"James, I need your thoughts on this idea

that I have. When I went through mother's trunk last week, I found a quilt that I recognized. It was one that my sister Eliza Jane made. Her baby already has a fine quilt Eliza made, and I want to give this quilt to cousin Mary."

"What are your reasons, little wife?"

"Mary will need more blankets this winter, but also I want her to have something special from the family. Nobody saved any of the quilts her mother made - I suppose they couldn't be salvaged. What do you think, James?"

Original Handmade quilt, owner Susan Rickett,
picture by Leo Dauenhauer, all rights reserved.

"I like your thinking, Mary Ann, and most of all I love your heart and the way it thinks."

Mary Ann's smile was of the ear-to-ear variety by now. "Let's tell her when she comes in -"

"I know you're eager, but let's put it on her bed and tell her about it when it is her bedtime."

"Yes! That's it. I'll get it out right now."