Shirley Anne’s Heart

Posted By drsao on October 2, 2011

Friday night, Ami Simms shared her journey with her mom through Alzheimer’s Disease.  She is such an inspiration and if you EVER have the opportunity to see or hear her speak – DO IT!  She is multi-talented, intelligent, funny and compelling.  I am so glad that I had the opportunity to meet her!   FABULOUS isn’t even an adequate description of the work that she is tirelessly doing to raise money for Alzheimer’s research.

The Colonial Piecemaker’s Quilt Guild in Williamsburg, VA donated 71 quilts.  These quilts will be auctioned online on the AAIQ website (auctions occur the first ten days of each month) or they will be sold at quilt shows.  Some or all of our quilts will be going to the HOUSTON QUILT SHOW with Ami.  ALL of the money is donated for research to understand, control and even PREVENT Alzheimer’s Disease.  AAIQ is run completely by volunteers.

I took pictures of some of our quilts  – and am including them all, even though some of the photos are not quite clear – you can at least get an idea!

Ami is wearing a scarf that her mother hand dyed for her – and take note of Ami’s jacket that she made!  (There is a pattern for this too.  Go look on the AAQI (Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative) website!

http://www.alzquilts.org/

Make plans NOW to meet Ami at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival in Hampton, VA  this year!  You will not regret it!!!

Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival XXIII
February 23 – 26, 2012
Hampton, Virginia
Greater Chesapeake Bay /
Williamsburg Area

Category: Alzheimer's Quilts | 1 Comment »
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Posted By drsao on September 30, 2011

I have finished my Patchwork Times UFO for each month – January through August – and I did not want to “BREAK MY RECORD” and not get my September UFO finished.  However, I nearly FAINTED when I discovered that the magical number UFO for September was my SPIDERWEB QUILT.  I really should NOT have had that on my list because I only had TWO BLOCKS MADE……but silly me…..I had it on my list.

Actually having these lists is really motivating for me (a great way to get things finished) – I just LOVE CROSSING THINGS OFF LISTS!!!  Do you?

I got the SPIDERWEB QUILT top together!  I love it (it is a Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville.com pattern.)

I am now HOLDING MY BREATH to see what UFO number Judy Laquidara will select for October.  I just KNOW it is going to be HOPSCOTCH  BUTTERSCOTCH (another Bonnie Hunter design) because I haven’t even made ONE BLOCK.  I put it on my list because I had gathered up the correct size blocks from my stash and put into a project box………….I am holding my breath!

sao's SPIDERWEB QUILT

Category: 2011 UFO LIST CHALLENGE, Quilts in Progress, sao's Spiderweb | 6 Comments »
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Posted By drsao on September 30, 2011

I copied portions of this announcement from our Colonial Piecemaker’s Flyer for the program tonight!  I will be there – I hope you will come too!

The Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative is a national, grassroots organization whose mission is to raise awareness and fund research.

“Alzheimer’s Illustrated: From Heartbreak to Hope” (a nationally touring exhibit of quilts about Alzheimer’s) and the Priority: Alzheimer’s Quilts Project are two of its efforts.

The AAQI is a totally volunteer organization.

No funds are spent on fundraising and 100% of its revenue is used to fund its programs and support research.

Ami Simms, Founder and Executive Director of Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative, is a nationally known quilter and lecturer.

Come join us as she speaks about her care giving experiences and the national charity she has started.

Ami supported her mother through her 7 year battle with Alzheimer’s Disease.

Friday September 30, 2011

7:00 p.m.

Williamsburg Unitarian Church

3051 Ironbound Road

A free will donation will be collected for the Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative

Sponsored by the Colonial Piecemakers Quilt Guild and the Williamsburg Unitarian Universalists

More than 5.4 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease, a progressive and degenerative brain disease that is robbing them of their memories, their life skills, their ability to reason, to learn, and eventually to take care of themselves.

Alzheimer’s is always fatal unless another disease takes one’s life first. Quilters across the United States are threading their needles in the hopes of bringing a cure for Alzheimer’s disease one stitch closer.

THE ART AUCTION STARTS THIS SATURDAY AND ENDS OCT 10…..go to the website for pictures and more information!!!

http://www.alzquilts.org/

Here are the quilts that I have made for the AAQI

This first one is NOW FINISHED but not in the picture.  I made it in an EMELLISHMENT class that I took from Catherine Etter at VCQ this year.

Enjoy Yourself

The following six quilts were made at Sherry Whitford’s house – she provided all of the materials – what fun we had in her sewing room!

