Saving the Best Until Last

I have never been shy about informing you all that I am part of the best bee in the world. I am part of other great bees, but Brit Bee is special. It is special for many reasons. Long stories I will not go into, but life has made us what we are much more than the initial bond of sewing that formed the group. There is love and support, and friendship that is strong. We are also blessed in that many of us manage to see each other socially on occasion too. But those of the group who do not get to join in these events are no less treasured. In fact they are treasured all the more as we are aware of them being unable to join in with our get togethers and missed greatly.

This group of ladies caught me by surprise on the weekend though. Totally! Because they presented me with this for my big '0' birthday.

I cannot express how stunning this quilt is. It appeals to me on every level. The beauty of the individual blocks. The low volume background. The amazing quilting by Trudi. But most of all that people I love so much went to the trouble to secretly put it together for me. (God, I'm getting all leaky here writing about it!)

The quilt measures 26" x 34" and is designed to hang in my new sewing space when it is ready. It cannot go anywhere else but. Every time I look at it I will smile. On bad days it will remind me of good things. On good days it will just make me happier. I can never imagine getting tired of seeing it.

I can tell who made some of the blocks, but not all of them - yet. Top row: Laura Jane, ?, Katy. Second row: ?, Ceri, Jo. Third row: Hadley, Judith, Terri. Bottom row: Fiona, ?,?. Did I get the ones I named right, ladies? Can you fill in the missing names, please?

Brit Bee came into my life at a time that I needed these ladies. They make me feel part of something where I belong. I was a bit of a lost soul before. No one I knew sewed. No one really even understood my desire to do so. I was a wife and a mum. I loved that, but this gives me something that is just for myself. And through it I have made the most brilliant friends a person could imagine.

My Brit Bee friends, and all my other sewing friends (many of whom I saw on the weekend) thank you for allowing me to be part of this community. Thank you for being such wonderful friends. Brit Bee, thank you for this amazing gift. I will treasure it always.

But, as it would be wrong without me lightening the mood some, I will show you the other highlight of the weekend. Hadley took a photo of me while the quilt was being presented to me. I am chuffed to bits with the photo, because I now know that my backside looks way better than I realised.

Woohoo! And on that note, I'm off to adore my new quilt.

Susan