Sally's Moving Day

Some years back, Sally wrote to ask if I knew how to repair a quilt. Family and ancestors are important to Sally; she had a quilt from her late father's side of the family that she was interested in rejuvenating. Sadly, the quilt, in my opinion, was beyond even palliative care. There were large worn places, holes in the fabric. Clearly, this quilt had been well loved and well used.

This winter, while I was coping with my job loss news, Sally received painful news of her own. The house she had lived in for her entire adult life had been sold and she would have to find a new apartment to live in. In a college town, this can be an enormous challenge. Far from a person of means, it seemed that most of the choices available to Sally were in houses shared with students (not desirable for a woman in her fifties). She had several months notice of the impending change/loss, and she needed every single minute. I agonized as I read of her sadness and frustration on her FB posts.

Early into this time, Sally's brother wrote and asked if I would be willing to make a quilt for him to give to Sally. This isn't something I ordinarily do, but Sally's mom has been an important figure in my life, and sometimes for those important connections we do things we wouldn't normally do.

When John sent me a photo of what he was looking for, it turned out to be the same old threadbare and unusable quilt that Sally had cherished for so long. John wanted a quilt in that spirit, and he wanted it queen size. So I set to work. A big sale at Burkholder's helped with the cost, and encouragement from the White Oak crowd helped as I cut and pieced the seemingly endless blocks.

Today is moving day for Sally, and I just received word that the quilt had been gifted and that she was pleased. I'm sitting here grinning from ear to ear. What a nice thing to have been able to be a part of!