Recently there was a county wide sew day. I invited my sister to fly in for it and to visit a couple sewing groups. Add tourism and I promised her a busy week. Instead we learned that “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.”
Two weeks before her departure I texted, “I was helping in the yard. I slipped on some mud. My right leg snapped. I will have hip replacement tomorrow.”
“My plan was to visit you. So whether visiting and exercising alongside you, I will see you in 10 days. Maybe I will be of some help,” she responded.
Instead of sewing, we sorted fabric to give or set aside for projects. She picked up one. fabric panel and smiled, “Oh, I would like to make this doll.”
She cut the doll. I took a healing nap.
In the morning, she had lots of fabric time. I exercised and slept followed with more fabric petting – a real activity for folks who collect and use fabric.
Day two, Sharon went into physical therapy (PT) with me. I struggled to lift my leg higher than a mouse. She sat, watched and took notes to remind me what to do on days without PT. Back home, I collapsed into a refreshing nap, she went to the sewing room and had a sewing vacation at my house. She edited the PT notes, gathered equipment and prepared to remind me to do 22 different exercises.
I could not stay long at the Thursday afternoon sewing, but she needed big tables for pinning together two baby quilt tops and backs that we found in my unfinished projects.
Jean Tedford helped her pin. I sat in a borrowed wheel chair and watched. We left soon after the 3 o’clock coffee break. I needed a nap.
Day three. We designed a quilt for an upcoming Harry Potter birthday. First though, I exercised, and she checked, ticking off completed exercises and reminded me of the next. Some exercises left me grimacing. It astounds me that exercises I did regularly at Champagnolle Landing now challenge me. Lifting my knee high to march in place used to be so easy and now is painful..
“How about a low, barely off the ground march?” my leg protests.
Pulling a chair over, she sat beside my lounge chair, and we explored quilting ideas. “This would be a good one for wizards’ robes for the quilt,” I said. “Except they need a pointed hat.”
The pointed hat led to a slimmer gown rather than the original wide skirt and my sister created her first quilt block. I helped pick out fabric. She ironed, cut and sewed. I approved her work.
“What time will therapy be tomorrow?” she asked as we prepared for bed.
“What? Oh, right, let’s do it early, say 9?” I suggested.
At 9 a.m. she smiled and told me what to do. I squeezed, stretched, moved and counted pain pills needed.
I slept. She developed a sample block of wizards, adjusted it and made another sample.
“With all the traveling in the car and no lounge chairs or beds at the All Day Sewing, I better stay home and sew.” I regretfully decided.
My friends got together to sew, chat and eat. I stayed home and exercised while Sharon counted and checked off leg lifts.
Se sewed. I sorted fabrics for her to take home.
Exhausted, I took a nap. She stitched together four wizard blocks in the four wizard school colors. Thus we spent our week together with her sewing and me mending. It wasn’t exactly the vacation my sister and I had originally planned, but I am thankful for her presence, help with physical therapy and expert sewing skills.