My Quilt #27 ~ Mary Ann’s Quilt 2002

Mary Ann’s Quilt 2002

I started this quilt between February and April but didn’t finish it until July 2002. I didn’t make it for anyone in particular, but I had the desire to showcase some floral prints I had in my stash.

There are 24 “Maple Leave” blocks and the design is my own creation.  The quilt was machine quilted “in the ditch” by me. It measures 47 x 66 and consists of 24 “Maple Leave” blocks.

I did eventually give this quilt to my long-time friend Mary Ann to remind her of me and the wonderful times we have shared.  Mary Ann was also my neighbor for many years, and I share our story below.

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Before moving to Corona, I’d lived in E.L.A. for most of my life and lived in the same house for 35 years.  Most of my neighbors also remained the same; and when the parents passed on, their grown children stayed on.  Talk about roots!

I was busy with my own life raising my DD; and between school and work, I didn’t pay much attention to the comings and goings of my neighbors.  One day, I came home to find a toddler boy in our living room watching TV.  Had no idea who he was so I asked my mom. 

“I don’t know his name, “ she says, “but he belongs next door.  He came in and just started watching TV.”

“Well, what do you mean?  He just walked in?” I asked.  “How long has he been here? Do his parents know he’s here?

“Not too long", she says, “but he’ll go home soon.  Yes, his mom knows he’s here.”

Sure enough, he became a regular at our house … and that is how I got to know Matthew and his mom Mary Ann.  I had no idea Mary Ann had moved in with Matthew’s dad and his family next door.  That’s how clueless I was!

So, life went on; and as the years passed, I got married, my father passed, and I had two boys … in that order.  Mary Ann had another boy, and her in-laws passed.  My mother and Mary Ann became very good friends, and so did our children.  But, she and I remained merely acquaintances. 

One day, I saw Mary Ann through her window sitting at her sewing machine.  I stopped by the window for a small chat … and that was how our long-lasting friendship began.

Mary Ann took care of my boys after my mother passed, and I baptized her granddaughter Sarah.  She and I would spend hours talking and discovered that we shared many of the same interests.

And, although I’d looked forward to moving to Corona and a brand new home, it was leaving my best friend behind and the sharing of so many memories that was the hardest.

I don’t see Mary Ann much anymore, but a few years ago we ran into each other at the L.A. County Fair in Pomona … it was divine intervention!  That place is huge and there are hundreds, thousands of folks at the fair.  What were the odds?

Soon after that chance meeting, we got together again to catch up on our lives and I gave her this quilt.  Sadly, we haven’t kept in touch, but I do know that when we meet again, it’ll be as if time never passed.