Today is Monday

The calendar says it is Memorial Day, but I can guarantee you there are a lot of people lounging on the beach here, shopping at the outlets, or just stuck in traffic who have no idea what that day really means. To me that is sad, but I’ve learned after living in a resort area for many years that most tourists don’t know what day of the week it is, let alone what the holiday means they are off work because of.

I also think it’s sad that our government made this happen. If Memorial Day had been left on May 30th and it fell in the middle of the week, I’d think some of those people might know what day it is. Why can’t they leave holidays as they were when they were started…

Other holidays have been changed too, take a look at this year’s 2010 Federal Holidays from the US Office of Personnel Management and you will find many holidays have been rescheduled. How convenient. What is coming next? Who knows, some day in the future holiday calendars might look like this…













(*Note this is the final year New Year's day will be observed on the 1st as it had been changed to a Monday holiday starting next year.)
**Celebrating the birthdays of our 4th, 6th, 11th and 23rd Presidents.
***Formerly a religious holiday
****Formerly in November but it was moved to August since there weren't any holidays in August.

But since the government has decided today is Momorial Day, remember the veterans who made it possible!

I AM proud!

This song came out while we were stationed overseas. To this day I remember how it made me feel the first time I heard it. I was never so proud to be an American and to be a part of a military family. It still makes me cry. And I am still proud of the 22 years we served.

Thank you John, thank you to all those who have served, and thank you to those who are serving now. God Bless our troops who continue to serve.

Don't ever forget...

American Idol

Level of pain

This is in reply to those few friends and family members in my life who say I sat on my butt for nine months and it’s no wonder I can’t walk right now. Everyone has a level of pain they can tolerate, and only that person knows what that is. You can not tell me that I should have been exercising my legs all along because you don’t understand my pain. And you should not be saying that I’ve had the surgery so there isn’t anything else wrong with me now.

Yes I do understand the “use it or lose it” theory, and believe me, if I could have used my legs I would have. But there is no way I can begin to explain the level of pain I have been through, and I don’t intend on trying.

I do know that the pain I am feeling now is different, and I am learning what I can and can not tolerate. Today in physical therapy the therapist asked me to say Uncle when what I was doing hurt, and when I said Uncle two minutes into the exercise, she sat down with me and gave me a lecture. She said if that hurt that soon, then she knew darn well the one before hurt too, and I should have said something as soon as it did. She said that hurting myself would not help anything at all. I told her I was pushing myself and she said that is good and that is bad. Pushing one’s self to improve is good, but not if it hurts, which could cause even more pain and problems. I can see improvement, and so can they, but I want it faster.

I am quite thankful the therapist had that little talk with me, it has helped me realize I shouldn't push myself, and that only I can understand my level of pain. So keep your comments to yourself if they are critical, I can only pray you never have to feel like I do now.

I'm skipping days here

I’m not sure what is wrong with me, I am thinking of blogging, even knowing what I want to write about, and then it never gets done. I had a great blog for yesterday, but as you can tell…it’s still in my head somewhere. And right now I can’t even remember what I was going to write, guess it wasn’t that great after all.

I did sew yesterday, finished the mystery mini I started the day before, well finished the top at least. My batting is upstairs, and I haven’t done stairs recently. When I finished that top I had some tiny little triangles left over from trimming, and decided to try to use them. I made a batch of miniature friendship starts, 2 inch finished! I amazed myself at how easily they went together, and how cute they look. I think I might make a larger one or two to go with them, and make them into another wall hanging.

Then this morning I was chatting with my friend on line and decided to make a mini- bargello… as small as I possibly can make it, perhaps as small as 1/2 inch squares. I’ll practice on some scraps I have down here, then when I can manage those stairs will get some color coordinated scraps to make it with.

PT is going well, and yesterday along with some stretching and pulling I learned to use the cane properly. No more listing when I walk.... but do you know how hard it is to carry anything with a cane?

Mystery and Challenge

One of my faithful readers, or perhaps she is the only one, asked me if this quilt was really complicated. She said the introduction had her wondering if she really wanted to try this mystery since it was so mysterious sounding. (At least I got that point across, LOL!) I can say honestly that it is not at all complicated, actually very simple, with just one tricky part which isn’t hard at all. I would even recommend this one to a very beginner quilter, that’s how easy it is.

