When we moved from the Salt Lake Valley nearly seven years ago I left behind a group of long-time friends. Several of them I have not seen since then—until today. We met at Kristine’s house and for three hours the conversation was non-stop.
We began as a diverse group of ten women at an applique class in 1987. Some of us still had young families at home, while others were retired. In a very short time we became fast friends. Through the common bond of quiltmaking we had met, but it was the sharing and caring on a more personal level that united us. When our class ended after one year the class members unanimously insisted that we continue to meet. As their teacher, I agreed on the condition that they each make a quilt for the book I was then writing about red and green applique quilts. They did, and we, the Red and Green Girls, were launched.
Meeting once each month in different members homes we shared stories, quilts, joys and sorrows, tips, and recipes. Over the years we laughed, cried, and even prayed together one windy December night for a lost quilt that was found the next morning in the gutter in front of a house two doors down. We have cheered each other on through life-altering changes, family tragedy and more. When one member had a need, one or two of us was there to lend a hand and to alert the others. The role of giver and receiver was rarely the same and yet it was always the right combination for the circumstances.
Two of our members have passed away, but the bond between us is unchanged. As Kristine said this morning, “I don’t think of us as a quilting group, we are friends who have that interest in common.”