Friday, March 24, 2006

Jane and the Cream Puff



My friend, Jane, is a very special friend. She's hung in here with me through the trials and tribulations of the past couple of years, always knows when to offer advice, when to just listen, when to roll her eyes at me so I won't take myself quite so seriously, and, most importantly, has taught me to say, "No, that won't work for me." I'm still practicing that line!

Jane gave me a bag full of fabrics for a present a couple of years ago. I don't remember now if it was Christmas or birthday, but I was delighted with those fabrics. She even included a lovely handwritten note with suggestions for their use. She pulled from her stash all the neutrals, and enough fabric for the sashings, cornerstones and binding.

When I was marathon cutting before my surgery, I decided to take out the neutrals, and I spent a delightful afternoon looking through them. Jane has a stash that would shock the most die-hard fabric collector. Her stash makes mine look pitiful by comparison. But the thing about Jane's stash is there isn't much of what I'd call 'serious' fabric in it. Jane has the most wonderful sense of humor, and her stash reflects that!

Take, for instance, these neutrals. All right, they're neutrals. So what? When you look closer, you see dogs and cats and all sorts of things hidden in there. But the most coveted square in the quilt is the square of frogs! You see, Jane is a frog person. She loves frog fabric, and almost all of her quilts have a frog in them somewhere. I figured I must be a real friend, indeed, if she was sharing her frog fabric with me!

This was another one-handed quilt that was pieced after my shoulder surgery. It's so simple, and yet I just love this quilt. It needs to be laid out flat for a while to get rid of the creases. I think I'll just put it on my bed!

My friend, Jane - my friend.

6 comments:

Granny said...

Jane is a wonderful friend. I've heard so many good things about Jane through the past few years -- even when you were't talking specifically about the good deeds Jane has done, I could read between the lines that she is taking good care of you. And, she even shared her frog fabric!! That is a good friend! :)

Your quilt is great and I think it definitely deserves a stay on the bed for a while.

Judy L.

Linda C said...

one of my all time fav quilt patterns and it looks great in the neutral tones. I need to point my friend Judy to your picture of it.

Cher said...

oh, I would say Jane is a special friend indeed to give you some of her special frog fabric! that is the greatest-when a friend gifts you some perfect fabric from her stash..I think this is a wonderful quilt you made with it...enjoy!

Evelyn aka Starfishy said...

I bet frog fabrics (and neutral frog fabrics to boot) are hard to find! This quilt is very lovely, so soft and subtle. It is nice that you think of your friend Jane when you look at it.

Cheers!

Evelyn

Finn said...

Really a neat, neat quilt Vicky, and such a lovely tribute to you, your friendship and to your friend Jane..*VBS* I LOVE the title...way too clever...LOL

ForestJane said...

Sounds like you know some nice Janes! I've been surprised at just how many quilting Janes there are - it's not a common name anymore, but a disproportionate amount of us seem to be into quilting!

ForestJane