P. Buckley Moss e-newsletter

Dear Friends:

What a festive weekend it was! We had four Christmas trees at The Barn, one great, big one and three smaller ones, all decorated with ornaments made by students from Westwood Hills Elementary School. The students, their family members, their principal, and their teachers came to The Barn Saturday morning for a tree lighting ceremony. It was a joy to see the delight on the children’s faces as they found their ornaments on the trees. The ornaments were all of a nautical theme, so we had fish, starfish, jellyfish, octopi, whales, and many more sea creatures on our trees. The ornaments were all very creative, and the children were so enthusiastic and excited.

The biggest of the Barn’s four Christmas trees. Aren’t the ornaments adorable!

Each child wanted to find his/her ornament on the tree, and everyone pitched in to help look.

This little girl had a hard time finding her ornament, but we finally found it.

Our friend Randy Myers, a past president of the P. Buckley Moss Foundation for Children’s Education’s Board of Directors, joined in the search for ornaments.

It was great to see so many families and their love and support for one another—and Hokie fans, too!

Even some proud grandparents came out.

L. to R.: Westwood Hills Elementary School art teacher Beth Lint, me, and my daughter Ginny. Ginny coordinated the ornament project and also decorated The Barn and the trees.

The fireplace at The Barn, decorated for Christmas, including the precious sleigh made for me by my Florida friend Peter Coppola.

I was delighted to see my friend Julia Clayton Barrett of Hamlin, West Virginia (in the periwinkle shirt) and her friend Tammy Walker. Julia is a wonderful cross stitcher and helped us with the development of our Heavenly Grace Counted Cross Stitch Chart. She made me the delightful, personalized keychain I’m holding in the picture.

Saturday night’s celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the P. Buckley Moss Society was absolutely wonderful and a great kick-off for the Christmas season. The dancing was great, and three days later my feet still hurt—I only dance once a year—but what fun! Even after two days of showing, the party gave me renewed energy. The food was especially nice, provided by The Everyday Gourmet of Harrisonburg, Virginia. They were excellent and very pleasant.

We had such fun on the dance floor!

Shirley Collins, President of Pat’s Blue Goose Chapter and the Society’s Chapter Coordinator, and I admired the birthday cakes, one chocolate and one vanilla.

My girls had the best time bidding on everything and following everyone around, bidding them up. There were approximately 45 donated items for the silent auction alone, and the combined total brought in by the silent and live auctions was approximately $6,300. The proceeds benefited the P. Buckley Moss Foundation for Children’s Education.

L. to R.: me, Peggy Goodwin (past member of the Society’s Board of Directors), and May Johnson. We were calling dibs on the auction items. May beat me out of (yet again) another quilt. It’s a good thing we’re such good friends!

Our live auction.

It was so good to have so many of my family there who enjoy people they’ve met over the years. Friends came from Iowa, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, Tennessee, and all over Virginia. My daughter Mary and her friends were especially excited, because they are all planning on staying with me in St. Petersburg, Florida, when Virginia Tech plays in Orlando in January. I’ll have a full house.

It was fun, everyone, let’s do it again! We are currently planning a Collectors’ Convention for Memorial Day Weekend at The Hotel Roanoke in Roanoke, Virginia.

Sunday morning we had our annual Christmas breakfast with local chapters of the Society at The Barn before I started signing for collectors. This has become an annual tradition, organized by the Moss on the James Chapter, which is based in Richmond. Also joining us this year were members of Pat’s Blue Goose, Moss at Monticello, Moss in the Valley, and even one member from the Central Iowa Chapter. Our “Christmas Breakfast Club” seems to grow bigger each year.

Some of the mouthwatering goodies for our Christmas potluck breakfast.

Members of the Moss on the James Chapter, who organize our annual Christmas potluck breakfast.

This weekend I’ll be in Columbus, Ohio, for my show with all my fabulous friends at Gallery Art Center. Friday evening, we’re having a fundraising dinner to benefit the Stynchula Family Foundation for Autism, and we’ll release my new Autism Awareness Poster.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this poster during Gallery Art Center’s show will benefit the Stynchula Family Foundation for Autism. For more information on the fundraising dinner and the poster, please contact Gallery Art Center at 614-442-1109.

Gallery owner Suzi Campbell and I will also release Another Maize and Blue Meltdown, honoring Columbus’ beloved Buckeyes, during our show on Saturday.

Another Maize and Blue Meltdown will be released during my show with Gallery Art Center in Columbus, OH, on December 8. For more information, please contact the gallery at 614-442-1109.

Love,
Pat

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