Memories

When I made the decision not to work on any projects for ACS Stitching for a Cure project this year, I was afraid I would lose touch with all of you who have meant so much to me. Luckily for the most part, that has not happened. I have kept up with you all through your blogs, and FB.
I have thought a lot about you here lately. I have been so blessed with such good friends. I still can't believe how all of you responded to my request to help and sent such beautiful ornaments and quilt squares. We made such a difference in so many lives.
I was also looking at the beautiful quilt and pillow that many of you made for me. It is too hot to even think about wrapping up in it, but I am looking really forward to cooler days when I can. It is so pretty and it was such a surprise when I received it. Thank you again to all of you.
Next year I will be diving into more projects, both for juvenile diabetes and for ACS. And I will be looking to all of you to help.
I hope you know how much you all mean to me. You are truly God's special gifts!

Ready or not, here they come

Well it is almost time for me to share my Aha moment. I checked the website and they have a blog.
Evidently Waco is the first stop in the 2011 tour.
I am somewhat nervous. I am used to public speaking, but not something like this, that will be viewed on their website.
In getting ready for the interview, I decided I needed to color my hair. My gray roots were showing and it needed to be done. And I wanted to go back to red. I have colored my hair a number of times and with few exceptions it has always turned out well.
I experienced one of those few exceptions on Wednesday. I had asked my stylist for some tips and she gave me a formula. I followed it to the best of my ability. Now remember, we had done some serious highlighting on my hair for my birthday in February. And those highlights were still on my hair.
So what do you get when you mix red with white? Well pink of course. So here I was. Red hair with pink streaks.
So tonight I actually visited my stylist who "fixed" my hair and gave me a great cut too. She is even coming in on Tuesday morning, the day of the shoot and styling my hair. And it is her birthday. And it is her day off. But she is doing it for me. And something about "if it goes to a national commercial, I will show everyone that I was your stylist".
So keep your fingers crossed I don't do anything else. I don't lose my voice, etc. And let's hope I can get across what this blog and all of you mean to me.
Talk to you on Tuesday!

I think it is time for a change

When I started Stitching for a Cure over 2 years ago, it was in an effort to raise money and awareness for American Cancer Society Relay For Life.
It was extremely successful, but very time consuming. We accomplished more than I ever dreamed of.
But for some time I have felt the need to step back and perhaps focus on some other cause. It has been a struggle. I have felt torn.
Things became very clear this past week. Many of you have seen my posts on both my blog, this one and Princess Pattern Collector about my grandchildren.
Both the boys visited me last weekend and I knew something was wrong with my youngest, Craig. He was drinking a lot and having to go to the bathroom a lot. He turned 7 while he was visiting and had long grown out of wetting the bed. But while here, he did.
My daughter told me these symptoms had just started a few days before she visited and that she thought he possibly had a bladder infection. But the discussion soon turned to diabetes.
As soon as they returned home, she called the pediatric clinic. We are glad she did. Craig was diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes. He was hospitalized until yesterday. He is still having difficulty with spiking blood sugars but is doing well.
Craig is handling everything wonderfully. But as a grandmother, I worry about his long term health.
So now my focus, at least for now, has turned to helping raise awareness and funds for Juvenile Diabetes. I am not sure how my stitching and how this blog are going to play into everything, but I am convinced God will show me a plan.
Please follow me as I start on this path. Stitching for a cure. Hmm... Seems like there is more than one meaning for that phrase.
I love all of you. Thank you for your support!

A Christmas Miracle

Christmas Eve brought good news. REALLY GOOD NEWS!
My director and his wife were at MD Anderson for nearly two weeks. If you read the post prior to this one, you know they found a mass on her pancreas but were unable to get a biopsy for it. MD Anderson had the technology to deal with it and so they went there.
On the eve before Christmas Eve I received a message that it wasn't a mass after all but rather scar tissue from all the pancreatitis she had been dealing with. So there is no cancer.
And it looks like they will be able to control the problem with medications!
They were able to come home for Christmas and are now back at MD Anderson for more tests and possible treatments.
What a wonderful gift we were given! Prayers have been answered.
What I have learned from this is that even when you think there is no way things can get better, God is BIG enough!
Just after they went to MD Anderson, I had a donor come into my office. She had called me earlier about a special patient and we had shared a moment-a moment that God could do big things.
She had a bracelet that her church was giving out in support of this young woman she had called me about. It said simply "God is BIG enough"
I took that bracelet and have worn it since then.
No matter what your religion is or your particular thoughts on prayer, remember that God is BIG enough to handle whatever we have.

