An Honor

Tomorrow night I am speaking at the Relay For Life survivor's dinner. Carter BloodCare is the corporate sponsor for this event. I am honored to speak at this event.
Cancer survivors and their spouses or friends attend the event.
I have spoken at this dinner several times before. I speak on the need for blood in our community and how nearly 75% of the blood products used are used by cancer patients.
Each year I look out into the audience and I am in awe. These people have fought the battle or are fighting the battle now. They have fought the good fight. But we still haven't won the war.
Last night at our Relay team captain's meeting I heard a woman speak about her sister. She told the story of her sister's fight with leukemia, a fight she eventually lost.
Then the woman turned to me. Looked me in the eye and told me how important blood products were in her sister's fight. It enabled her at times to leave the hospital and spend precious time with her family.
As I speak tomorrow night I will remember that woman and her sister. I know my job is important. But not nearly as important as the blood donor's job. They are the most important people in my world.
If you are a blood donor, please give. And give often. If you are not, please consider giving or get someone you know to give. Blood donors save lives. It is that simple and that important.

Pink & White

Today I displayed the pink & white tree for the first time at an ACS Craft Fair. We had a fair turnout, but not quite as much as we expected. We sold $59 worth of raffle tickets for the tree.
But the majority of the teams had their own booths and weren't totally able to break away to purchase tickets. We will probably sell quite a few more at our meeting on Tuesday.
The tree will now hang out in our donor center where we will continue to sell tickets until the night of Relay, Oct. 17th. Then it, along with the big tree, will be at Relay and that is where most of the ticket selling will occur.
I hope to make $500 off of this tree alone. It should be quite do-able. I am also going to have some media coverage after Relay.
The pink & white tree will be raffled on November 1. It is in honor of breast cancer awareness month. The other tree will be raffled off on Thanksgiving.
So we are still along way from the finish line on collecting money for ACS.
Here are a couple of pictures of the tree. The fair was outdoors and the colors of the ornaments don't show as pretty as they really are!
We did have a "fallen angel" problem with the tree topper. I will have to work on it. The wind played a part in the falling angel.



Thanks again Aunt Sue!

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a tree!

We have found a sponsor for the big tree! It is going to be a pre-lit 7 1/2 foot tree. This means that there will be no money raised that will have to go to the purchase of either tree! Everything we make will all go to American Cancer Society.
Hatch Bailey, of Wilkirson Hatch Bailey Funeral Home is donating the money for the tree.
Hatch lost his wife, Yvonne to melanoma. Yvonne lost her dad and then her mother passed after her to cancer. Here is the link to the obituary that touched my heart:
Yvonne Bailey
On this Saturday, I will reveal the Pink & White tree at a Relay For Life Craft Fair. We will sell raffle tickets for it through Oct. 31 and will raffle it off on Nov. 1. It will be displayed alongside the big tree at Relay For Life on Oct. 17th.
I had started getting nervous again (I know, I know!) But God has put so many things in motion that I am sure we are going to raise our goal of $5000.
Thanks Hatch! You are a gem!

A Little Intermission from Jennifer

Hello All. I hope you don't mind but, I decided to take a little blog break to give a big kudos to my mom, Donna, for heading this HUGE project. I remember the day she called me and started the conversation with "I want to auction off a Christmas Tree for American Cancer Society, do you think people will stitch some ornaments for it?" and my response:"I'm sure a few will and you can always do pink, purple and teal balls as fillers." It's amazing to me now that we were worried about fillers. I have been in the background, but, I am proud to say I have been able to be a part of this journey. Starting with that first conversation, setting up the blog, having the mid-way meltdown "Will we have enough ornaments? Are we going to raise enough money to make a difference?". I have the same answer now as I did then, Every penny we raise will be a penny more they didn't have towards the ultimate goal, FINDING A CURE SO NO ONE EVER HAS TO DIE FROM CANCER AGAIN! Everyone who has been a part of this project, even just praying for it, has made a difference. YOU ALL ARE WONDERFUL AND MY MOTHER AND I LOVE YOU FOR IT! On October 16, 2009, I have the grand privilege of attending Relay for Life with my mother and watching the grand unveiling of the tree. Yes, there will be plenty of pictures! I know I will get misty eyed. As every single one of the 167 ornaments was stitched for a special person in mind. Whether living or already gone to a better place, that person fought, that person struggled, and that person has touched our hearts. And now, we get to do something to thank those people. We get to unveil a tree, auction it off, and give every cent towards making a difference. As much as I have loved this project, I think I can speak for my mom when I say that I hope one day we have no need for this project. We will have no cancer victims to stitch for! And my mother. My dear sweet mother. Who has a bigger heart than could ever fit in my chest. Who deals with and helps cancer patients everyday and not just in this project. Who watches them have surgery, get better, get worse, and pass away everyday. I would be curled up in a ball in the corner if I had to hear about children dying of cancer everyday but, she does it and still fights on. Her motto: "If they can fight this disease, I can fight for a cure." I wish every single one of you could meet her. Extraordinary doesn't even begin to describe her. So, thank you to everyone involved in this project, thank you to the stitchers, the prayers, (the spouses of the stitchers for putting up with all the stitching), and to the woman who had a little idea that will make a HUGE difference, the woman I am proud to call my mother. Mom, you are fabulous, you are completely cha-cha, and you are remarkable. We're in the home stretch and every dream you had about this project will be surpassed. I love you. Let's see this thing through because if they can fight, so can we.

