Here is a shout out to my friend Helen who is a pioneer woman and a master craftswoman. She takes on some really big crafts projects (at least in my book) and creates amazing masterpieces. One of these areas is in her quilting. I shared her journey (via text) as she created two amazing quilts out of a deceased relative's massive tie collection for his children. Therefore, I wasn't surprised when after my father died, she asked for some of his shirts. From dad's shirts she made my mom this beautiful table runner. Mom proudly has it on display where she sees it every day. After giving her a stack of shirts, I was cleaning out and came across dad's falling apart, Airforce duffle bag and my brother's beloved Bob and Larry t-shirt. I gave my dad (Bob) and brother (Larry) these Bob and Larry for President shirts back in 1996. My brother wore both of them out. I was sleeping in the last one following his death. I got to the point it was time to part with it and the pieces of dad's duffle but couldn't just throw them away. I sent them to Helen and said either she could make something from them or throw them away for me. She has since said that the responsibility of that package was pretty heavy. She also claims that the amazing one of a kind bag that she created from those 2 pieces and a couple of dad's shirts was all God. When this gift arrived two and a half years ago, I wept. There are just no words.
After this gift, I did not expect anything else. So when she kept evading my question of "what you working on?" I did not suspect it would be this next treasured gem. Upon arrival to the Sea View Inn, Helen gave me this quilt made from my dad's shirts. It is a fringe quilt that she says will get only better with time as it is used and washed. She used kitchen and plant themed squares as well as a cow (we originally bonded over a love of cows) and my beloved blue cat Pete.
Once again the love and workmanship that went into this gift is overwhelming. I spent my weekend at the beach curled up in this quilt, thanks to Saturday's chilly breezes. It's warmth goes beyond the physical as the love of the maker and the reminder of my dad make this emotionally cozy. As I write I am sitting on my front porch draped in my beloved quilt. I am so grateful to God for a friend with such amazing creativity and talent as well as her love that prompted such a labor of love for me.
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