Life Happens!

It does seem that life events are conspiring to keep me away from the computer though I have managed to do some quilty oriented web surfing and a little associated retail therapy from bed using the iPad.
Before I went under the knife last week for the third time on the left shoulder, I finished the piano key border on Allietare now there are just two more rows to add, a 5"dark blue and 2" blue star final strip.

Entertaining myself on the iPad I browsed through the website of Tracey Browning  http://www.constantinequilts.com Australia who has a lot of longarm "No Frills Rulers" and her prices are super reasonable especially now they are all on sale even with shipping from Aus. I ended up ordering a few small circles, two right angle rulers for crosshatching etc. and three of her CC Triarc rulers, I am hoping that by the time they arrive I will be able to get back on the big machine. I am quite adept at using one hand to guide my A-1 which is super smooth, light and easy to move.

This is what the CC rulers look like and you can see a video of their use here, I ordered the 1.5", 2" and 3"CC Triarcs.

This is a multi purpose template I chose, the top is for curved crosshatching with the addition of some very small circles. I am anticipating doing some crosshatching soon on a quilt so I will be well prepared.
On another site I also ordered two crosshatch stencils, what I have already is too large for most of my work.

These are one inch and two inch grids.

Then I came across a YouTube video of a "rope tool" which became my final "recuperation" purchase. It is a handy little rope template that comes in two sizes, I think from the video I saw it will be faster and more accurate than marking with a stencil. I decided on the smaller tool that makes 1.5" -3" ropes most useful for sashings and narrow stop borders.

This is pretty cool, check out the video here

All of these tools would work for DSM quilting so if they interest you and you quilt on your DSM check them out and also come back to see when I post about their actual use.

That concluded my shopping spree and I can hardly wait to get all these new toys and try them out! I will have to wait a week or two at least but you can be very sure that I will be back at work while my left side is still restrained in this bulky contraption!

What do you do when you are recuperating from illness/surgery etc, how do you fill the waking hours when boredom sets in?

Linking up with Heather at "Needlework Tuesday"