My Friend

I haven't made any new progress on the stars. John came home for the weekend, time flew out the winder and nothing more got accomplished.

I've lived here for nearly 15 years, the longest John and I have lived anywhere. We've been nomads making home where the Navy sent us until he retired. In all the years I've had one other close friend. If I moved away tomorrow, came back ten years later, we'd pick up like it was yesterday. Friends like this don't happen very often. She's an only child; I'm the sister she never had. We live across the road from each other. Over coffee we share the good times and the bad times. Her parents have adopted me.

A couple years ago she expressed a desire to learn to sew. I wasn't very encouraging. I thought she would loose interest, but we made a list, picked simple projects, shopped my stash for fabric and were off and running. It wasn't quilting but it was a start. Simple one piece fabric placemats, lines drawn, placemats were born. She took to the sewing machine like a duck to water. She's patient where I am not. Ripping out her mistakes is part of learning, she picks away with a smile on her face and when I make a mistake she picks mine out too. If a technique is to difficult for her, I help her out and we never tell. It's our secret. Come Christmas time, rag quilts and pillowcases, a step towards quilting. Next was getting over her fear of cutting off her fingers with the serger. Another demon conquered and pillowcases flew left and right. Today a new project for her mom's birthday. She doesn't have and would like some spring placemats....a new lesson, log cabins. A quilter is being born, slowly but surely.

Tomorrow will be a fun day taking my mom to her quilting group, having our hair twigged, lunch out and shopping for fabric. I can't think of a better way to spend the day. Happiness is having a friend like Rexene.