Happy to see you again. Can't wait to see your model stirch. Good luck on your weight loss mission. It's never easy.

Oh, Nancy, I feel so bad for you. In 2015, I reached the point that I couldn't walk down the hallways at school without grabbing a wall in pain as the torn meniscus flipped causing the bone on bone. I tore it moving a bookcase and using my knee as the leverage. Because of the arthritis in my knee, I couldn't have laproscopic surgery, so they did a partial replacement. The left knee is also bone on bone, but I"m soldiering through! Prayers for the pain, and for the discouraging aura that happens when we beat ourselves up. Love your channel, and I can totally relate to the disorderly-ness in mind, spirit, and stitchy room! Thanks for the shoutout. The "Old Man" is excited, and so am I! Susan

Let me just say I completely understand. I'm 66 now. 5 years ago I was still morbidly obese. Health concerns rose to the top of my brain. Discomfort (aka pain) was my constant companion. Finally, for the sake of my health (aka living longer) I gave up carbohydrates almost completely. I no longer eat starchy veggies, bread, rice, oats, etc. And certainly gave up sugar, flour, etc. Yep, no cake, pie, ice cream, bread, potatoes, etc for over 5 years...not easy. But, Girlfriend, I've lost 105 pounds and kept it off. Believe me, it's all worth it! If I can, anyone can! Go for it! You are worth it and you CAN do it!!!

Holy haul, Batman! Love it! So sorry about your knees situation, insurance and drs can be a pita! I’m so excited to see the model, I really appreciate you stitching for me! 💜💜

Gotta say, you are the great enabler this week! Love the Halloween Countdown, and that yummy fabric of the month. Oh, and a scrappy quilt new pattern - YES please! You were channeling Bonnie Hunter, for sure!

Hi Nancy Oh my gosh Nancy - that is terrible that your Insurance won’t pay for your Knee Surgery. Gosh Darn it. You are in my Prayers. Love all of your WIPS and your Charts that you want to stitch. Everything is so pretty. Take Care & Happy Stitching ❤️🤗🙏🧵🪡🧵❤️

I'm so sorry about your knees. ❤️. I hope everything works out well for you.

Nancy, I just love you! You are real and such a pleasure to watch. I look forward to every one of your videos. I know you have got to be hurting with your knees. My mom had both knees replaced finally but didn't live long enough to really enjoy them. You can do this!!!

You are inspiring me to make changes and lose some weight, Nancy. Here's to your journey towards less painful knees!

I am so sorry about the health challenges. I dropped to two days of teaching for health reasons…but there is a day of prep and marking and then a day of recovery when those three days are done so this is going to be my last year of teaching. I get it. You are in my thoughts and prayers.

Praying for you!

Hi Nancy wishing you well with your knees,great Haul,Lucy where are youuuuuuu🤷‍♀️ have a good week Thankyou for sharing

I feel you! I was told the same thing. I went on a no carb diet. I lost weight. But when the orthopedic dr (near my hometown) told me Medicare wouldn’t pay for knee surgery (due to being overweight), I found out that wasn’t true. I had knee surgery at Duke, which I am grateful for, because I did not need to lose weight for it. He said there is a higher chance of infection after surgery, being overweight. Good luck….God bless.

Sending you love and prayers for the challenges you are facing. I pray that the Lord will be your strength as you start your journey to better health. A dear friend of mine used to tell me that "getting older is not for sissies". I think that is a take from an old interview with Bette Davis, but she was so right! Looking forward to the next time I get to spend time with you.

Great haul!

Nancy, sending you love and prayers that you can drop the 30 lbs. (and maybe more)! I know how difficult it is to lose weight, as I too am struggling to lose! It is terrible to live your life in constant pain and not be able to do the things you want to do! It is terrible that the insurance companies tell the doctors what is best for you instead of the other way around! I always enjoy seeing you and don’t worry if there isn’t much stitching, you are always fun to listen to and watch! Have a good week!

Nancy - you are ahead of me on the Prairie Schooler Santas. I’m almost done with my 1st one. I have now the entire collection and want to stitch them all! How can we make this happen? That would be fun to some how get them done! We should be neighbors and stitch them together! Wishing you the best on your health journey.

Nancy I have an older sister that is going thru the same thing as you. She has to lose 40 lb before they will do surgery on her knees. Try and find a program that you can do exercise in a chair. That way you are not putting more stress on the knees but are working on losing the weight. I wish you all the best with this chapter. I have been to Hodge Podge many times and yes it is packed full of wonderful things. It's just a little over an hour away as I live in Delaware. My sisters and I try to go there a couple times a year.

I’m so sorry to hear about your knee issues. Has your doctor appealed the insurance decision. Not having the surgery is affecting your quality of life and your ability to work. There is an appeal process that can be done. As a nurse I have taken care of many patients who were morbidly obese who had torn meniscus and had total knees done. I understand about knee issues-l my husband had torn meniscuses in both knees and had surgery and my youngest daughter also had a torn meniscus which required surgery. Loved seeing your stitching! I hope things work out for you.

Best wishes for your health. Hang in there it will be worth it!

I've had a weight issue all my adult life, due a lot to my mother I think. Said I'd never pay to lose weight. Tried all the diets. Ended up back in 2008/09 joining Slimming World and lost 6stone in 6 months. Felt so good. Needless to say I gained a few back but now back to the lowest weight. I do however believe that you must WANT to lose weight for yourself. Please measure yourself before you eat healthily. It's amazing how much is lost. Your knee should feel better, you will feel better. Good luck. I hope to follow your journey. Take care🤗🇬🇧

So sorry for all your knee issues, Nancy. I could certainly stand to lose 30 pounds. How about a LAL - Lose Along? Saw some comments about ditching carbs. That REALLY does work. Lost 20+ lbs in 2019 by giving up carbs. Went off the wagon when Covid hit. Stupid move! I need to get back on track.

