School Auction Quilts

All Saints Catholic School's Auction happens tomorrow! I've been asked to sew a quilt for several years and this year I sewed the quilt for the First Grade Class.  Sandy Gossage designed it and when she told me I would have to applique palm trees and leaves on a big square of fabric I almost freaked out.  "Oh, this will be so easy," she said.

The pieces were large and simple!  I did the machine applique and took it back to her and she drew the vines and leaves and the children made handprints that turned into monkeys swinging from the branches!  The finished size is 57x57 so it's more of a wall hanging!

It's just a treat for me to work with the creative teachers and even though I tell them, "I only sew, and don't ask me to pick out fabric or design anything," last year I had to scrounge around for watermelon fabric in September.  Surprisingly a Google search for watermelon fabric made the 2011 quilt another Sandy Gossage success!

2011 Kindgergarten Krop

I sewed this Angel Quilt in 2005.  The children's handprints formed the wings of the angels.  

I spent a lot of time on the border for this quilt and even made a bias binding!  Back in those days every class quilt was big enough for a twin bed - there was no such thing as a wall hanging!


The Kool Kids Quilt of 2006 became a family project involving my daughter, Karen, and her mother in law, Delores.  We picked out the fabric in September and worked for months cutting out little pieces that eventually became the clothing for these Kool Kids.  My grandson, Jacob, won the drawing to be included in the big block with the teacher!  Karen obtained a computer file with all the kids fall school pictures and she printed each little head on fabric that could then be ironed onto the quilt!  Delores fussed about every shirt and skirt, making sure the fabric fit the personality of the child! It was a lot of work, but look at the end result that brought almost $2,000 to the school!

The auction moved from February to October in 2009 so Karen, Delores, and I agreed to make another quilt for Jacob's 3rd grade class.  We thought a Christmas theme might work and this one really was quite simple to sew, but Delores spent hours finding just the right ornaments to hang on the tree.  

The back of the quilt had the individual blocks that each child created, so as to make the quilt reversible.  It's actually a wall hanging and has been hanging in the O'Shaughnessy home at Christmastime ever since thanks to a generosity of the O'Shaughnessy Grandparents.  

Bradleigh's VolleyBall Season

Well, it's not over yet, but I heard someone say last night, "only three more games."  The CHS varsity team seems to have a lot of potential this year, but the statistics say otherwise (2-9).  Last year they went  to the State playoffs and those six seniors are in college now.  First or second official practice in August  Bradleigh twisted her ankle and couldn't practice for a week and then couldn't play until she'd participated in 10 official practices.  My sense is she's careful on the court, perhaps favoring her left foot.  She sort of took it in stride, iced her foot, and drove Dad's truck instead of her "stick shift" car.

Karen invited me and Grandma Delores to help host a team dinner last week.   Delores spent hours decorating Karen's home, finding just the right tablecloths, napkins, and black forks.  

Karen made individual lasagnas, bubble bread, I added fruit salad, and Delores made pumpkin bars!  The girls were well fed, but still had room for M&M's.  Karen made these adorable tie-dyed socks to wear during Breast Cancer Awareness events coming up.

Bradleigh and Adriana have known each other since Kindergarten at St. Stan's

A surprise visitor, Nev Dragovic, their summer VB coach, showed up to provide some encouragement!

Karen's been eyeing the stacks and stacks of T-Shirts in Bradleigh's closet for weeks and I suggested that we make a quilt or comfy throw that she could take on the bus or stash in her duffle bag.  I've seen lots of fleece blankets and flannel pillow cases strewn on the floors of cafeterias when these girls define their spot in school gymnasiums for tournament play.  So, Karen and I cut the fronts off 15 T-Shirts, shopped for coordinating fabric and stabilizer, then laid out the design!  We we spread it out over one of my fleece throws to determine the right size.

The finished quilt recalls lots of tournaments, Bantam-Bengal Rivalry and Snake River Volleyball

So last night we draped this quilt over Bradleigh as she tried to explain to us how she hurt her big toe!

Just one way to show Grandma love to my favorite granddaughter!

Kopczynski Sister's weekend

It's become a tradition, for the surviving daughters of Stan and Bertha, to spend a weekend together, not necessarily to work on projects like we used to.  Mom liked us to be busy and she always had something for us to do, making quilts, Christmas gifts, helping her with decorations for her card parties. When Maureen agreed to spend the weekend with us I told Karen, "We need a project and I have an idea, but let's keep it a surprise."  I loaded up my grandparent's kraut cutter and purchased 80#s of kraut cabbage!

So when Marilyn, Connie, and Maureen arrived they were greeted with huge heads of cabbage ready to be shredded for make Sauerkraut.

It was such a warm afternoon, we did the messy work outside on the patio.

Marilyn made sure all the air was out of the jars!

We ended up with 50 jars of sauerkraut!

Connie and Garry recently enclosed their deck and we sisters were eager to see the hardwood floors, so we took a Saturday excursion out to the Esser farm.  The floors are beautiful and we each gave our opinion about Connie's emotional attachment to Mom's old furniture still sitting in the living room.

