Ark theme so the monkeys will fit right in. I also embroidered a lot of baby clothes with animals using the same colours as the Noah's ark quilt she has bought, they look great.

I also think the label on the back on the back of the quilt looks good.

Now that the quilt is finished I can a) get back to painting and, yes you guessed it b) get stuck into the christening robe (lol).

I put aside my eye/nose study from the previous post so I can look at it with fresh eyes in a week or so. I have been working on another face and am happy with how it is progressing.

I have a lot of work to do on the eyes and the area around them but overall he is coming along nicely. I have been surprised by my limited success with portraits. I have only ever tried two before (in my youth) and they were total failures. Maybe age has given me a little more talent or maybe it is patience, I don't know but I do know I am very happy with the three attempts I have made in the last month or so.

This is all thanks to B11 who spurred me on to try a portrait again. I have to admit that when I started the first one I was convinced it would be a total flop and I think I was dumbfounded when he turned out so well. B11 is smirking because he thinks it has all happened because of him and ssshhh pleased don't tell him - he is right!


Anyway, back to the latest painting - I have don't this on 300gm watercolour paper and I don't know if it is the brand or what but it really soaks in as soon as the brush touches the paper. I have now used a retardant in the water to control this a bit. I have done three washes so far and am starting to see the structure of the face come through. I plan to work on the eye area next - the man's eyes were piercing. He was looking through his brows and his expressions was a cross between threatening and superiority - it will be hard to catch, especially from someone who is only just getting into portraits.....lol.



Just done a bit of work around the eye area; still not completely happy but will continue to work.









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