Rednesday ~ 3-23-11

Welcome to  Kerrs Creek Volunteer Fire Department

Lexington, Virginia ~ Rockbridge County

Happy Rednesday To ALL!

To see more colorful reds, go to “Its a Very Cherry World” and pay Sue a visit. She hosts this meme.

M.E. Monday ~ 3-14-11

This week I received my first package of scraps from one of my partners in Linda’s Scrap Swap over at a Swap for All Seasons. My partner was Carolina Moore out in Las Vegas.Be sure to check out her blog. When I opened the postal service envelope I almost did flips right there on the side of the road I was so excited. She had looked at my blog and decided it was time to pass on her left over Mary Englebreit fabrics to me. She sent me big pieces and little pieces, and I am overjoyed. After a bit, I decided I just had to use the “queen” fabric on my little kitchen table. It is covered in glass so I hope I will not soil it before I can cut out the different sections and applique them to something. Next week I will share with you the rest of the fabrics she sent me.

Happy M.E. Monday to all of you.

Stop by Cherry Chick Jewelry to see other M.E.Monday posts. Vicki is our host, and she has more M.E. goodies than anyone else I have ever known.

Pink Saturday ~ 3-19-11

Just a Little Pink from Rockbridge Middle School, Fairfield, VA

Gretchen’s science papers....I taught her when she was in the 6th grade, and now she teaches science next door to me. How time flies when you are teaching school!

The bulletin board outside the library...Easter is just around the corner.
"I like a teacher who gives you something to take home to think about besides homework.”

~Lily Tomlin as "Edith Ann” 

This post is linked to “Pink Saturday."

Please be sure to stop by Beverly’s How Sweet the Sound to see all the many lovely pink posts for this week.

M.E. Monday ~ 3-14-11

This is my genealogy journal compliments of Mary Engelbreit. It’s full of pink lined pages and stays closed perfectly because the flower is a magnet. You will notice the price tag on the back - $12.95 - well, I got it for $5.00. Please forgive the crummy pictures...at least you get to see the journal inside and out even if the colors are a little off in the last two.

Journal closed

Front with flap on the right open...

Inside pages...

Inside front cover...

Back with the price that wasn’t...

"Some family trees have beautiful leaves, and some have just a bunch of nuts. Remember,  it is the nuts that make the tree worth shaking." 

~Author Unknown

Vicki...I thought I was out of M.E. things, but I found this with my genealogy papers. Wow...was I excited! I made it one more week. Guess I need to start searching for next week. We shall see.

Happy M.E. Monday to all of you.

Stop by Cherry Chick Jewelry to see other M.E.Monday posts. Vicki is our host, and she has more M.E. goodies than anyone else I have ever known.

Mosaic Monday ~ 3-14-11

Saint Baldrick’s Festival in Richmond, VA 

Shaving Our Heads to Raise Money for Childhood Cancer Research 

(Click on the mosaic to enlarge, and click again to make it still larger.)

On March 21, 2004, my husband, Buddy, my son, Gene, and I all participated in the Saint Baldrick’s Richmond, VA, Church Hill Festival...an annual Saint Patrick’s Day event. Saint Baldrick’s is an organization founded to help find a cure for childhood cancers, and one of the ways they raise money is to have people get sponsors for having their heads shaved. I knew nothing of the organization until Gene called me one night and asked if Buddy and I would like to join him in this endeavor. We didn’t have to even think about it and immediately said we would. Years before I had taught a child who lived right down the road from us and had brain cancer. Being with her at school and being a friend of the family, I learned first hand what it is to have and love a child with this tragic disease. All I can say is it was an amazing,  eye-opening experience. Not only did I have my head shaved, I also had them take off my eyebrows because when people go through chemotherapy, they lose their eyebrows as well as their hair.  

Only when I was outside did I wear anything on my head. It was so cold I had to put on a skull cap or a baseball cap to survive. My niece gave me her chemo cap which had served her well through two horrible bouts with breast cancer, and I learned quickly why my bald headed father always wore at a cut off, knotted woman’s stocking on his head when he went to bed at night. I always thought this was an awfully odd habit, but I soon understood exactly why he did it. A bald head can get mighty cold at night.

I did not warn the students I was going to do this so Monday morning the kids got quite a shock. I thought they would either come up and ask me what had happened or at least politely say nothing. Instead, I got a rude awakening when I walked into the lunchroom. They laughed at me...and I crumbled and broke out into tears. I was horrified at their lack of feeling and concern. I realized, when I got over the immediate horror, they were probably so shocked to see me without any hair they just burst into laughter. At the time that never crossed my mind. I was just like any child who is faced with children laughing at him or her...devastated. That night when I had more time to think about the incident, I had a light bulb moment. What I had experienced was what so many children have to face on a daily basis when they do not have that “normal” look. I suddenly knew what bullying and mean children do to others because I had felt it myself. 

This story does end happily. The 6th, 7th, and 8th graders all brought in money for me to give to Saint Baldrick’s. Some of them even brought large checks from their parents for the fund raiser.  By the time I had to turn in my money, I’d collected over $1600.00 from the students at my middle school  and had, at the same time, made them all more knowledgeable about childhood cancers and how to be kind and helpful to their fellow classmates who are ill or “different.”

