A Quilting Friend 1989
According to my dictionary, “a friend is one who is personally well known by oneself and for whom one has warm regard and affection.” Such a person came to the Windy Knoll last week for a visit, albeit brief.
A native of St. Louis, my friend moved to Georgia several years ago, and as you might guess, it was quilting that brought us together. From the first day we met, this quilt lover and I have been friends. Something magnetic took place at our meeting and it was as though a lodestone drew the two of us to a point — friendship.
Quilts, quilters and quilting filled the majority of our conversations during her visit, as we quilted and/or planned the next project. One day was spent by visiting a quilt shop and part of another at a local fabric shop. For the witer, a visit such as this is like getting a cold drink of water from a spring in hot weather. Friends are among my most treasured possessions and I am often reminded of some lines from a poem written by Joseph Parry –
Make new friend, but keep the old
Those are silver, these are gold
New made friendships like new wine
Age will mellow and refine.
Cherish friendship in your breast
New is good, but old is best
Make new friends, but keep the old
Those are silver, these are gold.
My friend drinks a lot of hot tea and is always hopping up to prepare it herself and she eats whatever we happen to have, which is another reason John and I both enjoy her visits. When it’s time to leave she changes her bed — isn’t that enough said? What a pleasure to have such a friend and what pleasant memories remain after her departure. A blessing indeed, that the road between our homes is not too long!
A friend: for whom one has warm regard and affection.
2014 note: This dear friend has gone to that great quilting bee on high and oh how I miss her.
2015 note from Russ: Now they are quilting together again in heaven.