New breast cancer awareness pattern

There is a new breast cancer awareness pattern at By the Bay Needleart blog
Hop over there and check it out. It is really cute!
And don't forget that October is breast cancer awareness month. When was the last time you were felt up?
The Waco Relay For Life is less than 2 weeks away. I am excited, but really ready for it to be over with. This year has been a tough one. Hopefully we will raise lots and lots of money for all the good things American Cancer Society does for local cancer patients!

What could be better?

What could be better than this ornament made by a friend?

Well, 5 more ornaments made by friends!

You might recognize the first ornament as the one I posted before stitched by Janice B. The others were stitched by Trudy E, Barb B., Laurie D. (breast cancer survivor also) and Shiela F.
These kind ladies heard my plea for ornaments for the breast cancer survivor volunteers and stitched these, with the request that I finish them into ornaments. I was very happy to do that.
And we had such a great turnout for the plea with more ornaments than needed for the volunteers, so I asked them if I could use these for fundraising for Relay For Life. They said yes, so this Saturday I will be selling these six ornaments for $10 a piece at our fundraising craft fair/garage sale.
I will also be selling these completed pieces, which you have seen with the stitching finished, but not completely done.

And last but by no means least, I have this beautiful ornament made by Lisa for the survivor volunteers:

Thanks so much for all of your help! We will be selling tickets for the quilt drawing this weekend at the craft fair also. I am hoping to raise the last $236 to bring the Waco Relay money raised to $1000 by itself from these projects. That will be about a total of $1700 so far for all three Relays together!
AMAZING!
So keep stitching and as we are bringing the 2010 Relay For Life to a close, think about whether we want to continue this project. I am thinking we could do individual ornaments that we sell individually rather than doing a drawing next year. You tell me what you want to do.
I will pop back in after the sale and let you know where we stand at that point!

The last

I have finished stitching my last piece for the 2010 Relay For Life. I still have several ornaments from friends I have to finish off into ornaments and I have to put the trim around this one, but I am through for now.
Here is a pic of it. It is the same "C is for Cure" freebie I did before but in different colors.


My focus now will be the Sept. 18th Craft Fair/Garage Sale that I will sell the ornaments and finished pieces at and also sell tickets for the last quilt. Then on Oct. 16th is the RELAY FOR LIFE! That will be my last opportunity to sell tickets and then we will draw the winner that night. I am $341 away from my goal of $1000 for this Relay alone. We are well over that amount for the other 2 Relays held earlier this year. I expect we come in around $2000 total this year for RFL which is absolutely amazing.
So if you have anything out there you want to donate for this year's RFL please send it my way. And get ready for 2011. We are going to blow it out of the water next year!
I will pop back in with more updates!

Some pics of the Gatesville Relay For Life

I may not have been able to attend the Gatesville Relay For Life, but that doesn't mean my camera couldn't be there. Here are some photos of the Relay. Check out the pics of our Carter BloodCare Stitching For A Cure table. You can see one of the quilts and the pillows that people purchased chance tickets for!


And here is a picture of all the survivors that were out that night. And a picture of JoLeen and a committee member (Jo's in the purple shirt). JoLeen is a Hero of Hope and a breast cancer survivor. One of the pink squares on the quilt was stitched for her!


Also, don't forget to check my previous post for a new way to help! Now onto the Waco Relay For Life!

