Quilt for MS

I'm making a block for MS. My mom has Multiple Sclerosis. She was diagnosed when I was 4 or 5. All I remember is that she was in the hospital in Houston for months at a time. My sister and I lived with my grandparents in Beaumont for those months at a time. My grandfather would take us at least once a week to see her. I was so little I remember curling up on the floor of the backseat of his car as we made the hour and a half trip. I don't really remember thinking that my mom was sick at that point, but since this has always been a part of our life I have done research here and there, especially as it relates to the condition my mom has. For the past 10 years or so she has had "episodes" every 6 months or so, which seem to last at least a month or two. Then it kind of fades and she is OK for a while. And then before you know it the MS starts again. Her parents have always expressed how fortunate she is to have done so well for so long (many people with MS degenerate quickly). She turned 60 last fall, and you know you never know how long you get to "keep" someone. She knows that, too. This past week she told us she realizes it's not going to get better. I hate that because she's always been a fighter. My husband says she is the most tenacious person I know.
So, I'm doing a block. I emailed my mom (she lives 6 hours away and we don't get to see either of our parents much). She said she'd do a block. I don't know what postage is to Australia, but if anyone else wants to do a block and send it to me (they will probably fit in a regular yellow envelope with 80c postage to me in Texas) I will take care of the cost of getting them to Australia. There is a pdf file on their amite blog, so you just download that and make your pieces. They will then auction the quilt on ebay and the money goes to MS research.
Oh, yeah, I'm not a quilter. So this is a first project. I know in theory how it all goes together. So in doing this I am learning something new as well as honoring my mom in a roundabout way. I'll post pictures when I get mine done for this. You can find the link to the Quilt for MS project at Amite on my sidebar.

Putting away the Christmas

But not before I show off these little towels I embellished. Can you see the little sparkly beads that look like ornaments? They just needed a little something else to perk up the trees. Thanks to Beki for the idea and inspiration. I've got to say that I made some for myself, too. And no one ate the beads off. Not that that has ever happened before, mind you. Really.

Sewing Class update

This past fall I attempted to teach a small group of homeschoolers at our Enrichment Class coop to sew. These kids were 9-12 years old. Great kids. I did not anticipate that it would take us 4 minutes of the first class to learn to thread a needle. We had 10 sessions where we learned basic hand sewing skills, and we completed a few items. Some of the kids had an easier time than others, but several of them, plus several new ones, signed up to sew with me next semester!

We made bottlecap pincushions, wee's, tissue holders, grocery bag keepers, and cool ties. There were a few girls who got done with their projects earlier than others, so I had several different hot iron transfers ready for them to practice embroidering. I was really pleased with how well they all did. Several of the moms mentioned to me that their girls were happily spending their free time with a needle and thread. That makes it worth it, don't you think?