I am making a sample myself, just so I can say I did. I’ve chosen to do it in miniature so I can use it for my Special Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative Challenge. I’m quite serious about sending 100 quilts in, even if I have to do them all myself. I’ve had quite a few ladies say they will help, but I know how that goes. Especially since it’s summer… we all tend to do other things than quilting in the summer.

And since I’m not quite up to full time quilting yet… 15 minutes of cutting and/or sewing is all I can manage at a time so far… it might take me all summer to do it myself. However, I have a good start now. I cut out enough pieces to make a whole miniature before my legs gave out on me and I had to take a break. I’m hoping the knees will cooperate and allow me to at least finish that one miniature today.

If they do, I have another one lined up and ready to be made, at least in my head. I’m going to try to make a miniature November Retreat Mystery project too. Heck, if I get these knees working right, I just might make a miniature of every mystery project I’ve ever done, and then work on samples of all the ones I haven’t done while I’ve been away from sewing! That would put a huge dent in my Special Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative Challenge!

Summer Mystery

A few readers have asked for more information on the Summer Mystery. (As a matter of fact, more questions have come from blog readers than group members which I found interesting.) This is another mystery for my Mysteries For Relay Group, but I am also sharing it with my other group, Fabricaholics Anonymous. It’s a great scrap quilt, and us Fabricaholics need ways to use up our stashes.

I call this mystery “Any Size You Want” because you can make this block ANY SIZE YOU WANT. Yep, you pick your size and go for it. Of course that means I can’t give you yardages and such, but it will mean that you can do your own thing. This block will look great anywhere from 3 inches to 12.

And you can use whatever color combination you want, as long as they contrast. You need two values, either a light and a dark OR a dark and a light. Meaning, your background could be a dark if you like dark backgrounds, or it could be a light also, OR you could even mix them up, half lights and half darks.

Now let me explain how this mystery came about. I was up in the sewing room and found a baggie of pieces that had fallen off the desk behind the printer. After some research I realized they were left over pieces for another mystery we have done, enough leftovers to probably make a nice lap quilt. But I looked a little closer, something wasn’t quite right. Uh oh… these pieces were all made wrong, they are booboo pieces, which is why they are in the baggie and not in one of my quilts.

The original mystery was scrappy, so my pieces are scrappy, all lights and darks. You may use the same if you would like. If you want to limit your colors… hmmm… I will suggest you use all one background and eight or more contrasting colors to the background. This would be a good use for coordinated fat quarters, as long as they meet the value requirements.

If this is all too confusing to you and you are already thinking “not for me”… slow down, take a deep breath and relax… you can do this too.

If you make 3 inch blocks, 16 blocks would make a 12 inch square inch wall hanging or doll quilt.

If you make 6 inch blocks, 16 blocks would make a 24 inch square wall hanging.

Sixteen 9 inch blocks would make a 36 inch baby quilt or small child’s lap quilt. Make thirty 9 inch blocks and you could have a 45 by 54 lap quilt for an adult.

Thirty 12 inch blocks would make a 60 by 72 inch quilt.

Want to join in the fun? You can make a $5 donation for just one mystery or $30 for a whole year’s worth of them.

May?

Does anyone know what happened to Spring? We seemed to have slipped back to winter, I have the heat on and am wearing long sleeves and long pants again... My calendar says it is May but the weather sure doesn't.

Not much happening, still tying up loose ends on Relay, getting ready for the Wrap-up Party, which we haven’t set a date for yet, at least no one has told me when it is. Amazing how much work there is to get this Relay done and over with and then start all over again. We keep on Relaying as long as Relay is needed.

I had my PT analysis Tuesday, took over an hour of torture so he knew where my weaknesses were. I could have told him, my knees forget how to work, LOL. I start the rest of the torture tomorrow, three times a week for 12 weeks… but I know it is going to be worth it, so I can get back to sewing.

Speaking of sewing, I did, two whole blocks. I challenged myself to make a miniature block of the upcoming mystery, and I did. Then I decided to see if I could go smaller… what a joke. Not only is the block crooked, it’s not finished and never will be, tiny scraps in the trash now.. I went too small.

I have a list of miniatures I want to make, as soon as I can sit long enough to make them, for the AAQI challenge. I want to send 100, if I have to make them myself!