Calling all ornaments and the TREE TOPPER!

I have been amazed several times during this project. Amazed that so many people would take their precious talent and precious stitching time to make these ornaments. Amazed that so many people would share with me their stories of themselves, family members and friends who have fought the battle with cancer. Some have won, some have lost and some are still fighting.
On October 22, 2008 I started this blog and asked those who wanted to participate to join me in the fight against cancer. In the past year, almost weekly, my mail has brought ornaments. Some in big boxes with lots of ornaments, some in an envelope with one or two ornaments.
Each one was made with love. Each one is so beautiful in it's own right.
I received a box of 64 pink and white ornaments from Cindy's "Aunt Sue". This included a pink angel tree topper. I decided then that we would not do one, but two trees. The big one and a smaller one with the pink & white ornaments in honor of October being breast cancer awareness month.
This pink & white tree will make it's debut at a Relay For Life craft show. Raffle tickets will be $1 each. After the craft show, it will be displayed in our donor center where we will continue to sell tickets. It will also be displayed on October 17th, the night of Relay. Again we will sell tickets. It will be raffled off on November 1.
The 6 foot tree will debut the night of Relay, Oct. 17th. Tickets for it will be $5 each or 5 for $20. After Relay, it too will be displayed at the donor center and tickets sold for it. That tree will be raffled off on Thanksgiving Day. I thought it was appropriate to do it then. One we will give thanks for all those who helped make a difference and two most people put their trees up on the Friday after Thanksgiving or during that weekend.
At some point during this project I wondered out loud if I would have enough ornaments to decorate a 6 foot tree.
I needn't worried. I just counted the ornaments and not including the 64 ornaments for the pink & white tree, I have 103 ornaments. Amazing. These ornaments will fill a tree. A tree like no other.
So now, I am calling all ornaments. If you have an ornament that you want to be on the tree, please send them in between now and October 17th.
And I am pleased to announce that Aunt Sue has made the tree topper for the 6 foot tree also. It is done in purple thread, the color for general cancer awareness.
So with no further ado, let me present to you the 2009 Relay For Life Stitching for a Cure tree topper:

Thanks to all, whether you stitched an ornament, shared this blog with friends or supported us with your thoughts and prayers. You have been a blessing to me!
I will continue to post as the trees make their debuts and I will post pictures of the trees.

MaKenzie, my hero

This is MaKenzie. She is my hero. She is just 2 years old and is (I can hardly write this) most likely dying. The doctors give her a few weeks at most and days at the worst.
She is the little girl I stitched the zebra print ornament for. Just a couple of months ago they thought the cancer was receding and treatment was working. Now she is at home, all treatment stopped.
She has an unknown cancer. And it breaks my heart.
Not only does it break my heart, but my husband's heart also. My DH is a big guy, a tough on the outside, never show weakness and certainly never cry guy.
But little MaKenzie, on the only time she ever saw him, gave him the biggest smile and blew a kiss to him. I haven't seen that big a smile on his face since our wedding day. But now, I see sadness in his eyes. He talks about her often. And wonders why.
And now, every day, we pray. We pray for God's will to be done. We pray for the family to have strength. We pray that something can be done and we can see a miracle occur.
But I think that this little girl was given her angel wings long before she came to earth. I read that in the guest book on her website. And it fits. She is a little angel.
So please, tonight, say a prayer for MaKenzie and her family. And let's keep fighting and stitching for a cure!

