Quilting Comfort

When my mom was younger she associated with a group of girls who called themselves "The Ten Old Maids". Throughout the years they have remained friends although they all married and went their ways. A few weeks ago one of the "Old Maids" passed away. One of the other old maids asked my mom to make a quilt in her honor. My mom cranked out a beautiful quilt in about two days. I didn't see it but she told me that in the quilting she had quilted an angel and the words, "Friends are Forever". Knowing my mom and the artistic talent she has I'm sure the quilt was beautiful. The old maids who were able to come to the funeral took part in the services and placed the quilt in the coffin before she was buried.
On Wednesday I had a phone call from a gal I go to church with. She called asking for my help with a quilt. Another gal in our ward recently lost a baby that was only about 18 weeks along. It was conceived by IVF and was the couple's first child. My friend wanted to present her with a quilt that she and those who came to visit could tie. That sounded like something I could do. The only problem was that she wanted it the following day. I looked around my sewing room and found some beautiful fabric and said "yes", thinking I could get some of my quilting friends to help me put it together.
I already had a busy morning ahead. I had agreed to babysit my friend's two kids all morning and they would arrive soon. I took my fabric and cutting supplies downstairs and called my first quilting friend. She offered to send out an e-mail to the rest. I thought that would save some time and agreed. I cut as many squares as I could while watching the kids play. By mid-afternoon there were no replies and I worried that my quilting friends would not be able to come on such short notice so I started piecing the quilt. By early evening it was evident that I would be putting this quilt together myself.
I worked on the quilt until about 10 p.m. and picked it back up the next morning. By 11 a.m. it was finished! I just had to run to JoAnn's to buy fabric for the back and also the batting and yarn.
I was amazed at how much I liked the quilt. When I first started laying out the blocks I wasn't sure if it was a good combination. I had just enough fabric for the border. In fact, I miscalculated and didn't have enough strips. I looked back through my stash and found another strip that was already cut to the size I needed! It was a miracle. This quilt was surely meant for this wonderful lady.
This is one of the reasons I love quilting so much. It is a service than not everyone can give and it shows love in a unique way. When I get the quilt back to bind I will take a picture and post it.