Making Memories with a Dear Friend

Over the many years we've known each other, my dear friend, Harriette, and I have shared many ideas and projects. We have also shared a great deal of joy and, yes, sorrow, most recently the loss of my brother this past October and of her father and mother within the past six months. Our prayers for each other have helped sustain us and our families through some very difficult times. We are seldom without a project, sometimes several, going on. Creating has been a source of therapy and healing for both of us. We have also celebrated the best of times through our creations and made some beautiful memories along the way.  Below (left) is a picture of Harriette and me taken on the day we began our most  recent and, probably, the single largest project we have worked on, to date.  How obvious is it that she was holding the camera in front of us to get this shot? Just one of  many goofy things we have done.  Her sweet mother passed away not long after we began the project from which this post originated. 


Below is the large project I alluded to in one of my previous posts. You can see why I referred to it as a large project. This picture does not show the entire project and it took us a couple of months to complete, mainly because we worked as we could get together for a few hours, here and there. 


The truth is, this is really Harriette's project. I did assist, a little, and I documented with pictures as work progressed, but it was her idea and she provided all the materials(almost all of which she already had on hand). We used her fabulous embroidery machine and her sewing machine for stitching the project together. 

This quilt was made for Harriette's husband, Larry, who had a collection of patches from his boyhood (Boy Scout) days. He also owned a collection of shirts and patches from various sites at which he had worked during his career in security and from various jobs he has been involved with since he retired. Some of these items had been packed away for years and the shirts were just taking up storage space and not being worn. They were mainly for memories' sake but,  as most of us can relate, when something is out of sight, it is not likely we are going to remember it.  Harriette had seen ideas in various places for using tee shirts to make quilts. Larry's shirts were not tee shirts, but other types of knit shirts and even a couple of button-up shirts.What a great idea she came up with to utilize these items to make this "memory" quilt which her husband can use and enjoy! 

If you would like to see how we made this quilt, please, check back for a future post (maybe a couple) and tutorial on how we cut, assembled and sewed this wonderful quilt!

Comments

NanaDiana said…
What a blessing to have a friend that is more than just a friend...almost like family. Love the quilt and what a good idea to make it out of old shirts. xo Diana
Unknown said…
Hi Lynn,
I really liked your pie and wish i could bake one too
I have nominated your lovely blog for a Liebster Award. Read all about it on my blog at mscreations27.blogspot.com
I do hope you visit me
it is nice to have a friend like her with whom you can share your joys and sorrows
nice quilt with lots of memories attached to it
Love Maria
Unknown said…
The quilt looks lovely. How nice that you have such a close friend!

Happy Sunday!
Sarah xo
lynn cockrell said…
Diana, I'm so glad you stopped by to see our quilt! Harriette truly is like a sister to me, honest and candid, especially when it counts. She puts up with my sometimes peculiar ways and overlooks my many short-comings. We had great fun making the quilt.
lynn cockrell said…
Sarah Jane, thanks for coming by and leaving your sweet comments! My friend and I met at work well after we were adults, but she is the best friend I've ever had. She has been such a blessing to me.