Reach for the Stars

The Best Nest

Autumn Delight

A PURRFECT GARDEN

PURRFECT PEACE

Celebrate Memories

Category: Autumn Delight, Celebrate Memories, Colonial Piecemakers, Enjoy Yourself, Purrfect Garden, Purrfect Peace, Quilt Guild, Quilts Finished in 2011, Reach for the Stars, The Best Nest | 1 Comment »
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Posted By drsao on September 29, 2011

Last night three of my grandangels and I went to see THE LION KING in 3-D.   It was quite entertaining and somehow it was a lot funnier last night than I remember it being the first time I saw it (before 3-D).  It was first released by Disney in 1994 and I am GUESSING that I saw it with a few grandangels sometime after it came out on video (anyone remember videos?)

Leanna and Cooper looked pretty cool in their 3-D glasses!

Leanna and Cooper ready for the movie

And Sarah and I were pretty cool too!  LOL.

What I didn’t realize (until my Grandangel, Leanna told me)  was that The Lion King was loosely based on Shakespeare’s play HAMLET.  WOW…..from Hamlet to The Lion King.  I had to look that up on the internet when I got home (don’t you just love having all of this information floating out there in cyberspace!)

Simba, the young lion cub,  is likened to Hamlet Jr.    Both Simba and Hamlet Jr. were extremely saddened by their fathers’ deaths – and BOTH RAN from their responsibilities.  Retribution for these deaths were delayed in both The Lion King and Hamlet….(and while I don’t usually celebrate death, I have to admit that I wasn’t sad when the lion SCAR, Simba’s uncle who murdered his own brother Mufasa, died at the end of  The Lion King.

The two fathers were also similar. The father in The Lion King, Mufasa and Hamlet Sr (King of Denmark) were both peaceful rulers and were both killed by their brothers!  Did you know all of this?  Did you WANT to know it now?  LOL

And here are some QUOTES from Hamlet that I found interesting!

One may smile, and smile, and be a villain!   (That would be Scar!)

There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.

(Shakespeare never went to a university; yet he appears to have understood Cognitive Behavior Modification!!)

Neither a borrower nor a lender be; for loan oft loses both itself and friend.

(I don’t know how this fits with The Lion King – but it is a quote from Hamlet!  Maybe you could explain that to me!)

And did you know that this famous quote is from Hamlet???

Category: DVD Recommendation, The Lion King | No Comments »
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Posted By drsao on September 29, 2011

Have you seen the ads for EGGIES on TV?  It looks like a MIRACLE.  You crack an egg, slip it into plastic, boil it, and VOILA – out comes a PERFECT BOILED EGG!  I got one for my birthday and I love to learn new things, so the very next morning I was excited to have an EGGIE for breakfast.

I have never claimed to be GIFTED in the kitchen – but I have taken my NON-COOK status to a new level.  WHAT AM I DOING WRONG?

Ecce!  (look in Latin)  The TV ads and the BOX makes it sound SO SIMPLE…..you just crack, boil and open!

THE BOX - looks simple - right?

I am ready – I oiled the parts (the little cap is put on at the end and that isn’t in my picture, but you can see the little top that you twist off on the front of the box!)

All ready - here are the parts *there is also a lid not pictured

I put it into the water, let it come to a boil, and then I set a timer for 20 minutes (the box said 20 minutes for an EXTRA LARGE hard boiled egg.)

20 minutes later - ready to unveil

The white of the egg leaked a bit into the water, so it was not a pretty sight.  It was also not easy to clean…..I had to scrub with a brush to get the cooked egg whites  out of the little grooves on the part that screwed the top and bottom of the PLASTIC EGGIE  together!!!  (WHEW, that sentence was bigger than A T and T!)

Egg one - OOPS

The inside of the egg didn’t look so hot either.  I gave it to Ruby.  (I cannot believe it, but I did try one bite in case it tasted better than it looked – NOT!)

Egg 2 YUCK

My second egg didn’t look so great either…..I just could not bring myself to eat it.  Can you imagine making a deviled egg out of this and serving it to your friends?  If you look carefully and click twice on the picture to enlarge it, you can see litte ripples on the outside of the egg.

I don’t give up easily – so I decided to try it again.

Egg 3 - DISGUSTION

Well, I see no improvement in Egg #3.  I made up a new word for it ……UTTER DISGUSTION!  Ruby got this one too.

Egg 4

Egg #4 does not look horrible…….so I TRIED to eat it.  It was rubbery and soft on the inside.  *I didn’t even mind that it was completely FLAT on one end either.  Am I an EGGIE DROPOUT or do the Eggies have a design flaw?

WHAT AM I DOING WRONG, I ASK MYSELF!  Right now I am ready to LEGO my EGGIES!   For the present time, EGGIES are going on my list of NOT  SO FAVORITE THINGS.

What do you think?  Should I even TRY this again?  Ruby says yes!!!

Ruby likes the EGGIES

Category: Eggies, Life Comments, My NOT so Favorite Things | 3 Comments »
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