Getting Sentimental

A couple of years ago a dear friend of mine was diagnosed with bone cancer. Despite a valiant effort, she succumbed to her illness last fall, leaving a huge hole in many, many lives. She was determined, practical, no nonsense, funny and very caring and we continue to adjust to life without her. 

In the last months as Lynne went about organizing her affairs, she passed a few items along to be cared for by others, including this quilt. She had no plans for it, she simply wanted to see it completed. Since early January, several of us have been sharing a sentimental journey as we quilt it.

These charming gals with their parasols were made by her mother decades ago and never quite got finished, so that became our task. We added borders and set about bringing everything to life.

Each dress and bonnet is beautifully coordinated and you can imagine the maker selecting just the right combinations. Not surprisingly, there appears to have been a little 'make do' in it as well. If you look closely, the floral print in the bonnet differs every so slightly from the rest of the dress and the parasol.

It's been fun to pick our favourites - this gal in blue is mine.

After adding a few defining line to the skirts and umbrellas the bulk of the stitching is crosshatching. This is the block that I worked on this past Friday.

With any luck it will be wrapped up by the end of this week. Our hope is to get it bound in time for Easter weekend so that it can be given back to her daughter as a memento of both her mother and grandmother. She doesn't know that it's coming, which will make it doubly special....M