I love this bird cloth. There are bits of it here and there in the piles. Bought a long time ago, back when I used to frequent fabric shops.
Janie, a long-gone friend, and I would roam the aisles together, with her toddler daughter in tow, who would reach for the bright cloths, saying "Dandelion!" and "Apple!" Her first words for the colors yellow and red.
Memories of Janie have been flowing the last couple of days. This morning I remembered why, it's her daughter's birthday this week.
During this week the three of us would go blueberry picking, later there would be pie for little L.'s celebration. One year it was unusually hot (just like it is now), and we decided to make orange-peach marmalade, too. Arriving at their house with canning pot, jars, etc..., her husband thought we were crazy. I laughed, "I think it's important that we do this on the hottest day of the year, to remember it!"
L. is in her late twenties now, the age I was when I met her, and then Janie. Here they are stitching together, Janie is working on a quilt for L., there were orcas on it . . .
Janie's been gone eighteen years now. (If you're new here, there are more stories about her in the "Janie" category.)
Gosh, I'm missing her today.
