We loved Johanna. She was a member of the Charlotte Irish Quilters and a special friend. In September she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer...not a good thing. Did it keep her down?? No it did not. She had a sense of humor coming to the booksigning saying, I thought I had better show up before you all had me dead and buried. She came to quilting, she came to book club, she had outings with her lovely family and wonderful friends, she went to a wedding. She had a smile on her face in public, despite the private pain.
The Charlotte Irish quilters made this quilt for her when she was diagnosed. We sat at the machines and tables at my house and organized the squares and sewed the strips on the blocks. Johanna had painted two water colors for me which hang in my dining room. My husband scanned the paintings and printed them on Timeless Treasures computer fabric. I cut that fabric up to incorporate into blocks. The fabric was added to show who Johanna was. Since she was from Northern Ireland, sheep fabric was a must. So were the shamrocks; music fabric since her husband and son are musicians..flowers for the garden club, a yoga monkey for her yoga, the dog label for the dogs she loved etc. She was a healthy eater so I latticed it with cucumbers! I quilted the quilt and delivered it in three weeks time for her to enjoy with chemo and all. She died last month. Johanna's quilt is my entry for this festival...for love, for dignity and for her memory.