A sad end

For those of you who don't know, a few weeks ago I thought I was having a heart attack and had to be taken to the hospital by ambulance. It wasn't a heart attack thank God!
But I have had a couple of episodes of extremely high blood pressure (208/120) that had a sudden onset. Still have some chest discomfort.
The doctor has me on a blood pressure medicine and I have had a stress test and a non-stress x-ray. A visit to the cardiologist today told me that the stress test was clear except for an area he couldn't really see due to the shadow of my breast. At this time he is going to watch me and do a few more tests. Any more chest pain and we are headed for an angiogram, which is dangerous for me due to a clotting disorder I have.
But here is the real kicker. I have to slow down. And I cannot go to the Gatesville, TX Relay For Life this weekend. It breaks my heart.
My family and friends have been asking me not to go due to the extreme heat here in Texas and I was trying hard to listen to their advice. But when the Cardiologist said no go, I had to take his advice (which BTW my DH says he really likes this doctor because he made my husband's advice right!).
And I have to slow down on how active I am with the Waco RFL. I am the sponsorship chairperson and I am going to have to meet with the chairs for Relay and see what we can do to make this work.
But thanks to my co-worker, Terry and his beautiful wife, we will carry on. They are going to be out at Relay and will sell tickets for the quilt. Before they leave a name will be drawn and if the winner is there, they will receive the quilt that night and a picture will be taken.
But I won't be there. Life is not fair, but no one said it would be. And I need to take care of me in order to keep doing these things to make a difference in cancer patients lives.
So please think of me and say a prayer. And spend some time Friday night thinking of the wonderful souls that will be walking through the night because cancer doesn't sleep.
Onward we go...

Some recognition!

Tonight I attended the Gatesville, TX Relay For Life team captain meeting. It was absolutely amazing! I love those folks there.
We sold $32 in "opportunity" (no raffle here, legal eagles) tickets for the quilt and for pillows. That means just on the Gatesville quilt we have sold $72 in "opportunity" tickets. That is just Gatesville. I have the Killeen one and the Waco one we have sold tickets for. And we are just beginning.
The best part is their hometown newspaper is doing an article on the quilts and on the wonderful part each of you have played in this fundraiser for such a great cause!
I have a craft fair on April 17 that I will be selling tickets at as well as another one on May 1st. So we have lots of time to raise money for Killeen/Gatesville and we have all the way until October for the Waco Relay!
I will post the article or the link to the article here when it comes out! Great job everyone!

The new quilt is in!

I received the new quilt for the Waco Relay For Life today. I start selling raffle tickets for it at our Relay Kick-Off on Monday!
These are lousy pictures, but here is the front and back of the quilt. The editor on my Photosnap is not working correctly now.


Thanks again to all the stitchers who worked on this project and esp. to our quilter, Halina who did the quilting on both!
I will keep you updated on how much we raise with these quilts!

Why do you Relay?

Or rather "why are you so involved this year in Relay? Last year and in the years past, all you did was go to the track the night of Relay" That was the question I was asked this afternoon by someone of me. I had to pick my chin up off the floor and just remind them that we are being a part of our community by participating in three Relay For Life walks this year. A part of the communities we serve.
And I realized that this person probably has no real idea of the time and effort I put into fundraising and volunteering for Relay For Life. And it is not just the night of Relay but for months before.
But on the way home, I thought about why I Relay. I Relay because most of the blood products we collect to help save lives are used by cancer patients.
I Relay because today a little girl named Layla Grace went to heaven because of neuroblastoma. And today, another child I don't know started treatment for cancer that might save them.
I Relay that we might find a cure for cancer in my lifetime. A CURE! Not another treatment, but an actual cure.
I Relay because I want to make sure that when a patient hears those words "you have cancer" and they don't know what to do, American Cancer Society will have the funds to be there to answer their questions and to help them.
I Relay because even though "bald is beautiful" most women don't feel that way and I want to make sure that the Look Good, Feel Better program is available to those folks.
I Relay because treatment clinics are not always in your backyard and the Ride to Recovery can help you get there. Gas is expensive and Relay helps with this.
I Relay because I can't do anything else but Relay. It is part of my soul, part of my heart and a big part of who I am.
Thank you for all your help in making these Relays successful. Because you are a big part of WHY I RELAY FOR LIFE!