A few weeks ago, I was surprised, astonished, gobsmacked even, a little humbled, very touched, and downright delighted to receive an unexpected gift in the mail. Today, I want to show it to you.

It’s the tale of eleven stitchers who put together their skills to create a quilt. They are all part of my Needle ‘n Thread Community page on Facebook. They corresponded by email, and the coordinator of the project included all their correspondence and their stories as they worked through the quilt in a notebook so that I could know each of the participants just a little bit.

The quilt is meant as a Thank You – I see it as a testament to the whole idea of Community and Kindness which naturally developes through needlework.

Much like this embroidered banner from the Valley Quail EGA chapter, the quilt will hang on my studio wall with pride of place. It will be a lovely source of inspiration and a conversation and instructional piece that I can use with my local students. It’ll be a source of cheer for me – a daily reminder of the kindness and generosity of the needlework community and of these eleven ladies!