Gladrox Quilts: Quilts for The Girls

The Girls in Maine with Claire and her quilt
Audrey, Gail, Betty, Me, Mary, Claire, Kim, Jean

These quilts started out as 50th Birthday gifts for each of my 6 friends known affectionately to our families and each other as "The Girls". I have had the same group of friends for what seems like my whole life. In fact the some in the group have been friends since the first grade. I was the late comer showing up in the third grade when my parents moved the family back to the town where they had grown up.

The Girls mean the world to me! Each one is unique and brings her special brand of caring and strength to the group. We have supported each other through all of life's joys and challenges with a hug or a reality check. What ever you need they have it!

In recognition of our special bond I decided to make each of them small a quilt for their 50th birthdays. I figured that would be a breeze because I'm the oldest in the group so I turned 50 first. I started shopping for fabrics the year before the big date. I visited quilt shops and attended shows with a new focus - find a novelty fabric that represented the unique personal and interests of each of The Girls. Five years later I'm finally finishing all the quilts!

Somehow I have managed to keep these projects a secret from all of them over the course of several years. None of them are quilters but they often ask me what I'm working on. Believe me it was hard not to let the cat out of the bag because we share stuff about our activities all the time! So at a recent gathering of The Girls - hosted by Gail! - I gave her the first quilt and told the rest of them that they would each be getting a quilt but not until their next birthday.

Since I don't want them to see the quilts until they are delivered I'll post them after I give them out.

Memories in the Words for Mary