Happy Mother's Day... update on my mom...

So many of you have expressed your sadness about my mom's illness that I thought I'd let you know.

My mom passed away this morning. She suffered a major heart attach on Friday around 2pm. We didn't know this at first and we called 911 because of her pain and confusion. It was only after blood tests at Trillium Hospital that we discovered it. She was diagnosed with bone cancer only a few weeks ago after a visit first to Urgent care, subsequent Dr.s appts., trips to Emergency, bone scans, blood tests and several transfusions. I wish the system worked better in Ontario so we could have gotten the help we needed sooner without the frustration of so many painful trips. We had just begun seeing an oncologist and had another transfusion when we had this happen.

The pictures here have been taken since just prior to Christmas. She was a beautiful woman at 82. She was to celebrate her next month. We are amazed that she survived the heart attack and had no idea when exactly it happened as she was in such constant pain. She was admitted to Trillium late Friday night and we have been with her constantly since then.
I'm so happy that she is not suffering any longer and could really use some sleep. I've been dunking my eyes in Tim's alot over the past couple of days. My sisters and I were with her when she died at 4:04am this morning. She had a DNR request that we honoured. We knew the future would only include more pain. Bone cancer is vicious and we did not want her to suffer. She was so strong.
The people at Trillium and the paramedics were amazing and once they discovered the heart attack they found us a room in the ER. about 12 hours after arriving they found a room for us in the Oncology department, the cancer facilty there was very warm and welcoming and almost hotel like. They let us stay 24 hours a day and made us comfortable with blankets, a place to sleep if we could and we could have as many family members as could come. We spilled out into a family room with television and internet so we could get in touch with the people we needed to. My sister and her husband in Regina made it in time, they arrived yesterday at noon. Their kids unfortunately, were writing exams. All the rest of the family were in and out, all of us telling her how proud we were of her, her strength, which she passed on to us, her values, her love of good friends, laughter and food. We shared memories, laughed and cried alot.
We are in the midst of arrangements but know that her wish was to be cremated and buried with my father and celebrations will be held in Port Colborne but we will be going to settle the details tomorrow.
We have family arriving from out of province so it won't likely be until the end of the week.
I'm going to miss my mom so much, she understood my creativity, if she found it weird, she was very vocal about it not being her thing. She will be in my head .... always. She will share my joy in discovering new things and be happy I've found such wonderful friends like you! Thank you again for adding her to your prayers, it has helped and will help as I continue to live with her loss.
Thank you! God Bless... Hug your mom and tell her you love her today! and everyday!
Happy Mother's Day.

Cassie Ballerina Jointed Cloth Doll Pattern

Well, it's been a really rough month or so for me. My mom has been diagnosed with bone cancer and almost every second of my time is full. I did manage to get the last of my edits done on the Ballerina Art Doll Cassie and she's now live and posted in my etsy shop.

I'll be busy now taking care of mom. She's in a lot of pain and needs my help. So I'll be out of touch for a while. I'm going to miss her sooo much that I'm taking every second to be with her. My sisters are a wonderful help to mom too so I'm not on my own in this. I thank God everyday for what I'm so lucky to have. A little more time.

Hug the ones you love and tell them everyday that you love them.

Finished Cassie this morning

I finally added the last bit of lace to Cassie's panties and have listed her in my etsy shop. The pattern is nearly finished as well. I need to do another wig and show the process better. I wish I had taken more photos the first time. Oh well... soon!

Finally finished my first Ballerina

I've had a crazy couple of months. My mom is not feeling well, at 82 she's done something to aggravate her back. She's got severe arthritis and can hardly stand to move. Lots of trips to urgent care while her doc was on holidays. In the middle of that she had pain in her mouth and had to have a trip to the Dentist. So needless to say there hasn't been a lot of time to play.
She's on some pain meds now and we're hoping they can help her recover a bit.
My sister came in from Regina on Good Friday so I have some more hourly help too. And it's so wonderful to see her. We have been playing with puppets. She's a school teacher, special needs highschool. Although we usually make a project she can teach her kids, this time the puppet is for her friends. They're HUGE Sask. Riders fans. CFL Football for those who don't know. Anyway her puppet is the 13th man....

Sorry no pics...
I gave her the pattern for my puppet and she went crazy! The puppet was done in a few hours.

While she did that, I needle felted some hair on my blue ballerina. And with a beaded organza flower for her hair she is now complete.

I listed her in my etsy shop this morning. I hope to play some more this week, as I took some vacation to help mom and spend some time with my sister. Tomorrow we're off to see the Hunger Games again!! Love the movie and the books!

Update on Cassie

Ok, so I haven't quite finished the pattern yet but Cassie is done and I couldn't wait! I have my friend Jolene proofing the pattern for me and she's had a few suggestions so I've a bit of work left to do on it before I list either of them in my store. But here she is.

Cassie giving me a little attitude about the pictures taking so long. It's too bad the swarovski crystals don't show as much bling in the photos but they really make her tutu sparkle!

I've also been working on my ballerina from an earlier post. She still needs ears and hair... more tomorrow if all goes well. Why or why do I always forget to do the ears!!??

Today's WIP On Cassie Ballerina Pattern

oooo, the excitement has built and I've almost completed Cassie. I've drafted her ballet shoes and almost completed her tutu. This is all I will show until the big reveal when I post the doll and pattern for sale on my etsy shop. So excited, she looks so sweet! It may be a while yet until I finish embellishing her and get her pattern completed. So many details and photos to add from where I last left off. Then I probably will need to edit. I'm at 17 pages already with all the photos! Yikes. Glad this is a pdf! You can print the pattern pieces separately if you want to and keep the rest of it on the computer! YAY, Love patterns by email. Instant start! anyway, here are her slippers and the start of her tutu! Stay tuned for the great reveal!

More WIP pics on my little Ballerina Cassie

As I work on this one I'm taking careful notes and photos so that I can sell this one as a pattern. The pattern will be loaded with all the little details that go into making a jointed cloth doll. Realistic face painting and shadowing, blushing, fingers toes, turning head, wig, costume and more! I'm a little afraid to say that she's coming along really well. She's got her hair and face on in this pic. She's a real sweetie!