Great video! Always enjoy catching up with you. Maybe Lucy ran off with Louisa Coulimore - a HATS sampler that I was “sure” I bought but can’t locate. I’m sure if I buy her again she’ll show up lol. Continued prayers for you to get some pain relief soon. Take care of yourself 💕 Kara

I'm sorry to hear about your knee tear, would your MD write an appeal letter. The pain, you can't work, etc? Worth a try. I am a Home Health Nurse and I am appalled at how insurance companies dictate our medical care, so sad. Om a bright note, your Lady is BEAUTIFUL! I love her in blue. And I love a good haul.

I recently needed to begin strength training due to osteoporosis and have found many helpful videos on KZfaq. Was surprised to find many werecardio AND seated. Maybe this will be helpful to you? Hope you can get the knee surgery soon.

What a frustrating catch 22! I am so sorry Nancy. Told to lose weight, can't because your knees won't let you. Get the knees fixed so you can move more easily with less pain. And brilliant point about being a safety issue at the school. Sucks all the way around. Love the color conversion on Lady of the Flag - gorgeous. I always take my fabrics out of the plastic, iron them then hang them on a skirt hanger (with the clips). I have several full hangers at this point! LOL You are definitely a native of the south central PA area - nailed Lanc-aster vs lan caster :)

🥰🤩Sorry about your pain. Insurance companies suck.

I hear every word! I had knee replaced 9 years ago, should have other one done but I really think weight loss would help. I have a scale, just haven’t used it. What would you think of a zoom group to encourage each other?

We should create a "lose-weight-along" whilst stitching! I would love to have some encouragement to try and lose about 40 lbs? If anyone has some ideas, I would be game. Happy stitching 💚

Traditional stitches has Judy Barber

Nancy I'm sorry you are having physical problems. A friend of mine just had her knee replaced. The Dr didn't say anything about her weight and did the surgery. I really think the Dr should have told her to lose weight because she is not doing well. Also she said she was having the other one done in November. I can't believe the Dr is going along with her. My daughter found out she has diabetes and needs to lose weight. She went to see an endocrinologist and is on ozempic to lose weight. It is working. Good luck . I haven't been doing much stitching either. My husband is ill and he has had some issues. He is in hospital for a few days so they can get him stabilized. And like you I am busy buying haul. Lol

So sorry for your knee situation. Do you walk with a wheeled walker - a rollator - it has a seat , brakes, goes faster than a regular wheeled walker. You could use one for at least your longer walking needs at school. And when you tire, sit and use it more like a wheelchair but better. This info is coming from a retired Physical Therapist. Insurance companies are something else. Good luck and God bless. And try to have fun stitching; I do.

Losing weight is hard, but not impossible. I’ll be praying for you to succeed in losing the weight so you can have the surgery that you need very soon. Being in pain is bad, but think lose weight and no more pain. You got this, dear friend. Try chair aerobics for some exercise too.

Sorry about your knees. ❤

So sorry to hear the insurance company is calling the shots regarding your need for knee replacement. Not good to wish age upon yourself but Medicare would not give such demands. How do I know, well in 2022 I had both hips replaced 3.5 months apart and my weight was not an issue (all 230#). With my supplement insurance I never saw one bill from both of these surgeries. As a retired RN (68 years old) if you are a pop drinker just quitting pop you can lose weight. I wish you the best as you seek to lose weight and get the knee taken care of. Really liking your Lady of the Flag. Take care.

Okay, so in my defense.... Bubblebaths and youtube. Seriously, you haven't locked a door and "Calgon, take me awayed?" The Kreinik is glow in the dark, and used for the stars in the Zodiac chart so the star constellation for the Zodiac will glow in the room when the lights go out! Glad you liked the counting pins - how can a cat lady not have some paws to use to count?

Enjoyed, love all your haul. Good luck with your knees. Happy stitching!

You can do it Nancy, I did.

There's nothing wrong with an episode a little lighter on the stitching, life happens. I'm so sorry for what you're going through with your knees. Insurance can be infuriating. I hope it all gets taken care of soon. Your Last if the Flag is coming along nicely.

Sending you encouragement as you begin your journey of weight loss and knee surgery. Sometimes we have to do hard things to get to where we want to be and I'm sure you won't regret your decision. We will all be cheering you on and wishing you success. I didn't stitch much either but I did sew on some quilt alongs that I am participating in. Never enough time. I enjoyed seeing your haul.

I'm so sorry about the knee issues, I just have bad joint pain in my knees, so I can only imagine how bad your pain is. I need to get back up to PA now that I'm back into stitching and quilting. I have family in Ephrata and Strasburg and all through there! Thanks for a great episode, even if there's little stitching 😊

Stitching or not, it’s good to spend some time with you!

Can you give me the info on the calendar you showed

Good luck on getting those knees done. Have had both of mine replaced. Lila's studio is located in Pa about 25 mi west of Phila and 20 minutes outside Valley Forge. She's a great designer.

Hi Nancy. I'm so sorry about your knees. It's just awful how insurance can dictate our ability to access needed health care. Ugh! On a more positive note, your Lady of the Flag is looking fantastic and of course, the haul was great:) Take care and Happy Stitching:) Inez