Taking the weekend off

Not sure what I am going to do, maybe clean some, maybe not. Maybe read a book, maybe not. I just know I am not doing anymore Relay work, or Delaware Quilts work, or web site work. And that includes the blog. Yes, Saturday is more than have way done, so I might just take Monday morning off too.

And no, I am not writing a report on what I did on my days off either!

Electric Quilt sale

OK, after I posted about extending or not the EQ7 sale I got two more emails about it… two for a total of three people who wanted to know if I would be extending my sale or not. So I had to think about it.

Let’s get real, I am not a real store, I only buy and sell things which I think some quilters want to have, and only new gadgets most of the time, and rarely items on request. I only do this for two reasons, to provide a service for quilters and to raise money for Relay. Period.

When the last Electric Quilt upgrade came out I only bought for those who asked me to get them the upgrade. I was below the minimum order, so I had extras which hung around way too long for my comfort zone.

This time I will only be ordering what is bought and paid for. I will not order any extras. Once my order goes in, I will most likely not re-order.

If you want Electric Quilt 7 it will not be any cheaper than it is now at the introductory price. Not on my web site or anyone else’s. I may not be the cheapest on the internet I don’t really know. If you want it cheaper, check eBay, do a search on Google, shop around. It does not matter to me where you buy it.

But if you buy from me ALL of the profit will go to fighting cancer and helping find the cure. If you want Electric Quilt 7 now and want to donate the profit to ACS, please order now.

Will I be extending the sale… yes and no… I will keep my price the same, but free shipping ends May 15th. I will take additional orders through May 26th and shipping will be $10.70.

Replies to emails

I liked your wordless Wednesday, but could you explain some?
I’d love to explain. Those are some of the survivors from our Relay. I say some, because there are many faces missing… I guess they were camera shy, or hiding behind someone else. Some of these people I have known for years…
John’s sister Cheri who I have known for 45 years in August, a ten year survivor…
Carlyn who has been Relaying as long as I have, since we started when our kids were in band…
the bosses husband Joe who I have known for I think six years now…
Jamee my lunch pal and new team member (thank you)…
Bob aka Elvis who I just met this year, but wish I had known longer…
my dear Joanie, who isn’t in this photo because I imagine she was sitting on the band wagon, another ten year survivor…
Nancy, Sue, Mike, Doris and Robert, Charlotte, Dale and many more. They are all survivors, and the reason I do what I do. Everyone in that photo is a survivor and for them I Relay.

Are you ever going back to teaching?
Awww that was a sweet question, and I wish I had an answer. Right now I am waiting to start PT, and I don’t know what will happen after that. Do I want to, yes. Can I… another question. I have not done any lengthily standing or walking since June last year. I learned in October that I can’t teach when on drugs, I couldn’ t read my own pattern, LOL. And I haven’t driven more than five miles in the three times I’ve driven this year… oh wait, yes I have. I drove to Relay and back twice, so that means I have driven five times this year, and probably went a whole 20 miles round trip… (FYI, I had two teaching requests yesterday and your question, so I guess I need to start thinking seriously about it)

Will you extend your EQ7 sale?
Free shipping ends on the 15th and I really haven’t decided yet if I will extend the sale or not. Since the profit goes to Relay, I most likely will, but today can’t guarantee it.

Wordless Wednesday Why I Relay

Nag nag nag

OK I’ll blog, LOL! Sorry, I am trying to finish up Relay stuff so I can move on to sewing again, with some PT stuck in there somewhere. When PT will start I still don’t know. I didn’t have time Thursday or Friday to set up an appointment, and forgot yesterday and today they aren’t answering their phone or returning phone calls.

So let me tell you what I have been up to, or even better, show you. Here are the Relay photos, and if you look carefully you can even find me in there. http://eastsussexrelay.com/Relay10/Photos/index.html I did have to come home to do the data entry since I couldn’t get any signal at all out there in the boonies. Hopefully someone will take care of that soon, AT&T, Verizon, someone, anyone! I came home about 2:30AM and spent an hour and a half doing my work, then took a snooze while the system caught up with me. After a quick shower, to fully wake me up, and printing reports I rushed back.

Well not quite rushed… I never expected to see two accidents, one quite serious, in the few miles between here and there, but I did. Detours and round trips, but I finally made it there and just in time for closing ceremonies.

