I am the Director of the Council on Education for the American Electrology Association. One of my duties is to put together the report packets for our meetings.When a person gets their report in on time, their name is entered into a drawing for something special. This time I made glow-in-the-dark thread calligraphied pillow cases~aren’t they cute?
This weekend I sorted all the place mats by color and chose a button, a pin, or magnet as the closure. Next I started sewing by color, so I didn’t have to change thread often! One of the features on my sewing machine that I had never used is the sew- on- button function~love it now! I did 14 purses this weekend in addition to 3 other projects. Stay tuned! My sister Judi is sending some purses she has created and sounds like she may be able to attend the Nov event with me~how special would that be!
Cancer touches almost every family. In my family is was my sister Judi, diagnosed with colon cancer at age 49. No known risk factors. Surgery, chemo, and radiation followed. The good news is, she was surrounded by family and friends, insurance, and financially stable. Not all families are so fortunate.
In La Crosse, a young mammographer named Paula used to give from her own pocket when she would over hear cancer families say they didn’t have money for a long distance phone call, gas money to come back the next week, hotel money to stay the night. . .and then she was diagnosed with breast cancer, fought the battle, but lost. Her co-workers kept her legacy going by starting Paula’s Purse, a foundation to provide cancer families with small amounts of money for daily living while their loved ones are fighting for their lives and need family support around them.
This November, a major fundraiser will take place for Paula’s Purse at the La Crosse Center. In honor of my sister Judi, I am making and donating 150 purses to be the Keepsake for the ladies at this event. I think Paula would love the idea that these purses will be made from place mats! I did not know Paula, but she seemed like the down to earth kind of gal that would just love the practicality of using place mats to make purses for Paula’s Purse! The challenge to myself was to spend no more than $2 on any place mat. . . . I did go higher on a few. . . they were just too darn cute!
PS—-my sister Judi is now a 10 year survivor and making place mat purses in her Fargo home!! 
As you can see, I ended up reversing the light and dark layout. Each gore symbolizes part of the family’s Christmas. I keep it up on the design board so I can “see” it better! There is applique, paper piecing, miniature cookie cutters—lots of special parts to come~stay tuned!
A friend from my very first dental hygiene job contacted me to create a custom tree skirt. We met and talked about her family traditions; I got a feeling for her tastes. Even a few tears came when speaking of the many family moments that make life so precious.
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