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Australia
Wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, great-aunt and friend....and fur-kid mum I love Quilting, stitching, photography, cooking, baking, gardening, blogging and making new friends...stop by and say hi!

Tuesday 6 March 2012

Tuesday Treasures - Quilting with Averil

This weeks Tuesday Treasures is a thing, a person or a place. 

I thought I would dedicate this weeks Tuesday Treasures to the woman who taught me how to quilt.  I met Averil in 1999 when another friend mentioned she was taking quilting lessons and asked if I wanted to join her.  As patchwork and quilting was something I had always fancied doing, I jumped at the opportunity.

Averil had already been quilting for 30 years when I met her and was the most patient and generous person I have ever met. She ran at least 7 groups a week in a shed at the back of her house and certainly instilled in me the love of quilting. Averil had a blood disease and often had to find time to visit the doctor although she never cancelled any of her classes until her husband, Vince, had a heart attack and ended up in hospital.  He recovered and and promised Averil, he would stop smoking and eat healthier but the stress was too much for her and a few weeks after he came home, she had a stroke.

She never recovered from the stroke and passed away a couple of days later. I will always remember Averil.  She taught me so much in the few years that I knew her and imparted so much knowledge. The group of girls that I was in continued to meet after she died and called ourselves "The Kelly Girls" (Named after Averil's Street) We found a venue (infact several over the years) to meet every week and are still meeting every Monday. I am no longer a member due to my work committments but I do have my quilts to remind me of Averil. The little quilt below was one that Averil made and I bought it when her family sold the contents of her shed.





And that is my Tuesday Treasure.



xoxoxox

9 comments:

  1. Hi Cath, That sure is a beautiful treasure. I have a quilt my Mum made which is my treasure.

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  2. Such a touching story and the quilt you have as a memory is truly a treasure , it is true that pool come into our lives for a reason.

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  3. Life and death can be very unfair but at least you had the chance to meet this lovely lady and gained much joy from your friendship. How fortunate to be able to acquire one of her quilts, I'm sure it means a lot to you.

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  4. That is such a lovely story and your little quilt is beautiful.

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  5. What a lovely story. I'm so glad Averil came into your life.

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  6. Thanks for sharing such a special and inspiring story, I'm pleased to hear how you all kept meeting.

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  7. What a lovely story. I'm so glad you are keeping her memory alive.

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  8. Such a lovely post Cath and a true treasure for sure. Also a lasting legacy with you being a quilter. I love your quilt. Thank you for sharing Averil's story.

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  9. Hello Cath,

    Lovely to hear about your dear friend and the love that she gave everyone.
    Happy days.
    Bev.xoxo

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