Final total that morning was $101,398 but that’s already gone up. My team finished in second place with $10,020, which also has gone up.

Pleased, you bet I am, pleased as punch. Thanks to everyone who made that happen. But I’m not stopping yet, cancer is still around so I’ll keep on fundraising.

And speaking of fundraising, free shipping on EQ7 ends May 15th. I have a great price WITH free shipping, and all the profit will go to Relay For Life.

Did you think I forgot about blogging?

No, I didn’t forget, I’ve just been busy with Relay and catching up on my sleep. And today is Mother’s Day, although only two of my sons remembered. Those of you who know me are saying, but you only have two… but you’ve forgotten those extras that I always had hanging around here in years past.

Jonathon called me at about 6:30 tonight, so at least he remembered. Mike is, I’m assuming, in Maryland. But he and Kelly made plans for a mid-week Mom's day dinner with us, so he's forgiven.

And then the surprise child… Kevin “lived” here for years and later shared the mobile with Mike and Eric. Then things went bad for Kevin which surprised me, he was such a good kid in high school, at least when he was here he was good. Things went bad for Kevin and then he joined the Marines and there was the Kevin I knew from high school again.

Today he stopped by here with his bride, they were just married yesterday and I never expected to see him. Nor did I expect the very special card he gave me, one of those empty cards that allows you to say what you want to say. What he said is private, but I can tell you that I have never been as proud of one of my boys as I was tonight. God bless you Kevin and you too Brittany and may He watch over you and make your lives a happy one.


PS Happy Mom's Day to all my Mom friends.

PS Again... the Delaware Quilts team raised $10,020 this year, but the year isn't over yet! Relay is and I'm ready for a break, PT starts tomorrow, and I'll catch you all up tomorrow after another nights sleep.

It Is Relay Day at last!

Today is a day I have been working towards since September 1st last year. Finally the event is happening. I am headed there shortly, but before I left I wanted to thank ALL of you who have donated to this cause. There are not enough words to express my appreciation.
As I head out now we are at almost $90,000, and every dollar will be used to help someone fighting cancer, or to find the cure.
Thank you all for helping!

And if you haven’t donated yet, please consider making a small donation. Every dollar brings us closer to the cure.

Post-Op visit

My friend Kathy told me I forgot to blog yesterday. No I didn’t forget, I just didn’t have anything to say. Monday was a good day, had dinner with my in-laws and went for a ride around town afterward. The ride made me realize I had not been in town or to the beach in over a year… just rides to the Doctor’s office and hospital for me. And sitting at the dinner table for an hour straight made me think that maybe there was still something wrong with my knee…

Let me go back a bit..Monday was a good day, I was feeling great, and the in-laws were coming for dinner. We had steaks but nothing, and I do mean NOTHING, to go with them. I decided I was ready to drive, since I hadn’t taken any of the heavy duty pain meds for almost a week. (My happy pills) Well I needed to go to the grocery store, and I had checks that should go in the bank, and I had a hunk of hair that my hairdresser missed on Saturday… so I drove. I got in the car and drove myself, first time I had driven since early January, and only the second time this year. First I went to the beauty shop, then to the grocery store, and then to the bank… but by time I got to the bank I was feeling it so I only did the drive-thru.

John grilled the steaks, and I’d gotten a green salad and a fruit salad, so there were no dinner preparations. Arden set the table so my job was pretty easy, sit down and enjoy the meal. And I did, the steaks were prefect and the fruit salad so fresh and yummy. We enjoyed a great meal and good conversations. But when I tried to get up from the table my knee felt strange, almost locked in place and it hurt like heck…

Then John decided we needed dessert and a ride, nice idea. Getting into the car was a challenge, knee apparently didn’t want to go for a ride. And when I tried to stand in line at Dairy Queen, I knew the knee wasn’t happy and I had to go sit in the car and wait. Monday night I had a horrible time sleeping, and yesterday I could barely move.

Fortunately today was my post–op visit with the Doc. The Doc was busy, he always is, so I saw Jen the PA. I like her, and I trust her so that was ok by me. She said that my knee was unusually stiff and there was some swelling and fluid which were pretty post-op normal, but the stiffness needed to be worked out. She ordered PT three times a week for the next six weeks and told me to take it easy on it. Somehow that is an oxymoron, PT and take it easy? We’ll see.

