Friendship and.....Cathedral Quilts

Hello lovelies. I hope you are all well and I hope for those of you who have been bombarded by avalanches of snow over the last little while, that Spring has decided to greet you with it's warm smile; bringing with it all the pretty flowers that herald Spring's appearance.

The weather down here at the bottom of the world has been warm, and yes, the garden is still greeting me with flowers of loveliness each morning. Though in saying this, the days are shortening and it won't be long till Autumn is in its full regalia, dressing all the trees with gorgeous frocks of layer upon layer of rustling, taffeta-like leaves of burnished golds, russet reds and burnt siennas.

But, the purpose of this post is not to chat about the weather, nor the flowers (I would've thought I have talked enough about the flower kingdom over the last little while....though I cannot say for certain that a vase or two of flowers will not appear later on....=) ), but to chat about the stitching I have been doing on my Cathedral Window quilt, oh, and about friendships. At the beginning of the year I decided I wanted to finish all those quilts that I had started over the last couple of years. With my unfinished Cathedral Window sitting in my cabinet beside my bed for a while now, I have decided I am going to do my darndest to finish it. Although these pretties, the Cathedral Window and the hexie (another incomplete pretty) look so pretty sitting in my cabinet, I would much rather see them resting atop my bed.

Every fortnight my good husband and I visit friends of ours, and spend the most enjoyable day at their home. Both my husband and I get on famously with our friends. Indeed, it feels as if we have known them forever but really it has only been a little while. My husband helps Gary in his garden, or lends a helping hand in renovating their home, or indeed, at this time of the year goes foraging for wood in the bush. It won't be too long now until both our fires are gobbling up wood faster than those old chainsaws can churn out an acceptable quota of logs. It takes a huge forest to keep my tippy toes warm in winter. =)

As for me, I enjoy the most wonderful day sitting and chatting with Anne, whilst we both stitch and sip cups of tea in pretty teacups; taking a break at lunchtime and walking to a nearby art gallery cafe for lunch. Yes indeedy, Anne is a gal after my own heart. We both share and love many of the pleasantries of life. We both adore stitching, fashioning pretty after pretty and both slip into apoplectic shock when our eyes gaze upon a pretty fabric. Though I seem to need the oxygen tank more than she. =) Indeed, both our heads seem to exist in them-arty-farty, textile clouds. We both love God and have a deep faith, and have both walked many a road with Jesus over the years; alongside Him, and more often than not in those impossible times, carried by Him. We both are of a similar age, surviving our childrens' trudging through that interminably long, foggy tunnel of pubescent insanity, finally arriving at the other end; and having flown the coop, making their way in life, making their own choices. We have both survived the travails of teenage angst......just!

When my good husband and I left the cacophonous, concrete jungle of Sydney to make our new home in a far rural outpost in Tasmania, we left behind dear friends. Dear friends whom we have known most of our adult lives; one "forever friend" I have known since I was five years old. Dear friends where we enjoyed that special friendship of like minds, beliefs and shared interests. These friends I stitched with, enjoyed many an old movie with, belly laughed until it hurt, discovering bric-a-brac shops together, holidayed together, cafe-ing together and many heart to heart conversations about our faith, our children......and a million and one other things. You know the kind of friends, where on a Saturday or Sunday arvo we would pop by each others' homes to enjoy a cuppa and conversation. Though we have kept in touch and many have packed their gear for their survival kit bag and braved the wilds and natives of Tassie to come and stay with us in our humble abode, I do miss the camaraderie of those spur-of-the-moment visits; those quick decisions of visiting each other. I love my life here in Tassie and though I would never live in Sydney again....(one should never say "never", should one) the day-to-day, easy friendships with kindred spirits are deeply missed. These easy friendships based upon much laughter and shared interests, friendships that have taken a lifetime to foster and nurture, are deeply missed. These friends whom know so, so many of my stories because they have lived them with me as they have been written. Happy stories, sad stories, hilarious stories, triumphant stories, touching stories, miraculous stories.......so, so many stories; these are the friendships that are cherished.

Anyway........on the last couple of visits to Anne's home, I have been working on my Cathedral Window quilt and Anne has been working on a lovely applique flower quilt.

Why oh why did I ever start stitching a cathedral window quilt?? Cathedral windows are not for the faint-hearted, indeed, there have been many times I have been faint of heart whilst stitching this pretty. It just seems to take forever.

When stitching a cathedral window quilt one has to spend an inordinate time ironing, in this case 12" squares of fabric into little 4" envelopes.

Then one cuts out little squares of a jumble of pretty fabric and with a backing of batting fits them into the envelope, turns the edges of the envelope over, making a frame and then machine stitch around the frame. Easy enough, but if you are a persnickety gal like me, the imperfections are a tad annoying.

The stitching of each strip seems to take such a protracted amount of time. Each strip is joined to the larger section of the quilt and then after the little windows are inserted, the stitching around each frame is completed.

Hallelujah.....another three strips joined and then stitched to the larger quilt. I can see that finishing line inching.....inching ever so much closer!

Friendships centred around shared interests and passions are a delightful thing. Friendships when one can chat about deep and personal things and know for a surety that what is  spoken of and revealed will go no further, is indeed a most gratifying thing. Indeed, this kind of friendship, this kind of rapport can be a rare and most wonderful thing.

Anne's and my friendship is one one that uplifts and warms the cockles of my li'l ole heart. I find our stitching days to be filled with laughter, tete-a-tete conversation without the need of scuttlebutt; with a  joy of  shared interests and life experiences. We are kindred spirits. It is rather a splendid thing to meet kindred souls as we walk along the yellow brick road of life, don't you think?? It is a wonderful thing to walk along the bendy path of life, to write new and fun stories with kindred friends that one meets along the way, who share the path for a little of the journey.

Already, I am looking forward to  my next stitching day with my friend; looking forward with delight to enjoy a little more stitching of my cathedral window quilt. Perhaps within the next little while, my Cathedral Window will be sitting atop my bed with a jubilant Hallelujah Chorus filtering down from the heavens. Well.......miracles do happen. 

Until the next time........may you enjoy many moments of kindred friendship over the next li'l while, and enjoy a lovely chat with your friend over a cup of tea in a pretty tea cup.