Quilts of Friendship...

Boy it is cold outside today (-25 Celcius and there is a cold north wind)and yet, my dear friend L.,and I braved the cold and wind and did some errands and had lunch and tea together. We did visit some of our favorite quilt stores (though not all of them) and I managed to buy (mostly anyway) fabric, that has a particular purpose for some more immediate quilts. I even managed to go into a fabric store, twice in the last two weeks, without buying any fabric or sewing items.(Now that is some kind of a miracle...LOL or, maybe I have reached fabric stash satisfaction/satiation HMMMM....)

Today, I also got some Christmas shopping done, and found some things that will be part of my Secret Santa gifts for our Secret Santa week at work. I still am struggling to find things that I would like for my husband and my son- I have things for other dear people- I guess I am saving the best for the last...

My friend L., is very generous with her time and we always have fun looking at fabric and checking out patterns. I can hardly wait to see the current quilt that she is working on. It is a pattern called The Long and Winding Road (The Quilter magazine- January 2004),that, I have made twice before. The pattern is a bargello pattern that makes a generous queen sized quilt. L.'s fabric choices are all batiks and I am sure that it is going to be stunning. Another day I shall post my versions of this particular quilt.



Today I have posted a quilt that is soft and muted. It was part of a series of 4 pinwheel quilts that I made around 2004-2005. I started out making floral pinwheels and this particular quilt ended up being a very light quilt. It was a template quilt, where I happened to get overzealous cutting the pinwheels. I ended up with enough blocks for two quilts that were floral pinwheels and two that had batik pinwheels.(I need to practise my counting skills :D)

I gave this version to a dear friend, Jan, who has since lost her battle with ovarian cancer. It will two years this week since she left us and I still miss her presence in my life. When she was first diagnosed, we were preparing for some fundraising events so that our boys could go overseas to attend a Boy Scout Eurojam being held in Chelmsford, England in the summer of 2005.(My son did end up attending the jamboree and loved it. Unfortunately her son, was not able to enjoy that same experience).
During the last two years of her life, Jan and I spent many happy times together enjoying old movies, cups of green tea, and endless conversations about our families, life and the world around us. She taught me many lessons about the importance of living in the moment and appreciating the beauty in that surrounds us in everyday things. I miss her sense of fun and interesting observations.

Making quilts for others is a pleasurable experience for me- Today I bought fabrics for a texture quilt that I saw posted on adventures of a quilting diva blogspot(link is on the sidebar). I want to make this quilt for my mother in law, B. who has Alzheimer's. The fabrics I bought are not the typical kinds of fabric I would buy for a quilt- there are sparkly fabrics and bumpy fabrics and lacy ones too -most of them will not be cottons- It will be an interesting challenge for over the Christmas break.

Last night I had the privilege of going to a concert with my good friend, V. We enjoyed some wonderful seasonal music and time together. Bruce kindly acted as our chauffeur as I do not enjoy driving, especially when the weather is inclement and unpredictable.
The signs of the seasons are beginning to surround us- the houses in the community around us are covered in Christmas bulbs and decorations. Pink and red poinsettias provide rich color in our home..

I feel blessed to have such wonderful family and friends- They fill up my life's quilt with sumptious colors and patterns. The caring and kindness of loved ones is the true gift of this special season - I hope that your circumstances are equally as fortunate...

Happy Quilting
Regards,
Anna