3/9/13

A Nose for News

Today is a good day.  It's a good day because it isn't yesterday any more.  "And just what's the matter with yesterday?" you ask.  Well, yesterday I had a Moh's surgery to remove a small skin cancer from the tip of my nose.  My understanding of the Moh's procedure is that one skin cell layer at a time is removed, then studied under a microscope to see if the cancer has been completely removed.  If not, then they take another cell layer, continuing until the whole thing is gone.  The objective is to minimize scarring.  

This is the third procedure I've had on my nose.  Each time the cancer in question has been a basal cell, and so it isn't the dangerous kind of skin cancer.  Nevertheless, it has to be removed, and so that is how I spent my morning yesterday.  This morning I removed the pressure bandage that has been in place, and it doesn't look too bad.  Here...see for yourself:


(Now, please tell me you're old enough to remember Jimmy Durante.)  My nose is kind of swollen, as are my cheeks and below my eyes, but the incision itself is barely visible, even with the stitches still in place.  I have confidence that it will be a good result.  The same doctor has performed all three procedures on my nose, and he is a master.  It's good to have someone you can trust.

So the way it works is that they do their little bit of cutting, then usher you out to their comfy (really!) patient waiting area while they do the pathology on the slice of skin.  There you wait with half a dozen other folks in various stages of facial bandaging until the doctor is either ready to close the incision or to take another swipe at it.  It is only moderately mortifying to sit there with a golf-ball sized hunk of gauze taped to your face.  Heck, I'd just love to go shopping at Nordstrom that way.  Possibly I could start a new fashion trend.

But with all that waiting, I had plenty of time to finish up my first Quilting Snowlady block:


I was really glad I took this along.  Some of you know that I have claimed embroidery is relaxing, and I think I proved it to myself yesterday.  After the first bout of needles and cutting, I went into the waiting room with my hands trembling.  It was a little difficult to settle down enough to do the precision stitching required by the quilted jacket she's wearing.  Nevertheless, after about ten minutes, I was feeling ever so much more relaxed, and the rest of the procedure was less anxiety-provoking.  There's something about narrowing one's focus to such tiny work that blots out all other distractions.

When all was said and done, I came home thinking whoo hoo!  Now I have the whole afternoon to sew.  Not so fast there, Cowgirl.  What I actually did was to come home, ice my nose, take some Tylenol (as instructed), wait for said Tylenol to work (which it did not), take something significantly stronger, ice my nose some more, then mercifully fall asleep in the chair for the remainder of the afternoon.  It was probably the best thing I could have done under the circumstances.  So no sewing yesterday.

Today I'm feeling quite a bit better despite my sore and swollen nose.  With that piece done, I made up the next block for my Vintage Miniature Sewing Machine quilt.  It's been a while since I worked on this one because the block-of-the-month was held up by summer in Australia.  The next one I'm doing is the Singer 20, and this is the 11th of 12 blocks.


Here is a photograph of the actual machine:


The information that came with the block tells me that the Singer 20 dates from 1910 and it was the first toy machine that Singer produced.  It is recognizable by the design of the handwheel, which is referred to as an "x-wheel" or "four spoke".  Later versions of this machine had various numbers of wheel spokes, thread route numbering systems, thread tension regulators, and differing grooves for the table clamp.

Also on the finished pile since the last time I blogged is my quilt for the March Doll Quilt Swap.  I've already mailed this off to my partner in Sweden, but you still only get a peek until she's received it at her end.


Of course, you can always send a friend request to my Facebook page if you want to see it sooner.

On today's agenda is to do a little housework and then spend the rest of the day sewing.  I've decided to go back to the McMinnville quilt guild on Monday and join up.  Quilting Babcia and I are meeting again for lunch before the meeting.  If I'm going to join in, then I need to finish up my monthly quilt block.  Also, I want to do my block for this month's Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  Then, if my sore nose doesn't weigh me down too much, I want to start making the blocks for the True Hope quilt, which was my January NewFO project.  


