Breast Cancer Quilts

I went to Sutter Cancer Center today with two friends and we had a WONDERFUL time. What?!? The quilt display is on because this is Breast Cancer Month. You can see pictures of them at http://suttermedicalcenter.org/quiltauction/samples.cfm?page=1&start=141&show=140 but the snaps don't do them justice. They are all really amazing. The woman who chairs the event spent quite a bit of time talking to us and we learned that they sell for anywhere from $25-5500. Even those that are sold for the higher prices are a bargain. All proceeds go to cancer patients. Hours of work, tons of talent, and a good bit of creative thought goes into each quilt. They are donated by individual quilters and quilting groups. One of the nicest large quilts (and one of 50 to be featured in the live auction) was made by Jessica McCarroll, Ryan's mom. It already has a couple of bids, but the price will go up at the live auction on November 1. The number is 262 (or something close to that) if you go to the website. It is called Christmas Wreath.

I bid on a small quilt -- number 1156 -- to toss over the back of our living room sofa. Jessica made us a Christmas quilt last year and it warmed up our living room so much that I didn't take it down until July -- when holly and poinsettias began to pass eccentricity. The new quilt won't add quite the warmth, but it is very pretty and will look nice on the sofa.

My quilt-watching buds were a couple of Curves friends. Dorothy is the lady who made Nancy's chemo fleece, and she is a quilter herself. She made a great guide for Nadine and I, explaining the technique used in each fabric masterpiece. Nadine is a saint. She is 80 and cares for her husband, who has Alzheimer's. She has a woman who comes in for a few hours three times a week. Today she could be out until 2:00, so we had lunch at Cafe Bernardo after the quilts.

Please note that you should all eat out more. CB, usually swamped at lunch time, was nearly empty today. You can easily see that I was doing a public service by having lunch with my friends.