Stuart Little

I received this in an e-mail from a mother. It touched my heart. And it is the reason I have this blog. For all the Stuarts in the world. Please read this with an open heart. I had spoke on an earlier blog about how easy it is to get on the bone marrow registry.
A simple form, a simple swab on the inside of your mouth and you could be a true life saver!

This has become Stuart’s new role in life; he needs someone to be his match.
In 2008 a normal life changed when Stuart was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. He had been a successful real estate agent with a promising future before the devastating news of leukemia. He had spent 6 yrs in the navy and fought in several conflicts. His last tour was in Operation Enduring Freedom. His navy career had been the most important and satisfying part of his life. He left the navy for the next aspect of his life. We don’t always know where that is.

His diagnosis has turned our family upside down. We have always been close and his diagnosis has changed our lives forever. He has gone through intense chemo treatments and many complications. He keeps his spirits high as his treatments take a toll on his body. He has completed his treatments and is doing well now.

This is where he needs your help to recover and get back to a well and productive life. He needs a bone marrow transplant. This procedure is one needed by thousands of people daily in order to save their lives. The need for donors has hit close to home for us since Stuart has been on the National Registry and has yet to find a donor.

Everyday new donors are signed up in the bone marrow donor program. If your not one of those who has signed up our plea is to you. The test involves a mouth swab to check for a match. The procedure is so simple if you’re a donor, one that can truly save a life and change yours forever.

Stuart, a person willing to put himself out to help wherever he could help, has always been there if anyone needed a helping hand. He needs help now from the person out there that could be his match. Do the right thing, sign up today. He might just be waiting for you.

Making Progress

Well, today I found a sponsor to purchase the small tree that will be used to show off Aunt Sue's pink & white ornaments. We will display this starting Sept. 19th at a craft show where we will sell the first raffle tickets. Then it will be on display at our donor center and at Relay. We will raffle it off on Nov. 1. This tree is in honor of breast cancer awareness month.
It will give me a little idea of how the big tree will do. I hope we can work out any little "bugs" we find before we display the big tree.
I am going to try to find a sponsor for the big tree. If someone purchases or donates the tree for us, then that is less money being spent on it and more money for Relay.
The sponsor is Redwoods Inc. here in Waco. They sell, well, redwood. Along with other stuff! LOL.
By the way, if you are interested in donating for the cause, see the link on the top right hand side of my blog where it says Stitching for a Cure Relay Team. Follow the instructions to donate online or there is a form you can print off to send in a check.
Thanks to Redwoods and to all the stitchers who have been a part of this great program. We are getting down to the wire!

Aunt Sue's ornaments

If you would like to see a picture of Aunt Sue's ornaments please go to http://lonestarstitcherandherramblings.blogspot.com
My dear friend Cindy, Aunt Sue's niece, has them on her blog and since my camera seems to not want to work, it is a blessing to see them posted somewhere.
We are going to display the ornaments on a 4 1/2 foot lighted tree. They will go up on Sept. 21st and will be shown at Relay For Life on Oct. 17th. It will then go back to our donor center and will be raffled off on Oct. 31st. Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, this is just a perfect way to raise money for cancer awareness!
Thanks again to Aunt Sue! And to Cindy, love you girl!

I know, I know

I know it has been a long time since I posted. I am sorry. There is much to report.
However, I must have used my camera too much on my vacation last week because I can't get it to take a picture to save my soul.
So I will try to be as descriptive as possible.
First off, let me tell you that Jo's Bear and the Peace,Love & a Cure pillow made by Marian of Gumbo and Grits made $180 from the raffle we did for them! Wowie!
Thanks Marian! We are off to a great start!
Second, I have received many, many ornaments. I received some from Janet today that are beautiful and one from Bree today. All are just lovely.
Last week I received a box of 30 (yes THIRTY) ornaments from Wanda Neal. She participated in a contest with a Yahoo group and was the winner of the most ornaments made. They are just beautiful. Each one has it's own "personality".
Today I also received a box of pink and white machine stitched ornaments from Cindy's Aunt Sue from NC. There are 64 ornaments in the box including a beautiful angel tree topper. Some ornaments are 3 dimensional. Some go over pink glass balls. There are tear drops, ball ornaments, angels, Cure ribbons, just everything.
I have decided since these ornaments go so well together that we are going to do 2 trees! The one with Aunt Sue's ornaments will be a small tree, maybe 4 feet, maybe 5 depending on when I spread the ornaments out and see what size tree we need.
The other ornaments are going to go on a 6 1/2 foot tree. I think we will do $1 a ticket for the smaller tree and $5 a ticket for the larger tree.
My fear was that some people wouldn't want to risk $5 on just one ticket. But they might risk $5 on 5 tickets.
At this point the big tree is almost complete. I know Cindy and a few others have ornies they are finishing up and with those I think we will be set.
But if you want to make an ornament and haven't yet, please don't stop. Every ornament will be used to raise money. If we have more than will fit on the tree, we will sell the individual ornaments.
Prayerfully I will get my camera up and running so you can see some of the beautiful work that has been sent to me.
You all have been such a blessing. Right now our SFAC has brought in a total of $205 for cancer awareness (all to ACS). Our goal is $5000 and I think, no I believe, we will go over that goal.
You all are ANGELS. Your gift that has been given to you has been put to great use. THANK YOU VERY MUCH! I may not meet all of you in person, but I can truly say I love you. Such generous, sweet people. Bless you all!
I will update you all along the way to the big day, the day before Thanksgiving when we raffle off BOTH trees! TWO TREES! Who woulda thunk it?