Lynn
How wonderful that you have a friend that not only is a true friend but one that you can create with too! Your story touched my heart. This quilt is fantastic! What a beautiful memory keeper. I am sorry for your loss Lynn. I'm glad you have Harriette to lean on and she on you...take care and keep us posted on this project!
o wow, that's a great project Lynn, so nice to do that together with your friend. Hugs, Wendy
Wow the memories this post is bringing back....my grandmother (who used to sew all the time along with my mother) made all of her grandkids a quilt made out of our old pajamas....I still have mine, even tho it's falling apart...lol. I do wish I cold hand sew or use a sewing machine to repair it. I love the colors that you both are using, they will span the test of time...such a great tradition and wonderful memories you're making!
Patty said…
That's so wonderful that you two have each other to lean on. What a special friendship. The quilt is wonderful. We had one made of my step-dad's shirts for my mom after he died.
What a sweet picture of love and friendship the two of you make! Sharing and caring is what true friendship means and it sounds as if the two of you are great at both. The quilt is a wonderful way to display the patches so they can be enjoyed anytime by Harriette's family. I am very sorry for the losses in your families but happy that you support each other. I look forward to the next big project from you and your friend.
lynn cockrell said…
Diana, I'm tickled that you came by to check things out. Harriette is like family to me. I was over at her house yesterday and we are working on putting a tutorial together, which I hope to post on soon. Have a great day!
lynn cockrell said…
Nicole, I appreciate your coming by and leaving the kind comments. My friend and I are tied together at the heart, not only by love, but thread and fabric and a whole bunch of other wonderful things! I stopped by your blog a few minutes ago and tried to leave a comment about your wonderful recipes. I got some sort of error when I hit the publish button. I will try again. Have a gorgeous and fruitful day!
lynn cockrell said…
Wendy, I'm glad you came by and thanks for leaving your kind comments. We had a wonderful time making the quilt and her husband really likes it a lot. I was over at her house yesterday and we are working on getting a tutorial ready to post. It was great hearing from you and I hope your day will be filled with beauty and love!
lynn cockrell said…
Christine, I'm so happy you came by! Thanks for the nice comments about the quilt. What a lovely story about your grandmother and mother and the PJ quilts! They were really thinking ahead about making some wonderful memories for you. Your grandmother and mother sound like such special and loving people. I know you treasure your wonderful quilt. Thanks for sharing this beautiful story with me and my readers!
lynn cockrell said…
Patty, I really appreciate your stopping by and commenting on the quilt. How wonderful that you had the quilt made for your mother with your step-dad's shirts! That was a beautiful way to honor him and to comfort your mother, something she could not only have to look at and remember, but could actually hold and experience some of the closeness and comfort she once felt from his presence. It is wonderful to hear how people have used quilts to preserve memories. Thank you so very much for sharing this wonderful story and idea with me and my readers. Have a happy and blessed day!
lynn cockrell said…
Shannon, thanks so much for stopping by my little corner and leaving your much appreciated and insightful comments. We two have great fun together. I was over at her house yesterday and we are working on the tutorial. Thanks for your condolences about our loved ones. My brother was stricken with AML. I miss him terribly. Harriette's father and mother were wonderful people and I was blessed to have known them. God bless you, Shannon, for always uplifting us with your blog and with your sweet comments.
Lynn,
Thanks so much for stopping by...

I am doing okay... I started riding my new exercise bike and have started a healthy eating program...

The only Easter decorations that I made in this post was the wreath and the embellished egg box on the round table. The rest were all store bought....

Hugs,
Deb
Holly Lefevre said…
What a great project! How fun to have a friend to work with!
Lynn,
I realized my comments weren't "sticking" because I'm quick to close the screen before comment verification comes on. Anyway, just thought I'd let you know so you didn't think I had stopped coming by. I'll take my time and do the comment verification now!

Love the quilt and the story of your friendship. That kind of bond is so special and comes along so rarely in life. I look forward to seeing more projects you girls create together!
lynn cockrell said…
Jessica, I've had a several people mention that I had double verification on comments. Heaven only knows how that happened because I certainly don't! I hope that has been corrected so maybe things will go more smoothly. Thanks for helping me out. You've heard the expression "Nobody is going to tell me I know what I'm doing." That's me, I don't know what I'm doing! I'm glad you like the quilt. All the credit goes to my wonderful friend, as all I did was help out a smidgen and too pictures to document for a post coming up soon. Have a beautiful Easter with your sweet family!
lynn cockrell said…
Thanks, Holly. It was fun to help out with this project. I'm about to get started with a tutorial on how it was created and hope to post about the process soon. Have a blessed Easter!
Laurie said…
How wonderful to have such a great friend! The quilt project is a great one. My husband is a triathlete and has lots of t-shirts from different races and I've often wondered about making a quilt out of them for him. Thanks for the inspiration, Lynn. Happy Easter!
lynn cockrell said…
Laurie, I'm so happy you stopped by and left your sweet comments. It sounds like you have some wonderful material to start a quilt and it would be a wonderful and useful way for your husband to remember all the great runs he participated in. We had a great time working on the quilt. It took a few weeks, working over 3 or 4 days, not counting all the squares Harriette cut out on her own when I wasn't there. I hope to get that tutorial posted very soon.
Have a blessed Easter with your family and loved ones!
Mom E. said…
This is beautiful, Lynn!
It's such a blessing from above
to share your life
with friends that love.
I have a few friends like you have with Harriette, and I just could not live without them! Thanks for sharing your projects, pictures and friendship with us! It warms my heart for your hearts!
Hugs,
Betsy

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