The pink scraps charity quilt top is finished. It feels like it took forever to put the blocks together once I had them pieced individually. I’ve been alternately sewing a lot to occupy my mind, and when not sewing, I’ve been helping out my bestest friend and her husband in her last days.
Sallie was such a vibrant person, always on the go, always doing something to help someone else. She certainly helped me in so many times of need. When my vision problems first came about, she was right there with me, coming to pick me up and take me anywhere I needed to go. Even more recently, she took me to a specialist appointment, a sort of last-ditch effort to see if we could find a cure. It was hours-long testing, and of course, she never complained once. She gave me so many special shirts that she machine-embroidered, and I’m grateful to have tangible memories in addition to the intangible ones that fade over time.
We met when we both worked at the public library. During down times when all the work was caught up, we’d try to find Where’s Waldo, and we had a blast picking out all the items in I Spy picture books. We went on quilting retreats together and always had the best times. When we quit a local quilting group at the same time with a couple of other friends, we made sure that the “Runaway Girls” all still met and hung out. That connection was so important to all of us.
When things opened back up after 2020’s shutdown, we still reserved one day a month to get together at our favorite hangout just to chat and have a bite to eat. During a more recent get-together, we all talked off-hand that if something happened to one of us, the others would have to make sure to help out the spouse left behind. Even though I’ve already been trying to help where I can, I forgot that conversation until last night. Now it feels even more imperative, and one of the best ways to honor her memory.
So, if things are a little sporadic over the coming weeks, know that I’m okay, I just may not have as much to post as frequently for a while. Oh, and I’m saving the clues for Bonnie’s Mystery quilt, but I won’t be starting it now, for now. Maybe in the future, but I already have a lot on my plate, and I don’t need to add that to the mix.