Sewing during Recovery....

I had ear surgery on January 28th.  I had a benign cyst removed called a Cholesteatoma.  I had no idea that I had a growing cyst in ear...the only problem I had was hearing loss.   It was with the coaxing from my husband that the cyst was finally diagnosed.   A year ago, he insisted that I get a hearing test done.  Guess he was tired of me saying, "Pardon me??" every other sentence.  So I finally succumbed to the idea of getting a hearing aid and made the appointment at Costco to get my hearing tested.   It was the Costco dude that determined that something was wrong in my middle ear and that I needed a more thorough check up with a specialist.  

As the months went on and appointments made, I finally got to see the ENT specialist in North Vancouver, B.C. Canada.    An amazing doctor and surgeon....one of the best!!  The surgery was about 4 hours long.  He removed the invasive cyst and a did a bunch of reconstruction of my inner ear.  I am sporting a couple of titanium implants (to replace damaged bones), my ear canal is rebuilt from cartilage taken from my outer ear.   My inner ear is plugged full of organic plant matter which will be removed on March 12.  I joked that I was going to smell like a rotten brussel sprout field...thankfully that's not the case so far!!  LOL

So with recovery, comes reduced activity.  I'm not allowed to do anything strenuous -- no exercise, no running, no heavy lifting.  I am a very active person by nature...so this "laying low" is challenging!!  

But thankfully, I can sew!!  So that's what I've been doing!  I've been having a blast and the sewing bug has kicked in full gear!  

Here is a tunic top for my daughter.  I wanted something fresh and Springy!  

Pattern:  Ottobre Spring 2013

Size 146

Fabric:  Miller Miller "Mod Blooms" by Patty Young

Nex are some denim jeggings.  So sad as these are just too tight!  I should have read the pattern more closely -- fabric should be the super stretch denim, which these are not.  In hindsight I should have gone up a couple of sizes.
Pattern:  Ottobre Fall 2011
Size: 152
Fabric:  Stretch denim

Thankfully I had just enough denim to make a second pair.  I went up a couple of sizes and the fit is spot on!!  Yeah!

With these jeggings I decided to add some fancy stitching to the back pockets.  I just marked and freestyled and stitched using the triple stitch on my machine.  Love how they turned out!

Size: 152 in the waist tapered out to a 164 in the hips

Close-up of back pockets. 

The front with the faux pocket stitching. 

Here is a shot of my daughter just before going to school this morning.  

I also made a top for me!  I've been wanting to make this Jalie top for quite awhile.  After reading a bunch of pattern reviews I knew that I would have to do a broad shoulder adjustment and a bicep adjustment.   So glad I did...the fit is perfect! 

Pattern:  Jalie 2805

Size: U (8)

Broad shoulder adjustment and bicep adjustment

Fabric:  Cotton jersey knit

As always, thank you for reading! 

Until next time, Happy Sewing!!