Aw...Mondays The Quilt love is... Sparks

 Aw...Mondays

This nosey boy follows me everywhere. He is grateful Franklin went home yesterday. But Franklin lost interest in him the first few times they engaged each other. The feeling of dislike is intense although Franklin was sad his big brother Leo was no longer here to entertain him.  I was getting a photo of the morning sunrise. 

This quilt was made by my late mother-in-law Rita. She loved red and so does my sweet husband. Although the quilt square side is rust colored,  it matches our bedroom decor for Autumn perfectly. But I see red in so many of the squares. My mother-in-law, a little farm girl was an amazing seamstress and sewed all of her own drapes and curtains too.  What a gift, a beautiful legacy to keep us warm in the cold winter months.  My sister-in-law Lucy is a gift giver. She always finds the best gifts she brings to us and her homemade banana bread is the best ever!

On this date in 2009 Suzanne and Sue blogger friends sent me a beautiful quilt made of teacups that Suzanne created. Sue had the long arm to finish the quilting process so I was truly  blessed by their love and will cherish it forever. We had finished the Memory Quilt project for the precious three year old Shannon who passed away from a rare brain cancer in 2009.  Over 200 bloggers sent squares to Suzanne to create the quilt. Some bloggers told me not to do it. Not to invade the privacy of the little girl's loved ones. I prayed about it and God gave me the go ahead.

At first the phamily did not want to accept our gift but as Suzanne was packing the quilt up she received a message from the aunt who said the parents decided they wanted the quilt as a memory quilt for Shannon. We were so happy ! Joyful and so grateful to  send this gift off to them. 

You do not even know the stories each quilt square held and the memories it gave to those who created each square. I am so grateful to every single person who participated. It was a very emotional time for all of us and banding together helped each person heal from their own sadness as well bring a bit of sunshine to a phamily so grieved by their child's loss. 

I will be forever grateful to my friend Dr. T, Kozue Tyler who told me Shannon's story. I will always love Suzanne and Sue for working so tirelessly to create this one of a kind gift.  I hold each person who sent a square in my heart forever and always. It was a great joy to give something so valuable for the phamily to have in remembrance of their lost child. 

14years later I feel like I did the day we started on that quilt journey. What memories. I had posted about it but with my lack of tech  skills, I am not sure how to find my post and share it again.   

I wish I had listened to Edna   who created a new blog book for herself and her loved ones each year. Then I would have those 2009 October posts to reshare.  I have lost so many dear friends and Edna is one of them. She passed away this year along with my friends Jean (Texas) and Maria (Denver). It is so hard to lose friendships and people you meshed with. 

Oh the memories. love is... is always here for me. 

Finally some beautiful words from Susan,. a hometown friend who shared these words with me.  For Sparks:

"The best of sleep beneath Heaven above is under a quilt handmade with love."