How are you spending your day?  I imagine we're all wearing out our mouse fingers at the Blog Hop Party and Giveaway.  You can find my giveaway right here

And I'm going to link this post to Slow Sunday Stitching.


And also to:


37 comments:

Sher S. said...

I so hope your nose heals quickly and doesn't cause any more pain. Your Snow Lady is beautiful, wish I could afford the patterns but love watching yours come to life. I hope you have a sunny day as we finally got our sun back in So. Calif. (had 2 inches of rain in one day here).

Vroomans' Quilts said...

I use to take my Dad for this proceedure on his cheek - so take time to relax and heel. Enjoy your outing tomorrow and congrats on joining what sounds like a great quilt group.

BillieBee (billiemick) said...

LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL.....you just crack me up. Your photo looks wonderful and yes I definitely remember Jimmy Durante. He was a favorite of mine.

Feel better and I love all of your projects.

Marlene said...

Hope your nose heals quickly. Love you stitchery of the Quilted Snowlady. It is going to be a gorgeous quilt when put together.

WoolenSails said...

I am glad your tests are coming back negative and prayer that it continues to do so. I have a spot on my nose that I need to have checked out, not worth taking the chance. My husband goes to a skin doctor and has treatments all over his body and full of scars, the curse of being too white;)

Debbie

Quilting Babcia said...

Well, your photo looks great, but I gotta ask, What happened to your hair?! Seriously, good to hear that the procedure went well. Your snowlady is gorgeous - that quilted jacket or shawl really makes it special! Looking forward to Monday!

Sherry said...

So happy you are doing better, my hubby has had MOH's twice. It is an amazing procedure. Love the Snow Lady!

SewCalGal said...

Glad you are feeling better and hope you soon feel 100%. DH has had many surgeries for skin cancer and MOS procedures. Never fun, but needs to be done. You are a brave lady!

Big Quilty Hug,

SewCalGal
www.sewcalgal.blogspot.com

Patricia said...

While it heals try not to go too cross-eyed looking at it. LOL
Shish boom bang bing. My tribute to the great schnoz Jimmy.

Marti said...

I hope your nose heals quickly and without any more pain. Doesn't sound like a fun procedure, but I'm glad you had something to do to calm your nerves. Sure beats reading a 2 year old magazine.

Jocelyn said...

Oh Barbara, my hubby recently had a similar surgery on the skin above his upper lip. He was so miserable. But it had to be done, or else the Dr would have to do a skin graft.

ytsmom said...

Oooh! I feel for you and your nose. Hope it gets better soon.

Junebug613 said...

I enjoy your sense of humor! Sorry to hear you have to go through some discomfort, buy I'm glad it isn't cancerous! Also happy that you finished your snow ladies block. It is good to have something else to focus on when you are anxious and uncomfortable.

Brown Family said...

I hope the nose is feeling better. I know how frustrating it is to not feel good enough to sew. We spent two days at the Dallas Quilt show, so I have been told that tomorrow I will be on the couch with my feet up! I am not sure I can handle a day of rest! Haha

Nan

Judy1522 said...

Sorry to hear you had to have surgery for skin cancer. Hope you feel better and am glad it wasn't the more serious form.

Diane Wild said...

Yup, been there done that. I had a bit of skin grafting on the side of my nose but you'd never know it. Amazing what can be done. It was the bruising that scared people into thinking I got mugged somewhere. Good time for embroidery. Heal quickly.

Meg said...

It sounds like at least your surgery on your nose wasn't as bad as it could be. Your post was very witty! Even had to read it to my hubby, then show him the picture. We both laughed. And of course - we know who Jimmy Durante is....

Your embroidery work is absolutely beautiful. It's my motivation!!!

Happy Sunday to you and thanks again.

Meg

Dana Gaffney said...

Oh Noooose, you seem to have taken it well but I can imagine what all of the waiting would be like and wondering if you need another round, horrible. So sorry you need to go through that.

Anonymous said...

