The Little House Out Back

 

"Velma's Sheets" quilt, made with love by my friend Sherry

The other day was, mmmm, long. In the middle of it, though, sitting there in the doctor’s office (not for myself), waiting, I got a text from my friend Sherry telling me she and her husband were passing through town that very minute. They live down south a few hours away and were on their way to a funeral up north, and had spent the night in Monterey. We rarely have the opportunity to see one another, so we tried to meet up for lunch earlier, but it just wasn’t in the stars. So when she texted me, it made me a little sad to think they were so close yet so far. A couple of minutes later, I look up and happened to catch a glimpse of her husband at the wheel, pulling into the tiny parking lot of the doctor’s office! They said they couldn’t just drive by without at least stopping long enough to give me a hug. A few of those and “you’re so awesome, you guys” later, they were gone.

Close-up of one of the squares, look at those lovely, even stitches!

When I got home my daughters brought me a quilt my friend had dropped off at the house on their way out of town. She made it out of tiny squares cut from vintage sheets that were her Aunt Velma's, a long-time friend of mine, whom we lost a few years ago to cancer (and momma to Patches, our dog we put to sleep this week). When I wondered why she would go to the trouble of bringing it to my house instead of giving it to me when she saw me, my daughter said, “Because she wanted you to open it when you were home where you could enjoy it and be happy.”

I have no words that describe such a gift as this.

P.S. Sherry very cleverly names all of her quilts and dubbed this one “Velma’s Sheets.” I did a crappy job of scratching out edited out our last names, not so much for my privacy, but for my friend’s.