Vee did it again and a challenge

Vee has designed two new ornaments for us! They are name snowflakes and the links are on the right side of my blog with the other patterns.
Vee makes these name snowflake designs for sell on her website: Vee and Co.
Check them out.
She has been so generous to us with her designs for our cause!
Now here is the challenge: Beth has this wonderful Sweetheart Tree "Find the Cure" pattern and is offering it for free to anyone that would like to stitch it for the Stitching for a Cure project.
Here is the link:
Sweetheart Tree:"Find The Cure"
If you are interested, let me know and I will contact Beth.
Thanks to Beth and Vee and you all. We couldn't do this without all the wonderful support!

Some more ornaments from Jeanine

I opened my mail today and I had another surprise! Four more ornaments from Jeanine! Here they are:




Aren't they just the cutest? Jeanine does such beautiful work. These are different from the ones she has made in the past. Thanks Jeanine!
Don't forget about the opportunity to win Jo's Bear or the Peace, Love and a Cure hanging pillow! See my last post for details!

Bears and angels

I received this large box from my friend Marian of http://gumboandgrits.blogspot.com
Inside was a handmade bear that is too cute for words. This bear measures 22 inches long and since she is a lady, I won't tell you her waist size, but let's just say she is fluffy! Her body is made of pink fabric with wonderful "fruits of the spirit" wording on it. Her vest is of fabric with the cutest pink ribbons. And that hat! It is purple with pink ribbons and a pink bow on it. She is Jo's Bear, named after a fellow stitcher who lost her battle with cancer.
Marian also stitched up LK's Peace, Love and a Cure and made it into a hanging pillow. The stitching is fabulous and the border is the same fabric that Jo's Bear's vest is made of.
Without further ado, here is Jo's bear and the pillow:

But wait! That is not all she sent! She sent these 5 ornaments also:


WOW! Amazing! The tree is going to look glorious.
I am going to raffle off Jo's Bear and the Peace,Love & a Cure hanging pillow. Drawing will be AUGUST 3rd. Here is how you can enter:
Tickets for the raffle are $1 a piece. The bear and the pillow are two separate raffles.
To enter, you can go to the right side of my blog and click on the Stitching for a Cure Relay Team Link. That will take you to our Relay For Life team site. Go to donations and then you can donate how much you would like ($1 for one ticket, $5 for 5, etc). Once you have donated, then send me an e-mail: stitchingforacure@yahoo.com
and let me know which drawing or drawings you want to be entered in.
If you don't have a credit or debit card or you don't want to do it this way, you can send me a check along with the info about what drawing you want to be entered in. All checks MUST be made out to American Cancer Society.
Remember all proceeds go to ACS!
If you have questions, please leave me a message! Thanks!

I met a ROCKSTAR named MaKenzie!

