New Quilts

Last summer my Mom began making quilts for my girls to be given to them for Christmas. She had asked me about the colors of their rooms and what they liked. When we visited her, she sneaked me back into her sewing room. I marveled at the colors and creativity she was putting into the pieced tops. She was using the pattern-Yellow Brick Road. She had taught a class using this same pattern. It was the third set of quilts for my girls and this time they would be unique to their personalities. She choose cats for Elizabeth, fish for Hannah and butterflies for Rebecca.

In late October, my Mom died suddenly of a heart attack. My Mom's declining health had burdened her for many years. She battled diabetes for almost thirty years. Our family was still unprepared for the hole her absense left in our hearts. Her sewing room was the hardest room to be in-all the life and love in these unfinished quilts was powerful. My Mom shared her love of quilting with a lifelong friend and godmother to our family, Lynn. She came when my Mom died and stayed for a month sorting through her quilt projects and helping out our family. When she left to go home, she took these quilts with her. Over the next several months, Lynn finished the tops and quilted the quilts. Last week a large box arrived at my door. I knew it had the quilts inside. It sat in my office for days before I could open it. Quilting was such a huge part of who my Mom was, how she expressed herself. If you have a quilter in your life, you know what I am talking about. She always was contemplating the next quilt, scheming about her next fabric shop stop and getting ready for her quilting classes. Opening that box was so bittersweet. All the love and devotion that was put into those quilts by my Mom and Lynn was AWESOME! I only wish my Mom was there to enjoy the girls' faces. It was a special moment to see the quilts finished, to share with the girls the story of how they were finished, and to finally find the secret message Lynn quilted on each of t