A very dear friend lost her very short battle with leukemia a couple of nights ago. She was admitted to the hospital the first week of June and never made it out. My quilted heart definitely has another seam added to it.
George Ann and I met at our local quilt group meetings. Her mother had been coming for some time but George Ann didn’t really take to quilting until she retired from her job a few years ago. Once she was hooked, it was all over but the sewing!
George Ann went with me to spread some quilted cheer to a retreat that Kathryn Rister had near Abilene, Texas last April. I’m pretty sure we acted like a couple of teenagers, talking the entire way up and back. We instantly found a friendship and it grew from there.
She saw beauty in nature just as much as she saw beauty in living and in people. On our way to the retreat, we had to stop by the side of the road to take some photos of a stunning bluebonnet patch of flowers:
The state flower of Texas, bluebonnets!
George Ann (on left) and Kathryn Rister at a Quilt Retreat.
I am guessing that anyone who came into contact with George Ann found a friend in her. She was so very likeable and loveable! And her love of God and all of His creation was so deeply embedded in her heart. We talked of Bible verses as much as we did about each others’ lives, families and our love of quilting.
On the quilting front, she picked up on it like she’d been doing it her whole life. She occasionally asked me questions but her momma and at least one of her sisters quilted, too, so I’m sure they helped her way more than I did. I taught George Ann how to make string quilts and she absolutely LOVED the idea and asked me to start saving my strings for her. To this day, I still have a “George Ann Strings” bag near my cutting table:
Saving strings for George Ann.
I took a photo of the quilt I was working on last night, I realized I had just witnessed another God moment – I was making a baby quilt out of Texas A&M fabric and George Ann had (at some point over the last couple of years) told me that they were ‘partial to the Aggies’.
When I sent out a plea at Christmas to any of my local friends, asking the to help me trim our Christmas tree – George Ann and her momma were at my doorstep (along with a lovely neighbor) within the hour – even though they had more pressing things on their agenda, a friend is a friend and she was all that and a bolt of fabric!
I also uncovered my super-secret angel on Earth. Ever since my MS diagnosis, I have received an anonymous card with $20 in it, in the mail at the beginning of each month. Without fail. And it always came at a time when I needed it most – for gas in the auto, medications, money for the kids, etc. This month, I did not receive a card…which opened my eyes to the fact that my super-secret angel on Earth is now an Angel in His heavenly Kingdom.
My dear George Ann…I will miss you so very much. Your zest for life helped she me that my attitude for living with MS could be a positive experience. Your love of people helped me see how much friends and family are truly the most precious things we have and hold dear, outside our faith and love in our Savior. Your smile was infectious. And I will continue to save my strings and selvedges in hopes that I can share a little something with the next quilted heart angel you may send in my direction.
Love without ceasing, pray without ceasing and keep your sewing machine humming in heaven!