Speechless with a lot to say

Seldom am I speechless, but right now I am. I have just received the nicest batch of emails I have ever gotten in my life. Let me say that it is because of so many friends who are survivors, too many to name and because of those who didn’t win the fight, starting way back with Marie Cooper, Bingo Betty and Georgie that I Relay. I’ve seen what cancer can do, and I’ve seen how far we’ve come in the few years I’ve been Relaying.

Last night I was talking to my sister-in-law about a friend of hers. He has an inoperable brain cancer and has given himself to science. He knows he won’t win this battle, but he is determined to help someone else win theirs. He is on experimental drugs recently developed with the financial assistance of the American Cancer Society. This is why I Relay.

And the promises of miniature quilts has me overwhelmed and I am tickled that I came up with the idea. I know many of us have been touched by Alzheimer’s and we all have our reasons for wanting to help. I got involved in Ami’s AAQI a while back because of two local quilt friends whose husbands had Alzheimer’s and then it touched us closer with John’s Aunt.

I don’t do what I do for any self glory or awards. Someone asked me recently why I didn’t want to be the #1 fundraiser in our event. She knew that if all the donations I had made to other people were added up I would be #1… I told her that I didn’t want to be #1, I wanted to help others achieve their goal. I’m not in this to win any prizes, I’m in this to beat cancer and find the cure. And if the miniature quilts I collect and pass on to Ami helps someone find the cure for Alzheimer’s, then my job will be done.

Thank you to everyone for your kind words, they are the best prize I could ask for, and I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart.

Special Challenge Update!

Since I was off today, no Relay work, I went ahead and worked on the web page.
http://delawarequilts.com/AAQI/index.html

I do not have a deadline date yet, but will post one as soon as I hear back from AAQI.

Thanks to all who have emailed today, we just might make that 100!

Special Challenge

I have an idea, one that will aide a well known charity and it's not ACS for a change.

I would like to make a collection of miniature quilts to send to the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative to come from Delaware Quilts and the person who made it. Sure.. I know you can make one and send it yourself, which is why the challenge…

Send your miniature quilt to me and I will post photos of each one on my web site. We will then have a contest, awarding one miniature quilt the Best Of Show and a very nice prize (worth over $50) to the one chosen by viewers choice.

Before International Quilt Festival in November and in plenty of time for Ami’s deadline I would like to send her at LEAST 100 miniature quilts. There is no way I can do it alone, which is why I am asking for your help.

AND to make this challenge happen I am offering a SECOND prize which will go to the person who sends me the 100th quilt. (Also worth over $50)

Your quilt must meet the guidelines set up on http://www.alzquilts.org/rules.html EXCEPT that you will mail the finished miniature to me and I will be sending you a special form to fill out to go with your quilt. I will register your quilt, making me the Temporary Quilt Registration Goddess (Ami’s words not mine) as soon as I confirm they meet ALL of the guidelines.

If you’d like to join me in this challenge, please send me an email and I will make sure you have all the directions, rules and guidelines straight, and send you my mailing address. I will be working on a web page dedicated to this challenge as soon as Relay is over and I’ve caught up on my sleep.

Please help me help Ami reach her goal of 1000 quilts for the Quilt Festival!
Thank you

Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative Quilt Auction

I first got involved in the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative because of two quilt friends whose DH’s had Alzheimer's and I wanted to do something to help. I’ve donated money, and I even bought a quilt at one of the auctions, having it sent to a friend anonymously. I have not gotten involved in the Quilt Auction because I haven’t been quilting, but I will get involved someday.

Then Alzheimer's hit us personally with John’s Aunt. She is doing great in the assisted living facility, adjusting to her new environment and making friends. I’m so glad we got her in there now, while she still could adjust. But her memory and mind fade more and more each day. She doesn’t remember anyone’s name any more, nor how they are related to her. Everyone is her friend.

Anyway, today I was blog hopping and I visited Michele Bilyeu’s With Heart and Hands..... blog. Her Mother also has Alzheimer's and she has written a very moving piece today, please stop by and read it.

Then, if you have it in your heart and budget, go bid on one of the many lovely miniature quilts up for auction. http://www.alzquilts.org/quiltauction.html
Thank you.