Oh my - take care of yourself (and especially your nose). I am so happy to hear that your embroidery had the desired calming effect! Your snow lady looks wonderful.

Connie

Anonymous said...

Oh my - take care of yourself (and especially your nose). I am so happy to hear that your embroidery had the desired calming effect! Your snow lady looks wonderful.

Connie

Donana said...

I knew something had to be wrong, I read your blog every single morning without fail, first, before ANYTHING else. I am so sorry you have to go thru that but am so glad you did, we need you healthy! I hope you are feeling much better very soon.
I do the same thing when I'm not quilting, hand embroidery. I love it so much so of course, I throughly enjoy seeing yours come to life. Beautiful! I do want to keep up with it and see it complete.
Please feel better soon!
Donna

Vickie said...

I hope your feeling much better after a little "sewing therapy". Ranch Man is scheduled for Moh's surgery the 28th of this month. When the receptionist was telling us about the surgery we thought she was saying mole surgery.(LOL, would that be a little underground animal with no eyes ?) Thanks for clearing that up ! His is on his left temple. I will read your post to him. Take care of your "schnozzola" !

Kate said...

Hope you are feeling much better since the surgery and are well on your way to getting some sewing done. Love the first Snow woman block, very chic.

Dar said...

Barb, Sorry to hear about your nose surgery, but hope this is the last time you have to sit in the waiting room with a big blob on your nose trying to see your stitching. That's no easy feat! Your snow lady looks so fashionable in her quilted jacket!

I love, love your next vintage machine block. Did you tell us where to find these? I have a little Singer machine similar to the one in the picture and went to see if it was the Singer 20. Mine does not have the 4 spoke handcrank and the Singer logo is in a different place, so I guess mine is another model. Wish I could find out more about it. Now you've got my curiosity up. Thanks for the motivation.

nessa said...

My partner had Moh's done on his face last year - we called it his "zombie bite" (they had to take about 20% of his face by his eye and bridge of his nose) - he is cancer-free now. So glad you are taking care of yourself, speedy healing!

I really enjoy your blog and visit frequently to see what you're up to!

Debra at HOMESPUN: http://www.thehomespun.com said...

My sister had to have that done...it was right above her lip

I love your embroidery! : )

Quilter Kathy said...

Ms Snowlady is beautiful! I love the little cat peeking from behind her! So wonderful to be reminded of the benefits of slow stitching. Hope you feel much better and can work on your Singer block. Thanks for linking up to Slow Sunday Stitching!

Carla A Few Of My Favorite Things said...

Your snowlady embroidery turned out so wonderful!

KatieQ said...

I'm sorry you had to have the procedure, but I'm glad you have good medical attention to take care of it.
I loved Jimmy Durante when I was a little girl. I loved to hear him say, "Goodnight Mrs. Callabash wherever you are."

Lynette said...

Your poor nose. Hope it's feeling better by today. Your snowlady is really fantabulous. :)

Teresa in Music City said...

Healing thoughts coming your way! I've had several of those removed from my face, mostly just on the top of my cheeks. What good thing that you had your Quilting Snowlady with you to help you relax! She has turned out really, really well :*)

libbyquilter said...

that snowladies block is really cute and your embroidery work quite beautiful.
isn't it good that we can find comfort and some sense of calm within our stitches~!?
i hope that your nose heals quickly and completely.

:-)
libbyQ

Kathy Felsted Usher said...

I'm sorry to hear you have to go through this and hope you recover very quickly.

collection point said...

nice

quiltzyx said...

I hope by now your nose is feeling much better!
I am actually at work right now, but the phones are slow, so I decided to take a peek.... the Snowlady block looks terrific! I'm glad that doing it soothed your nerves in the waiting area.

Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting said...

Hubby had this done on his back a few years ago. They took a hunk of skin, the size of a soda can from his back (about 1/4" deep) The doc did a nice blanket stitch to hold what was left of his back together. Heal quickly!

Lynne said...

Oooo, what a harrowing day; I'm glad the embroidery was therapeutic!