Thursday, August 14, 2014

Friends

I haven't seen my friend Lucie since we moved from Ontario to Nova Scotia almost four years ago.  A lot of water has flowed under the proverbial bridge since then.

Lucie and I were best crafting buddies and we used to get together several times a week over copious cups of tea to stitch, craft, paint, hexie and whatever else struck our fancy at the time.  We loved to surprise each other with our own hand crafted gifts and "stuff" that we had picked up on our travels.

We moved and subsequently lost touch for a couple of years.  Then I became ill and the weeks, months and years passed by much too quickly.  During this time and unbeknownst to me, Lucie was following my blog and knew about my health issues.

A couple of months ago, Lucie took the initiative to contact me and we've been in contact almost every day since.  Even though the miles separate us, we seem to have picked up right where we left off and have been exchanging hand made gifts and quilting/craft related surprises through the mail.

Earlier this week, Lucie and her husband Pierre came to visit for a couple of days by taking a very long detour while on their way to attend a wedding in Prince Edward Island.  While Mr. Painted Quilt and Pierre went sight seeing, Lucie and I hit the local quilt shop and rug hooking studio and she did her best to improve the local economy.

Lucie and I have the same tastes in decorating which transcends itself to fabric and "stuff" as well.  We never have a problem finding goodies to buy for one another, and this visit proved to be no exception.

Would you like to see all the goodies that Lucie gifted to me?

Of course you would!

Let me unpack the bag.



Look at the fabric...and this is not all of it!

Some novelty, sewing-themed fabric from which I have already cut out a project that I'm going to make for each of us...



And some Jo Morton Civil War fabric.  L-O-V-E that cheddar!



And doo-dads.  We both love doo-dads.



Buttons, tags and lots and lots of other "stuff".  

One can never have too much STUFF!

Our two day visit was over much too quickly.  We have plans to meet up at the Vermont Quilt Festival next June and of course to continue messaging one another on our iPads and surprising each other with gifts in the mail.  On Sunday mornings when we're both available, we have a standing "Facetime" date where we'll share what we've accomplished with the projects we're working on...except for designated surprises, of course.

At the end of two days, we bid each other a fond "adieu", not goodbye.  True friends are a blessing and I am indeed blessed to have Lucie as a friend.


Happy stitching!

24 comments:

gracie said...

How wonderful!

Nancy said...

What a wonderful story!!! The gift of friendship is a treasure. I can relate to your story because my dear friend and I lost touch for a few years while our children were growing up; but now are as close as ever. We chat on the phone when we can't always get together. We even share the same birthday!!! We usually celebrate that with lunch and a visit to a quilt shop.

http://thankfullga447 said...

Friends are the best, you live near a rug hooking shop? You had fun and that is great.

Jeanna said...

True friends always find their way back to each other even if it is just through email, phone, etc. I enjoyed reading your story and seeing your gifts from Lucie.

Karen said...

The bag itself looks very interesting. I like the red birds.

Lesley said...

Wonderful that you were able to reconnect with such a good friend. Sounds like you had a fantastic visit and will continue having lots of fun times with your friend swaps and talks!

Kathy MacKie said...

I'm so happy your were blessed with a forever friend and it always help to have a partner in quilting shenanigans!

pinsandneedles said...

Great story of true friendship! Thanks for sharing Kaaren!

paulette said...

Loved hearing about you re-connecting with your good friend!! Very touching!
P

Janet O. said...

What a nice "friendship" story. Lots of fun gifties! : )

margaret said...

how good to have relit this friendship, must have been lovely to have a friend you did so much with, hopefully you will link up with someone local to where you are now to spend time with, I too am searching for a stitching friend, so far no luck

Denise said...

A friend is a gift, you are luck!
Your friend has a great taste like you... I love ceddar too!!

Anonymous said...

It's priceless to have friends like that. I live in Sweden an shave two dear friends in the USA that I email and text whenever and that I was extremely lucky to meet IRL in Houston. Oh and we do send surprise gifts too :)

Flickenstichlerin said...

You must have had such a great time, I can feel it.
Have a few friends that live far away, we all meet once or twice a year at my house, and we get homesick for oneanother.
Greetings,
Sylvia

Lilian Pilar said...

Los amigos son el mejor regalo...
y los que has recibido preciosos
bsbs
con Amor Lilian Pilar

Barb said...

what a great goodie bag! How nice to connect with a good friend. Glad you had a nice visit!

Kathy ... aka Nana said...

What a fabulous story! So glad you were able to reconnect.

Chloe2 said...

We hear of so many bad things that happen to people and hardships, etc. that is was uplifting to hear your story. I think a person is blessed to have at least one good friend or kindred spirit.

Me and My Stitches said...

How awesome that you and Lucie were finally reunited! I love true friends - the ones that time doesn't change. Love the bag of goodies that she brought you - what fun!

Wendy Caton Reed said...

How special! It reminds me of one of my favorite childhood sayings, Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold. BTW, I made your cauliflower pizza last night and it was the BEST pizza I ever ate. Thank you!
Wendy

Margs Primitive Quilts said...

Wonderful that you two connected again. Great gifts! We always need our friends!
Hugs Marg.

Samplings from Spring Creek said...

Time spent with a dear friend is always special--so happy the two of you have not the miles separate you!

Candee said...

I love this post. When we relocated I left my best friend 10 hrs away. I still miss sharing stitching & chatting together so much. It's wonderful that you reconnected.

Quiltgal said...

What a great tale. It is wonderful when you can reconnect with a good friend.