Please be kind to one another and follow the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

“What we remember from our childhood we remember forever ~ permanent ghosts,  stamped, inked, imprinted, and eternally seen.”

~ Cynthia Ozeck

This post is linked to “Little Red House” sponsored by Mary Carroll. Stop by her site to see more Monday mosaics.

Pink Saturday ~ 3-12-11

My Pink and Green Quilt
The shamrocks are not actually on the quilt...just an added touch for our pink and green Pink Saturday 


May your blessings
The shamrocks that grow,
And may trouble avoid you
Wherever you go.
~Irish Blessing

This post is linked to “Pink Saturday."

Please be sure to stop by Beverly’s How Sweet the Sound to see all the many lovely pink posts for this week.

Tiny Ticker Tape Quilt

Those of us who are participating in Sara’s Scrap Swap have been asked to post an idea we might have for using scraps. Here is one I recommend highly. 


About a year ago I made a “Tiny Ticker Tape Quilt” for one of my dear friend’s granddaughter. Following the wonderful tutorial on Amanda Jean’s site, Crazy Mom Quilts, I used rectangular scraps from my scrap box. My sandwich was white flannel on the bottom, Heritage batting for the center, white flannel for the top, and then I stitched the little rectangular pieces on top of all three layers. The last thing I did was sew the binding around the edges and put the label on the back. Presto.....here is her dolly quilt. Click on “Tiny Ticker Tape Quilt” to see Amanda Jean’s tutorial, and click on my quilt to see it enlarged.

M.E. Monday ~ 3-7-11 ~ When A Good Idea Runs Amuck!

I decided I would make my blogger pal another little goodie over the weekend since I did not know she had had a birthday. I’d seen the fabric you can send through an ink jet printer, but since it was a tad bit pricey I decided to make my own. From Wally World I bought some thin cotton fabric, some 2 sided very thin interfacing, and I ironed one side of it to a piece of computer paper and the other side to the fabric. After that I put the M.E. calendar page on the scanner and ran the fabric through the printer. Well, it came out great, and I immediately started machine quilting it so I could make it into a mini fabric collage for her. The plan was to add buttons and some lace and other goodies, but I never got that far. It was after it was stitch that I really messed up. Thinking it would be nice to spray it with spray starch before beginning putting the finishing touches to it, I socked the spray to the fabric. NOT GOOD! When I started ironing it, all the ink started to run and mush all over the place. Most people would probably have just thrown it away and kept the old mouth shut, but I couldn’t resist sharing my major boo-boo with all of you M.E. lovers and crafters. Here is the disaster. Hope you get a good chuckle. And, oh, remember that ink jet inks are NOT waterproof!!!!!

Here is the precious page from one of my ME calendars I got for $1.00 a piece.

Here is the faded, yucky thing after I sprayed it with the spray starch. I’m so glad I hadn’t already sewn all the buttons and other goodies on it.

O.K., Vicki....Now you understand why I’m always telling you I’m making my “prototype” goodie before making the final one for gifting. This time I was already late for your birthday so was in a hurry. Not good! Sorry about my mess up...my intentions were good, my friend. You won’t get this disaster, but a little something is going in the mail to you tomorrow. A happy belated birthday to you and again, congrats on your birthday wishes from the one and only Mary Engelbreit.

Happy M.E. Monday to all of you.

Stop by Cherry Chick Jewelry to see other M.E.Monday posts. Vicki is our host, and she has more M.E. goodies than anyone else I have ever known.

A Swap for All Seasons Mini Fabric Collage Swap

Before Christmas I took part in my first swap sponsored by Linda over at "A Swap for All Seasons." We decorated 25 matchboxes and inside of each we put a tiny little gift. It was such a neat experience I decided to join her February swap which was to make a mini fabric collage. My swap partner was Becky from "Camellia Cottage Diary". I made her a two sided collage with one side for Valentine’s Day and the other for Easter. She sent me the dearest blue and yellow collage with lots of darling tags, a wonderful cotton wash rag, and some blank tags for me to use in the future. Thank you Becky for all of your hard work. I love my things, and now it is time for me to show them off.

Here is your collage hanging on the old chimney in my dining room.

Close-up of the top...

Close-up of the lower section

My wonderful cotton wash rag...ONLY for my face...

Tag 1

Tag 2

Tag 3

Tag 4

Becky’s Thank You Card

Again, thank you so much, Becky. You are so talented.

Rose of Sharon ~ 3-5-11

When I go to visit my dearest friend in Asheville, NC, the first thing I see as I start up her driveway is a beautiful Rose of Sharon bush. It is very big, and its blossoms are the most gorgeous blend of pinks and white I have ever seen. Even though these photos were taken on my last trip to see her, I thought it would be nice to post them now since it is that time of the year we are all starting to think SPRING! 

This post is linked to Beverly’s "Pink Saturday"

and

Mary Carroll’s Mosaic Monday.

Road Trip Reds ~ 3-2-11

Some of the Reds of Saturday’s Drive through Allegheny and Botetourt Counties, VA

I am linking this post to Ruby Tuesday (sponsored by Work of the Poet) 

and to Sue’s “Its a Very Cherry World.”