Both couches lived in our Mom's living room.  We gave Connie permission to get rid of the love seat and told her to take the afghan off the recliner. 

The view from the new bay windows

This card from John for Connie & Garry's 26th wedding anniversary sat on the dining room table.

A new gas stove will warm this new space and probably the whole first floor!

We girls took a nice walk around Karen's home while Marilyn took her traditional afternoon nap!

Seeing wildlife on the Stubbs property. 

We are so blessed to have each other, and to enjoy the Moscow Mountain wilderness and celebrate our German heritage.  Maureen's presence made the weekend extra special.  She got some special sleep time and we got to hear sweet stories about her brood.  I like the Ryan stories - he's sleeping in a big bed now and has lots of reasons to get up once he's put to bed.  They tried those safety door knobs, but he even figured that out.  And she says, "he's so different from PJ and Grace who stayed put when we put them to bed.  The Gaeke kid stories help take us away from stories about our ailments.

Don't have the pictures to prove it, but we did tell lots of stories of our childhood and teenage years.  Like, when did you first use deodorant?  Who helped you with the feminine hygiene products when you first started your period?  Tampon or pad?  Some of us have keen memories!  Connie can actually pinpoint transformational times in her childhood and conversion-type experiences.  Not me! I can't even remember some of the memorable moments from the sister's weekend.  Except, that the sauerkraut should be ready by Thanksgiving!!!  

Duane and Anne - 9 years

Happy 9th Wedding Anniversary Duane and Anne

I had the privilege of reading at their wedding, "Beloved, let us love one another......if God has loved us so, we must have the same love for one another."

Anne and Duane had a rather short courtship, finding it difficult to live without each other once they made the commitment.  I think Duane prepared Anne for the changes he expected to happen, such as having children, then possibly moving to Idaho, close to a university,which meant leaving the culture, Flatirons, and eateries of Boulder.  She married him anyway!  They opted for a small wedding where all their guests could witness the ceremony, attend the reception and spend the night at the Alps Boulder Canyon Inn.

Anne gave Mary Pat, her mom, Marilyn, and me the responsibility to decorate this rustic inn.  We found gorgeous chrysanthemum plants and spent hours making a swag to hang above the fireplace, but there was nothing we could do about the deer heads hanging throughout the Inn.  Notice one hanging above Anne's head in the picture below.

We made a big mess in our room at Homewood Suites with all the dried flowers and eucalyptus, but it actually looked great on the fireplace wall.

We took pictures of the Wessels Family

And the McCarthy Family

Anne's sweet Mom, Katie joyfully watched her youngest daughter start a new life knowing she would always treasure her Irish heritage and never give up her maiden name.  Anne coined the unique surname McWessels. 

Anne and Duane walked down a lovely staircase as Patrick played his guitar and the guests sang from the Irish Wedding Song, "and all their loved ones are here to say God bless this couple who marry today."  

I love the words in this song and today, their 9th wedding anniversary I pray and sing, "O God bless this family who started nine years ago today."  

Connie & Garry - 26 years

Happy 26th Wedding Anniversary Connie & Garry!

I swear it took these two love birds 10 years to decide to marry each other.   Garry jokingly said to me less than a year after they were married, "If I'd have only known how great it is to be married to your sister, I'd have married her many years ago."  Connie was almost 34 when they married and she knew what kind of wedding she wanted:  Simple!  I watched her try on several wedding dresses and she always came back to the most simple and affordable one.  And look how gorgeous she looks!  She wanted to honor Garry's farming career so the flowers and decorations were stalks of wheat.

There were no rented tuxedos for this wedding and Joan picked out her own bridesmaid dress.  

This is how the Stan & Bertha Kopczynski family looked back in October of 1986.

This is a rare picture of my Dad, and his siblings and their spouses.  It's just unusual that they were all together for this wedding and sat still long enough for the picture.  I think it speaks to how much they all thought of Connie and believed in the success of her marriage.

Beginning at the left:  Bernard and Maxine, Stan and Bertha, Mary and Les Reed, George and Ruth, Uncle John and Aunt Johanna Engel, Gus and Celestine, Ray and Bethe, Jake and Gertie and Doriene and Joe Jacobs.  Everyone has gone to heaven except Joe and Doriene.  There were 12 children in my Dad's family and all ten survivors were present at this wedding.  My aunts Alvina Wimer and Claire Sager deceased previously.  Notice the quilt hanging behind them.  Back in those days my Mom organized a friendship quilt and we all made blocks that she sewed together and then hand quilted for the bride and groom.

So this marriage, like most, has had many challenges - financial worries, health concerns, and different body temperatures!  Today is also the feast of St. Francis of Assisi and I know the date and the saint mean something to this couple.  St. Francis, lived lightly, with a childlike soul.  He danced and sang in the streets.  He embraced simplicity and non-violence.  He treasured creatures and vulnerable beings.  I think Connie and Garry have modeled their marriage after him - the simplicity, the singing and the way they treasure the vulnerable, children and old people.  Blessings to you this day!