Have you ever met a rock star or a movie star? Were you awestruck? Did you tell all your friends about it? Did it make you smile for days?
Well, I feel the same way. Only my Rock Star isn't really a rock star. But she is a star in my eyes.
I met MaKenzie tonight (and her mother Wendy). Yes THE MAKENZIE! The little girl I stitched the zebra print ornament for. Her mom spoke at our Relay For Life team meeting. I wished I had my camera because honestly she was the prettiest little girl I have ever seen.
When folks were taking pictures of her, they would say "say cheese" and she would break out into the cutest smile!
When I introduced myself to her mom I felt like I was meeting someone I had known all my life. She said that the blog gives her inspiration. Imagine that! We are giving someone inspiration.
She talked about the ornament and the word "hope" that is on it. She talked about how important that is when you are in the midst of the war.
BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY! She said they had found a chemotherapy that seemed to be working! The tumors from her liver and lungs ARE GONE! They will do a bone scan to see if the tumors on her pelvis are gone soon.
This sweet 22 month old girl has encouraged me so much. Both with this project and with my job. If you read my other blog, you know what I am talking about. Little MaKenzie used several units of blood during her treatment. Which makes me know my "real" job is very important.
When we left the meeting, that sweet baby blew my husband James and I a kiss. I can tell you I haven't seen that big a smile on my husband's face in a long time. And I can just imagine how big my smile was!
I still have ornaments to make for MaKenzie's family. They will have the word hope on one side and MaKenzie on the back. So far, I have to make 10 of them.
Not much for a ROCKSTAR! Rock on MaKenzie!

Late but here it is

I received this ornament from Regina aka Riona awhile ago. But it has been so crazy around here that it took me awhile to post it. So here it is!

I have been working on another project for SFAC. Most of you saw the zebra print ornament I did for MacKenzie. Her family has asked me to do 10 of these with the word hope on the front and MacKenzie on the back of the ornament. They are going to donate some money for the SFAC project for it. But most importantly it might give the family some hope while this sweet child is battling for her life.
So press on with the project. We will make a difference. Thanks to all!

New and Updated Patterns

Hooray! We have found the pattern for the Breast Cancer Awareness Ribbon Angel and you can find a link to it on the right hand side of this blog. In addition, Vee of VeeandCo. has graciously designed another fabulous ornament pattern called "Seeds of Hope" which I have a link to it as well as a link to "Never Ending Cup Of Hope" pattern. Thank you Vee for these two wonderful designs! And here is a link to Vee's blog where you can find all kinds of other gorgeous designs she has created!

http://veeandcocrossstitchdesigns.blogspot.com/

More ornaments from Jeanine

You remember Jeanine, don't you? She was my friend who stitched that cute turtle for this project.
Well she is at it again. First let me show you the two Ink Circle ornaments she did. They are the same pattern, but a different count fabric and two distinct overdyed threads.



I had to show the back of the pink one. It has the most fascinating colors. They are pink, brown and a touch of green. She managed to find backing fabric that has all those colors in those shades. Even her trim is perfect!



And even though the stitch pattern is the same (the blackwork one) these all look different. Remember there are different colors for different kinds of cancer. Green is for kidney or bladder cancer, blue is for colon and colorectal cancer and purple is for general cancer awareness.
Orange is for leukemia. Now these two orange ornaments might look the same, but they are not. One has a distinct starburst fabric backing and the other is almost like an overdye.


Jeanine has also designed a streamline way to finish her ornaments. The backing is finished off with a little pocket. Then she just slips her stitching into it. The way she finishes everything off (beaded hangers, cording, beads added to the bottom of the ornament, etc.) makes each one look different.
Jeanine, thank you. The job you do in your "real" life is so important, but your "stitching" life is so important also. I appreciate you so much!
By the way, we have now collected 51 ornaments with many more on the way. I have seen some on blogs that will be heading my way and I have heard from many others that they are in the process of making them.
We are going to do this!
PS. Don't forget to see the previous post about the new design from Vee.

A new ornament design

Vee, from VeeandCo Cross Stitch Designs graciously donated a new ornament design. It is called Never-ending hope and is a cute cup of never-ending hope. The link takes you to Vee's blog and you will find lots of cute designs there. Just click on the link on the right side of my blog.
Thanks so much to Vee. I found her blog while surfing last night and contacted her to ask if she would consider designing something for us. She immediately contacted me and designed it!
Hope some of you will stitch up one so I can post a picture of one here!

A letter from a mom

I received this message from MaKenzie's mom:
Donna,
Thank you so much....that ornament is beautiful! Please make some more. Maybe with Hope on one side and MaKenzie's name on the other. I have several friends and family that would love to purchase them. Thank you for your love, support, and prayers.

Wendy Butler

I told her of course I would make some for their family. So stitching for the tree will be on hold for about a week or so. If I can give some of their family a little "hope" in the form of a stitched ornament, I will do it.
We are making a difference each day! Thank you for your help!
Donna

Link to my Relay Fundraising Site

I had some inquiries as to where to go if you wanted to donate money for our Relay For Life team, the Stitching for a Cure team.
Here is the link. I will also put it on the right side of my blog.
http://main.acsevents.org/goto/Donna.Karl